FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY OF COTTON FARMS. 



51 



horse required, respectively. The data in Table XX show the rela- 

 tive amount of labor required for the various crops. Cotton requires 

 an average of 3.17 days of horse labor per acre; two crops require 

 more horse labor per acre than cotton, namely, corn and alfalfa, 

 although sorghum requires nearly as much, being 2.94 days per acre. 



Cotton requires more man labor than any other crop raised, being 

 5.65 days per acre. Alfalfa is next in amount required, being 3.49 

 days. 



The grain crops of oats and wheat are noticeably low in amount of 

 both man and horse labor required. 



Fig. 17. — Type of two-row stalk cutter. The one-row cutter of the same type is more 



common. 



RELATION OF AMOUNT OF TILLAGE TO COST. 



There is a distinct relation between the amount of tillage and the 

 cost of production. A group of 23 farms put an average of 2.88 

 days of labor on cotton, making a yield of 250 pounds of lint, at a 

 cost of approximately 8.3 cents per pound. Another group of 21 

 farms, averaging 4.12 horse days per acre, produced cotton at a cost 

 of 9 cents per pound. 



The effect of these increased costs due to excessive tillage is notice- 

 able in the returns on the investment. When 2.88 horse days were 

 utilized, there was a return of 7.4 per cent, and where 4.12 horse 

 days were used the return on the investment was only 5.8 per cent. 

 The other groups ranged between 7.4 per cent and 5.8 per cent 

 income on the investment when the tillage was between the limits 

 above mentioned. 



