SHALL I BE A FAliMER / '11 



There is little chance on the farm for an able man to 

 advance in pay as he can in the city. Of course, a good 

 man will receive more than a poor one, but the farm does 

 not offer the chance for increase in wages that is offered in 

 the city. The farm does not need so many grades of men. 

 The farmer himself is the foreman and everything above 

 that grade. Only here and there is there a farm that 

 needs high-priced men. The hired-man who proves his 

 worth will receive his reward by being able to rent a good 

 farm, after he has saved some money. 



The place of hired-man should be looked upon as a 

 stepping-stone to rental and ownership. For this reason 

 lie should consider the value of the experience that he is 

 going to get as well as the wages. Very many of the 

 most successful farmers in every region are following a 

 system of farming that they learned while working for a 

 good farmer. 



Very few men continue as farm-hands for many years. 

 If they are able men, they change to tenant ; if they are 

 not good men, they usually drift to cities, where they 

 can be used in gangs. Most of the farm-hands in the 

 United States are young men who will later be farmers. 

 The chief exceptions are harvest and seasonal help shipped 

 out from- cities, and the negro. 



THE FARM FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE TENANT 



21. Opportunities as a tenant. Tenancy is a second 

 step toward ownership. Few persons expect to remain 

 tenants permanently. Many tenants secure land on 

 such terms that the rent is no more than interest on the 

 land. The best forms of renting for the tenant are usually 

 those in which the landlord does the least supervising. Not 



