Oe 
a 
COST OF HARVESTING WHEAT. 19 
thirty or more horses to pull them, which added considerably to the 
expense, as many extra horses had to be maintained throughout the 
entire year so as to be available at harvest time. Of late years the 
smaller outfits have been increasing in number very rapidly. These 
small rigs are entirely practicable on small areas, since their price 
is lower than for the larger types, and their weight is so much less 
that fewer horses are required to operate them. (See PI. I, fig. 2.) 
The amount of work done per day with the different sized outfits 
is shown in Table IX. 
TABLE IX.—Acres cut and bushels thrashed by different sized combines in a 
10-hour day. (65 reports.) 
Acres per 10-hour day. Bushels 
thrashed Usual 
Width of combines, and horses used. per day | ‘of men 
Per com- Per Per foot |(30-bushel inl crew: 
bine. horse. of cut. yield). i 
MMECLY Ss OPSOSHeM tenet see ae cota ek cs aaieete see 12.4 1.55 1.77 372 2 
OCS OMNOTSOS ee snes tree Melee cso trie ik WS 13.6 1.36 1,51 408 2 
DO Memieye MM OTSOS bya sey ieete le mials eres witinleie oot tacos s o's 19.9 90 1.66 597 4or5 
WASTCG UZ Fel OFSOS acy sieeve ete cicke sine s Sie are ale siete ciaiicles wipes 20.6 - 86 1. 47 618 § 
TGMCe TAS MOTSES Bem see ce els anew sis ieeaiela Se cisidie win 4 27.0 96 1.69 810 5 
AS eet SUMOLSESamigse = see ce vee cwmc kee ee 31.0 1.03 1.72 930 5 
ZOMEEHOOMMOTSAS aan eee a ees ee is. ese Le 34.0 1.13 1.70 1,0°0 5 or 6 
ZA COL MOU LOLSOS wei ctsjepyais Se ejelcic aie cite eerie eats wie neele we 42.0 1.17 1.75 1, 260 5 or 6 
NotEe.—The number of horses used on the different sizes of combines varies considerably according to 
the yield of wheat, the condition of the soil, the topography of the field, and the particular type or make 
of machine. The figures shown in the first column are about the most common teams for the sizes given; 
rhe number used in individusl cases on the larger outfits are frequently from 1 to 4 above or below the 
gures given. 
_ From this it will be seen that there is considerable irregularity in 
the number of acres cut per day by the different sized outfits, which 
is due probably to the small number averaged in most of the groups. 
The yield per acre usually makes but little difference in the acres 
covered per day except as mentioned below, since the machines must 
be kept moving at a certain speed in order to do good work. There- 
fore, in heavy grain, on hilly land, soft ground, etc., it is often 
necessary to use extra horses in order to keep the outfit moving at 
the required speed. If the additional horses are not available heavy 
pulling will cut down the amount of work done per day because of 
the more frequent resting of the horses that will be necessary. 
In the fifth column of Table IX is shown the number of bushels 
thrashed per day by the outfits of different sizes based on a yield of 
30 bushels, which is close to the average yield in the sections where 
combines are used. The seven- and nine-foot machines usually are 
operated by two men, one driving and regulating the height of the 
cutter-bar according to the height of the grain, the other bagging 
the thrashed wheat and sewing the sacks. The number of bushels 
thrashed per day per man with the outfits requiring only two men 
to operate them is considerably higher than with the larger machines 
which require four or five men, with the exception of the very 
