Land Problems and National Welfare 



farms, namely, that of giving a bonus to the men. 

 I cannot speak very definitely as to the result, 

 as it was in vogue for one year only before the 

 farm was let, but on the whole it seemed to 

 work satisfactorily. The bonus given to the 

 men did not wholly depend upon the farm mak- 

 ing a profit, for it seemed unfair that they 

 should receive no benefit for extra good work 

 simply because the farm showed no profit owing 

 to circumstances which the labourer could not 

 control. So, of the bonus, 25% was affected 

 by the profit or loss on the farm, the other 75% 

 was given as the reward of merit, for general 

 willingness and obedience, capacity and atten- 

 tion to work. For instance, a man would lose 

 marks for neglecting machinery, horses, etc. 



This bonus worked out in most cases at about 

 5s. per month and was paid monthly, and the 

 men seemed to like the extra bit of pocket 

 money they received ; any act of carelessness 

 was brought home to them forcibly when only 

 3s. or 4s. or 4s. 6d. was given instead of the full 

 5s. and this course proved a means of fixing 

 responsibility. 



I mention this experiment for what it is worth. 

 It would be interesting to see it tried by several 

 people and over a period of years. 



(2) How to make the rural labourer realise that 

 he is an integral and important factor in the 

 agricultural industry, and that what benefits the 



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