Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-01-01
Economy of Labor.

AISVAAOAAAy VA A6WVV'
Many small leaks are equivalent
to one large one. The numerous IT,
ny holes bored through the planking
of ship by minute worms have
caused as frequent wrecks as the
starting of a plank or the tearing
away of the bottom by contact with
rocks. More men are financially
wrecked through inattention to small
expenses than by great disasters. 1t
is equally so with farmers. More
men are led to complain that the
farm does not pay, by want of econo-
my in small things, than by great
mistakes or serious losses. No man
is more free from danger of the lat
ter than a farmer, if he exercises the
commonest SOFT Of prudence, but, at
the same time, few men lose more by
reason of neglect of small economies
than he. 1t is in the expenditure OF
labor, too, that he loses most. Labor
is the farmers chief capital, and if
this is not economically expended he
fails to secure the best results from
his investment. But it is rare that
we can procure such direct testimo-
ny from the farmers own lips to
prove this statement as comes to us
in the report of recent meeting of
the Elmira Farmers Club. In dis
cussion upon the subject of keeping
accounts, Mr.. Billings remarked
that "a farmer watches his barome-
ter and takes account of the changes.
Then he hoes cabbage little while,
and weeds the beets, and prunes his
vines and fruit trees, and divides the
day into twenty performances. There
in lies the difficulty of keeping farm
accounts when one desires to en-
bIace every little affair.
Every farmer must recognize the
picture. If it is not his own, it is GER
tainly his neighbours portrait. 1t is
true to nature and does not flatter
him. Unfortunately, it is as general
as it is true. OF all places where la
Dor is expended, a farm managed up
on the principle so graphically de-
scribcd by Mr.. Billings, returns the
least value for q days work. And
the owners of farms thus worked not
mreasonably complain of their scan
ty profits.
The most profitable labor is the
work of the brain-head work. If
the hands are not REINFORCED by the
head, much eXertion goes to waste.
a laborer's work is valued by this
scale, even if of no higher character
than shoveling earth. How much
more, then, is the skilled labor of the
farm Of value according to the intel
ligencc with which it is directed. To
make farm labor of the most value,
it must be done at the best season,
and in such a manner that there is
none lost or expended without result.
If work is done piecemeal, however,
there is great loss of time in chang
inc from one labor to another. If
the crops are put in in patches there
is necessarily much of this piecemcal
work to be done, and much waste Of
ground besides. If the fields are IT.
regular in shape, and surrounded by
crooked fences, choked up with weeds
and brush, there is also loss of time
and land. 1t is one of the greatest
advantages Of keeping accounts, that
it makes such want of economy as
this apparent, and leads to the dis
covcry of the many small leaks
through which u farmers profits dis
appear. If a farmer will only keep
accounts us any other business man
does, and charge to each crop the
time and labor expended upon it, and
to profit and loss whatever time is
lost without result, he will make
discovery that will startle him. He
will find how large portion Of his
time is expended uselessly, and that
some Of his crops are Improbable.
He will then learn that he must econ
omize his labor carefully, and so
manage his daily cmployments that
no time is lost in dividing his atten-
ton between twenty small perform
ances. On the. contrary, he will dis
cover that the most profitable man
ncr of doing anything is to keep at
it until it is done, and that the fewer
divisions he makes of his labor, the
more effective it will be.-Noac York
Times.