4 BULLETIN 627,-U..S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
where hilly or soft ground is encountered, and three horses, therefore, 
under most conditions, do a fair day’s work for a machine of this 
size. The extra horse on a seven-foot binder adds slightly over 24 
acres per day to the work accomplished, which would seem to indicate 
that three horses are somewhat overloaded with such a machine. 
TABLE I.—Average acres cut by 6-, 7-, and 8-foot binders in a 10-hour day. (235 
reports.) 
Acres cut. 
Width of cut and number of horses. | c | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
Per brie) Per horse. : peat s a! 
C1GQb so OTSCS! Moa) Se eS ne yea Beal ee ee eee See 10. 90 | 3. 63 | 1. 82 
BOO RHOESE Sent eee SR ae LE aOR | Oe eee oe et 12. 10 3.03 2. 02 
PAOD yo WIOUSES: . > race's 2 Seep tees pe 2 ee Ste. pie oe bee 12. 50 | 4.17 | 1.79 
RaAOO ts A ROLSCS seat Sek . ec ies Se aye ine ops Ve en ny «See 5 cm el 15.10 3. 78 2.16 
Stoeiadiersest ee . Revere hee PEP an CA eee eee: eee 17. 00 4,25 2.13 
The larger binders are more efficient in the use of both horse- and 
man-labor than the smaller sizes. For example, on the six-foot 
binder each horse cuts approximately 3.6 acres per day, whereas on 
the eight-foot binder each herse cuts practically 4.25 acres per day, 
or accomplishes 17 per cent more work. This is probably accounted 
for by the fact that the weight of the eight-foot binder is only 
shghtiy more than that of the six-foot. Each horse on the six-foot 
binder drawn by three horses has to move more weight than on the 
eight-foot binder drawn by four horses, while the amount of work 
en the cutter-bar and other mechanism is in almost exactly the same 
proportion. It is not surprising, therefore, that more ground will 
be covered per horse by the larger binders, since the draft per horse 
will be less 
In considering the amount of work done per horse on the different 
sizes of binders, the last column of Table I, showing the amount of 
grain per foot of cut, must be studied. Most binders when in use 
do not cut the full width of the cutter-bar a great part of the time, 
as it is difficult to drive so as to take a full swath at all times without 
oceasionally missing some grain, and most drivers, therefore, will 
err on the safe side by allowing a few inches of the cutter-bar to travel 
over stubble. This margin will be practically the same for a six- 
foot cutter bar as for the eight-foot, but the percentage of the sickle 
which is idle will of course be greater for the six-foot than for the 
eight-foot size. 
From these facts, it is apparent that the cost of cutting wheat 
with a binder will vary with the size of the outfit used, the cost being 
lowest with the eight-foot cut. In the past many farmers have been 
prejudiced against the large binders because of the heavy side draft 
on the horses. but this objection no longer holds, as with most modern 
