46 BULLETIN 1202, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
labor used. Neither were any reductions in the amounts of time 
actually spent at farm work by the operators of the farms themselves 
obtained. 
For the 327 farms an average of 6.1 months of family and regular 
hired labor was used during the year of the investigation. This was 
0.9 month less than had been used before the tractors were pur- 
chased. As stated above, the farms had been increased in size b 
van average of 50 crop acres. Table 51 shows the changes on the 191 
farms which had not been changed in size after the tractors were 
purchased. Sixty-five, or 34 per cent, of the 191 men had reduced 
the amount of labor; 116 or 60 per cent, had made no change, and the 
remaining 10 had increased the amount of labor used. For the entire 
191 there had been an average reduction of 1.4 months, and for the 
65 farms where the labor had been reduced, an average reduction of 
4.1 months. The reduction was greatest in the western area, 2.5 
months, and least in the northern area, 0.8 month. 
TaBLe 51.—Change in family and regular hired labor after purchase of tractor on 191 
farms where size was not changed. 
Months of family and hired | Number of farms where labor 
A Average labor per farm. | was— 
ene Aunaber ee, 
: of farms. 
Before Reduc- Not Tn- 
acres). |purchase,| 1921 tion, | Reduced.) snanged.| creased. 
Southern..........- bes 75 250 6.6 5.4 1.2 28 45, 2 
Miesterne = =. 2s 52 498 9.0 6.5 2.5 22 27 3 
Northern.........---- ‘of. UR 269 6.5 5.7 8 15 44 5 
UN) 25 (See Saar ae 191 324 7.2 5.8 1.4 65 116 10 
CHANGE IN TILLAGE PRACTICE. 
With regard to tillage practice, each farmer was asked (1) whether 
he was making it a practice since he purchased his tractor to plow a 
greater percentage of his land and to reduce correspondingly the 
amount listed or disked without plowing; (2) whether he plowed 
to a greater depth than formerly; and (3) whether he practiced 
better seed-bed preparation other than plowing than he did before 
he purchased his tractor. The replies to these questions are sum- 
marized in Table 52. 
In all, 215, or 66 per cent, of the 327 reported some change in tillage 
practice. In the southern and northern areas more men reported 
deeper plowing than either of the other changes, while in the western 
area more plowing and less disking and listing was reported by the 
greatest number. 
TABLE 52.—Change in tillage practice after purchase of tractors. 
Number 
= Number who did 
Pia rak ee N anes who |Number| better 
Area. of reported | reported ioctahec pers seed -bed 
farmers.) no | some | Ser cent| Heeper. (tion other 
change. | change. ofland. than 
plowing. 
I ee eh Ne eee 116 36 80 41 65 50 
ermereeateets ss ewe Pe ee eee ee 96 36 60 46 32 36 
Denvemirteties. .o8 2. oe oo oe ol eed 115 40 75 44 58 41 
SS a Sn ke ee | heaT 112 215 131 155 127 
COREE 2) SG lll SR Eg al Mean tie aS 100 34 66 40 47 39 
! The 27 of the 354 farmers interviewed not included in this table started farming with tractors. 
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