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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



reaping machiues. Our peoi)le principally work in fami- 

 lies ; our prices have averaged the last few years upon our 

 large farms from 8s. to 10s. per acre, viz., to mow, tie, 

 rake, and siook. Many farmers have, of late years, let the 

 pitching to the waggoners at 6d. to 8d. per acre ; also, the 

 pitching from the waggon to the stack at the same price. 

 Thatching is done at Id. per yard ; draining 3ft. 9in. deep, 

 tipon a strong clay hottom, 2s. per chain; topping, tailing, 

 and heaping mangels and swedes, from 6s. to 10s. per acre. 

 I said before, I am quite in faiom* of piece work ; the men 

 will earn from 6d, to Is. per day more, and be cheaper for 

 the farmer. I bflieve I may say, we have a very fair lot 

 of men in Lincolnshire, but there is nothing like giving 

 them an interest in their work. I have worked my steam- 

 cultivating apparatus to great advantage this last year by 

 the piece ; I considered 5 acres with the narrow, and 

 7 acres with the wide implement, per day, upon strong 

 land, a fair day's work, including shiftings ; but, by the 

 piece my men have done considerably over the above 

 quantities. I give them (five men) 2s. per acre when 

 using the wide implement, and 3s. per acre when using 

 the narrow one; and we have averaged 7 acres with the 

 latter, and 10 acres with the former per day. I consider 

 this is very important, as we can only work this implement 

 a limited number of days in the year. I am very glad to 

 say I am well satisfied with my cultivating apparatus ; I 

 think it one of the greatest improvements of the day. I 

 am now working 16 horses, instead of 22, and those work- 

 ing much easier than before ; and what is more, steam 

 does what horses cannot do upon strong land." Mr. Dring 

 observes : " From my experience the subject for dis- 

 cussion at the Club is of great importance to farmers : 

 piece work is best for the labourer, as it gives him a greater 

 interest, puts him on his mettle, and is somewhat a pre- 

 ventive to idle habits." He goes on to say, " We have too 

 much done by the day, and too little by the piece, in this 

 district." The prices paid and system pursued are much 

 the same as stated by Mr. Sowerby. Mr. Dring also works 

 his steam cultivator by the piece at 6d. per acre per man. 

 He says : " This enables me to do a greater quantity in a 

 given time ; if not attended to with energy after harvest, 

 the game is lost." He closes his letter with the following 

 remarks — " Piece work is most important for the following 

 reasons: better cultivation, obtaining greater crops is now 

 the order of the day ; this can only be done by an extra 

 amount of labour per acre ; therefore our object as farmers 

 is to get ten men's work done by ei^jht men, and not eight 

 men's work done with ten men ; we wish to give an in- 

 ducement to get more work done ; this will be accom- 

 plished by piece work. For example, I am now stubbing 

 up a wood, and shall convert the land into tillage, which 

 costs ^£9 per acre ; if I had this done by day work I believe 

 it would cost nearer £20 per acre. By the latter system I 

 should make labour more scarce; scarcity of labour is equal 

 to dear money," Mr. J. A. Clarke writes : " In this neigh- 

 bourhood (the marsh district of Lincolnshire^ only a por- 

 tion of the men are hired for the harvest at IBs. to 25s. 

 per week for carting, &c., the largest proportion of 

 labourers working by the acre at prices varying with the 

 condition of the crops, and the quantity of imported labour ; 

 ■ mowing and raking white com at from 9s. to 21s. ; cutting 

 wheat averages 12s. to 13s. per acre. Draining with thorns 

 is common, and answers well on our sandy, silty subsoil, 

 and verj' cheap, costino lOd. per 24 lineal yards, the farmer 

 finding thorns and stubble ; men earn 2s. 3d. each per day. 

 Surface gripping, hedging, and ditching, are also performed 

 by the piece, at prices varying from the nature of the work, 



Manure is turned over by the piece at so much the whole 

 yard." The other prices given in Mr. Clarke's letter are 

 about the same as other districts. Mr. Clarke concludes 

 by saying, " You cannot praise piece work too highly, but 

 there ai'e many operations in farming in which it is highly 

 impracticable." From Yorkshire, Mr. Peter Stevenson, of 

 Piainton, near Thirsk, states that " nearly all the labour 

 is done by the day, with the exception of mowing corn and 

 grass ; 50 per cent, also of the turnip hoeing is done by 

 the day. Since the introduction of reaping machines 

 much of the harvest work has been done by the day, that 

 was formerly done by the piece. The prices paid for 

 mowing, binding, and stooking wheat, oats, and barley, 8s. 

 to lis. per acre ; mowing grass and clover, 3s. 6d. to 4s. ; 

 singUng turnips first time, 4s. to 5s. 6d., twice over 7s. to 

 8s. ; pulling and topping mangolds 7s. to 8s. ; draining 

 stony gi'ound 4 feet deep, 2s. 9d. per chain." After giving 

 the day wages, viz., 12s. per week, Mr. Stevenson adds : 

 " I am of opinion that many more operations of the farm 

 might be done by piece work advantageously ; but the 

 labourersaregenerally unwUlingto workby 'piece.'" Mr. 

 T. P. Outhwaite, of Goldsboro' House, Knaresborough, 

 says, " he prefers every description of work, when possible, 

 done by the piece; but there are difficulties in districts 

 where men are not accustomed to it; the greater part of 

 the haiTest work used to be done by the scythe, at prices 

 varying from 7s. to 16s. per acre ; much is now being done 

 by reaping machines, which are rapidly increasing ; he 

 has worked one on the Hussey principle eight seasons, 

 which he has improved. Some of his neighbours let 

 their binding after the machine, which costs 6s. per 

 acre for a 30-bushels an acre crop of wheat, 5 qrs. of 

 barley, and 7 qrs. of oats. Draining four feet deep costs 3s. 

 6d. per chain ; five feet deep, 49. 6d. per chain : the land is 

 stony clay. Topping and tailing swedes 7s. per acre ; man- 

 golds 10s." Mr. Outhwaite uses an implement for taking off 

 the roots, which it appears saves him 2s. 6d. an acre in get- 

 ting up swedes, and 3s. 6d. in mangolds, as his price is 4s. 

 6J. foi swedes, and 6s. 6d. for mangolds, Mr Outhwaite 

 further states, that " owing to the.labourers going into »he 

 mining and manufacturing districts, labour has considerably 

 advanced, and without the best farm implements and 

 machinery are employed, it is impossible to get the work 

 properly done." From Northumberland, Mr. T. P. Dods, 

 of Aniok Grange, Hexham, states that " only the extra work 

 is done by the piece, the regular work being performed by 

 either yearly or halfyearly servants." The s.vstfm and 

 cost of harvest operations appear to be very much as in 

 other districts. Draining three and a-half feet deep costs 

 8d. to Is. per rod of seven yards. Mr. Dods concludes by 

 saying, that " a great many of the farm operations might 

 be done by the piece which are done by the day. The turn- 

 ing and filling of manure heaps, the forking of hay and corn 

 to the carts, cutting and cleaning of hedges, &c. Both for 

 the sake of getting the work more speedily executed, and 

 that the men may earn a little extra, I think we should do 

 more by the piece than we do." Mr, Francis Twining, of 

 Parbold Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, states: " Almost all work 

 in this district is done by the day : wages are from 14s. to 

 16s. a week ; mowing seeds (clover and ryegrass) from 4s, 

 to 6s. ; shearing wheat 14s., cut close — say, five-inch stub- 

 ble, set-up and hooded by a man found by the farmers; 

 barley mown, tied up, and raked. Us. ; oals mown, tied, and 

 raked, 128.; and beans, 12s, per acre. Draining four feet 

 deep, lOd. per eight yards : at this the men can earn about 

 IBs. a week. Getting potatoes grown on the drill, thirty - 

 two inches apart, after being grubbed with the horse-hoe, 



