Thomas County cat., 1886-11-11
ECONOMY or LABOR.

Labor $ now t.lr most vainablc mar
keta5le commodity, and must be eX-
pended and used with the greatest
economy. Material is cheaper than
ever before as compared with the quan-
! tity of labor required to produce it, and
economy of material is secondary con-
sidcration in farm work. The use OF
machinery has greatly cheapened the
products of labor and at the same time
has made labor worth more, because il
is made more productive. For instance,
by the use of machines farmer may
now plant and finish six acres of pota-
toes in day. He can keep the soil
quite free from weeds if he has only the
promptness and skill to use the ma
chimes made for this purpose. He can
harvest the six acres of potatoes with a
potato digger. clear the ground and
have it sown with wheat in one week.
and by the use of boxes holding one
bushel each, and large wagons hold
can draw the loads to market and get
the whole work ended in the week.
Let us contrast this with the common
way of doing this work and note the
difference. At planting time the farmer
cuts his seed, furrows out the land.
drops the seed, covers it with the plow,
Or in the majority of cases with the hoe
and then fights the weeds with the hoe
and cultivator through the season. The
crop is taken out with the plow or with
the hoe: picked up and thrown in heaps
on the ground and buried in pits per-
haps for the winter; when the spring
comes the sound ones are picked out
from the rottan ones into half bushel,
rut into bags, and taken away for sale.
Or the potatoes are sorted out of the
heaps. the larger ones are put in bags
and cartcd to the cellar or root house,
where .hey are again handled and picked
over before they are disposed of. A
good many rotten ones are thrown out,
and finally they are put into bags once
more. When they are sold they are
measured through half bushei and
once more handled.
BY this method the potatoes are sold
at a large loss if all this labor is counted
up at orc dollar a day. BY the other
method there is very good profit at
even twenty-five cents a bushel. The
same facts will apply to other work on
the farm as well as to the disposal of the
products. We do not refer to the loss
and waste of material by feeding poor
stock or by neglect of work at the
proper season, bnt merely to the loss of
time and labor for want Of the best ar
rangements for conducting the business
of the 1arm. The small grain crops,
for instance. which farmers complain OF
as Icing. unproiitabte may be grown,
harvested and disposed of with much
less labor than is usually expended upon
;hem. Thrashing in the ordinary man
der and the storing of grain in gran
cries. where it suffers from vermin and
waste, and the frequens handling before
it is marketed, all cost rs mu, h in extra
and unnecessary labor SO would makes
considerable proportion Of the price re-
caived for it. A farmer who ,hrashes
out his gra from the; field when it is
dry and bags it and keeps it in the bags
instead of pouring !. out into bins and
measuring it into bags ag:sin, saves time
and labor enough 10 pay for the bags.
and by disposingo of itat once will mostly
save more labor and money as well.
Some say the bags VII be torn and the
wheat damaged BY rats and mice. This
is most lame and impotena excuse. for
no farmer should suffer himself to be
made prey by these Insignificant
vermin, which damage him and not his
bags or grain. And this aiiiDl-ds another
Instance of how and where labor cain be
isaved by having his. buildings vermin
proof SO that he can leave bags Of grain
safely without being compelled to build
co tly bins and handle the grain over
and over again.
There is no other crop over which so
much labor is wasted as the corn crop.
1t as necessarily laborious work to har-
vest corn, but # the principle is applied
to it OF doing no more than is absolute
ly necessary. and of handling it as little
as possible, one-half tie labor can be
saved. A few points may be given in
this respect. First. as to the cutting.
This should be done with a heavy, sharp
knife, one blow of which viii cut off the
whole hill. and the stalks should be cut
close to the ground. This is where the
fodder is saved for indoor feeding. A
shocking horse is then used fer building
the shocks. This is pole. about ten
feet long. having a pm three feet long
put loosely through it two feet from the
end, and a pair of legs to ra:se the end
about four feet from the ground placed
five feet from the end. This being set
up. the Stalks are placed in the four
corners thus made SO as to- stand firmly
until the shock is bound. The binding
is done with twine bands. IS follows: A
wooden pin, Ike long siewer--t the
crOss-piece of the shocking horse may
he used if one md is poinsed-is pushed
through the shock and the loop of one
end of piece of light rope is slipped
over it; the free end of the rope is car
ned around the shock and passed
through the loop and is drawn tight
The cord band is then put on and one
end drawn through moose. and slip
k,'ot Is made. This all takes less time
to 10 than to read it. Second, as 10
tn. husking. A huskiEg tool should be
used having a board seat on each
side. SO that two huskers can
work at the shock Mt the same
tine. wh1e it rests on the
stool. As the ears are husked they
should be thrown in boxes made for