412 
iug the fanner rather than hindering him. c. b. 
Suppose the Hired Men Combined 
On page 217, under the heading, “The Eight-Hour 
Day” the story is told of a person who saw car¬ 
penters working for a farmer. The carpenters 
worked eight hours per day and received $10 to $12, 
while the farmer had to work a day and a night 
for the same amount of money. The concluding 
paragraph of the story reads: “The farmer saw 
a great light. He never quite got the point before. 
He had read about the benefits of unionized labor 
as applied to the farm work, and had begun to 
think that it might be a fine thing. Here it was 
spread before him. Suppose the hired man at 
home took a notion to work like that. He could 
fix a late date for milking and sleep until the hour 
struck. If the cows were not in the barn at a 
certain hour he could walk off and demand double 
time for overtime. It would all result in the farm¬ 
er’s doing double time for half pay. As it is the 
farmer must work four or five hours to earn the 
buying power which one of these eight-hour men 
earns in one hour. What’s the answer.' 
I think that I have found the answer. It seems 
to me as though the answer is very plainly con¬ 
tained in the story. The men were working eight 
hours and no more because they belonged to a 
union and, as the story says, “if they did other¬ 
wise they would be in trouble with the union.” 
The farmer did not belong to a union, consequently 
had to work 12 or 15 hours per day, because if he 
did not work these long hours he would be in trouble 
with his non-union because his other non-union 
brother farmers would keep right on working 15 
hours or more, and would then turn on him and 
call him a lazy loafer for not working from sun 
to sun. Verily the farmer gettetli what he de- 
serveth. I believe the union workman gets his $10 
or more per day because of the fact that he re¬ 
fuses to work for more than eight hours. If he 
were to work 10 or 12 hours per day his pay would 
be reduced. Let him produce two houses where only 
one grew before, and like the farmer, he will get 
the same price for the two that he formerly re¬ 
ceived for one. He uses his brains and keeps down 
production, or at least knows enough to demand that 
he shall not be penalized on account of extra pro¬ 
duction. Adequate return for labor expended is his 
motto. The motto of the farmer is: ‘If I can grow 
two potatoes where one grew before I will donate 
the extra potato and also peel it for the public.” 
The story says: "Suppose the hired man at home 
took a notion to work like that. Well, for argu¬ 
ment, let’s suppose that he does take a notion to 
become a union man. and to demand the same 
hours and pay that is conceded to the carpenter, 
the mason, the painter, the plumber and all the 
other mechanics. Will that hurt the farmer? No! 
We farmers today are getting just about the same 
for our labor income as the hired man. Government 
statistics are my authority for this statement. If 
by forming a union the hired man can get $10 per 
eight-hour day, then it is quite reasonable to sup¬ 
pose that all of us farmers will receive $10, for most 
farmers are but hired men on our own farms, doing 
the same work as the hired man. Some one may 
say this argument is wrong, that the farmer will 
not make as much as the hired man. If that be so, 
then why not all of us sell our farms and become 
hired men? We, at least, would be sure of union 
wages. 
But suppose I am wrong here; then let’s take 
another line. Suppose all our hired farm hands 
should form a union and insist on strictly union 
hours, eight hours per day. What would happen? 
Well, for one, I believe that it would give us a 
living price for our products. I believe that the 
farms of the United States will average at least 
one hired man to a farm. He is working now 10 
hours or more per day. The owner of the farm 
is the other hired man, working the same hours, 
or 20 hours of man labor per day on each farm. 
Now, suppose the hired man joins a union and le- 
fuses to work but eight hours per day. Is the 
farmer hurt? No. By the hired man getting a little 
horse sense and working but eight hours, the labor 
output on that farm is reduced by two hours down 
to 18. That means a reduction in output of one- 
tenth, or 10 per cent, just about the amount of our 
surplus production of crops. Do that on all the 
farms; it will take the surplus away and we will 
get a decent return for the crops actually needed 
by the people. Then, if the farmer himself, 
through any inconceivable reasoning, should make 
up his mind also to work but eight hours, another 
1h e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
10 per cent reduction would take place, so that a 
condition of actual scarcity would obtain, with 
resultant high prices, just the same as high prices 
have been brought about in the building trades by 
a reduction of working hours. 
The unionizing of the farm hired man may be 
the salvation of American farming. If we farmers 
will not "do it ourselves,” then I say God bless the 
man who will do it for us. We farmers are wor¬ 
shippers of traditions, and the tradition of the 
American farmer, told him by others, is that he 
is the most independent man on earth, and sad to 
say, he really believes it. In fancy he believes 
he is so independent that lie prefers to work four 
or five hours as an independent rather than to sub- 
This is a grandson of G. W. Belden, our correspondent, 
who produces honey in Tioga County, N. Y. Mr. Belden 
says that this youngster is very fond of honey, but does 
not care for candy. 
ordinate some of his supposed independence by 
co-operating with his brother farmers, by standing 
together with them in a farmers’ league or union, 
which can say to the other unionized trades work¬ 
men : "We are willing to work as many hours per 
day as you will work. We are willing to trade you 
one farm hour's worth of food products for one 
city hour’s worth of commodities you produce, but 
we do not propose to work while you sleep. V e 
have been your servants long enough. We have 
toiled and sweat blood in order that you might eat 
the apple pie while we have been satisfied with the 
crust. Now, we propose to eat first of the things 
which we produce, and if there is anything left 
after our appetite is satisfied, then, if you are will¬ 
ing to work equal to us you can be filled, but if 
you decline to spend equal energy for equal re¬ 
turns then starve.” G - o. warford. 
A Profitable Crop To Grow 
M OKE farmers should know the value there is 
in Soy beans. Not <*dy do they add nitrogen 
to the soil, but they are a paying seed crop and a 
good feed. There is not a thing'in the way of live 
stock on the farm that will not eat them. 
We have been growing Soy beans for the last 
eight years and find there is no secret connected 
with their successful culture. They will grow 
profitably on any soil that produces average crops 
of corn, oats, potatoes and the like—yes, on soil 
too poor to produce profitable returns in these 
crops. 
Soil preparation should begin early in Spring, 
although planting need not be done until after corn 
is planted. By preparing the soil early and keep¬ 
ing it harrowed as often as the young weeds show 
above the soil surface, all weed seeds within the top 
few inches of the soil will be killed, so that keep¬ 
ing the beans clean of weeds later on will be great¬ 
ly facilitated. This is very important, whether the 
beans are sown broadcast or in rows for cultiva¬ 
tion: 1.000 to 1.500 lbs. of lime added per acre 
March 8, 1924 
after plowing and before harrowing will give pay¬ 
ing results. 
Planting should begin shortly after corn. A com¬ 
mon grain drill that will sow the bean seed can be 
used. If cultivation is followed, and we believe 
that it pays, some of the feed holes in the grain 
box should be stopped so as to bring the rows not 
closer than 28 in. apart. A common two-horse corn 
planter can be used, arranging the feed so that the 
beans can be drilled. Double drill the field so that 
the rows will be twice as close as for corn. Ar¬ 
range the feed in either machine so that the bean 
seed will average about 4 in. apart, thus taking 
about a bushel of beans to the acre. Remember 
that the bean seed must be inoculated with the 
i i ’ trogen-gath er in g bacteria grown on Soy bean 
roots. This is very important and takes so little 
time and cost that it should not be neglected. These 
cultures, with directions for use, can be secured 
from different sources and generally cost about 25 
cents per bottle, sufficient to treat a bushel. The 
treated beans should not be exposed to the sun for 
any length of time and should be sown within the 
next 10 hours for best results. Plant about 2 in. 
deep, the same as corn. 
Begin cultivation before the beans are up, es¬ 
pecially if rains crust the soil surface. The first 
two cultivations may be done with a one-horse 
weeder. If the ground is a little too firm a spike¬ 
toothed harrow should be used so as to scratch the 
surface soil thoroughly, following the rows. We 
generally use a harrow and watch closely that no 
litter blocks the teeth to break off the young beans 
or drag them out. The second cultivation begins 
after the first true leaves appear. Work on an 
angle across the field if the soil surface is not 
loose, otherwise follow the rows. The harrowing 
that follows this one should He across the rows on 
an angle. Horses will step on some of the young 
plants but they will straighten up again. We often 
do the third and following liarrowings with tractor. 
The first time we used the tractor we thought we 
had surely killed all the bean plants where the 
tractor wheel went, but within 24 hours they had 
straightened, and no bad effects could be noticed. 
Do not try the tractor if the ground is wet. If the 
weeds cannot be kept down by harrowing, go once 
in a row with a one-horse cultivator. If the horses 
can be made to walk in the rows, a two-horse culti¬ 
vator can be used, thus cultivating two rows at 
once. Generally one cultivation is all that is nec¬ 
essary, and it should be followed within a few days 
with a harrow, going diagonally across the rows, 
smoothing the surface of the ridges caused by the 
cultivator. These ridges, if not worked down, will 
handicap harvesting with a mower. 
Harvesting for seed should not begin before the 
pods are brown and fairly ripe, but when the crop 
is wanted for hay feed, cutting should begin when a 
majority of the leaves are turning yellow. In cut¬ 
ting them for seed, a clover bunc-her is used in con¬ 
nection with the mower, thus leaving the vines in 
bunches convenient size for drying out. As soon 
as they are well cured and the pods break open 
easily, they can be thrashed by a common thrash¬ 
ing machine by removing its concave teeth. Allow 
the thrashed beans to remain in sacks or shallow 
bins for a few days so that they become thoroughly 
dried before storing. If the beaus are wanted for 
feed they should be cut and handled as for seed, 
except it is not necessary to thrash them. Haul 
them to the barn and store as hay and feed beans, 
pods, stalks and all. Everything but the large 
woody stalks will be eaten. When fed in this 
way they will certainly make the milk come and 
horses will jump into the collar with some pep. 
They are a great pig feed also, in fact everything 
on the farm, will eat them. b. w. keith. 
Manure Waste by Weathering 
XPERIMENTS at the Ohio Station show that 
farm manure exposed in fiat piles in an open 
yard from January to April lost 35.6 per cent of its 
nitrogen, 22.5 per cent of its phosphorus and 51 per 
cent of the potash. That means about one-third of 
its total fertilizing value. This loss would be largely 
avoided by keeping the manure under cover or haul¬ 
ing it out on level ground each day. Manure never 
can contain more plant food than on the day it is 
made. There is a constant and steady loss, great or 
small, from that day. and this fact gives one of the 
great arguments for hauling out every day whenever 
possible. The other argument is that the work is 
done at the most convenient time and will not inter¬ 
fere with the necessax-y Spring jobs. 
