22 BULLETIN 528, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
before the timothy heads have blossomed in order to harvest the 
alfalfa before it matures. In favorable seasons a second cutting of 
alfalfa mostly is harvested. Small or irregular fields are put into 
alfalfa. The area devoted to corn and hay is somewhat above the 
proportion of these crops on the average dairy farm in this region. 1 
This is due to the large number of live stock kept. 
DETERMINING LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF OLD SYSTEM. 
Table X gives the amount of man and horse labor required per 
acre for each month for the six crops grown on this farm. It is based 
upon the crew and work units as given in Tables III to IX, and also on 
the outline of the hours of labor required for the different operations. 
To find the total amount of labor required for any cropping system, 
multiply the figures given per acre in the above table by the number 
of acres of each crop to be grown. Assuming the acreage as given in 
map A (fig. 2), the total amount of man and horse labor on this farm 
will be distributed as shown in Table XI. 
Figure 3 (A) is a graphic illustration of the time available and work 
to be done as given in Table XI. The area below the dotted line 
represents the available time each month for two men and a team of 
two horses and the shaded area the work that must be done. This 
chart shows the man-labor fairly well distributed in spring and early 
summer but not in late summer and fall. The increase of man-labor 
in June is due to the harvesting of the first crop of alfalfa and clover, 
and alfalfa and timothy mixture, which extends over into July. + The 
increase of man-labor in July is due to the harvesting of wheat, the 
hauling of manure, and preliminary preparation of the ground for 
alfalfa and other new seedings, and in September to the extra labor 
required for cutting silage corn and corn harvested for grain. 
The horse-labor also is distributed unevenly, requiring much more 
in July and August than during any other part of the season. This 
is largely due to the fact that 12.8 acres of alfalfa and 13.2 acres of 
clover and timothy were prepared and seeded at this time, in addition 
to the cutting of clover and timothy for hay, second cutting of alfalfa, 
and the harvesting of 19.6 acres of wheat. This amount of July and 
August work is a little unusual for this farm, as it happened that 6.4 
acres of clover, alfalfa, and timothy required reseeding, and that 
about one-half more wheat was harvested than was seeded for the 
next year. When the fields are unequally divided, the amount of 
labor will always vary thus from year to year. 
i See U. S. Dept. Bulletin No. 341, " Farm Management Practice in Chester County, Pa." 
