1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



191 



If any one thinks of frrowing cabbages to 

 any extent, I would say that he must be care- 

 ful how he feeds them out ; as if fed too lib- 

 erally they give a very unpleasant flavor to 

 beef, milk and butter. They are not cultivated 

 so much as formerly, — turnips having suc- 

 ceeded them. 



Such are some of the systems of rotation 

 adopted in England. How far are they adapt- 

 ed to the soil and climate of this country ? 

 Edw'd Hebb. 



Jeffersonville, Vt., Dec. 17, 18CG. 



Remarks. — Instead of one year, New Eng- 

 land farmers generally allow something like 

 five years out of eight, to grass crops. First, 

 potatoes, then corn, seeding down with oats, 

 rj'e or wheat, and five years to grass. Often, 

 however, corn is planted first year, and the 

 land seeded to grass the second. And of late 

 the practice of inverting the sod in August, 

 applying a little manure and seeding with grass, 

 without any grain, appears to be gaining favor 

 on many "grass farms." AVe thank Mr. Hebb 

 for introducing the subject, and believe its 

 discussion will prove instructive and of practi- 

 cal value. 



WAGES OF FARM LABORERS. 

 . In the report of the Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture, for the month of January, we find this 

 subject treated at considerable length, and 

 some interesting statistics embodied in the ar- 

 ticle, which is headed "The rate of wages of 

 farm laborers in the United States," and is 

 based on returns from every State and Terri- 

 tory and nearly every county in the United 

 States. The returns from the Northern States 

 are the most full and complete, but very gen- 

 eral returns were received from the Southern 

 States. 



The method adopted to obtain this informa- 

 tion was by sending circulars to officers of ag- 

 ricultural societies and others who could be 

 relied on to collect the facts with accuracy and 

 judgment, and the final statement, as made by 

 the Commissioner, represents a summaiy of 

 1510 formal statements forwarded to him, and 

 each one of these statements had been com- 

 piled from several others comprising portions 

 of counties and districts. 



The result of the inquiry shows a general 

 and marked increase in the rate of wages paid 

 farm laborers during the last thirty years. As 

 compared with the rates of 1835, the increase 

 has been 70 per cent., while the present rates 



show an increase of 50 per cent, over those of 

 five years ago. The higher wages paid in this 

 country, and the greater comfort and higher 

 social position of the farin laborer, naturally 

 attracted foreigners, and the greatly increased 

 immigration, it has been feared would, through 

 the competition introduced, lower the rate of 

 wages. That this fear was unfounded is best ' 

 shown by the fact that the demands for labor 

 have more than kept pace with the supply. 

 The present generation need not fear any over- 

 plus of laborers. 



The present average rate of farm wages in 

 this country is $28 per month for white labor- 

 ers in the Northern and Western States, and 

 $16 per month for freedmen at the South. In 

 England the present rate of farm wages is 

 $14 per month, and upon the Continent of Eu- 

 rope the rates are still less. The rates of wa- 

 ges in the several States differ just in propor- 

 tion to the multiplication of separate industries, 

 modified in new States in process of settle- 

 ment by the increased demand for consump- 

 tion occasioned temporarily by incoming set- 

 tlers who are as yet non-producers, or in the 

 mining States and territories by the employ- 

 ment of the majority in mining. The follow- 

 ing is a table of average wages per mouth of 

 farm laborers employed for the year in the dif- 

 ferent sections of the country : — 



Eastern States . . 

 Middle States . . 

 Western States , 



$33 30 

 30 07 

 28 91 



Southern States . . $16 00 



Oregon 35 75 



California .... 45 71 



The following table shows the average rate 

 of wages paid per month for farm laborers in 

 the several States and Territories. The first 

 column shows the rate per month by the year, 

 without board, and the second the rate with 

 board : — 



In the East the cost of living, and in the 

 West the scarcity of labor, has a tendency to 



