18 
BULLETIN 961, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
In this area practically the only method of harvesting corn is to 
snap the ears from the stalks without shucking, which is usually 
referred to as "pulling corn." Some pull and throw the corn on 
the ground in small heaps and later pick it up and haul it in. Others 
pull the corn and throw it into a wagon direct, and as soon as a load 
is puUed it is hauled to the barn. In cases in which corn is pulled 
and thrown on the ground one man has been counted as a crew. 
Crews of from one to three men are generally used when hauling in 
corn which has been thrown on the ground, and crews of two or three 
men are most commonly used for pulling and hauling. (See Table 
XXVI.) A few four-men crews were found, but the number of such 
crews is not sufficient to give a reliable average. 
Table XXVI. — Harvesting corn. 
Method. 
Bushels 
per acre. 
Crew. 
Num- 
ber of 
Average 
Men. 
Mules. 
reports. 
per day. 
1 
54 
3.43 
1 
10 
2.55 
1 
2 
10 
4.82 
2 
2 
33 
7.52 
3 1 2 
15 
8.95 
2 2 
11 
5.72 
3 2 
60 
6.58 
3 
2 
28 
4.78 
Acreage reported 
most freaueutlv. 
Pull and throw in piles 11 to 20 
Do 21 to 40 
Haul from piles \ 11 to 20 
Do 11 to 20 
Do.. I 11 to 20 
Pull and haul j 11 to 20 
Do ! 11 to 20 
Do 21 to 40 
C3 (16 reports). 
[5 (8 reports). 
Scattering. 
\1 (8 reports). 
1.8 (7 reports). 
Scattering. 
6 (5 reports). 
5 to 8 (31 reports). 
4 to 5 (14 reports). 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF CORN. 
The amount of labor required at each operation in the production 
of corn is shown in Table XXVII. It will be noticed that much of 
the work on corn is one-mule work. This is indicated by the fact 
that man labor and mule labor are practically the same. The term 
11 gather" as used in this table includes pulling and hauling corn 
from the field to the barn; it also includes pulling and throwing on 
the ground and then hauling in, and thus it is a term which includes 
more than the term " pulling." "Gather" is commonly used in this 
area to cover all the operations of harvesting. Cutting corn is an 
operation which is very seldom performed in this area. 
Table XXVII. — Labor requirements per acre on corn. 
Operation. 
Hours per acre. 
Num- 
ber of 
reports. 
Operation. 
Hours per acre. 
Num- 
ber of 
reports. 
Men. 
Mules. 
Men. 
Mules . 
1.4 
6.2 
1.5 
1.4 
4.7 
3.6 
1.3 
1.7 
1.6 
2.4 
11.9 
3.6 
1.5 
5. 5 
4.1 
1.9 
3.4 
1.0 
52 
72 
30 
128 
169 
81 
54 
87 
68 
Plant 
1.9 
1.3 
1.6 
2.8 
10.5 
3.6 
6.3 
1.3 
5.7 
1. 3 198 
Cover corn 
1.3 
.9 
2.8 
9.9 
3.7 
.Y 
3.5 
79 
Broadcast harrow 
Fertilize after planting . . . 
Bar off 
63 
6L 
Bed. 
198 
Rebed 
Cultivate middles 
156 
160 
127 
Fertilize before planting. . 
Gather 
198 
