COST OF HARVESTING WHEAT. hi 3 
applicable to many particular cases, should be of considerable value 
to farmers who are interested in cutting down their harvesting 
expenses, by showing them where the greatest expenses commonly are 
incurred. ; 
THE BINDER. 
By far the largest percentage of the wheat crop of the country © 
is to-day harvested with the binder, the use of this machine being 
almost universal. Although headers are used in large numbers and 
over a wide area through the Middle West and West, binders also 
are used throughout the same area, it being quite common to find 
both machines on one farm. In some seasons only the binder will be 
used, in others only the header, while often both will be used, de- 
pending upon conditions which will be referred to later. The only — 
wheat-growing sections where the binder is not used on the greater 
part of the crop are in the States of Washington, Oregon, and Cah.- 
fornia, and parts of Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, where 
much of the wheat is cut and thrashed with combined harvesters 
(see pp..18 to 22), although even where these outfits are commonly 
used binders also are employed to some extent. (See Pl. I, fig. 1.) 
The cost of harvesting may be somewhat greater where the binder 
is used than where the work is done with headers or combined har- 
vesters. The binder, however, has a distinct advantage over these 
machines in that the work of harvesting may be begun from one to 
two weeks earlier with the binder than with either the header or 
combine, since wheat can be cut with a binder while in the early 
dough stage and placed in shocks to complete ripening; at the same 
time it is comparatively safe from destruction by storms. This fea- 
ture is a very valuable one in many cases, not only for the reason just 
given but also because it permits the work of harvesting to be ex- 
tended over a much longer period than with the other machines men- 
tioned, thus requiring fewer horses and men to harvest a given 
acreage. 
DUTY. 
The cost of harvesting wheat with a binder varies considerably, 
being influenced by the several factors mentioned below. Data have 
been collected showing the daily duty of six-, seven-, and eight-foot 
binders, and the results of the tabulation of these data are shown in 
Table I. By this it will be seen that the six-foot binder is most com- 
monly drawn by three horses, while on the seven-foot cut four horses 
are generally used. On the eight-foot binder, the use of four horses 
is practically universal. On the six-foot binder, the extra horse 
appears to make but a little over an acre’s difference in the quantity 
of work done per day. The six-foot binder apparently does not over- 
“load three horses except where the yield is exceptionally heavy, or 
