8 STUDIES OF OCCUPATIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



living. In recent years much has been done to lead people to 

 go back from the city to the country. Agricultural education 

 is now keeping many boys and girls in the country, and making 

 country life more attractive to all. States and communities 

 are advertising their agricultural opportunites to attract people 

 to live within their borders. 



In the meantime many abandoned farms and suburban dis- 

 tricts have been taken up by an incoming foreign population, 

 to mingle with us in producing the " New American." 



3. THE FARM LABORER 



1. Importance: Manual labor is necessary for the carrying on of 

 all kinds of farming. The owner of a small farm may himself 

 do all the work required upon it, but a large proportion of 

 all agricultural activity depends upon hired labor. The farm 

 laborer, then, is absolutely essential in the production of food 

 materials. 



2. Work done: Ploughing and preparing land for cultivation; 

 planting, hoeing, and harvesting; caring for stock and other 

 farm animals; milking, and helping in dairy work; building 

 and repairing fences and stone walls; driving teams; road 

 building; doing chores and general work about the farm and 

 farm buildings. 



3. Advantages: Work out of doors; steady employment and a 

 home; for a few farm workers, the good wages and limited 

 hours now generally found in farm work; the advantages of 

 country life; the opportunity of learning farming methods; 

 the possibility of saving one's earnings and becoming a farm 

 owner. 



4. Disadvantages: The heavy manual labor required; the ex- 

 posure to bad weather often necessary; the lack of social ad- 

 vantages usually suffered by the farm laborer; the seasonal 

 nature of much of the work of farming; the small opportunity 

 for advancement to foreman or superintendent, since men 

 having superior ability or scientific training are usually taken 

 for these positions. 



5. Preparation: None, though experience in doing farm work is 

 of great help in securing a position. Because of the present 



