1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



469 



times of depression, must fall, not only sooner, but 

 lower j;han property in general. 



This was shown in 1837 and 1838, when the 

 wages of common labor in Boston fell from $1,25 

 to an average of 92 cents, making a difference of 

 more than 25 per cent., while commodities fell 

 but about 5 per cent. Laborers therefore suffered 

 greatly during those two years, as will be recol- 

 lected by those familiar with the events of that 

 period. 



UNDEALTHY TRADES. 



Those occupations which are unhealthy, which 

 though not immediately hazardous, nevertheless 

 abridge life, ought to command more than the or- 

 dinary rate of wages. If a man is liable to be 

 made sick, and consequently exposed to loss of 

 time and expense of medical attendance, he sliould 

 be compensated for such liability. If he is likely 

 to shorten life in a particular employment, that 

 should be a matter of consideration in determin- 

 ing the rate of wages. 



Regarded in an economical point of view, mere- 

 ly, it is certain that on this account some laborers 

 should receive much higher compensation than 

 they do at present : and to determine what that 

 increased pay should be, we must ascertain the 

 value or expectation of life in the different occu- 

 pations. To do this as well as we are able in this 

 country we have had resource to tiie ofEcial regis- 

 tration of births, marriages and deaths, made by 

 authority of the State of Massachusetts, and pub- 

 lished annually by its Secretary. We take the 

 Eleventh Report, which gives the results of the 

 last eighty years and eight months, ending De- 

 cember 31, 1851. 



From this Report it appears that agriculturists 

 live to the average age of 62.93 years ; black- 

 smiths 51.44 ; shoemakers 43.12. We take these 

 three examples, because they seem best to repre- 

 sent average employment. The first is the most 

 healthy, the second of a medium character, and 

 the third the most unhealthy of all the principal 

 occupations. From this it will appear that the 

 expectation of life is, in round numbers, lor a 



Farmer at the age of 21 42 years. 



Blacksmith, Jo 30 " 



Shoemaker, do 22 " 



The agriculturist then, it appears, has the ad- 

 vantage over the blacksmith of 13 years, or 3.J per 

 cent. ; and therefore, if the blacksmitli or shoe- 

 maker, receive wages which shall, in the aggre- 

 gate during life, amount to as much as those of 

 the farmer, they must be correspondingly high- 

 er. 



According to the foregoing, if we allow 300 

 days to the year, and take the wages of the agri- 

 culturist to be $1 a day, the different occupations 

 should stand as follows ; 



Farmer, 43 liy yoo equal 12,900, at $1 per day, is $12,900 



Blacksmitli, 30 by 300 ecjual 9,000, at $1 ,43J per day, is 12,000 

 Shoemaker, 22 by 300 e<iual 6,600, at $l,93i pirday , is 12,000 



Such then should be the relative value of the 

 wages of these several occupations, regarded jnere- 

 ly as a question of production. If the black- 

 emith or the shoemaker does not receive as hi^li 

 proportional wages as indicated above, he is, as 

 comparec' witli the farmer, working for less than 

 a lair pr.ce, estimating life as valuable only for 

 earning a given amount of money. 



But all mechanics, it is clear, ought — other 

 things being equal — to receive a higher rate of 



wages than the man who works on the farm, on 

 the ground that they have been at the expense of 

 learning trades, for which they should be compen- 

 sated by larger pay ; for a trade is capital invest- 

 ed, for which a profit may be rightfully claimed, 

 in the shape of enhanced wages. 



As an economical question, then, the expectation 

 of life should be a matter of consideration with 

 every one in choosing an occupation and in deter- 

 mining the rate of wages. That this is not 

 now the case, is very evident, because the wages 

 paid for labor in an unwholesome employment, do 

 not correspond with the abridgment of human 

 life consequent thereto ; so that the lab rer loses 

 not only a good part of his life, but also a share 

 of the wages he ought to receive while he does 

 live. As for example, the shoemaker does not 

 receive, take the country through more than 

 $1,42 per day ; while according to the foregoing 

 table, he should receive $1,95^ per day. Ifso, 

 then he loses 63 cents per day in wages, and 21 

 years of his life into the bargain. The same rela- 

 tive difference might be shown in regard to ail 

 other occupations. 



Agriculture ie evidently the normal employ- 

 ment of man — that in which he enjoys the great- 

 est health and lives the longest. Every other call- 

 ing is unwholesome to the exact extent which it 

 departs in its condition from the agricultural, 

 and therefore the rate of wages should be adjusted 

 to a scale constructed on this principle. As things 

 now are, all mechanics and persons employed in 

 close rooms are, as a general fact, very much un- 

 derpaid. This whole class live only to the aver- 

 age of 46 years, 18 years less than the agriculiur- 

 ist. They should receive greater wages, and work 

 less hours per day ; they would thus prolong 

 their lives, and get a fair compensation for their 

 services. 



For the Aew England Farmer, 



ORKE'S EAELY APPLE-ENGLISE 

 WHEAT PLTJM. 



Mr. Brown : — I send you tw*o specimens of 

 Orne's Early Apple — which in my opinion is a 

 fine fruit. The original tree stands in the garden 

 of Mr. A. C. Orne, of this place. Its true origin 

 is not exactly known ; some say it was imported 

 from France by the late Capt. Henry Quinen 

 some years since — others that it is a native seed- 

 ling ; be this as itmay, it is, I think, worthy of 

 cultivation. I sendyou also ;i bunch of tiie true 

 English Wheat Plum, which arc not yet quite 

 ripe, consequently you will not 1« able to form an 

 opinion in relation to their merits ; it is a good 

 plum, and well worth cultivating. 



A-NDRKw Lackey. 



Marbkhcad, Avg. 29, 1S54. 



Remarks. — We agree with you, Mr. Lackey, 

 that the fruit sent is highly worthy of cultivation. 

 The apple is new to us — the plum -is an old and 

 well-known variety, and scarcely excelled, wd 

 think, by any that grows. 



Fall Planting. — This sounds strange, proba- 

 Idy, but it has been, it appears, successfully prac- 

 ticed in respect to potatoes. 



A gentleman writes in the Maine Farmer: — I 



