FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY OP COTTON FARMS. 
49 
HORSE LABOR. 
The average annual cost of work stock per head is $101.37 * (see 
fig. 13). The average cost is almost exactly the same on large farms 
as on small. However, the cost per acre and the cost per day decrease 
materially as the size of farm increases. The annual feed cost per 
animal amounts to $83.08. The average value of this stock is $135 
per head and the interest on this valuation at 8 per cent amounts 
to $10.73. 
The annual depreciation of work stock is comparatively low on 
these farms, averaging $6.38. Very little shoeing is done for ordi- 
nary farm work: only where teams are used for hauling on the 
Fig. 15. — Barn, with overhanging eaves for machinery shelter. 
hard pike roads are they shod. The average cost per head per 
year is seen to be only $0.95. The veterinary cost is but $0.23 per 
head. Only an occasional animal is injured and very little disease 
is found in the region. 
COST OF MACHINERY. 
The cost of maintenance and operation of machinery and tools is 
comparatively high in Ellis County. Figure 14 shows the relation of 
the various cost items to each other and to the total cost per $100 of 
equipment. The largest item is seen to be depreciation, which is 
equivalent to 14 per cent of the value of the machinery. According 
to this rate, the average life of machinery for the region is about 7 
1 This figure does not include cost of labor in caring for work stock. This labor is in- 
cluded in the nonproductive labor, all of which is distributed to the various enterprises. 
