22 



BULLETIN 858, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 13. — Per cent and hours of labor performed by each class of help in the production 



of 100 pounds of milk. 



"WINTER. 



Class of labor. 



distribution of work per- 

 formed. 



Labor per 100 pounds milk. • 





1015-16. 



1916-17. 



Average. 



1915-16. 



1916-17. 



Average. 





Per cent. 

 39.9 

 49.4 



Per cent. 

 47.2 

 33.0 



Per cent. 

 43.5 

 41.2 



Bouts. 



1.05 

 1.30 



Hours. 

 1.17 



.81 



Hoztrs. 

 1.12 





1 03 









S9.3 

 8.2 

 2.5 



80.2 

 14.2 

 5.6 



84.7 

 11.2 

 4.1 



2.35 

 .22 



.07 



1.97 

 .35 

 .14 



1. 15 





.29 





. 11 







Total 



100.0 



100. 100. 



2.64 



2.47 



2.55 











SUMMER. 





40.2 

 43.6 



42.6 



35.0 



41.4 

 39.3 



0.88 



.95 



0.93 



.77 



0.91 





.85 









83.8 

 13.0 

 3.2 



77.6 

 13.4 



9.0 



80.7 

 13.2 

 6.1 



1.83 

 .28 

 .07 



1.70 

 .29 

 .20 



1.76 





.29 





.14 







TotaL 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



2.18 



2.19 



2.19 



During the first winter studied, as shown in Table 13, the managers 

 did 39.9 per cent of the dairy work, and the hired men performed 

 49.4 per cent of it. The remaining 10.7 per cent was done mostly 

 by the women. A comparative study of the percentage of labor 

 performed by each class of help for each season shows how the labor 

 of the manager and his family replaced that of the hired help which 

 was attracted to industrial plants by higher wages. The women 

 limited their efforts for the most part to milking and to washing 

 utensils, and actual observation showed that in these operations they 

 were just as efficient as the men or even more so. 



OVERHEAD AND OTHER COSTS. 



A pound of milk from a purebred cow was worth no more than 

 from a grade cow. Purebred cows were inventoried at fair prices for 

 grade animals of similar producing ability, and the purebred calves 

 were given corresponding grade values. This method eliminated both 

 the higher overhead charge on cattle and the larger credit for the 

 purebred value of calves. 



Each herd was inventoried the first month, and interest at the rate 

 of 6 per cent was computed on the value of the cows and bulls at that 

 time. An account was kept of all animals coming in or going out 

 of the herd and what they were worth at that time. Losses due to 

 death in the herd were accounted for in the difference between the 

 inventories. At the end of the year another inventory was taken 



