DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



58 



MR. MERRILL: We never measured it; I could not tell you. 

 MR. OLSEN: Approximately. 



MR. MERRILL; We have divided it up into a number of pieces. 

 I would say that the field we divided it into, to go clear around, would be 

 about four miles. 



MR. DEAVER: I have had experience with several different kinds of 

 engines. I would like -to ask if it is possible to plow the ground without 

 bringing the engine onto the ground at all, by establishing a donkey 

 engine on each side of the field and stringing cables to draw the plow 

 back and forth, working both ways- 



MR. MERRILL: It would be simpl}^ a matter of experimenting with 

 me; I have never had any experience with that at all. 



MR. DEAVER: That system is used especially in forests, where they 

 take a cable and haul timber for miles, bringing logs into camp with these 

 little donkey engines. It seems to me the same principle could be estab- 

 lished for plowing the ground, without taking the engines over the ground 

 at all. That might be something worth /discussing. 



MR. MERRILL: I would like to say before taking my seat that Mr. 

 Howard Cox, who is on the program, has had some experience with 

 gasoline traction engines wathin the past year, which, I understand, wa* 

 entirely satisfactory. He reduced the cost of plowing within the past few 

 weeks to less than fifty cents per acre. This was during October or No- 

 vember. I haven't seen this engine work, but I would say that gasoline, 

 as a motive power, offers some advantages. 



MR. LAMBKIN (Salt Lake City): I would like to ask Professor 

 Merrill whether the figures he has produced here this evening include 

 interest on the cost of machinery. 



MR. MERRILL: It simply means the cost of actual operation. I 

 simply gave the cost, the actual cost of operation. 



MR. LAMBKIN: What would be the increase if you were to add 

 interest on the cost of the machinery? 



MR. MERRILL: I haven't had enough experience to tell. It has only 

 been in operation for a very little time. It would depend entirely on the 

 number of days you used the machinery, the time lost, etc. That would 

 add to the cost. But if you use that machinery from eight to nine months 

 in the year, that would reduce the cost. It is a matter that would have to 

 be worked out; we haven't had enough expejience to say. We did not put 

 the combined harvester on the place until the 25th day of August of this 

 year. 



A DELEGATE: How much grain did you raise per acre on that 

 field? 



MR. MERRILL: I am not prepared to say. I will say that there 

 were some tracts of that farm that raised 27 bushels per acre and others 

 23 bushels. I will say this, however: We have sufficient confidence in the 

 yields we have been able to secure during the past two years that we are 

 going on and making greater investments. As I have told you, we have 



