STANDARDS OF LABOR. 
13 
cultivating the row. The operation of cultivating middles, or 
breaking middles, is one which may require from one to three furrows 
with a single plow or one-horse harrow. However, in Table XV, 
where this operation appears, all middle work is one furrow or single 
trip to the row. 
Table XV. — Cultivating cotton with single plow or harrow. 
Width of row. 
Crew. 
Num- 
ber of 
reports. 
Average 
acreage 
per day. 
Acreage reported 
Men. 
Mules. 
most f requently. 
Cultivating cotton without 
scraping: 
3Heet - 
4 feet 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
10 
10 
10 
40 
34 
54 
32 
10 
70 
45 
6.75 
7.80 
6.85 
3.48 
3.35 
3.33 
3.70 
6.00 
6.97 
7.28 
Scattering. 
Do 
8 (9 reports). 
Do 
.do 
6 (5 reports). 
3ifeet 
3i (23 reports). 
Do 
4feet 
4 (24 reports). 
Cultivating following scrap- 
ing: 
3.\feet 
/3 (18 reports). 
\3i (21 reports). 
4 (17 reports). 
Do.. 
4 feet 
Cultivating middles: 
3 feet , 
6 (10 reports). 
Do 
3£feet 
/6( 22 reports). 
\7( 29 reports). 
(7 (6 reports). 
\8 (28 reports). 
Do 
4 feet 
The first operation in harvesting the cotton crop is picking. The 
records available on this work indicate that on the average an adult 
will pick 130 pounds per day in cotton averaging 636 pounds of seed 
cotton per acre. Most individuals can easily pick more than this, but 
when the work of a large number of pickers (men and women, but 
no children) is averaged for the whole picking season, it is found that 
130 pounds is a normal day's work. There are many individuals 
who can easily pick 250 to 300 pounds per day, but the average of 
even these pickers for the whole season is far below such figures. 
High averages are made by individuals only during the first picking 
or by working long hours. Many pickers do not work full days on 
account of heavy dews in the morning. 
HAULING COTTON. 
Hauling to the gin is the second operation in harvesting the cotton 
crop. (See Table XVI.) In many instances hauling to the gin and 
marketing can not be separated, because the gin patronized is located 
in the town where the crop is sold. The cotton may be sold at the 
gin yard or hauled immediately after ginning to a near-by merchant 
or cotton buyer, thus saving a trip to town for the purpose of selling 
the crop. A large part of the time required for hauling cotton to the 
gin is consumed in waiting one's turn at the gin. (See fig. 5.) In 
marketing, a considerable amount of time is spent in seeking the 
highest bidder, weighing the cotton, and settling accounts. 
