22 BULLETIN 528, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



before the timothy heads have blossomed in order to harvest the 

 alfalfa before it matures. In favorable seasons a second cutting of 

 alfalfa mostly is harvested. Small or irregular fields are put into 

 alfalfa. The area devoted to corn and hay is somewhat above the 

 proportion of these crops on the average dairy farm in this region. 1 

 This is due to the large number of live stock kept. 



DETERMINING LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF OLD SYSTEM. 



Table X gives the amount of man and horse labor required per 

 acre for each month for the six crops grown on this farm. It is based 

 upon the crew and work units as given in Tables III to IX, and also on 

 the outline of the hours of labor required for the different operations. 

 To find the total amount of labor required for any cropping system, 

 multiply the figures given per acre in the above table by the number 

 of acres of each crop to be grown. Assuming the acreage as given in 

 map A (fig. 2), the total amount of man and horse labor on this farm 

 will be distributed as shown in Table XI. 



Figure 3 (A) is a graphic illustration of the time available and work 

 to be done as given in Table XI. The area below the dotted line 

 represents the available time each month for two men and a team of 

 two horses and the shaded area the work that must be done. This 

 chart shows the man-labor fairly well distributed in spring and early 

 summer but not in late summer and fall. The increase of man-labor 

 in June is due to the harvesting of the first crop of alfalfa and clover, 

 and alfalfa and timothy mixture, which extends over into July. The 

 increase of man-labor in July is due to the harvesting of wheat, the 

 hauling of manure, and preliminary preparation of the ground for 

 alfalfa and other new seedings, and in September to the extra labor 

 required for cutting silage corn and corn harvested for grain. 



The horse-labor also is distributed unevenly, requiring much more 

 in July and August than during any other part of the season. This 

 is largely due to the fact that 12.8 acres of alfalfa and 13.2 acres of 

 clover and timothy were prepared and seeded at this time, in addition 

 to the cutting of clover and timothy for hay, second cutting of alfalfa, 

 and the harvesting of 19.6 acres of wheat. This amount of July and 

 August work is a little unusual for this farm, as it happened that 6.4 

 acres of clover, alfalfa, and timothy required reseeding, and that 

 about one-half more wheat was harvested than was seeded for the 

 next year. When the fields are unequally divided, the amount of 

 labor will always vary thus from year to year. 



J See U. S. Dept. Bulletin No. 341, " Farm Management Practice in Chester County, Pa." 



