84 OUTLINES OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



28. Do we seek immigrant labor (a) to make a wage class in our 

 present agricultural industry? (b) as independent farmers self- 

 employed and if possible land-owning? In the second case is the 

 purpose to have these farmers displace the present agricultural popu- 

 lation or to develop new lands or to reduce present areas of farms and 

 increase the intensity of cultivation ? 



29. Explain the difference between nominal wages and real 

 wages. 



30. Has this difference usually been adequately kept in mind in 

 presenting the data of farm wages ? 



31. Does adding the cost of country board to the farm hand's 

 cash wage make it comparable with city wages ? Why or why not ? 



32. Should union dues or temptations to fritter away money on 

 trifles be taken into account in connection with the city worker? 

 Should they be offset by some factor such as " psychic income" ? 



33. How about relative steadiness of employment and length of 

 the working lifetime ? accident and occupational disease ? 



34. In general what has been the trend of wages of hired farm 

 help ? How do you explain regional differences ? 



35. Should all these figures be corrected to allow for changes in 

 general price level ? Divide by the index number of general prices. 

 What is your conclusion ? 



36. How has the labor return of the self-employed farmer been 

 moving? How about his purchasing power? How has the war 

 affected this ? 



37. How does the remuneration of labor in agriculture compare 

 with that in other callings ? Which group of other workers is quali- 

 tatively best suited for comparison ? 



38. Would you conclude that returns in agricultural and non- 

 agricultural employments are equalized through the process of com- 

 petition at the present time or are in a state of flux ? Explain. 



PROBLEMS 



1. The account book of a New Jersey farmer of 1850 contains the 

 following entry: "Hired Daniel McSugh for one year for $100. 

 Rented house to William Harris for $25 per year, and pay him 50 

 cents per day." Can you explain these rates of wages? In 1848: 

 "Rented house to Perry Simmons at $2 per month, and pay him 

 50 cents per day for a year, not including wet or bad weather. Car- 

 penter work $1 . 25 per day and board." Does this throw any further 

 light on the situation ? 



2. "Until recent years, the problem of farm labor in the United 

 States was almost entirely confined to the quantity of the supply, but 



