TRACTORS AND HORSES IN THE WINTER WHEAT BELT. 5 
harvesting. However, in both this and the southern area a con- 
siderable number of tractor owners use combined harvesters and 
_ threshers. 
Northern area.—According to the 1920 census of agriculture the 
average size of all farms in the two counties of the northern area vis- 
ited was 245 acres, 215 acres of which were classed as improved. An 
average of 86 acres of wheat and 58 acres of corn per farm were har- 
vested in 1919. Corn occupies a greater acreage in this area than in 
either of the others. It is usually planted with a combined lister 
and drill without previous preparation of the ground.. Wheat is usu- 
ally planted on the corn land, much of it with one-horse drills which 
go between the rows of standing corn. Where the corn is cut the 
land is usually disked before the wheat is planted. Where wheat fol- 
lows wheat the land is usually plowed before planting. The average 
yield per acre of wheat harvested in 1921 on the farms visited was 14 
oaha: 
FARMS OPERATED WITH ONE TRACTOR AND HORSES. 
Table 4 shows the average size of the 354 farms operated with one 
tractor and horses and the acreage devoted to different crops in the 
different areas. 
TABLE 4.—Average size of farms and crop acreage in different areas. 
Crop acreage. 
Area Total 
Num-) ; 
| | | | not area 
Area. _ ber of | Other Giher | _ no : 
farms. | Bar- Al- |Other Sowed Other Weed a PALS 
Wheat. tec. Oats. small| Corn.| row falfa.| hay. | feed. \crops. Total.| ped. farm. 
J jeraum. crops. 
| | 
Acres. |Acres.|Acres. Acres.|Acres.|Acres.|Acres.|Acres.| Acres. |Acres.|Acres.| Acres. Acres. 
i 9 « 
Southern...) 120 213 od Be 13 4 9 1 a 3| 262| 64| 326 
Western....| 107 AGT |. 39 8 | 2| 2% 9 1 8 18 5| 516 | 326) s42 
Northern ..| 127 177 is lige: Tp Baro 7 oe er ae hare ry ele | 299} 78| 377 
Total_...- | 354 959| 131 10 | iy ae 4 | 5 8 | 8| 3] 352] 148] 500 
uf 
j 
1 Cane, Sudan grass, etc. - 
The average size of these farms is considerably larger than the aver- 
age size of all farms in the different areas, and the proportion of the 
area in wheat was somewhat greater than for all farms as shown by 
census figures. On nearly every farm visited in the southern and 
western areas, and on most of the farms in the northern area, wheat 
occupied a greater acreage than any other crop and determined the 
amount of power kept on the farm. On the average the proportion 
of the crop area of the farms surveyed in wheat (seeded 1920) was 
81 per cent in the Southern area, 79 per cent in the Western area, 59 
per cent in the Northern area, and for all farms 74 per cent. 
The number of farms of different sizes based on crop acreage 
operated with one tractor and horses in the different areas is shown 
in Table 5. 
The size of the farms in the western area was considerably greater 
than in the other areas, but tillage practices and yields were such 
that on the average practically the same amount of power was used 
per farm in each of the three areas. 
