6 BULLETIN 1181, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRIGtTLTURE. 
Variations in labor requirements may fall in the period of prep- 
aration or cultivation without affecting the harvesting require- 
ments; they may fall in the harvesting period only, or they may 
affect all operations. 
THE BASIS OF ACREAGE. 
All of the charts are constructed on the basis of the labor require- 
ments of 10 acres of the designated crop, except radishes, cherries, 
strawberries in bearing, blackberries in bearing, and pears, for which 
the charts are on the basis of 1 acre. The chart for rice is on a 100- 
acre basis, but the scale of this chart is multiplied by 10, so that the 
chart is exactly as it would appear for 10 acres with the normal scale 
that is used for small grain. 
It is believed that it is better to construct these charts on the 10- 
acre basis, because most farmers think in terms of 10 acres more 
readily than in terms of 1 acre. The rice grower, however, thinks in 
terms of 100 acres or more, and so do the wheat growers of the West 
and Northwest. For Arkansas conditions, however, the 10-acre basis 
is preferable for all crops but rice, on the one hand, and the very 
intensive crops on the other. 
No matter what acreage a farmer may have in any crop, he can 
calculate the labor required by consulting the tables and multiplying 
the figures therein by the proper factor. The labor on 25 acres of 
wheat, for instance, would be approximately two and one-half times 
that on 10 acres. 
THE SCALE OF REPRESENTATION. 
Two scales are used for all charts made on the 10-acre basis. 
Cotton, (?orn, small grains, and all kinds of hay are charted on a scale 
of 5, 10, 15, etc., and fruits and vegetables are charted on a scale of 
10, 20, 30, etc. Those charts that are constructed on the 1-acre basis, 
have a scale of 5, 10, 15, etc., and the rice chart uses a scale of 50, 100, 
150, etc. 
In gathering the data on labor requirements for this bulletin, it was 
found that an average of the estimates of 6 farmers was not materially 
different from an average of 10 to 12 estimates, hence 6 was the 
average number used. 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIED CROPS. 
The amount of labor by months required for the different crops is 
given in Table 3 and in charts which are based on these figures. The 
amount of labor can be more easily seen from the charts than from 
the figures, but in making calculations for his own use a farmer can 
use the figures more easily than the charts. The charts merely 
visualize the figures. 
The amount of labor by operations or groups of operations is given 
in separate tables contained in the legends of the various charts. It 
is desirable to have the data by operations both for cost purposes 
and for calculating the seasonal distribution of labor. If the yield is 
larger or smaller than is assumed in making the chart, it will modify 
the figures in the table for the harvesting period and for no other. 
All figures in Table 3 are on the basis of the time necessary for one 
man and one horse to do the work required. 
