18 BULLETIN 1020, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ture's products, and the gathering together of groups of workers 

 to care for the harvest has always been one of the joyful experiences 

 of the race. The mere pleasure of participation with hundreds of 

 thousands of others in harvesting millions of bushels of grain is a 

 strong incentive. 



Asked why he has come to the harvest, the seasoned " floater " 

 probably will answer that "the harvest is a habit," that he swears 

 each year he will never come again, but can not seem to resist when 

 the time comes. It fascinates him with its multitudes, its unknown 

 possibilities, its chance that "something may turn up." 



The hope of large earnings and the lure of adventure attract men 

 to the harvest; unemployment drives them. A large number of fac- 

 tory hands, particularly from automobile and tire factories, came to 

 the harvest of 1920 because they were out of work. The chance to 

 make money in the harvest came just when they lost their employ- 

 ment. This, of course, is true of many harvesters every year, and 

 it was because other industries were busy that a serious shortage of 

 harvest labor was feared in 1918 and 1919. 



Of the thousand and one incentives which lead tens of thousands 

 of men to take part each year in the small-grain harvest, these three 

 stand out most prominently: (1) Lack of other employment, either 

 permanent or temporary; (2) the hope of making "big money"; 

 and (3) the desire for adventure and experience. In addition, many 

 thousands of seasonal workers flock to the wheat fields as part of the 

 year's cycle of employment. 



CHARACTERISTICS. 



Fairly complete autobiographies were obtained from 153 harvest 

 hands who came to the public employment offices in Kansas City, 

 Sioux City, Aberdeen, and Fargo (Tables 6 and 7). 



Table 6. — Age of becoming wage earners, education, and occupational training 

 of 153 transient harvest hands. 



Age of becoming 

 wage earners. 



Number 

 of cases. 



Education. 



-Number 

 of cases. 



Occupational training. ^.™^ r 



Years. 

 Under 14 



26 

 29 

 30 

 24 

 33 

 11 





2 

 11 



103 

 13 

 5 

 2 

 11 

 6 





14 



Less than fifth grade 



Fifth to eighth grade 



Ninth or tenth grade 



Finished high school 



Commercial college 





15 





52 



16 







Over 16 years 





















