FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY OF COTTON FARMS. 47 
purpose, the cost was charged directly against the enterprise on 
which the labor was performed. These items were totaled to make 
up the total cost of horse labor. 
The equipment cost includes depreciation, repairs, interest, and 
insurance. The items of interest, taxes, an 1 insurance together were 
found to be approximately 10 per cent of the value of the machinery, 
and this figure was therefore used in all calculations involving equip- 
ment cost. These items were totaled to determine the equipment or 
machinery cost per farm. 
A certain amount of cash is required to run the business of each 
farm. In each case this amount was ascertained and interest at the 
rate of 8 per cent was charged on this figure. 
The amount and value of seed required per acre- were arrived at 
for each crop and the value was charged directly against the respec- 
tive enterprises. 
The cost of ginning cotton per bale was learned for each farm 
and was charged directly against this crop. 
Various special costs, such as those for harvesting and thrashing 
grain, binder twine, baling hay, etc., were determined and charged 
directly against the respective enterprises. The number of days of 
productive labor was ascertained for each farm. This was learned 
by determining the acreage of each enterprise, the crew duty for each 
operation, and thus the number of da}^s of productive man and horse 
labor for each crop. From the number of days of work utilized in 
the handling of productive stock, as well as in other minor enter- 
prises, and the number of productive duys of work outside of the 
farm, such as road work, outside hauling, etc., the total number of 
days of man-labor and of horse labor were arrived at for each farm. 
Having ascertained the number of productive man days and horse 
. days, the costs were prorated to the respective enterprises as follows : 
Costs of man labor and interest on cash to run the farm were dis- 
tributed according to the number of productive man days required 
for the respective enterprises ; the cost of horse labor and equipment 
cost were distributed to the enterprises according to the number of 
horse days required for each enterprise. 
In this manner the costs were charged against the crops on the 
acre basis; these distributed costs, together with the separately ap- 
portioned special costs, were totaled, thus arriving at the acre cost of 
each crop. The yield per acre of each crop being known, the unit 
cost was calculated. 
In the case of cotton two products are obtained from the gin, 
namely lint and seed. The total acre cost of cotton was distributed 
between the lint and seed according to the acre value of each product, 
on the basis of the net weight per bale of cotton, and the amount of 
seed produced per bale of lint. 
