6 



BULLETIN 529, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



1 



2 



3 



4 



5 



6 



7 



8 



9 



225 

 221 



208 

 203 



220 

 216 



215 

 221 



203 

 212 



207 

 182 



205 

 203 



202 

 212 



212 

 216 



these same farmers kept records of the actual days available for such 

 work on their farms for a year. Table VI gives a comparison of 

 the estimate and the record on each of the 10 farms. 



Table VI. — Days per year available for field work. 



Farm No 



Byreeord 225 208 220 215 203 207 205 202 212 218 



Byestimate 221 203 216 221 212 182 203 212 210 206 



The average of the 10 estimates is 209 days and of the 10 records 

 212 days, a difference of only 1^ per cent of the total. Considering 

 the fact that the quantity here under consideration actually varies 

 considerably from year to year and that the records are for a single 

 year, the agreement between the estimates and the records must be 

 regarded as very satisfactory. 



INVESTIGATIONS BY C. M. HENNIS. 



In cooperation with the North Dakota Experiment Station the Of- 

 fice of Farm Management secured the data given in Table VII. 



Table VII. — Acres plowed per day. 



Number 



Records. 



Estimates. 











of horses. 



Number 





Number 







of 



Average. 



of esti- 



Average. 





records. 





mates. 









Acres. 





Acres. 



3 



15 



2.81 



1 



2.73 



4 



32 



3.83 



16 



4.26 



5 



60 



5.02 



37 



5.17 



6 



15 



5. 55 



10 



5.61 



When it is remembered that the numbers averaged are in most 

 cases very small and that the farmers making the records were not 

 the same as those giving the estimates, but were located in the same 

 general region, it must be admitted that it is possible to get just about 

 as reliable results from farmers' estimates as it is from the most 

 careful records provided the questions asked the farmer are within 

 the range of his experience and thinking and provided the number 

 of estimates is large enough to permit the proper working of the 

 law of averages. 



CASE OF A GEORGIA FARM. 



In a farm management survey it happened that one enumerator 

 obtained the record of a certain farm from the overseer at the farm, 

 while another enumerator obtained the record of the same farm from 

 the manager at his office in town. In both cases the record was given 



