FARM LABOR 333 



tage over the farmer who has small fields. The layout with 

 respect to the buildings is also of great importance. 



Farm buildings and water supply are common sources of 

 loss of time and money. There can be no profit on time 

 spent in doing chores in an unhandy barn. 



Proper intensity of culture will bring highest returns 

 for labor. Too much or too little work on crops or animals 

 will result in loss. Too much work will cause a loss just 

 as surely as too little. 



One of the easiest ways to make a profit on hired labor 

 is to have each man drive more horses. Much may be 

 saved -by hauling large loads in marketing products. 

 Three-horse wagons should come into more general use. 



The character of the hired labor should correspond with 

 the work. High-priced labor is cheapest for exacting work, 

 but low-priced labor is cheapest for work that requires 

 little judgment. Picking up potatoes, picking cotton, 

 picking fruit, and weeding vegetables are kinds of work 

 that can be done by cheap labor. Such labor is often 

 shipped out from cities, and is usually paid by the amount 

 of work done, quart, or pound, etc. Figure 73 shows a 

 gang of Italians picking strawberries in New Jersey. Men, 

 women, and children all work. Ordinary farm help is 

 too expensive for such work. 



For work where intelligence is required, as in handling 

 machinery and horses, it is often easier to make a profit by 

 paying more than the usual wages. One man may be 

 worth twice as much as another, but wages are not so 

 variable. By paying a little more, one can often get very 

 much more work done. But merely paying higher wages 

 does not bring this result. One must be a good enough 

 judge of men to be sure that he is getting better men 

 when he pays higher wages. 



