18 



BULLETIN 961, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



In this area practically the only method of harvesting corn is to 

 snap the ears from the stalks without shucking, which is usually 

 referred to as "pulling corn." Some pull and throw the corn on 

 the ground in small heaps and later pick it up and haul it in. Others 

 pull the corn and throw it into a wagon direct, and as soon as a load 

 is pulled it is hauled to the barn. In cases in which corn is pulled 

 and thrown on the ground one man has been counted as a crew. 

 Crews of from one to three men are generally used when hauling in 

 corn which has been thrown on the ground, and crews of two or three 

 men are most commonly used for pulling and hauling. (See Table 

 XXVI.) A few four-men crews were found, but the number of such 

 crews is not sufficient to give a reliable average. 



Table XXVI. — Harvesting corn. 



Method. 



Bushels 

 per acre. 



Crew. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 reports. 



Average 

 acreage 

 per daj'. 



Men. 



Mules. 



11 to 20 



1 





54 



3.43 



21 to 40 

 11 to 20 



1 



1 



2 



10 

 10 



2.55 

 4.82 



11 to 20 



2 



2 



33 



7.52 



11 to 20 

 11 to 20 

 11 to 20 

 21 to 40 



3 

 2 

 3 

 3 



2 

 2 

 2 

 2 



15 

 11 

 60 



28 



8.95 

 5.72 

 6.58 

 4.78 



Acreage reported 

 most frequently. 



Pull and throw in piles 



Do 



Haul from piles 



Do 



Do ^.. 



Pull and haul 



Do 



Do 



[3 (16 reports). 

 [5 (8 reports). 



Scattering. 



(■7 (8 reports). 



[8 (7 reports). 



Scattering. 



6 (5 reports). 



5 to 8 (31 reports). 



4 to 5 (14 reports). 



LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF CORN. 



The amount of labor required at each operation in the production 

 of corn is shown in Table XXVII. It will be noticed that much of 

 the work on corn is one-mule work. This is indicated by the fact 

 that man labor and mule labor are practically the same. The term 

 "gather" as used in this table includes pulling and hauling corn 

 from the field to the barn; it also includes pulling and throwing on 

 the ground and then hauling in, and thus it is a term which inchides 

 more than the term "pulling." "Gather" is commonly used in this 

 area to cover all the operations of harvesting. Cutting corn is an 

 operation which is very seldom performed in this area. 



Table XXVII. — Labor requirements per acre on corn. 



Operation. 



Hours per acre. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 reports. 



Operation. 



Hours per acre. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 reports. 



Men. 



Mules. 



Men. 



Mules. 



Cut stalks 



1.4 

 6.2 

 1.5 

 1.4 

 4.7 

 3.6 

 1.3 

 1.7 

 1.6 



2.4 

 11.9 

 3.6 

 1.5 

 5.5 

 4.1 

 1.9 

 3.4 

 1.0 



52 

 72 

 30 

 128 

 169 

 81 

 54 

 87 

 68 



Plant 



1.9 

 1.3 

 1.6 



2.8 

 10.5 

 3.6 

 6.3 

 1.3 

 5.7 



1.3 

 1.3 

 .9 

 2.8 

 9.9 

 3.7 



.'4" 



3.5 



198 



Break 



Cover corn 



79 



Broadcast harrow 



Lay off rows 



Fertilize after planting . . . 

 Bar off .... 



60 

 61 



Bed 



Cultivate 



193 



Rebed . ... 



Cultivate middles . . . 



156 







160 



Harrow 





127 



Fertilize before plantmg.. 



Gather 



198 







