282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



nothing of our own time, and nothing being done at home while 

 absent; and many times cattle get into mischief when we are gone; 

 the eye of the master is not there. And the most important part 

 is our time, which is money. One of the queens of England 

 offered ^'millions of money for an inch of time." 



Now, if time is precious as that, how ought we to prize it ? I 

 have known farmers talking politics three hours at a time, which 

 was a dead loss to the farm and the nation. I will say nothing 

 about farmers' wives gadding about to get the news and spread it, 

 for the wives of successful and progressive farmers do not do it. 



If we hire men to do our work, and do nothing ourselves to pay 

 them, the farm must eventually go to the hammer; 



" For if by the plow we thrive, 

 Ourselves must either hold or drive." 



And it is poor economy to have more men than we can profitably 

 keep to work, for men that we hire take very little interest to 

 economize labor; it wants the oversight of the master with his 

 helping hand. It will not pay to hire our work done if we can 

 possibly get along without, and, in order to more fully illustrate, I 

 will mention a case that happened in my own neighborhood. An 

 old farmer that had cleared his farm brought up a large family, 

 three of which were sons. These he kept at work with himself; 

 and when the boys were old enough to take charge of the stock in 

 winter, the father kept school, and he was also Justice of the 

 Peace, and did some public business. In this way they worked 

 along until the oldest son wanted a farm to himself. One was 

 bought for him and paid for, and in a few years the second son 

 wanted one, and it was provided; and the old farm kept its acres 

 all in good order. Then the father died, and the youngest son 

 took the homestead. He also was a hard-working farmer, and 

 after a number of years he also died, and his only son and child 

 inherited the farm; but he did not like work very well, hired his 

 work done, and drove to the village himself; and in three years 

 the farm was sold under the hammer. 



Now, it may sometimes be best to have help, but we should 

 know how we are to pay for it. To illustrate still further, I will 

 mention a case in one of the western States, of a man that bought 

 a farm and thought he must have help, and he hired a good man. 

 "When the year came around he had to sell a cow or two to pay 

 him, and hired him another year, and at the end of the year he 



