1922.] Labour Organization on East Midlands Farm. 449 



having regard to the other lines of production on the farm 

 which make demands for home-grown produce. 



The relative importance of men and horses at different stages 

 of growth should be carefully observed. In the case of the grain 

 crops, the proportion of horses to men is greatest at the time 

 of ploughing and the preparation of the land for the sowing of 

 the corn, where the ratio is approximately two horses to one 

 man. The opposite condition of affairs is seen in May and June 

 when manual labour is of importance. 



Another point to note is that certain crops have responded 

 to the use of equipment involving a relatively large use of horse 

 labour to manual labour, while others again require mostly 

 manual labour. In the case of the carrot and potato crops the 

 manual labour line is either above the horse labour line, or is 

 closely associated with it, for the greater period of the growth 

 of the crop. This point will be discussed later. These two crops 

 were distinctly competitive in their nature. Casual labour was 

 necessary for the planting and harvesting of the potatoes, and 

 also for the weeding and thinning of the carrots, a very expensive 

 item. On the other hand, the large amount of productive work 

 which these crops required for their disposal during the winter 

 months, when other work on the land was distinctly slack, com- 

 pensated to a large extent for the competitive period. It must 

 be remembered, too, that the land is very suitable for the growth 

 of these crops, and naturally this is a large factor in their intro- 

 duction into the crop rotation. 



The pea crop never occupied a large acreage in the rotation, 

 and as the distribution of labour was extremely regular through- 

 out its growth, it did not disturb labour requirements to any 

 extent. The justification of diversity of cropping can also be 

 advanced in its favour. The crop was usually sold off 

 the farm. 



Relative Labour Demands of the Various Crops.— It is well 

 known that crops vary considerably in the amount of manual 

 and horse labour they require. The following table compiled 

 from the sum of the monthly totals in the graphs showing the 

 distribution of manual and horse labour and reduced to a single 

 acreage basis for comparison demonstrates this fact. Before 

 discussing this table it should be noted that the figures 

 relating to the grain and pulse crops are up to the point of 

 harvesting only. They are therefore exclusive of the necessary 



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