12 



BULLETIN 338, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



The roller is also damaged but little by exposure. It is one of the 

 last implements to be housed, and often is not sheltered at all. From 

 the standpoint of replacement, interest, and repair charges per acre, 

 it is one of the most inexpensive implements on the farm. The 

 average roller in western New York does 75 days of actual work, 

 extending through a period of 16 years, covering 1,054 acres. The 

 average replacement charge per acre is $0,023, and the interest 

 charge at 6 per cent is $0,011. 



Table VII. — Land rollers — relation of work done annually to service and cost per acre 

 and per day used on 1,173 farms. 



Range of area covered annually acres 



Number of records included 



Average area covered annually acres 



Years of service rendered . 



Acres covered during life 



Days actually used during life 



Average width of roller feet 



Cost when new 



Total cost of repairs duringlife 



Total interest during life at 6 per cent 



Total of depreciation, interest, and repairs during life 



Cost of land roller: 



Per day used 



Per acre rolled 



1 to 40. 



41 to I 



81 and 

 over. 



425 



29.5 



16.5 



486.8 



39 



7.2 



$20. 00 

 5.94 

 10.56 



36.50 



$0.93 

 .075 



493 



60.0 



15.8 



948.0 



68 



8.0 



255 

 138.2 

 15.2 

 2, 100. 6 

 145 

 10.0 



$22. 00 

 7.90 

 11.06 



$25. 00 

 9.12 

 12.16 



40.98 



46.28 



$0.60 

 .043 



$0.32 

 .022 



65.9 



16.0 



1,054.4 



75 



8.1 



$24.00 

 7.52 

 11.20 



42.72 



$0.57 

 .041 



Land rollers cost an average of only $0,007 per acre for repairs. 

 The average land roller used in this area should cost about $24, and 

 the total repairs necessary during its life average about 32 per cent 

 of the original cost of the implement. 



THE GRAIN DRILL. 



The grain drill (Table VIII) is a comparatively expensive machine 

 and is used only a few days in the year. The interest charge per 

 day is therefore high. Grain drills in western New York last an 

 average of 16.4 years in doing 76 days of work. Since they cover 

 from 6 to 12 acres per day, the depreciation and interest charges per 

 acre are but a small proportion of the cost of the men and horses used 

 with them. Grain drills are substantially built, and are capable of 

 doing many more days of work than the average farmer obtains from 

 them. 



From the computations for grain drills, it appears that there is an 

 average depreciation charge of $0,095 per acre and an interest charge 

 of $0,049 per acre. An $85 drill, doing 75 or more acres of work 

 annually, costs less than one-third as much per acre as a $65 drill, 

 doing less than 25 acres annually. 



