36 BULLETIN 1285, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
considered poor. Class distinction was frequently made, based upon 
such fundamentals as color, nationality, or the fact that workers 
were transients. 
Class distinctions in the southern New Jersey farm family seem 
less marked than in that of the northern part of the State. In the 
former section farm help shares the family life much more than in 
the latter, partly owing to the necessity of boarding labor which 
could not otherwise be secured and kept at a distance from home. 
This characteristic was reflected in the family attitude toward chil- 
dren taken from charitable institutions. The southern New Jersey 
family usually referred to these children as " ours " or " one of us " ; 
only questioning brought out their true status. In northern New 
Jersey, on the other hand, the distinction was commonly noted as a 
matter of course. 
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE FARM LABOR SITUA- 
TION 
Demand was found among New Jersey farmers for more and 
cheaper labor, which generally means lower standards of living and 
intelligence. However, intelligence is becoming more and more 
needful in farm operations. In the increasing use of machinery and 
need for care in producing and preparing perishable farm products 
for market, for instance, there is less and less opportunity for igno- 
rant, unskilled workers. 
Seme farmers complained that the labor obtainable for agriculture 
is the scum of all labor; they added that if they could get a better 
class of help they would be willing to pay higher wages for it. It 
has been demonstrated in practice that if farmers generally would 
adopt a policy of differentiating wage rates in accordance with rela- 
tive efficiency, they could attract a more desirable class of help. Fur- 
thermore, a better class of laborers could be attracted by offering 
steadier employment. A good man, especially a married man, needs 
steady work and assured pay. Married men, as a class, make the 
most dependable of workers. 
Farmers who can use labor only part of the year are likely to be 
hardest pressed for help when they need it and to get only a poor class 
of labor. Other things being equal, the farmer who diversifies and 
can employ his laborers all the year can more easily secure and hold 
an efficient class of workers. With added crops and livestock some 
farmers might be able to provide year-round work for their help 
to mutual advantage. 
As an element of the noncasual workers' compensation, the farm- 
ers should in more cases be prepared to give living accommodations. 
Single men might be given board and room. Payment to employees 
of a bonus or some other reward for workmanship or steadiness 
above the average is worthy of more general use. 
For casual migratory labor many farmers could at reasonable ex- 
pense provide new or alter existing structures to afford more accept- 
able quarters (fig. 12). These should provide decent privacy and 
greater comfort and convenience. At least minimum facilities for 
comfort and cleanliness, such as screening of openings against flies 
and mosquitoes, a serviceable cookstove under cover (and in large 
