i 
I COST OF KEEPING FARM HORSES. 19 
F does the average time worked per week day rise above 34 hours. It 
may be noted, as illustrative of the application of these figures, that 
if the New York and Ohio farmers concerned had hired their horses 
~~. out at 10 cents per hour, and had failed to work them more than 1,020 
; and 866 hours per year, respectively, they would have lost on each 
horse about 4 cents per hour worked. 
Of the various ways of keeping down the cost of horse labor, one 
of the best is to keep the horses busy (see fig. 3). 
yas 
Fig. 3.—Of the various ways of keeping down the cost of horse labor, one of the best is to keep the 
horses busy. 
LABOR PERFORMED, BY MONTHS. 
In figure 4 is shown the average work done per horse, by months, 
for each State group. 
Referring to this graph, the general importance of horse labor on 
these farms for May, June, and July will be seen. In each State very 
little labor was performed by the horses during January, February, 
and March. Thereafter the work increased until, during May, the 
maximum for any one month was reached. From then on to the end 
of the year there was a fairly uniform decrease in the hours worked per 
month. In New York and Illinois the increases in October and 
November are due to grain threshing and corn harvest. 
On the Ohio farms, with few exceptions, the average total of labor 
performed each month was less than on the Illinois and New York 
farms. Also, it will be noticed that during April, May, November, and 
December the horses on the Illinois farms worked more hours per 
