A GENERAL VIEW 9 



is the best for many reasons. New Jersey truckers are 

 well pleased with Italian labor. At Moorestown, Italians 

 are used almost entirely in the picking of strawberries. 

 Poles and other classes of foreigners are hired exten- 

 sively on Long Island, and large numbers of Italians are 

 employed in the market gardens around Boston. On 

 many farms a certain number of steady Americans are 

 kept the year round for teamsters and salesmen and to 

 look after work requiring some experience. 



It is always better to furnish employment for the entire 

 year if this can be done. It enables the gardener to secure 

 a better class of men. The day laborer does not usually 

 take the. interest or assume the responsibility that may 

 be expected of a regular employee. For transitory labor- 

 ers, piecework is preferred on many farms. This system 

 is especially adapted to the harvesting and preparation 

 of crops for market. If prices are properly adjusted it is 

 absolutely fair to both employer and employee and re- 

 lieves the gardener of much annoyance. At Norfolk, 

 Va., potatoes are cut preparatory to planting for 20 to 

 25 cents a barrel, and picked when dug for 10 cents a 

 barrel. Children and old men are sometimes paid 5 cents 

 a glass for picking potato beetles. 



The market garden referred to (paragraphs 7 and 9) 

 at Cleveland, O., is operated on the profit-sharing basis. 

 The system was modeled after a plan used by a great 

 manufacturing concern. Liberal salaries are paid to men 

 employed by the year. The salesman receives $75 a 

 month; greenhouse and field foremen $50 and trustwor- 

 thy laborers $2 a day. The salary of each regular man 

 stands as so much capital invested in the business. If 

 the salary is $50 a month the investment amounts to $600. 

 Dividends are declared semi-annually. On this unusually 

 successful farm the profits often amount to 20 or even 30 

 per cent. It can be readily seen that the men get quite 

 an appreciable income beyond their salaries. Again, the 



