The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-04-24

ofo' "a
Cottages for Farm Hands.
The custom of boarding and lodging
farm laborers in the houses OF their
employees has always been general in
this country, a Y The Chicago Times.
and in the west it is probable that it will
long. continue. Many farmers who
have large estates and employ many
men, at least during the summer, do
not wish to spare the means to erect
cottages to trouble their laborers to
keep house. They wish to put all the
money they a obtain into stock or
farm improvements that will yield an
income. Thew think there is economy
in converting the family residence into
a clearinghouse for the men they en-
ploy in the fields. 1t is evident that
they do not consult the wishes of their
wives and daughters in regard to this
matter. The custom of allowing the
employees of merchants and mechanics
to board IN the house of those for
whom they work was long since
abandoned in all towns and cities, and
it is clearly time that wealthy farmers
follow the example of other employers.
The lot of q woman who has to do the
cooking for q dozen tleld-hands in adj
dition to doing the work for her own
family is not to be enviod, though her
husband is the owner of several Sec
tons of improved land.
Farm laborers would be more con-
tented, happy, and useful to their en-
ployers if they were allowed to live in
cottages erected on the estates upon
they work. Men who have families
| could live with them, while the sim
gle men could board with their brother
laborers who keep house. They would
find congenial society of their own,
and have much better meal of enjoy
ment than in the houses of their en-
! ployers. An arrangement of this kind
would be very advantageous to the
family OF their employers, as it would
save much labor and insure privacy.
The plan of allowing farm hands to
live in cottages by themselves is COM
mon in England, and gives excellent
satisfaction to all parties. Quite re-
Gently great improvements have been
made in the construction of farm cot
tages, and good results are reported
from them. A correspondent of a
London paper recently visited the es-
tate of Lord Tollemache, aggregating
80, 433 acres, and located chiefly in the
county of Cheshire. He states that he
found no marked discomfort among
the tenants and laborers, and attrib-
uted the pleasant condition of affairs
to the cottage system, of which he
gives the following interesting ac-
count:
The cottages, with but few excep-
tons, have been built near the home
stead of the farm upon which the la
borers work. The men are thus saved
the wearisome journeys to and fro
which add so greatly to the daily
drudgery of most English farm-hands.
They are able after the days labor is
at an end to attend to their cottage
affairs before dark; they are within
call in cases of emergency. The farm
houses are mostly characterized by
picturesque gables of black and white,
and the least attractive features of the
stock-yard are upon a uniform design
kept out of sight. A similar principle
10 adopted with the cottages-neat,
substantial little brick buildings, with
pig-sty and cow-house in the rear. and
a small flower garden in the front.
But there is a more important princi-
pal than that. To each cottager is
allotted three acres of land, sufficient
for the maintenance of a cow. One
acre must be set apart for haymaking,
a quarter of an acre goes for tillage,
and the remainder is for pasture. In
a few cases g large piece of grass land
supplies %pasturage in common for two,
three, or more cottages, but as a rule
each cottager has his separate allot-
ment of three acres. The advantages
of this wise and liberal provision are
manifold. The wives and children are
furnished with an occupation in itself.
sufficiently remunerative to pay the
rent and something more, and SER
viccably educational for the children.
In the quarter of an acre which must
be devoted to tillage, potatoes, cab
bages, turnips, and Il bit of grain may
be produced-provender all the year
round for man and beast. Butter is
made every week. generally by the
.cottager's wife, and this is regularly
collected and taken to market by
small dealers living upon the estate.
IheSe SINAI enterprises III uairy lhS'
is a steady if modest source or
income. also enable the people to keep
pigs. Many of the cottagers, found,
by good management and superior
and, in addition to the milk-giving
COW, were able to have Il calf about
he premises to be reared for sale as a
leifer. A cottager's wife pointed out
,ne such animal that had been in her
possession for a couple of years, and
hat was now worth Els. Nothing
lere has to be paid for la
,or, so that the system is re-
lily one of all profit for the