In 1848, this unnamed planter wrote two essays titled “A Day’s Work.” The articles enumerated exactly how much work a prime field hand could complete across an array of tasks. The prime hand could plow 20 to 24 miles (with allowances for turning the plow and team), open furrows for sowing 12 acres of cotton, drop cotton seed across 7 to 10 acres, and haul out 6 to 800 yards; in addition, three “good fellows” could “make a ditch 3 feet wide at top, 2 feet deep, and 2 feet wide at bottom, 220 yards long.”
