68 BULLETIN 1421, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Exclusive of the value of shelter and the labor used in caring for 
the work stock, the average maintenance cost per horse for the 
farm year, March 1, 1921, to March 1, 1922, was $55.15. Shelter 
was asmall item, since most of these farms have cheaply constructed 
stables. The chore labor spent on the work animals was carried as 
overhead expense in the crop-cost studies. Feed, it is seen, con- 
stituted 63 per cent of the average maintenance cost per horse. Of 
the total value of the feed consumed per horse per year, alfalfa hay 
was 78 per cent, pasture 13 per cent, and grain nearly 9 per cent. 
Alfalfa hay, being low in value that year (about $5 per ton), was fed 
liberally; that is, at the rate of 5.43 tons per horse. During the 
year the horses were on pasture an average of 2.1 months. The 
horses worked an average of 703 hours per year, and the average cost 
per hour was 7.8 cents. 
RELATION BETWEEN THE AVERAGE HOURS OF LABOR PERFORMED ANNUALLY PER 
HORSE PER FARM AND THE COST OF DIRECT HORSE LABOR PER HOUR 
The average hours of direct labor performed per horse per year on 
the different farms varied from 221 to 1,535. The cost of an hour 
of direct horse labor on the respective farms also varied from about 
4 to 22 cents per hour. Figure 22 is presented to show the relation 
of these two variables. From the position of the dots on the chart 
the relation, it is seen, is fairly close. In most cases high hours of 
labor per horse per year are associated with low costs and low hours 
of labor with high costs. In other words, some of the farms were so 
organized that the horses were kept busy during much of the spring, 
summer, and fall months. On other farms there were too many 
horses for the amount of work to be done. The somewhat scattered 
positions of the dots on the chart indicate that there were other factors 
affecting the cost per hour of labor. Figure 22 indicates very clearly, 
however, that the wide variation in the cost of horse labor from farm 
to farm is in part responsible for the variation in the cost per acre 
and per unit of the seven crops. 
VARIATION IN THE COST OF MAN LABOR PER HOUR 
Man labor was one of the heavy items of expense included in the 
cost of producing each of the seven crops. In 1921 the cost of a 
direct hour of man labor was computed for each farm used in the 
cost studies by dividing the total cost of man labor per farm by the 
total hours of labor expended on the productive enterprises. Figure 
23 is presented to show the variation in the cost per hour of man 
labor that existed from farm to farm. - 
The lowest average cost of direct man labor per farm was 21 cents 
per hour and the highest 64 cents. More of the costs fell between 
35 and 39 cents, inclusive, than in any other 5-cent group. Figure 23 
represents 147 farms. In addition there were 5 other farms having 
average costs for man labor ranging from 71 to 94 cents. The wide 
variation in the cost of man labor was due to a variety of causes. 
Some farms furnished an abundance of man labor, whereas others 
did not; some had no more man labor than was needed, whereas 
others had too much; some farm operators had the work of the farm 
well planned and efficiently directed the labor at their disposal, whereas 
others were less successful as managers. As a result of these condi- 
aioe the cost of man labor was much higher on some farms than on 
others. 
