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f Shall Business in Miss. Perish? OR Shall Business in Miss. Be Preserved? V People of the State; You must answer the Question. t ' ‘ 4 Believing- that only the Legislature can solve the seri f ous problems arising out of the present fire insurance situa tion, a view held very generally over the State by farmers, | laboring men, business men and professional men, we urge S you to sign the petition now being circulated requesting Governor Lee M. Russell to call an extra session of the Leg islature at once to enact such legislation as will enable the fire insurance companies which has retired to again operate I in our State. An extra session of the Legislature, we believe, is the only way to get our State back to normal and bring about a revival of business and restoration of confidence. Dependable Fire Insurance is the foundation of all credit throughout the world. f $. ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AGENTS. You -s very Irulv, L. D. CALDWELL, Secretary. inTifrraHri 'w if. w t im—TTnw*—rygi & ___ ) •I The “Federal Reserve System” of Banks is a mighty power V in finance—the greate^ in the whole world. It was created by the U- S. Government for the protection of Depositors and to de velop agriculture, commerce and industry. It gives our customers greater safety* tor their money and greater advantages and benefits in their business. We invite YOUR Banking Business. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI ' . (Told Phosphate II m M im IB M We also have GARDEN FERTILIZER, Bone ;; Meal, Kanit and Nitrate of Soda. Prices are now getting right and we can \ well afford to invest a little money in fertilizer. Water Melon Seed 50c per Pound LAFAYETTE COUNTY FARM BUREAU $ HORSES AND TRACTORS ON MELT FARMS. Cost of Using Horses Shown In Year’s Work. investigations in Three States On Cost and Utilization of Power Show mat Tractor Displaces 2.1 Horses Average Lite oi Tractor More Than Six Years. During October and November, 1920 rOf>rebcntuuvt.-’ of tne United Stales Department of Agriculture visited 280 tractor-owners in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. A complete record of all the work done during the year both with tractors and horses was obtained from each farmer. Information from which the cost of using the tractor and the cost of maintaining the work stock could be determined was also obtained. The investigation was made through the co-operative efforts of the bureau of Animal Industry, Oltice of Farm Management and Farm Economics and the bureau of Public Koads, in accordance with plans outlined at the Farm Power Conference at Chicago, ill., in October, 1919. The object was to obtain information in addition to that already available in the Depart ment of Agriculture, which would aid in determining advantageous forms of power for different farms and dif ferent conditions. Farms Above the Average in Size. The average size of the farms visit ed was 258 acres. This is consider ably above the average size of all farms in these States. Two-plow tractors were owned on 174 of the 286 farms, 3-plow tractors on 104, and 4-plow tractors on 6 I . _ __.> 1 iaims. unc ^1 machine, and one fanner owned a 5 plow machine. Two-plow machines were found on 75 per cent of the farms with less than 160 crop acres and on 53 per cent of those with 160 or more crop acres. One hundred and six ol the tractois had been in use 1 year, 100 had been in use 1 1-2 or 2 years, 49 had been in use 2 1-2 or 3 years, and 31 had been in use more than 3 years. On the average the tractors were used for 30.8 full days during the year covered by the investigation. Twenty-three and five-tenths of this was drawbar work on the home farm, 2.7 days was belt work* and 4.6 days was custom work. Seventy-three of the 286 tractors did less than 20 days of work during the year and 26 did 50 or more days work. # The number of woikstock still own ed varied from 2 head on 11 of the farms to more than 15 on 5 of the large farms. On the average there were 6.8 head per farm at the time of the survey, and their value was $145 per head. In all there were 1 878 head of workstock on the 286 farms and 111 colts less than 1 year of age. Farm Horse Works One Day in Five. The average number of full days work per year per horse, for all farms was 68.6. On 20 of the farms the woikstock did less than 40 full days work and on 27 thev did 100 or more days work per vear. The tractors did 85 ner cent of the plowing on these farms, 73 per cent of the disking, 43 per cent nf the har rowing, planking, rolling and pack ing, 41 per cent of the grain cutting, and about 15 per cent of the loading and hauling of hay. ! Of 267 men who did spring plowing, 142 did it all with tractors and horses, and 4 used horses only. | Of 225 who did fall plowing, 190 did jit all with tractors, 27 used both trac tors and horses, and 8 used horses j only. I Of 284 men who did disking all but 15 used tractors for at least a part of it. (5ne hundred and thirty men used their tractors for cutting grain and 37 for drawing the hay loader. A small er number used their tractors for any other drawbar operation. I In all, the power for 30 per cent of the drawbar work on these farms, as measured by days of horse labor required for it, was furnished by trac tors and the remainder bv horses. I The average cost per head of keep ! ing workstock on these farms for the year ending November 1, 1920, was $159, and the average cost per farm was $1,076. This cost includes chrges for feed at the average [nice for the year, chores at 25 cents per hour, shoeing, veteri nary, harness, interest at 6 per cent, and depreciation. A manure credit of $15 per head was allowed. Costs 45 Cents Daily to Feed Horse Exclusive of grass and stalk pas ture, the average ration per horse I consisted of 1.3 tons of hay, 1.2 tons 'of straw, 0.2 acre of stover, 37.8 bushels of corn, and 22.3 bushels of oats. The total cost of feed per head was $134. Based on present prices (March, 1921) the cost of feed per head would be about $80. The average cost per day of horse ■ labor for the year of the survey was .$2.43. Based on present prices the cost on these farms would be not far 'from $1.50 per day. ! The average first cost of the 2-plowr tractors was $972, of the 3-plow trac i tors $1,354, and of all tractors $1,140. The average amount speht for equip ment, mostly plows and disks, for use with tractors was about $340. The average value of the horse-drawn im plements disposed of after the pur chase of the tractors was $12. The average life of these tractors as estimated by their owners is 6.7 years. The annual depreciation of the 2-plow trctors amounted to $164, and of the 3-plow $217. The annual cost of re pairs, including the value of the ow ner’s time spent in 1 repairing the tractors, was $39 for both the 2-plow^ and 3-plow sizes. The tractors had been out of commission when needed ! an average of about 2 days during I the year. A little over 50 per cent had not been out of commission at all when needed and about one in seven had been out of commission five days or more. The fuel consumption- per day for the 2-plow tractors varied from about 18 gallons for fall plowing to about 11 gallons for drawing the hay load er. For the 3-plow tractors, it varied from 23 gallons for plowing to 15 gal lons for drawing the hay loader. The 2- plow tractors covered 6.6 acres per day in plowing and the 3-plow ma chines 8.6 acres. The amount of fuel required per acre by the two sizes was practically the same, 2.8 gallons for the 2-plow and 2.7 gallons for the 3- plow tractors. Little Difference in Plowing Costs. The average cost per acre of power for the plowing done with 2-plow trac tors was about $2 and with the 3-plow about $2.20. The cost of power for the plowing done with horses on these farms was about $2.90 per acre. Bas ed on the present costs of keeping workstock the cost of power for plow ing with horses would be about $1.90 per acre. For most of the other op erations the cost of power when fur nished by horses was slightly less than when furnished by tractors. The cost per acre of power for disking with tractors was $0.67, with horses, $0.64'; for cutting grain With tractors, $0.67; with horses, $0.59. These figu res represent the cost of power only, and do not include eiteher the cost of man labor, or that of the implements used. The average cost per day of 2-plow tractor for drawbar work on the horhe farm was about $12.65, and of 3-plow tractors about $17.75. The total cost of power furnished by the tractors for drawbar work at home during the year averaged $341. This drawbar work on the home farm constituted 76 per cent of the total work done by the tractors, and only 76 per cent of the total annual charge for depreciation, repairs, and interest on investment, is included in it. No charges for taxes, insurance, or shelter are included in the costs for either the tractors or workstock. Nine of these men had started farm ing with tractors, and the remainder had increased the size of their farms by an average of about 20 acres since the tractors were purchased. There had been no change in size ami 24 had been decreased. It is probable, however, that in most cases the trac tor was not primarily responsible for the change in size of the farm. Tractor Beduccs Number of Work stock Needed. On the 172 farms where there had been no change in acreage the num ber of workstock had been reduced by 2.2 head, an average reduction of 26 per cent. Forty-four of these 172 men had not reduced the number of workstock, 62 had disDosed of 1 or 2 head. 43 had disposed of 3 or 4 head, and.23 of more than 4 head. On these 172 farms 1 horse had been kent for each 28 acres (total acres, not crop acres) before purchase of trac torSj and at. the time of the survey there was 1 horse for each 37.7 acres. For all the farms there had been an average of 1 horse for each 27.6 acres I before purchase of tractors, and there was in for each 37.9 acres at the time of the investigation. On the farms where there had been no change in acreage there had been 1 horse for each 21.5 crop acres before the pur chase of tractors, and there was 1 for each 29 crop acres at the time of the investigation. With the tractor’s doing the bulk of the work of plowing and fitting the grond, the cultivation of corn is the operation which requires the great est amount of horse labor in the shortest time on most of these farms. However, on only 105 of the 286 farms were all the workstock used for cultivation, and> on only 38 of the remainder were they all used for any other one operation. On just half of the farms all the workstock were not used for any one operation. Operating Costs May Be Reduced. There were great variations on in dividual farms in the cost of power furnished by both horses and tractors; and by more careful management many farmers could doubtless reduce this cost. Repair costs and fuel con sumption of the tractors could in many cases have been reduced by more careful operation. The cost of keeping workstock ' could have been reduced on many farms by more care ful feeding practices. The facts that on 20 of the farms the workstock did less than 40 days of work per head during the year, and that on half of the farms they were not all used for any single operation, indicate that on some fafms there are ^till morewurk-. stock than needed for the system of farming being practiced. The average annual cost of power for the drawbar work on the home farm which was done with /tractors was equal to the cost of keeping 2.1 head of workstock and this is prac tically the average number displaced per farm. On the basis of present j prices, however, the cost of keeping i workstock has declined considerably more than the cost of operating trac tors. Since, during the year covered by the investigation, the cost of power on the average farm was no greater than if it had all been furnished by horses, any saving in man labor costs, any gain due to getting a larger amount of work done in a given time, and any other advantages connected with the use of tractors which can not be measured directly in dollars and cents, might be considered clear profit. It is doubtful, however, if such gains were great enough to balance the cost of operating the tractors on , many of the farms where there was • no change in acreage and where no workstock were displaced. A torpid liver needs an overhauling With Heibine. Its benefits are im mediately apparent. Energy takes the place of laziness, appetite returns, and the hour of rest brings with it. sotmd, refreshing sleep. Price, 60c. Sold by A. H. Kendel, Oxford, Miss. ' * The fellow who put the jazz into music is in, a class by himself. He created nothing out of something. An exchange says that nine people are killed every hour in American ac cidents. Boiled down to fractions, that means that every five minutes * » some poor hick is three-fourths dead. Apply Ballard’s Snow Liniment to joints that ache. It relieves bone ache, muscle ache and neuralgic pain. Three sizes, 30c, 60c and $1.20 per bottle. Sold by A. H. Kendel, Oxford, Miss. Adv. If congress is unable to stir up any thing exciting we might turn to pro fessional baseball for a thriller—and a smeeller. I How Would You Lika to See What Irvin Nerhood (Pa.) Saw? -• * ‘One customer told me that after using one large package of Rat-Sdap. begot FORTY-EIGHT dead rats. How many more dead he couldn’t see. be doesn’t know. Remember rats breed fast and de stroy dollars’ worth of property. " 35c, 65c. f 1.25. Sold and guaranteed by WILEY BROS. AND A. H. KENDEL, OXFORD, MISS. * :V- v -' ■ :ih _ linRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHi [ LADIES SPRING SUITS . gUj We have just received a lot of Ladies Spring Suits of jj| H Manufacturers samples, in French serges and tricotins, || H some plain tailored, and some beautifully embroidered, |§ || some box coats, and some on longer lines, The ordin- || |u| ary prices were from $25.00 to $50.00 which we are || H now offering at prices ranging form $1 7.50 to $35.00. jp brO ' pH '■ .. '■ ' """ ■ 1 .. SI / r . "'S CHILDREN MIDDY SUITS Made Of Fine Quality White Middy Cloth Sizes 8 to 14 at the Special Price of $3.2."). . ——- ■—> Ladies qnd Misses Mddy Suits High grade workmanship, fit and materials specially priced at $5.50. r .."■.. — . Ladies muslin underwear, slip overs, long sleeve gowns, under skirts, and teddies, made of fine quality nainsooks lace and em broidery trimmed from $1.00 up. < r 40-inch high grade dark flower ed and striped voiles, also solid color., .40 inch french organdies at the very low price of 50 cents , per yard. ■■■— ■> i-m I McCall patterens for May are now in, we § g carry all sizes and styles in stock. Mail j| | orders filled the day received. | 9 THE LEADER 1 | OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI • I