THE FARMER*S MAGAZINE. 



267 



to the rescue, simply flsHng you to be lenient in your 

 criticisms, for tho reasons I have stated. I the more 

 readily introduce this subject, inasmuch as it is one that 

 has not hitherto had the attention of the Club drawn to it, 

 nor has it perhaps been so much discussed by the agricul- 

 tural public or the agricultural press as its importance 

 would seem to demand. At the same time, I do not flatter 

 myself that I am about to advance anything new; indeed, 

 this is very difficult upon any subject, much more so in one 

 of the character we are met this evening' to discuss. I have 

 often heard it said that we come here and talk about what 

 every practical man knows. I believe if gentlemen who 

 carp at our discussions would come amongst us, they would 

 find that their attainments in agricultural knowledge are 

 not quite so transcendent as they imagine, and that a great 

 deal of information on a variety of subjects connected with 

 their calling may be gathered from the business men who 

 frequent this Club. Labour has ever formed an important 

 item in the cost of farm operations ; but at the present day, 

 when so much stock is reared, such large crops are pro- 

 duced, and so much machinery is empliyed, the balance- 

 sheet shows that labour, upon the well- cultivated farm, 

 forms the largest item of expenditure ; therefore it appears 

 to me tbe time of the Club cannot be better occupied than 

 in considering what is the best mode of paying for that 

 which constitutes so large a proportion of our outgoings. 

 In the short space allotted for the discussions, I cannot 

 travel over the wide field of inquiry which the subject sug- 

 gests, but merely glance at a few of the more prominent 

 features of the question. One great advantage in the dis- 

 cussions of this Club is, that although we may not advance 

 anything new, and although we may fail in proposing or re- 

 commending the best system, the whole agricultural mind 

 is turned to the subject, and our sayings and doings are 

 thoroughly canvassed by the practical, and very often by 

 the unpractical, in their private coteries, or those discus- 

 sion forums — the market ordinsries. But, whatever may 

 be the opinion of parties outside, I am quite sure they will 

 agree with me, that the want of knowledge as to the best 

 mode of directing labour, and of the value of the various 

 operations in husbandry that manual labour has to perform, 

 has been the cause of many a good man's downfall. What- 

 ever may be the relative merits of day and piece work, 

 nothing will compensate a farmer for want of a practical 

 acquaintance with how much work a man can do in a day, 

 and the quality of that work when finished : hence the de- 

 sirability of young men thoroughly acquiring a knowledge 

 of the various operations of the farm. A man may ask his 

 neighbour what he ought to pay for a particular description 

 of work, but if he is no judge of that work when finished, 

 althougTi he does not suffer by parting with too much 

 money, iu all probability he will pay dearly through the in- 

 feriority of the work. On entering upon the several merits 

 of the day and piece work, I may observe that a farmer is 

 far from being so advantageously placed as the manufac- 

 turer in letting his work by the piece, inasmuch as it is 

 impossible for all the work of the farm to be performed on 

 that system ; a great deal, such as the feeding and tending 

 of stock, carrying com to market, and many of the field 

 operations, cannot be done othei-wise than by the day. 

 Again, the farmer has to contend with the elements ; and, 

 if ever so disposed to keep his men at piece work, the 

 ■weather frequently prevents him. Again, some farmers 

 are situated, like I am myself, with a good and well- 

 conducted set of men, whom he is disposed to keep all the 

 year through ; and at certain seasons, when work is not very 

 plentiful, there is no inducement to the farmer to set his 



men to piece work, which would have the effect of raising 

 his weekly expenditure. Still I think the system might be 

 advantageously extended; for I find upon farms where piece 

 work is generally adopted the work of tho farm is always 

 in a more forward state than where the day system prevails, 

 the men are better off, they are more active, and more 

 skilful. It is a well known fact in the commercial and 

 manufacturing world that those trades have been the most 

 successful, and have made the greatest progress, in which 

 piece work has been the rule ; and I think this may be 

 partly accounted for on the ground that the men feel an 

 interest in facilitating the various operations tipon which 

 they are employed : the energies of their minds are also 

 bent upon finding out easier and quicker methods of get- 

 ting over then- work. Put a set of men by the piece, at 

 once a rivalry is felt as to who shall do the most work, or, 

 to use their own words, be the " best man." If there is 

 any rivalry amongst a company of day workmen, it is too 

 frequently as to who shall do the least, and, in many cases, 

 who shall best deceive his master. Piece work, too, is the 

 readiest way of making a difference between the good and 

 indifferent labourer ; and the plan adopted by many mas- 

 ters who wish for it to be the rule, is to pay a comparatively 

 low price by the day, in order to induce their men the 

 more readily to take work. In treating this su'ijeet I have 

 thought it desirable to adopt, a course always favourably re- 

 ceived by the Club, viz., that of collecting evidence from 

 various counties of the systems pursued in each, with the 

 prices paid for farm work ; and before commencing to 

 read the correspondence, I will just allude to the popu- 

 lar notion, that farmers are bad correspondents. I have 

 foiind this idea a most fallacious one, ha\dng received 

 very prompt replies from nearly every farmer to 

 whom I wrote for information ; and I may add that 

 every letter is worthy of entire publication. I find 

 that most of my correspondents strongly recommend 

 piece woik whece practicable, and consider it would 

 be beneficial both to the employer and employed if it 

 were considerably extended. In the northern part of 

 England and in Scotland, I learn that there is not much 

 work done by the piece, in consequence of the practice of 

 having yearly or half-yearly servants— a mode of hiring 

 which meets with little favour or success in England, 

 although north of the Tweed it seems to be approved. A 

 correspondent, writing from West Shropshire, states : "In 

 the way ot hiiing farm-seirants, we have sad work every 

 year — men hiring for the year leaving just before their 

 valuable services are wanted, and if taken before magis- 

 trates, little redress can be obtained. The way I would 

 presume to suggest, would be hiring upon the sliding 

 scale, as a general rule amongst farmers. Thus: A man 

 at ^12 per year should have for November, December, and 

 January one-half; February, March, and October three- 

 fourths ; April and September full share ; and the re- 

 maining four months the wages increased to the amount 

 deducted from the short days before mentioned. This 

 plan, I feel sure, could not be objected to by any honest, 

 well-meaning servant." In most of the counties of Eng- 

 land it is carried-out to a considerable extent; and the 

 operations by the piece are hoeing of corn and rcot crops; 

 filling and spreading manure ; mowing grass and seeds ; 

 washing and shearing sheep; cutting, carting, stacking, 

 and thatching of corn ; laying and trimming hedges, 

 ditching, draining ;mangO!d pulling; turnip cleaning, Iieap- 

 ing, and covering ; cutting haulm, and thrashing Lent 

 corn. I have made particular inquiries on the important 

 subject of haiTesting ; for, since the introduction of 



T 2 



