58 Capital and Labour. Work and Wages 



saving and sacrifice, and may take the form of money, 

 land, houses, machinery, stock, learning, experience, 

 or some special accomplishment. The farmer, before he 

 begins to farm, must have a certain amount of money 

 which he is prepared to spend upon the farm and to 

 use for his own wants, until the time comes when he 

 gets the return upon his work. The sum of money 

 which he must have at the beginning is called his 

 capital, and he uses this capital, or part of 7 it, because 

 he hopes to get profit on it, just as a man who puts 

 money into a bank expects to get a certain rate of 

 interest on it. 



It will now be understood that whatever is made out 

 of the farm is divided into two shares. One share goes 

 to the farmer as his profit on his capital, .and the 

 remainder goes to the labourers as their wages. In 

 each case the share of money comes out of the profits 

 on working the farm, and not out of the capital ; and 

 in order to obtain the profit it is necessary for the farmer 

 and the labourer to co-operate. It is by the co-opera- 

 tion between capital and labour that the best work is 

 done ; and this was shown in the previous chapter, 

 where it was explained how much co-operation has 

 done forHhe artisan class. 



The conditions of labour are improving, and 

 although many agricultural labourers are practically 

 bound to the soil on which they work they have freedom 

 to transfer their labour to another district ; they have 

 the possibility of rising to a position of greater comfort ; 

 and they may rent an allotment or a 'small holding. 



