LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 15 



Employment throughout the year will' act as a regu- 

 lator of farm wages, as men who work on a farm 12 

 months in the year can work for lower wages per month 

 than those who work but eight months. Men who are 

 given but eight months wages, which represents main- 

 tenance for one year, must get more per month than men 

 who can maintain themselves by laboring all the year. 



The maintenance of live stock furnishes profitable em- 

 ployment to all the members of the farmer's family, by 

 giving work to each, according to the capacity and sex. 

 The benefits resulting are: (i) Increased efficiency in la- 

 boring with the hands; (2) the formation of industrious 

 habits, and (3) increase in profits. 



At a very early age members of the family may feed 

 fowls, when a little more advanced, they can care for 

 sheep and other small animals. Later, both boys and 

 girls can aid in the milking, and still later, the boys take 

 part in the more laborious work of preparing foods. 



Each is exercised in using the hands in manual labor at 

 an age when such labor is not only helpful to physical 

 development, but when it is greatly helpful to future use- 

 fulness. The individual not trained to use the hands un- 

 til matured can never become so expert in the use of the 

 same as if such training had been given at an earlier 

 period. The most skillful axemen of America are those 

 who were exercised in swinging the axe from the time 

 that they were first able to swing it. 



The value of habits of industry will be discussed under 

 the sub-division of the subject following. But it may be 

 said in passing, that it is the habits of industry that are 

 formed in early life in the members of the farmer's family 

 that, more than anything else, aids in making them the 

 foremost builders of the nation. 



The members of the family in this way become wage- 

 earners at a relatively early period, which adds to the 

 profits of the farm by increasing the resources without 



