The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-05-29
The Distribution Of Labor on the Farm.

THERE are about as many kinds of
farm management as there are kinds of
men. To a certain extent this is natu-
raj, because there are so many different
products of the farm, almost any one of
which may betaken as the primary, and
all the others thus become of only Sec
ondary importance. If butter is the
leading "crop," the system of the farm
will be of one kind; if wheat is the pri-
mary product, the methods pursued will
be different from those for butter, and
this again will not be the same as when
sheep are the main source of the farm
er's income. Circumstances of soil,
climate, nearness to market, personal
tastes, ETC., will decide these matters.
But whatever the system, what
ever the leading crop grown
and we by no means believe that in
all cases, or even in most cases, it is
always better for q farmer to have
crop that is the leading one-there are
certain general principles that should be
binding upon one so soon as he becomes
farmer. He who by the soil would
thrive, no matter what he is to make
that soil produce, should so plan his
work that there will be the least num-
Der of idle days, in fact, this means that
there should be no days when the
farmer has, as the common express
sion goes, to "kill time" Every
worker of the soil, whether
he owns or rents the soil, and is, there
fore, working for himself, should put
definite market value upon his labor.
This very many fail to do, and overlook
ing this important fact, it easily and
naturally becomes source of loss. 1t
is as much to the farmers advantage to
have full supply of labor for each and
every work day, as for the day hand that
gets his living from his daily labor.
The vital importance of the proper
distribution of farm labor throughout
the season-yes, the whole year-being
accepted as leading fact in profitable
agriculture-the question is, how to
make the most of it? In the first place
it demands a careful planning of the
whole seasons work, if not the work
for several years. This plan should ac-
count for work for not less than 290
days in the year-and the work of each
of those days should be of such char
acter as to pay-not work to be done for
the sake of doing something, but sea-
sonable, profitable labor. This princi-
pie at once points towards a variety of
farm crops, mixed farming, rotation
of crops, the ideal farming, and the one
towards which substantial agriculture is
tending.
A single example will suffice to Illus
trate and enforce the point. Let it be
supposed that farmer is growing roots,
and that it is to his advantage to have
the labor of the care of his roots dis
tributed along through the season.
Instead of putting his whole land into
swedes, and that in early summer when
other labor is pressing, he can SOW a
portion of the land to mangels as early
as the ground can be worked; and later,
after the swedes are in, part of the
field may be put into flat turnips,
which grow rapidly and must be fed as
soon as grown. If soiling is practiced
the fiat turnips may follow the early
rye in July. In like manner there are
many cases where the work that would
otherwise come "all in a heap" can
be distributed through the season, and
"all hands" can be kept for several
months and furnished with steady and
profitable labor. The farmer who can
best equalize his work and apportion to
each week and month its part, other
things being equal, will be the most
successful. -An1erican AQrIcultkrist.