i6 



P A C I I'" IC TREE AND V I N E 



Hired Help on the Farm. 



When a farm lad's school days are 

 over he settles down to the real busi- 

 ness of life, and providing he is not 

 led astray down any by-paths, he takes 

 to farming, the high road, which, 

 though hot and dusty in spots, leads 

 to the goal of genuine success — a use- 

 ful career of planning and working. 



The boy n)ay hustle for his father on 

 the home place or he may hire out 

 to a neighbor. In any event the course 

 of post-graduate experience for the 

 ambitious youngster is the same. He 



work for himself and hire help of his 

 own. who serve their apprenticeship 

 as he has done. 



If all farm help were like this a vex- 

 ed problem would be solved. The facC 

 is, very few approach the ideal .Tnd 

 many have no pride in their wo!k; 

 three meals a day and soldiering 

 rounds out their hopes. 



The trouble with i.-ost of them is 

 that they do not want to work. They 

 will work, but they do not like it. Un- 

 less a man enjoys his work he can not 

 hope to succeed, and tlip leasun why 



the employer in engaging help on 

 yearly contracts, this is the only satis- 

 factory way on the farm. Some farm- 

 ers manage to get efficient and faith- 

 ful service by some co-operative plan. 

 If the hired man can be made to ap- 

 preciate the motive ,an interest in the 

 business even though small, is an ex- 

 cellent thing. 



Many farm hands do not appreciate 

 their opportunities. Having no ex- 

 penses for board and netoing a much 

 smaller fund for clothes than most oc- 

 cupations, the farm lad's gross receipts 





works for a while at modest wage.-;. 

 learning by practice the tasks and du- 

 ii>'s of the business; learning by read- 

 ing and observing the principles 

 underlying the science of agriculture; 

 learning through self-respect and am- 

 bition — the dynamo of character — to 

 govern himscir, to lay up treasures of 

 wisdom, patience, and executive ca- 

 pacity for future use. After awhile 

 as he becomes more valuable he gels 

 a raise, and if he has the right stuff 

 in him he saves or invests much of his 

 earnings and some day he is ready to 



the world is lull of failures is that so 

 many men are looking for soft snaps. 

 The word th.at fits the desire is not 

 jiretty. The truth is often unpleasant 

 — there may be a better term than 

 "laziness," but we have not seen it. 



The employer may do much to en- 

 courage the ineficient, praising with 

 discrimination and censuring with 

 lac't. Good pay and decent tre.itnicnt 

 generally procure a high-class helijor; 

 the stingy, harsh or cold-blooded em- 

 liloyer doesn't deserve one. 



Notwithstanding the odds against 



is his net gain. He often makes more 

 money than his employer's prifits am- 

 ount to. He h;is no responsibility and 

 no anxiety as to crops or markets. True, 

 he hasn't the fun of bossing the job, 

 but if he is wise he will do his work 

 so well that it will enable him to re- 

 guid it as a temiiorary schooling from 

 which he may graduate into that class 

 where he can boss his own job. 



A queer trait of human nature is 

 that shown by a great many of the 

 hewers of wood and drawers of water, 

 in that they can't stand brotherly 



