Arrangement of Agricultural Labour. 73 



Besides an arrangement for carrying on operations with- 

 out, a settled plan for the management of the family within, 

 ought not to be neglected. In regard to house- keeping, 

 the safest plan is, not to suffer it to exceed a certain sum 

 weekly, or monthly, stating the value of every article taken 

 from the farm. An annual sum should be allotted for cloth- 

 ing, and the personal expenses of the farmer, his wife, and 

 children, which ought not to be exceeded. The whole al- 

 lotted expense should be considerably within the probable 

 receipts; and at least one-eighth of the income actually re- 

 ceived, should be laid up for contingencies, or expended in 

 extra improvements on his farm, if it belongs to the farmer 

 in property, or is held for a term of years ( 3o ). 



SECT. IV. Farm Servants. 



THE domestic servants employed in carrying on the ope- 

 rations of a farm, are of four descriptions : 1. Bailiffs, over- 

 seers, or upper servants; 2. Ploughmen, and inferior male 

 servants; 3. Apprentices for agricultural purposes, where 

 such are to be had ; and, 4. Female servants. 



1. Upper servants. In all large farms, a bailiff or over- 

 seer is necessary, to assist the farmer in carrying on so ex- 

 tensive and complicated a concern, and more especially to 

 act for him in cases of absence or sickness. His business 

 is, to be perpetually on the watch, wherever persons or 

 teams are employed ; consequently he must not work him- 

 self, which would confine him to one spot. He should be 

 invested with sufficient authority, to compel the other ser- 

 vants and labourers to do their duty ; and if he does not 

 hire them, he should at least have the power of dismissing 

 them, subject to the farmer's concurrence. All market 

 transactions, however, and all buying, selling, bargaining, 

 and receiving money, should be done by the master ( 3l ). If 

 the bailiff be a person of the better sort, and single, many 

 advantages result from his eating at the farmer's table ( 3 *). 



2. Inferior servants. These consist of ploughmen, shep- 

 herds, cow-herds, carters, &c. Of these, the ploughmen 

 are the most important, for on them, in a great measure, 

 depends the success of all the crops ( 33 ). 



It is interesting to trace the manner in which these infe- 

 rior servants have been progressively maintained. 



In former times, the servants lived at the same table with 

 their masters, and that is still the practice in those districts 



