Elbert County tribune and Elbert County banner., 1920-06-11

prepared by the United States Depart
meut of Agriculture
The relative efficiency of plows of
different sizes, the value of the tractor
compared with horses, the saving eff
fected by corn binders. hay leaders,
and numerous other implements, and
other facts bearing on farm manage
ment are. discussed by specialists of
the office OF farm management, in u
bulletin recently issued. The publica-
ton discusses in detail the standard
days work in central Illinois; that is.
the amount of work that the 600 farm
ers included in the investigation ordi-
narily do in that part of the work day
devoted to given farm operation.
such as the number of acres plowed
with given equipment In some in
stances the rate of work is given in
the bulletin in number of minutes per
load, as in loading and unloading hay,
or hauling and spreading manure.
From the figures Nlblished one may
get good idea of the RATE at which
different farm operations are done in
the parts Of the corn belt in question
does from 20 TO so per cent more with
the 2S-inch horse-drawn gang piow
than with the one-bottom 16-inch plow
Figures are given for spring and fall
plowing, narrowing. planting. clltivat-
ing. harvesting husking. seeding, un-
loading ear corn, unloading oats load
Ing and unloading hay, and hauling
and spreading manure. The bulletin
is entitled THE Standard Days Work
in Central Illinois," Copies may be
had by addressing the United States
department OF agriculture. Washing
ton, d. G.
The farms represented by this in
quiry are fairly typical of those
throughout the middle western states,
since the average crop area is 1874
acres and an average of 32.1 acres Is
never planted to crops. Corn is the
principal product, at least one-half Of
the crop area being devoted to 1t. and
the oat crop is second in Importance
The ground cultivated in most in
stances is level, and so represents cas-
Ter working conditions than rolling Off
rugged country.
exclusive of the time used in going
to and returning from the field at
morning, noon, and night, is reported
by these men as ten hours and ten
minutes per day devoted to spring
field work and corn cultivation; nine
hours and So minutes for haylng and
grain harvesting; nine hours and 30
minutes for fall plowing and preparing
ground: and nine hours and 20 min
utes for corn harvest.
Important Facts Emphasized.
Among the significant facts brought
out by this inquiry may be mentioned
the following:
Under conditions where the use of
two-ros corn cultiyator Is practicable
this machine enables one man on these
farms to cover nearly twice as much
ground per day as with a one-rOw culti-
vator. Three horses are most COM
monty used on the two-row cutlyator
and the addition of fourth horse ap-
parently increases but little the amount
of ground covered per day.
These farmers find that the use of
a corn binder increases the efficiency
achieved when cutting and shocking by
hand.
Eighty bushels was an average days
work on these farms for one man when
husking c.rn from the standing stalk
by hand.
The use OF portable elevator re-
duces the time required to unload grain
into the bin by about 10 per cent
The use of hay loader reduces by
about % per cent the time required to
put on load of hay The amount of
labor required for unloading into the
NOV is only a little more than half
as great when hayfork is used as
when the work Is done by hand
The men in this territory who use
manure spreaders haTl and spread a
given amount of manure In less than
half the time required by men who
haul in wagons and spread by hand
A large majority of the men report
Ing broadcast their small grain. using
endgate seeders attached to the
box OF an ordinary wagon Only about
25 per cent Of the farmers reporting
own grain drills.
The bulletin analyses each field op-
Grafton from the standpoint of man
labor requirements. horse labor re-
quirements. size of machine, etc. The
manner in which the data on blowing
have been summarized is typical of the
way In which several subjects are
treated. About so per ceut of the
farmers reported the use Of sulky