FABM LABOR 339 



the time for the farmer to take his vacation. Some of the 

 time should be spent in going to meetings and in reading 

 and study. 



Considerable is said about having the farmer manufac- 

 ture articles for sale during the winter. A few farmers do 

 this kind of work. It usually pays better to -do work on 

 the farm that prepares for the next season rather than try 

 to do manufacturing. On a diversified farm it is usually 

 possible to find work enough for every day in the year. 

 Manufacturing enterprises would not usually provide 

 work for horses, and idle horses are as serious a problem 

 as idle men. Furthermore, any manufacturing enterprise 

 requires equipment. This equipment must be idle when 

 farm work is being done. 



215. Hours of labor. The eight-hour day is coming 

 to be the ideal in cities, although the vast majority of 

 workers still work more than eight hours, and thousands 

 work twelve hours. 



The day's work on the farm is usually longer than in 

 cities. There are very good reasons why it should con- 

 tinue to be a longer day. Farm work is so varied that it 

 is not so monotonous as most kinds of city work. A man 

 on a farm usually takes care of live-stock before breakfast. 

 After breakfast, he may get his team out for field work. At 

 noon, he again does chores, and usually has a warm dinner 

 at a table rather than a cold one from a dinner pail. Some 

 chores are usually done after supper. During the day, a 

 great variety of things may be done, bringing into play 

 many different muscles rather than using the same ones all 

 day. The city worker often has a half hour to an hour to 

 ride or walk night and morning to go to his work, so that an 

 eight-hour day may be as long as a ten-hour day on the farm. 

 When the farmer's day ends, he is usually at his home. 



