LABOR OPERATIONS 205 



8.6 acres per day of labor. Breaking, raking and burning was prac- 

 ticed on 889 acres, requiring 92 days of labor and 79 3-4 days of team 

 service, the average accomplishment being 9.7 acres per day's labor. 



Plowing. Of the 4,051 acres, 3,491 were plowed, the remaining 

 560 acres being listed in. To plow 725 acres in the fall required 293 

 days of labor with 382 days of team service, or an accomplishment of 2.47 

 acres per day's labor. The discrepancy between days of labor and 

 days of team service is of course due to the fact that more than two 

 horses were frequently used to the plow, and in all such cases team 

 work is stated in the equivalent of two horses. The spring plowing of 

 2,766 acres required 1,154 3-4 days of labor and 1,479 days of team 

 service, an accomplishment of 2.4 acres per day's labor. 



Harrowing. The amount of work done in the way of harrowing, 

 discing, rolling, dragging and otherwise preparing the seedbed varies 

 greatly in local practice. Instances appear in the schedule where the 

 field was worked seven times, while in other cases only one working 

 was given. Of the 4,051 acres, harrowing or other similar prepara- 

 tion was practiced on 3,280. As only 560 acres were listed this leaves 

 211 acres on which planting followed plowing with no effort to pre- 

 pare the seedbed. It required 496 3-4 days of labor and 668 1-4 days 

 of team service to accomplish the harrowing, or an average of 6.6 

 acres per day's labor. 



Listing. This method of planting is little practiced except in Kan- 

 sas and Nebraska. Under the proper soil and climatic conditions it is 

 desirable, and so far as the amount of labor required is concerned it 

 is far cheaper than the usual practice. In this investigation 560 acres 

 were listed, requiring 92 1-2 days of labor and 119 1-4 days of team 

 service, the accomplishment per day's labor being 6.1 acres. 



Fertilizing. The percentage of the total corn acreage which in 

 any year is fertilized by the direct application of fertilizing material 

 is so small as to hardly merit consideration. Where this is done at 

 all it is usually thus treated once in a series of years, so that the full 

 cost of such treatment cannot properly be charged to a single crop 

 following. In the schedules fertilizing was reported on some parts 

 of 1,639 acres, requiring 634 1-4 days of labor and 483 1-4 days of team 

 service. 



Planting. Planting methods included the whole range from hand 

 dropping and hoe covering to the use of hand planters, and up through 

 machines of varying efficiency to the best modern horse planters. As 

 a result the efficiency of a day's labor varies widely, from .71 of an 



