PART I.-CHESTER COUNTY (PA) DATA.

The purpose of this bulletin is (1) to set forth the actual labor distribution that prevails on farms profitably conducted in a particularly successful farming community, and (2) to show how these data may be applied profitably in replanning a farm of the type covered in the survey upon which this study is based.

It often happens that when a farmer undertakes to put into operation a new system he encounters grave and unforeseen difficulties through the conflict of the labor and equipment demands of his different enterprises. Even more frequently it happens that long existing farming systems chronically suffer in their operations through the strenuous labor demands of certain seasons and through the enforced idleness of others. When an abundance of day labor, both man and horse, is easily and continually available, the problem is never a serious one. There is, however, a great advantage in being able to employ labor by the season or by the year, and it is practically necessary to keep on the farm horses and equipment adequate to

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meet the maximum demands of the rush season. It is important, therefore, that the farmer contemplating a change in his cropping system should have some method by which he may measure the labor requirements of a proposed system to determine its feasibility under his limitations as to labor and equipment. It is equally important for the farmer who is already encountering difficulties through conflicting labor demands to be able to make an analysis of his system with a view to making changes that will obviate these difficulties. It is to give these farmers a basis upon which to plan with reference to seasonal distribution of labor that this bulletin has been prepared.

TERRITORY SURVEYED AND METHOD USED.

The region studied was the southern part of Chester County, Pa. It extends from the Maryland line on the south to the Chester valley on the north, and from the more broken region in the western part of the county to the vicinity of West Chester on the east. It includes the region already covered by a farm-management survey1 made by this department, and, in addition, areas outside of this area having similar agricultural conditions.

This special study was conducted in the summer of 1915. Only the more successful farms were visited, that is, those yielding labor incomes above the average found in the previous farm management survey. In that study the average of 389 farm owners was $789. The 215 farmers visited were selected from this list except a few from closely adjoining territory. The object of this survey was to study the farm practice and labor efficiency of well-managed farms, to the exclusion of others.

By "labor income" is meant the amount of money that the farmer has left after paying all business expenses of the farm and deducting 5 per cent for interest on the money invested in the farm business. By "farm practice" in this connection is meant the general order of performing the various farm operations, from the application of manure, plowing, and preparation of seed bed to the marketing of the crop. Data as to the different types of implements and other equipment used, information concerning the use of commercial fertilizers, the methods of cultivation employed, and the yield and disposition of the products were obtained in the study of farm practice.

By "labor efficiency" is meant the number of loads or tons handled or the area covered by an implement with a definite crew of men and horses, in a day or other unit of time, for every operation in the growing of the crop. In this connection estimates were obtained from the farmer as to the number of days actually available for field work throughout the growing season, the number of days actually worked

"Farm Management Practice in Chester County Pa.," U. S. Dept. Bulletin No. 341.

in hauling manure or marketing a crop in winter, and the average number of hours worked per day for each month. From the data on the distribution and efficiency of labor, factors have been worked out by which it is possible to calculate very closely the amount of horse and man labor required for any cropping system and for any arrangement and acreage of crops, provided of course that topography, climate, and other conditions approximate those that obtain where this study was made."

The second part of the bulletin illustrates the application of these data and the factors derived therefrom in the operation of a typical Chester County farm, offering a concrete example that may be used to more or less advantage by the farmer who wishes to replan his farming system along the lines here suggested.

LABOR EFFICIENCY AS AFFECTED BY SOIL, TOPOGRAPHY, AND FIELD ARRANGEMENT.

The average efficiency for any crew working tillage machinery will vary to some extent with the kind of soil, the size and shape of the field, the rough or rolling nature of the field, and the amount and distribution of rainfall. These things must be considered, therefore, when the following data are to be used in regions where the conditions vary to any considerable extent from those that prevail in Chester County.

The surface soil of the Chester loam, which is mapped on the greater part of this area, is a mellow, soft, brown silty loam about 10 inches in average depth, sometimes varying from a silty to a heavy loam, or to a sandy or micaceous loam. Under average climatic conditions these soils work comparatively easily when 1,200 to 1,400 pound horses are used. The soil does not easily crust or bake. Under very dry conditions it is sometimes rather difficult to plow, and some allowance should be made if clover, timothy, or alfalfa seedings are to be made in August.

The general shape of the field has much to do with the efficiency of horse labor. Where the topography is rolling and but little broken by rough wooded areas or streams the general arrangement of the fields may be changed to economize labor. In Chester County, however, we have conditions very hard to change, since the area studied is often much broken by small streams with adjacent steep slopes, often wooded, dividing the farming area into natural divisions with irregularly shaped fields which require an unusual amount of horse labor in handling farm machinery.

It is for this reason, probably, that the average number of crop acres per horse on the farms visited is less than on the farms surveyed in certain other regions. On many farms visited, however, a rear

1 Soll Survey of Chester County, Pa.

rangement of fields would no doubt be a strong factor in enhancing labor efficiency. Long rectangular fields require a minimum of turning, and therefore entail the least waste of time in handling implements, and there is little doubt that the averages in the labor requirements given in the following tables could be reduced if due attention were given to this detail.

The climatic conditions in this region are comparatively uniform. The average amount of rainfall for 33 years at Kennett Square is 49 inches, and the average monthly rainfall for the six summer months during this period is 4.6 inches. Under good soil management, such as has been followed on the farms visited, the soils are generally retentive of moisture, intertilled grain crops suffer but little, and the season is exceptional that forces the farmer to break the regular routine of plowing or preparation for seeding.

TYPES OF FARMING.

Few agricultural regions have a more uniform type of farming than that found in southern and central Chester County. The character of the soil is especially adapted to the growing of forage crops and grain, especially corn, wheat, clover, and timothy. These favorable conditions and the fact that this region is convenient to good markets-Philadelphia, Pa., and Wilmington, Del.—is probably the reason why general farming and dairying is the principal type of farming in this region. The systems of farming followed have not materially changed in the last 50 years.

The fruit industry until recently has been confined to the home orchard, which, as a rule, has received but little care and has given but little return. However, on selected slopes where the drainage is good, apples are now commanding increased attention. A number of new orchards have been planted, and the returns from those orchards which have begun to bear indicate a future for the fruit industry.

Hitherto soy beans have not been grown in Chester County to any great extent, but it is believed that this is a crop which may profitably take the place of oats in the rotation. The acreage in oats has decreased in recent years. Evidently the farmers are finding this crop unprofitable. Soy beans have been successfully grown by a few Chester County farmers, and their great advantage from a farm management standpoint, in that the product has a high feeding value, can be harvested for hay or grain, and that the crop has considerable influence in soil improvement, makes this legume a promising crop for this region.

Three years ago less than 1 per cent of the farmers visited grew alfalfa, but the acreage has been rapidly increasing since then.

How

ever, if alfalfa becomes a prominent hay crop, this may have a marked effect on the cropping systems.

The production of corn, wheat, and hay combined with live stockgenerally dairy cattle-brings the most uniformly profitable returns to the Chester County farmer. Beef cattle are found only on a few of the larger farms.

The rotation generally practiced by all farmers, as well as as those visited, is as follows:

1. Corn planted on timothy sod, usually harvested for grain, but sometimes for silage.

2. Corn for silage, potatoes, oats, or soy beans.

3. Wheat.

4. Clover and timothy for hay.

5. Timothy for hay, one or two years.

There is practically no change in the order of succession of these crops, and all variations usually come the second year after breaking the sod.

VARIATIONS IN METHOD.

Manure is generally applied for corn, potatoes, alfalfa, and often as a top dressing on mowing land and pasture. It is seldom applied for wheat or oats. About 50 to 60 per cent of the 165 farmers from whom labor records were obtained haul out manure only in the spring and fall, 5 to 10 per cent do so daily, and the remainder weekly. There is little difficulty, however, in finding a place to spread manure profitably at any season of the year.

The greater number of these farmers plow in the spring, though considerable areas of sod are often fall plowed. Except on steep slopes, which are apt to wash badiy, fall plowing of sod is of advantage because it will facilitate spring work.

There is more or less variation even among the best farmers in the preparation for seeding. It is their universal practice, however, to roll or plank-drag a field immediately after plowing, to compact the soil, level, and give a surface better fitted for the action of the harrow which follows. The majority of these farmers use a disk harrow, working it one or more times for each crop, which is usually followed by a spike-tooth smoothing or a spring-tooth harrow, finishing the preparation with a roller or plank-drag. Until recently the springtooth harrow was generally used on these farms, but this is being replaced by the disk harrow. A large number of these successful farmers, however, entirely prepare for seeding with a spring-tooth harrow and a plank-drag. The spike-tooth harrow is not in as general use here as in some other regions, and is used largely in surface finishing, preparatory to seeding and for harrowing corn or potatoes just preceding cultivation. The weeder is little used, its place being taken by the spike-tooth harrow.