Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-05-03
Relative Merits
of Farm Methods
and Implements

dinerent sizes, tno Na'ue "
tractor compared With horses, the
saving effected by corn binders. hay
leaders, and numerous other impie-
monts, and other facts bearing on
farm MANAGEMENT arc discussed hy
specialists OF tho Office OF tarm
management. department or asricul-
ture. In a bulletin recently Issued,
The publication discusses In detau
the standard days work In ccn'rni
Illinois: that Is, the amount OF WORK
that the 500 farmers included ~ the
investigation ordinarily do In shat
part of the work day devoted 20 a
given farm operation, such as the
number OF acres plowed with a gwen
equipment. In Some instances the
rate OF work Ia given In the bulletin
OF minutes per load, as in LOADING
and unloading hay. or hauling ana
spreading manure.
From the figures published one
may get an idea OF the rate et which
different farm operations are done
I'm the parts OF the corn belt In ques-
ton. For example, II Is shown that
one man does from 20 to SO per cent
more with the 2S-inch horse drawn
gang pillow than with the ono-bottom
16-inch pillow.
Figures are given for spring and
fall blowing. narrowing. planting,
cultivating. harvesting, huskins.
seeding, unloading ear corn. unload
ing oats, loading and unloading hay.
and hauling and spreading manure.
The farms represented by this In
quiry are fairly typical OF those
turnout the middle western states,
since the average crop area Is 1914
acres and an average Of S2.1 acres is
never planted to crops. Corn is the
principal product. at least one-half
OF the crop area being devoted TO II,
and the oat crop Is second In i'm
portance. The ground cultivated In
most instances is level. and so rep
resents easier working conditions
than rolling or rugged country.
The average time spent in the
field, exclusive OF the time used in
going to and returning from the field.
at morning. noon. and night, IL re-
ported by these men as 10 hours and
10 minutes per day devoted to spring
field work and corn cultivation: 9
hours and IS minutes for haying and
grain harvesting: hours and 20
minutes for fall blowing and prepar-
ing ground; and 9 hours and 20
miputpS 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
a two-row corn cultivator is practi-
cable, this machine enables one man
on these farms to cover nearly twice
as much ground per day as with
one-row cultivator. Three horses
are most comomnly used on the two
row cultivator, and the addition OF n
| fourth horse apparently t..creea g . g
but little the amount of ground
| covered per day. s..
These farmers find that the use OF
| corn binder Increases the efficiency
OF man labor so per cent over that
| achieved when cutting and shocking
by hand.
Eighty bushels was an average
days work on these farms for one
man when hIsking corn from the
standing stalk by hand.
The use of a portable elevator re-
duces the time required to unload
grain into the bin by about IS per
| cent.
The use OF tho hay loader reduces
by about Is per cent the time re-
quired to put on a load OF hay. The
amount Of labor required for unload :
ing into the NOV is only a little
more than half as great when hay
| fork is used as when the work IS
done by hand.
manure spreaders haul and spread
u given amount Of manure In less
| than half the t;s1,a required by men
who haul in wagons and spread by
hand.
A large majority OF the men re-
porting. broadcast their small grain
using endgate seeders attached to the
box OF an ordinary wagon. Only
about 25 per cent OF the farmers re-
porting own grain drills.
The bulletin analyses each field
operation from the standpoint ol
man labor requirements. hnrse- labor
requirements, size OF machine. etc
/ tab hn lnNn
| blowing has been summarized ls
| typical of the way In which several
| subjects are treated. About so pei
| cent OF the farmers reported tho use
of sulky plows, about 50 per cent
stated that the use use horse
drawn piows, and II per cent re
ported the use of tractors for pillow
ing.
Sixtsen-lnch Suiky PIows Popular.
A large majority Of the farmers
use sixteen Inch sulky plows, nearly
all of them with three horses In tho
spring. Three acres is an average
days work for this outfit For the
! comparatively few farmers using IL
inch sulky plows with three horses
in spring. blowing about three acres
Is an average days work. While
theoretically the sixteen-inch pillow
should cover about l5 per cent more
ground in the same length OF time,
this apparently has not been found
true in practice.
Four. Horse Teams Preferred.
The greater number OF four horse
teams and even some Ave. horse
teams on fourteen-inch sulky plows
for fall blowing is accounted for by
the fact that blowing In the fall IL
usually about one-inch deeper than
in the spring. and also by the fact
that the ground is generally dry anu
hard to turn. On an average out
ATS Of the same size cover about a
1.le 49, Nn,y tvH hN "a