182 AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



weigher, and wind stacker compared with the threshing of 

 grain with a flail. 



A poet once wrote of the agricultural laborer as the "man 

 with the hoe, stolid and stunned — a brother to the ox." 

 Contrast this condition with that of the operator of a modern 

 machine like a gang plow, a harvester, or a two-row culti- 

 vator, where no effort is required beyond the direction of the 

 energy of the horses and the adjusting of the machine. 

 J. R. Dodge, in the Report of the Industrial Commission, 

 1901, wrote, "As to the influence of machinery on farm 

 labor, all intelligent expert observation declares it benefi- 

 cial. It has relieved the laborer of much drudgery; made his 

 work easier and his hours of service shorter; stimulated his 

 mental faculties; given an equilibrium of effort to mind and 

 body; and made the laborer a more efficient worker, a broader 

 man, and a better citizen." It is doubtful if farming would 

 appeal at all to the young men of to-day if there had not been 

 a change from hand methods to machine methods. 



Length of Working Day. The working day has been 

 materially shortened since the introduction of labor-saving 

 machinery. The capacity of the worker was so limited with 

 hand methods that it was necessary to work to the limit of 

 endurance when crops demanded it. 



Increase in Wages. There has been a very marked 

 increase in wages with the introduction of farm machinery; 

 and although this is true of all occupations, farm machinery 

 has undoubtedly been a factor in bringing about the increase. 

 A farm worker can earn more by working with a machine 

 than by hand; however, a complicated machine requires 

 greater skill for its successful operation. It was thought 

 by many at the time machinery was being generally intro- 

 duced that wages would be decreased, owing to the fact that 

 some workers would be displaced with machines. In the 



