The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-12-22
Illred Help on the Farm.

skill in dealing with men than |
on any other single item in farm man ,
acement. On every farm much of the
labor done must be hired. The farmer
who understands human nature can Sc
cure more effective and cheaper help
than he who does not. As rule, farm
employees are a difficult set to deal with.
The more enterprising and intelligent are
aptto get the Western fever early and
seek homes for themselves. Occasion
ally Young man of good habits and
intelligence works for others onthe farm
a few seasons to get the capital to COM
mence farming on his own account.
These make altogether the best help,
and should be secured at almost any
reasonable price they may ask An ig-
uorant, unskilled blunderer will waste
and destroy twice the amount of his
Wages in a single season. Good farm
ing consists in carefulness in little
things. When we consider how few
farmers are able to stand this test, the
wonder is that when much of the details
of farm work is left to hired help, there
should be as much good farming as
there is.
When faithful and intelligent hired
man has been found, all his reasonable
demands should be satisfied. Better use |
farm tools without oiling than have q |
hired man constantly grumbling. The |
| friction will do less damage on the in
sensate iron than on the human temper
| and feelings. The hired man need not
1 and should not be ''boss,n but good
| farmer will not hesitate to consult him \
| at times, and listen to, if not follow, his
| advice. Two heads are better than one,
and there are few men SO ignorant as
i not to know more about certain things
than their employers. 1t is common for
farmers to resent any advice from their
employees as impertinence; but the fact
that advice is thus resented shows that
the farmer who does so is in some doubt
as to his position. Young farmers and
those having little experience in the
4 business are most apt to have trouble
with their hired men, and this mainly
because they are afraid to lower their
dignity by asking the opinion of their
employees. If young man Is intelli-
gent he win not take kindly to such
treatment, and this is one reason why
so few of the better class of young men
seek employment on the farm.
1t is essential to the best success with
farm help that they should have the
fullest confidence of their employer and
be interested in their work. Men will
not and can not work as we'll for poor
as for good farmer, not alone because
they have less to do with, but because
the enthusiasm of interest will in one
isasa -impel the help to do their utmost,
while lack OF 1HU1rose will retard every
effort. When work is progressing ia
vorably it is easier to do good days
labor than when it is tagging, and the
better the help the more difference this
feeling will create. Poor help is of the
kind that does things mechanically,
and with such it may matter little
whether the work is reasonable and
/ effective or not. A story is told of an
English farmer, who, on hiring new
man, first employed him in doing the
most unreasonable and prepostero1s job
: of which he could think. The next day
he set him to undoing what he had
done before. The man went at his
task each time without word of pro-
test, or even seeming to care what he
was set to do, so long as his pay was
sure, The rich farmer at the end of the
second day said he was satisfied, for he
had found man who would do exactly
what was told him without thinking or
{ caring for the result. In other words,
{ he was seeking a mere machine, and
, had secured one to his liking. A man
: is not machine, however, even if he
is farm hand hired by the month.
i Whoever seeks to transform him into d
7 machine not only injuries his manhood,
' but impairs his effectiveness as ID
4 worker.
3 In, every way possible hired help
should be made interested in that which
: they are doing. If farmer discusses
: his plans and calculations his employees
t will soon take an intelligent interest in
a the work they are doing. Then, if the
D employer is taken sick, or some unex-
I. pected emergency calls him away, one
r among his employees will be able to take
2 the lead and arrange to keep the work
1 in progress. It may be necessary some
8 times to employ men who do things
> mechanically, but where several mer
: are employed one or more among them
!, should be competent and be authorized
E. to take. charge-of affairs when the en-
ployer is not Present.
3 The fact has often been noted thai
! employees will work better and more
/ freely for q rich man than for pool
one. In the days of slavery Southern
!, negroes used to boast of the wealth anc
!. responsibility of their owners, as re
|, fiecting luster on themselves, and some
. thing Of this feeling is quite common
among hired help with regard to theil
I employers. Nothing succeeds like sue
cess, and no man can do his best wher
I working on practical failure. A lazy
Z drunken farmer may often have kind
i sensible and loving wife; but he car
! not keep good hired man two seasons
!. in succession. AS rule, the better the
= farmer the more thorough his culture
Z and the more promptly he keeps uI
: with his work the better the class O
!, help he can employ. Keeping in adj
vance of work is doubly important, fol
3 if a farmer gets behind, his men see hi.
: helplessness and do about as they
Z please. Generally a farmer win no
! have any trouble about help leaving
. him if he manages always to be so wei
: beforehand that their leaving will NO
+ seriously distress him.
d As for payment, the old Mosaic rul,