MACHINERY COST OF FARM OPERATIONS. 23 



amount decreasing as the size of farm increased. The greater hu- 

 midity in New York makes more urgent the shelter of implements 

 while the larger areas farmed in Nebraska makes such shelter less 

 economical. The more substantial methods of construction in 

 New York also add to the greater relative cost. As previously noted, 

 except during a period in summer when the general buildings are 

 filled with crops, there is usually ample space available for housing 

 most of the farm machinery on farms in western New York. It 

 would seem that an investment in special implement sheds amount- 

 ing to over 15 per cent of the total cost of farm machinery would 

 indicate poor management in utilizing available space in the general 

 farm buildings for the purpose of housing such machinery. 



The walking plow, disk harrow, land roller, 1-row cultivator, hay- 

 rake, and hay tedder are among the more expensive implements to 

 house in proportion to their cost. They constitute the group most 

 frequently not housed. It happens that, being made of heavy 

 wooden or metal parts with few moving elements, they are less in- 

 jured by exposure than are some others. They can endure consid- 

 erable exposure when barns are filled with crops, and are more eco- 

 nomically stored at other times in general-purpose space. Machines 

 such as binders, mowers, drills, planters, etc., having many moving 

 parts, or many of fight metal or wood, are seriously affected in oper- 

 ation by rust and decay and are in greater need of protection from 

 the weather, hence they are the first to be housed in this and other 

 sections. Their form renders them economical to house from the 

 standpoint of relative cost of machine and shelter. It is ordinarily 

 profitable to provide special shelter for these machines. There is 

 no -way, however, by which the small farmer can escape a greater 

 shelter charge per acre than that enjoyed by the large farmer. 



RELATION OF MACHINERY COST TO COST OF FARM OPERATIONS. 



The most urgent reason for investment in machine sheds, farm 

 repair shops, and repair tools is that machinery will then be more 

 readily and certainly repaired and kept in running order, so that it 

 will not fail during busy seasons and waste the more expensive time 

 of men and horses. 



In Table XXI the relation of the cost of machinery to the total 

 cost of the various farm operations with these implements has been 

 computed and expressed in percentages. In arriving at these per- 

 centages, the general averages were taken from Tables II to XIX, 

 respectively, as being the average cost to the farmers in western New 

 York. Man time was taken at $2 per day for wages and board, with 

 all implements except those used in haying and in grain harvest/ the 

 wages for these being placed at $3.25 per day for wages and board. 

 Horse time was entered at 75 cents per day per horse to cover feed, 

 interest, depreciation, and mortality. 



