1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
559 
D A ! R Y A N D FARM NOTES. 
Labor Problem on the Farm. 
IjAbob Welf, Paid. —The difflculties 
attending the lalxir problem account in 
great measure for the division and sub¬ 
division of farms, enabling the owner 
o" occupant to perform, often with the 
assistance of his family, neai-Jy or quite 
al! of the work, doing away with much 
perplexity and acquiring at the same 
time a feeling of independence. I am 
willing to subscribe to the truth of this 
statement. I am not willing to indorse 
i*^ as a necessity. One of the anomalies 
of American industrial life is the aggre¬ 
gation of interests in manufacture and a 
division in agriculture. After all, the 
causes are not deeply hidden. The im¬ 
petus given to manufacture by a pro¬ 
tective tariff gave it an opportunity to 
pay extravagant wages when compared 
with the wage schedule of the older 
countries. I am thankful that labor is 
well paid. The lalwring class, it would 
seem from their frequent disturbance, 
do not appreciate it. When a farm 
laborer without long training or special 
fitness is able to earn a sack of flour 
daily it would seem that the purchasing 
power of a dollar had alx)ut reached its 
limit. The large salaries and immense 
profits realized by so very few appear to 
have a demoralizing effect upon the 
masses. Cheap reading has given the 
lalxiring man an equal chance with his 
more opulent nc1gh1w)r; an opportunity 
to know all that occurs from the Gulf 
to the Great Ijakes, and from Gotham to 
the Golden Gate. 
Why P^akmeus Fail. —Is it true, from 
careful analysis, that agriculture has 
suffered from high wages paid in other 
industries? I do not think so. The 
most lavish and reckless buyers of our 
commodities are these same men, when 
working daily at a good wage. Then 
why are we unable fully to meet the 
competition, and pay wages and employ 
sufficient labor fully to meet our de¬ 
mands? They are not met, if my obser¬ 
vation is correct, on one farm in 100. 
We are unablo to use machinery to the 
same extent, and thus the producing 
power of a man on the farm has not 
kept pace with the shop. I.iabor is not 
concentrated in a small area, making a 
close and careful supervision more diffi¬ 
cult, and there Is also the opening up of 
immense tracts of the most fertile land 
in the Middle and Far West, with its 
boundless readily available fertility. I 
am not condemning it, however, hecause 
the scheme has made possible our great 
National wealth, and we are on the eve 
of a full appreciation of the wisdom of 
the scheme. The eastern farmer has 
suffered financially for 20 years and does 
not take kindly to this broad accept¬ 
ance. But in the meantime he has 
found out the lioundlcss mineral plant- 
food resources of his own farm, whidh, 
coupled with increased demand as com- 
parod with production will soon place 
him in a position of forgetfulness of the 
past, and success for the future. A lack 
of working capital is often a cause of 
insufficient labor. In a nutshell, which 
we might as well admit first as last, one 
lack is ability to make the labor pro¬ 
duce a little more than its cost, which 
I am firmly convinced is one fault and 
not attributable to Government or gen¬ 
eral conditions. 
Lack op Manaoemext. —This last 
statement is not a popular one to make; 
farmers rarely if ever subscribe to it. 
Building air castles and theorizing will 
not make a dairy cow profitable, or 
cheapen and increase crop growth. 
Still, there lingers in my mind the pos¬ 
sibility of application of skill and abil¬ 
ity over larger fields and farm enter¬ 
prises. It has been successfully worked 
out in cheese and butter making. The 
return to individual effort in manufac¬ 
ture and sale would at once result disas¬ 
trously. Do you not think that among 
the patrons of a well-managed cream¬ 
ery or milk receiving institution a man 
with as much skill and experience in 
stock feeding and haiulling as the but¬ 
ter maker lias in his field of labor would 
result in immediate profit over cost? 
Even though high, $.50 a month would 
mean $l a patron per month, or $12 a 
year. Don’t you think he could earn 
it, and don’t you think that if a man 
had 25 cows with the conditions found 
in most dairy sections he could earn 
through that man more than quadruple 
his cost, in food combinations, care and 
breeding? I am sure of it. I would 
like to be a party to such a sdlieme, and 
would willingly take my chances of get¬ 
ting cost out of him. We have a vein 
of self-sufficiency running through us 
that presents a mighty barrier to pro¬ 
fitable light and knowledge. 
Who Should Advise? —Mr. Allerton 
says a man is not qualified to write who 
has not been successful. Very well; 
who is to be the judge? We have had 
years of experience in handling labor, 
and if years of service count for any¬ 
thing it has been with some degree of 
success. If the reader will accept my 
version of success it seems the cause 
may be briefly stated. 
Preeminently first comes the neces¬ 
sity of keeping men interested in the 
work. I have never seen a man fail of 
earning his wages if interested in the 
work and business of the farm. Some 
men are much more rapid than others, 
d'hey are not always the best men. I 
suppose our Connecticut friend, H. G. 
M., will criticise this statement as he 
did a simitar one regarding milkers. I 
must confess it is not a usual occur¬ 
rence. The effectual labor is the per¬ 
sistent labor, steady, faithful and suffi¬ 
ciently balanced to see a thing or two 
when at work. He looks carefully that 
his tools are kept in condition. The 
simple act of cleaning a shovel or hoe 
after use is indicative of a careful and 
interested disposition. There is a cer¬ 
tain likeness running through our work; 
when these acts of interest are shown 
state your appreciation. Partnero can¬ 
not work together without reciprocal 
confidence. The man w'ho performs or 
aids in doing the labor of the farm is a 
partner in the business, and with the 
present scarcity and high cost he be¬ 
comes a very important part of the busi¬ 
ness. Counsel with him. The “hired 
man’’ may by chance have the best 
judgment on a piece of work. Many a 
time I have seen men carry out their 
own inferior plan simply to show the 
man their authority. Do you thina that 
this man will subsequently lie awake 
nights, or in fact, daytime cither, think¬ 
ing about your welfare? Doubtful! 
Fakmeu Is Boss. —Don’t misunder¬ 
stand me; a farmer who is not capable 
of previously arranging the system and 
m.ethods of procedure, who is not mas¬ 
ter of his business, maintaining his 
proper dignity towards his men, can 
never become a profitable employer. It 
is surprising flow quickly men see this 
fatal wavering In their employer, and 
then lose confidence in him. I find no 
difficulty in maintaining this dignity. 
(I use it for want of a better term) and 
at the same time meet our farm help 
on a level. Farm laborero have inalien¬ 
able rights; they should assert them, 
and othei-s should respect them. A pure 
clean atmosphere should be and must 
be maintained about the farm. Men 
have greater respect for their employer 
if 'he has a good clean Christian char¬ 
acter with him six days in a week as 
well as on the seventh. Near manufac¬ 
turing establishments, and sometimes 
far removed from them, men are un¬ 
easy and difficult to keep on the farm, 
on account of longer hours of daily ser¬ 
vice. I am inclined to think in our own 
locality more frequently this fault is 
found than any other, and 1 am not sure 
but it is well taken. The old establish¬ 
ed custom in the earlier days was from 
sun to sun during the 'Spring, Summer 
and Fall months. Men now grow weary 
of these long days, and search out em¬ 
ployment where they know when their 
day’s work is done. On many farms the 
hour of closing is a very uncertain one. 
We have adopted 'the plan of ending the 
day’s work at 0 I’. M., and it is my 
judgment that as much or more is ac¬ 
complished. It is a rare thing to see 
any shirking or “resting” during work¬ 
ing hours; even the milking is com- 
jileted at this hour. In fact, this is ac¬ 
complished both night and morning. 
Men who work by the day, who do not 
milk, find their day’s work done at 6 
r M. After studying very carefully all 
sides of the hour question I am con¬ 
vinced by the comparative ease in get¬ 
ting labor that this regularity of quit¬ 
ting, or the satisfaction of knowing 
when he gets through, has been a prime 
cause. 1 have not space or time in this 
article to discuss the means of board¬ 
ing, whether in families or houses spe¬ 
cially provided. Where only one man 
is kept he necessarily must become a 
member of the family. Where large 
numbers are emplo 5 ’^ed this plan may 
be entirely Impracticable. Get as much 
intelligence as possible with the wages 
at hand. Secure interest by good treat¬ 
ment and prompt payment. So arrange 
your business, if on a dairy fann, to 
give employment 12 months in the year, 
with an opportunity to get away two 
weeks during slack work. Understand 
your business thoroughly, so that em¬ 
ployees may feel that they are accom¬ 
plishing something, and much of the 
labor trouble will vanish, ii. e. cook. 
To Mi Ik a Kicking Cow. 
First .secure the head by placing a rope 
about the horns, and fastening the rope 
to a post. If hornless place rope about 
the neck; this will prevent jumping for¬ 
ward and backward in stall or stanchion, 
flavc a strap to buckle about the neck, 
with a ring on it. Buckle a strap about 
the left hind leg below the fetlock joint, 
with a ring on it. Connect the two rings 
with a strap, and you can puli that leg 
forward clear of the floor at first, if an 
oi)stinate kicker, and gradually reduce the 
tension till she will be willing to stand 
without kicking. With this harness prop¬ 
erly adjusted the animal cannot kick. It 
was used by my father for years for milk¬ 
ing kicking cows, and he also used it in the 
castration of bulls while standing. 
Hartford, Conn. D. K. 
I feel inclined to add my word of advice 
about kicking cows. The most effective 
way I ever tried is with a good strong 
halter to pull the cow’s head up so high 
that she cannot boar much weight on the 
fore feet. She cannot kick then, and will 
soon give up. The worst case I ever had 
was cured in about two weeks so the halter 
could be dispensed with. I drew the halter 
less and less tightly as the cow learned to 
stand. M. MORSE. 
Massachusetts. 
Sharpies “Tubular” 
Dairy Separators. 
If no agent will bring you a t 
Sharpies Separator wo will 
loan you one for trial 
FREE OF COST. 
They give more butter than i 
any other separator,enough to | 
pay big interest on the whole 
nrstcost, and they turn much 
easier, besides being entirely 
simple, safe and durable, (for¬ 
mer capacity doubled,with less' 
driving power.) 
1 Improvements come fast here. We have 
been making superior separators for 19 
years (longest in America) and are proud 
of them, but these new “Tubulars” dis¬ 
count anything either ourselves or any¬ 
one has ever made. Free Book, 'Business 
Dairying,” and Catalogue No. 153. 
Sharpies Co., 
Chicago, Ills. 
P. M. Sharpies, 
West Chester, Pa. 
Save$ 10 per Cow 
BVBBY THAR OF USH. 
De Laval Cream Separators 
Prices, $50 to $800. 
’*A/pha" and “Baby"styles. Send for Catalogue 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
Randolph and Canal Streets, I 74 Cortlandt Street, 
CHICAGO. I NEW YORK. 
DO YOU WANT 
More Cream and Less Work? 
Then Buy an 
lm|)roved 
L. S. 
Sc|>arator 
That is the kind lluit 
GETS ALL 
iriE CREAM 
It also saves much time and 
labor and makes dairying more 
pleasant and profitable. 
Illustrated catalogues arc to be 
had for the asking. 
225 
imam 
STARTLING GOVERNMENT FIGURES 
ONJNEmiRY INTERESTS OF 
THE UNITEd STATES AND CANADA. 
Pen^Son 500 Millioii Dollars 
A recent government report says that “there is in the United States and Canaiia 
one dairy cow for every four persons, or in other words 20,000,000 cows; and that 
the annual milk production is worth 500 million dollars. The ciairy industry is 
fast becoming an exact science and over two billion of dollars is invested therein.” 
Two billion dollars invested and an annual output of half a billion (500 mil¬ 
lion) dollars worth of milkl Think for a moment and try to realize what a tre¬ 
mendous investment this is, and then think what a gain of 20 per cent will make 
to everyone interested in the industry. By the use of 
CHILDS* _ 
B05-50 
KILFLY 
Cows will Give from 15^ to 20 % More Milk 
and better milk if protected from flies by its use. 
It is a Ihorough fly-killer and germicide. It destroys all bacterial germs. Insuring healthy growth, 
strength and vigor to the animals; allays their nervousness, and expedites the work of the milkman. 
It is easily and rapidly applied with Child’s Electric Sprayer and a herd of from 30 to .SO cows can be 
sprayed in a few minutes. SO-BOS-SO KILFLY is absolutely harmless to man and beast. It allays 
nervousness in horses as well as cows and keeps both in better general condition by the comfort it gives. 
As an antiseptic and for scours in calves, hog cholera, swine plague and foul in cattles’feel it is un¬ 
equaled and may be used either in the stable, cow shed, chicken house or pig pen. Abortion in cows, 
which is OHiised by a germ- propagated by unsanitary conditions- can be prevented by the use of 
SO BOS-SO KILFLY. 
Solil only in nallon cans. Ask your dealer, or send I'2 (10 for one sal. can and Electric Sprayer coni- 
ploto, securely packed and express paid to .any point east of Jlississippi river except the state of Maine. 
The sprayer can also be used for spraying potato vines, hushes, trees, etc. Bewaro of imitations. 
CONVENIENT, CHEAP, PRACTICAL. Tliou.satuls are in use in America, Canada 
and .Me.xlco. Shipments have begun to Cuba, the Philippines, So. America and Australia. 
CHAS. H. CHILDS &. CO., Sole Manufacturers, 12 LaFayette St., UTICA, N.Y. 
