There is a growing opinion among farmers in the part of Chester County where these records were taken that midsummer plowing should not be done, but the preparation for wheat, for alfalfa, and for timothy and clover seeded in August should be with disk and surface harrows only. This opinion is backed up by demonstrations from a number of farmers. They reason (1) that it is very hard to compact the soil after plowing at this season of the year so as to obtain good moisture conditions for seeding; and (2) that by plowing the farmer turns under roots, stubble, and other humus material and brings up soil containing less humus, which makes the field more apt to wash badly during the winter and early spring season. If disk harrowing is done at the proper time there is very little difficulty in working under stubble or manure and obtaining a firm, fine seed bed. There is little difference, however, between the two systems in the amount of labor required. When fertilizer is applied for corn it is distributed broadcast more often than in the planter; on the other hand, fertilizer for potatoes is seldom broadcasted, but applied in the row at the time of planting. The practice of applying lime once during the rotation is increasing. Years ago farmers used burned lime freely, and many farms in the county still show abandoned lime kilns. Then the practice of using commercial fertilizers gradually replaced the general custom of applying lime until the soils got into such a condition that the practice of liming the soil had to be resumed. The application of caustic lime in the form of burned stone lime, slaked, and applied by hand is gradually being superseded by the use of ground stone lime, prepared hydrated lime, or finely ground limestone. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that burned or stone lime must be slaked before applying while the pulverized forms of lime or limestone can be handled more conveniently by a distributor. In fact, it was impossible to obtain sufficient labor data for handling lime by hand, as the lime spreader is generally used. Lime is usually applied at the time of preparation for wheat, for clover and timothy, or for alfalfa in order to obtain a good stand of these legumes. While these farmers grow from 1 to 5 acres of potatoes, or an average of about 4 acres, this crop, as a rule, has not given profitable yields; the average yield on the farms visited was only 84 bushels per acre. The cause of this low yield is not easily determined, and it might well be made the subject of investigation and experimental work. Very little spraying is done for blight; what spraying is done is usually to apply poison for the potato beetle. The potato planter is generally used among the larger growers, but digging is more often done by the potato plow type of implement than by the elevator type of machine. The ordinary method of seeding to clover and grasses in the region studied is to drill in timothy at the time of seeding wheat and broadcast clover in the spring before the ground has settled. The dry and hot weather in summer has a tendency to burn out the young clover in wheat. Hence, the practice of preparing wheat stubble and seeding both clover and timothy in August obviates this difficulty and this method of seeding is being more generally practiced. The results obtained seem to justify the additional labor required for preparation and seeding. The writer has observed many excellent crops of clover obtained by this method of seeding, whereas by the old method it is quite common to see an overabundance of white top and other weeds. Where seeding clover in wheat is still done, clipping the wheat stubble in July or August has resulted in a better and cleaner growth the following year. The practice of mixing alfalfa with clover and timothy for August seeding is strongly recommended by a few farmers in order not only to assist in inoculating the soil with the alfalfa bacteria, but also to improve the quality of hay. The following seed mixture has given good results: 5 to 6 quarts of alfalfa, 4 quarts o red clover, 3 quarts of alsike clover, and 2 to 3 quarts of timothy. This will usually give two cuttings annually, and sometimes three cuttings. The first will be largely of timothy and clover and the later cuttings almost pure alfalfa.1 Under good weather conditions, clover and timothy hay requires very little handwork except in loading and storing, and a hay loader is used on many farms. The advantage of its use, however, is doubtful with clover and alfalfa. Hay caps for protecting alfalfa are used only on a few of the farms visited, but those who do use them believe that they are of decided advantage, with very little additional labor in harvesting, and that the increased value of the hay, due to improvement in quality, is sufficient to justify their use. This improvement in quality is due to the saving of the leaves of the plant and the preservation of its original green color. The soy bean, in labor requirements, does not seriously compete with other field crops. While the preparation of oats usually interferes with the planting of corn or potatoes, ground for soy beans, on the other hand, may be prepared and planted after corn has been planted, and the crop can be harvested for hay before silo-filling time, or as grain after the corn crop has been cut. In either case, the land can be cleared in time to sow to fall grain. 1 In order to be sure of a permanent stand of alfalfa, farmers should give attention to the essentials as to the quality of seed, use of lime, inoculation, and the preparation of the seed bed for alfalfa adopted by successful growers as the result of years of experience in the region and other regions having similar agricultural conditions. AVAILABLE TIME FOR FIELD OPERATIONS. In order to determine whether it is possible to carry out a proposed cropping system with a certain amount of man or horse labor, it is necessary to know the approximate number of days available for field work and the average length of the workday. This is given in Table I on a monthly basis. Data. TABLE 1.-Available days for field work and hours in workday. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. These figures were the averages of 195 farmers' estimates. The farmer was asked to give the average number of days actually available for field work each month, after deducting Sundays, rainy days, and days when the condition of the soil would prevent field operations. Plowing is sometimes done in December and March, but the figures in those months include also the time spent in hauling manure. An average of three days each for January and February also represents time spent in the same work. TABLE II.-Number of days (exclusive of rainy days and Sundays) available for the several field operations. 1 This does not include thrashing which is hired done. 2 Includes seeding clover and timothy in August, or timothy alone with wheat. In the latter case clover is seeded Apr. 1 to 18 following. Table II gives the average number of days that labor can be performed in the field after deducting Sundays, rainy days, and days when the soil is unfit to cultivate, and the period of seeding, cultivating and harvesting of six of the principal crops in this region. The application of these data will be made when it is necessary to determine whether it is possible to prepare the field, plant, cultivate, or harvest certain acreages of crops with a given field force. The preparation for corn, oats, and potatoes to a certain extent overlaps, and the farmer not infrequently plans for a greater acreage than can be planted within the limits of successful crop production. Moreover, in the case of a late spring, it is important to figure on the extra labor necessary to carry out the cropping plan or else reduce the acreage of these crops within the limits of the regular farm labor. 1 PERIOD OF PERFORMING FIELD OPERATIONS. There is a considerable variation in the length of season for doing various farm operations, according to the 165 labor records, yet the average of these data obtained and charted is not far from the actual period in which most of the farmers perform these operations; at least it is sufficiently accurate to use as a guide in planning the cropping system. Figure 1 gives the period of performance of the various farm operations for corn, potatoes, oats, wheat, clover and timothy, and alfalfa. SUCCESSION OF OPERATIONS. Before any plan can be worked out showing the labor requirements and the general distribution of labor, the succession of farm operations with any crop must be known. The aim has been to standardize the field operations and arrange them in the order in which they are usually performed. There is considerable variation even among the more successful farmers in the manner of preparing the ground and handling the crop. The outline which follows gives the order which the greatest number of these farmers follow, with the important variations. CORN. (1) Manuring.—On sod, August to December; on stubble, early spring; 12 tons to acre. (2) Plowing.-Generally in spring; 12 or 14 inches, walking plow. (3) Rolling or planking.-Immediately after plowing. (4) Harrowing.-Majority use 4-horse double disk, working once each way, following with spring-tooth or spike-tooth harrow. Forty-five per cent of these farmers use spring-tooth harrow only, harrowing two to four times in different directions. (5) Drilling fertilizer.—With grain drill. (6) Rolling or planking. (7) Planting.—With two-row planter. (8) Weeding.-Spike-tooth harrow used before regular cultivation begins. (9) Cultivating.-Usually four times with 2-horse and once with 1-horse. (10) Cutting and shocking.-By hand, 36 hills to shock, binder used occasionally for silage corn. (11) Husking and hauling. (12) Hauling stalks. POTATOES. (1) Manuring.-Late fall, winter, or early spring. (2) Plowing.—In spring; 12 to 14 inches, walking plow. (3) Rolling or planking.-Following plowing. (4) Harrowing.-Disk used by 57 per cent of 33 farmers, from whom records were obtained, followed by spike-tooth or spring-tooth harrow; remainder use spring-tooth harrow only, working two or three times. (5) Planting.-Few of these farmers plant by hand. (6) Weeding. With spike-tooth harrow, working twice. (7) Cultivation.-Four or five times with riding cultivator. (8) Spraying.-One to three times for potato beetles; few spray for blight. (9) Digging, picking, and hauling.-Many use potato plow type of digger; potatoes usually stored in cellar. OATS. (1) Plowing.-Usually in spring, sometimes the fall before (oat ground is always plowed). (2) Rolling.-After plowing; sometimes before seeding. (3) Harrowing.Spring-tooth harrow generally used by these farmers, working the field twice. (4) Seeding. With 6 to 10 foot drill. (5) Cutting, shocking, and hauling. (6) Thrashing. 77590°-Bull. 528-17-2 |