COST OF LABOUR HANDS. 819 



these estimates will still serve greatly to facilitate such alterations 

 and new calculations, and serve better to secure the accuracy of 

 the general results.* 



Average prices of different elements of labour, applied to Marling 



operations. 

 For a negro man 



Hire for the year, payable at the end . . . $50 00 



Food 19 bushels of Indian corn, at 45 cents $8 77J 

 Add 10 per cent, for loss in keeping 

 130 Ibs. bacon, at 7 cents . 9 10 



Interest on $18.75 J for a year . . 



- 19 88 

 Clothing 6 yards of strong woollen cloth, at 



50 cents . . . . $3 00 



13 yards of cotton, for shirts and sum- 



mer clothes, at 10 . . . 1 30 

 Woollen hat 50 cents, blanket $1.30, 



each once in two years, is yearly 90 



Shoes and mending . . . . 2 00 



- 7 20 

 Taxes State, 47 cents, county and poor, 80, 



labour on public road, suppose two 



days, 68 cents, ..... 1 95 



For nursing when sick (exclusive of medical aid and 

 medicines), and share of expenses for quarters, fuel, 

 and sending to mill ...... 6 00 



$85 03 

 Add to this amount, 10 per cent, for superintendence 8 50 



Total expenses per year, .... $93 53 



* As stated above, these estimates were designed to suit the average 

 prices of a series of years preceding and including 1846. But since they 

 were prepared, owing to temporary causes, the prices of both hand and 

 mule labour have greatly advanced. Therefore, if any person designed 

 to begin a job of marling now, and had to incur for that purpose the recent 

 and still continuing high prices of mules and of hire of hands, the actual 

 advances on each of these particular expenses only should be added to the 

 general costs as here estimated. But, in fact, very few of our farmers 

 have to buy or to hire more than a small proportion of the force, if any, that 

 they apply to marling. Most landholders own enough, or nearly enough 

 labouring force, and had before kept it at less profitable employments, to 

 carry on marling in addition. This is known to be the case with nine in ten 

 of such operations. And so far as a farmer had been before the owner of 

 the labouring force he will devote to marling, and would have kept it, 



