| OCR Text |
Show AGRICULTURAL EFFICIENCY ON THE FARM Tlirco Important Ways of Making Farm Tinbor More jfvff tclont In Fluid Operation!. Agricultural efficiency, In this national na-tional emergency, Is In considerable measure a matter of efficiency In tha use of farm machinery. Man labels labe-ls scarce. The lack must bo made up largely by better utilisation of men, horses, and tractors now on farms. There are three Important ways In which our more efficient farmers Im-prore Im-prore on traditional methods of using labor for field operations, namely: (1) They Increase the horsepower horsepow-er per man by Increasing the slzo of teams. (2) They Increase the area cot ered per man and per team by substituting sub-stituting large-elied Implements for smaller ones. (3) They Increase the area covered cov-ered In a given time by Increasing the stse of fields. To Increase horsepower per man tljo farmer mero'y drives a threo-horse threo-horse team where before ho drove but two horses, or a four-horse or five horse team lnstoad of a three, horse team. This Is perhaps tho simplest sim-plest expedient for increasing labor efficiency on the farm, and one which Is already very generally practiced by our farmers. Where horso labor is abundant and man labor scarco doubling up teams effects a material Bavins of labor, even without anv Increase In the size- of Implements used, since naturally tho largo team works more easily and moro rapidly than tho smaller one. When the doubling of teams Is accompanied ac-companied by the Introduction of larger Implements, a further saving of man labor and of time Is effected. For example, one man with a two-row two-row cultivator will cultivate twico tho crope area per day covered by tho man with o one-row cultivator. Thus, too, under favorablo conditions, condi-tions, an 8-foot mower or binder will cover much moro ground In a day than will a C-foot machine. Similar economics may bo affected with other machines, such as harrows, sulky plows, hay-rakes, and tho llko, especially es-pecially In tho eastern states, where small-sized Implements nro tho rulo. In general, the larger sized machines cost but llttlo moro than tho smaller ones; Indeed the dlffcrenco Is usually usual-ly bo small that ono season's saving In man labor through tiro uso of a big machine will often pay tho excess In its cost over that of ono of a smaller small-er size. The farmer should always buy the largest Implement that will be practical on hla land. It is false economy to buy a smaller ono. , Resort to the third cxpedlont for increasing labor efficiency In field operations, namely, enlarging fields, depends In great measure, on tho lay of tho land. Whore tho land is level or rolling and two adjoining fields to be plowed can bo plowed as one If tho fence between Is removed, it Is often worth while to tear away tho 1 fence nnd throw tho two fields Into one. Thus tho straightaway r achoj In plowing and other orperatlons are lengthened and much of tho time Is saved that otherwise would be lost in turning. Incidentally, this procedure pro-cedure brlngn under cultivation tho waste land In tho fence row. ' Farm management studies havo shown that the size of farm is a controlling; con-trolling; factor as regards efficiency In the uso of man labor, horso labor, and macHinery on farms. That is to say, other tilings being equal, tha larger tho farm the moro crop acres worked per man. It Is not possible, of course, for tho averago farmer to lncreaso the slzo of Ills farm at will to meet an emergency, but many will find It possible to gain at onco a measure of tho advantage of a largo farm by making their fields as largo and ar lew In number as Is possible under the conditions of topography and rotation. For tho tractor owner thoro nro certain special expedients that may bo resorted to in this crisis. If work offers and proficient operators are available for two shifts, he should work his output 24 hours a day. Tho tractorhnt works all night as well as all day Is the equivalent of two Buch tractors working 12 hours. Tho nvorago tractor owner Is In position to render effective aid in tho production produc-tion campaign by helping thoso of his neighbors who may bo behindhand j with their spring work, and In many lnstnnces, no doubt, a wcok of night work by a tractor will go far toward solving tho Imniedlato lnbor problem prob-lem of tho neighborhood. At any rate It Is tho obvious duty of the-tracctor the-tracctor owner to do all tho custom work ho can do this spring without neglecting his own work. It should bo forne In mind In this connection that oxperlenco hns shown that In working exceptionally long hours with tractors It is generally tho best practice to havo ono man In full chargo of tho outfit nnd responsible respon-sible for tho adjustments and repairs. |
