2 BULLETIN 528, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
meet the maximum demands of the rush season. It is important, 
therefore, that the farmer contemplating a change in his cropping sys- 
tem should have some method by which he may measure the labor 
requirements of a proposed system to determine its feasibility under 
his limitations as to labor and equipment. It is equally important 
for the farmer who is already encountering difficulties through con- 
flicting labor demands to be able to make an analysis of his system 
with a view to making changes that will obviate these difficulties. It 
is to give these farmers a basis upon which to plan with reference to 
seasonal distribution of labor that this bulletin has been prepared. 
TERRITORY SURVEYED AND METHOD USED. 
The region studied was the southern part of Chester County, Pa. 
It extends from the Maryland line on the south to the Chester valley 
on the north, and from the more broken region in the western part 
of the county to the vicinity of West Chester on the east. It includes 
the region already covered by a farm-management survey 1 made by 
this department, and, in addition, areas outside of this area having 
similar agricultural conditions. 
This special study was conducted in the summer of 1915. Only the 
more successful farms were visited, that is, those yielding labor 
incomes above the average found in the previous farm management 
survey. In that study the average of 389 farm owners was $789. 
The 215 farmers visited were selected from this list except a few 
from closely adjoining territory. The object of this survey was to 
study the farm practice and labor efficiency of well-managed farms, 
to the exclusion of others. 
By ' ' labor income ' ' is meant the amount of money that the farmer 
has left after paying all business expenses of the farm and deducting 
5 per cent for interest on the money invested in the farm business. 
By "farm practice" in this connection is meant the general order 
of performing the various farm operations, from the application of 
manure, plowing, and preparation of seed bed to the marketing of the 
crop. Data as to the different types of implements and other equip- 
ment used, information concerning the use of commercial fertilizers, 
the methods of cultivation employed, and the }-ield and disposition 
of the products were obtained in the study of farm practice. 
By "labor efficiency" is meant the number of loads or tons handled 
or the area covered by an implement with a definite crew of men and 
horses, in a day or other unit of time, for every operation in the grow- 
ing of the crop. In this connection estimates were obtained from 
the farmer as to the number of days actually available for field work 
throughout the growing season, the number of days actually worked 
J "Farm Mauagemeni Practice In Chester County Pa.," I '. S. Dept. Bulletin No. 341. 
