The Osceola times., 1886-11-06
ECONOMY OF LABOR.
How Thoughtful Farmers Can witbou,
Much Trouble Increase..rheir Income.

pended and used with the greatest
economy. Material is cheaper than
ever before as compared with the guam
tity of labor required to produce it, and
economy of material is a secondary con.
sideration 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 NAV
now plant and finish six acres of pota-
toes in a 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
! inc sixtv-six bushels or two tons.
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 il with the plow,
| or in the majority of cases with the hoe
and then fights the weeds with the hoe
and cultiyator 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 rotten ones into half bushel,
put into bags. and taken away for sale.
| Or the potatoes are sorted out of the
| heaps, the larger ones are put in bag.
! and carted to the cellar or root house,
where they 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 a half bushei and
once more handled.
BY this method the potatoes are sold
| at large loss if all this labor is counted
up at one dollar day. BY the other
method there is a very good profit at
even twenty-five cents a busheL The
same facts will apply to other work on
the farm as well rs 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, but merely to the loss Of
| time and labor for want OF the best ar
engagements for conducting the business
of the farm. The small grain crops,
| for instance, which farmers complain OF
as Icing unprohtabte may be grown,
harvested and disposed of with much
less labor than is usually expended upon
them. Thrashing in the ordinary man.
ner and the storing of grain in gran
| cries, where il suffers from vermn and
waste, and the frequent handling before
il is marketed, all cost as muth IN extra
| and unnecessary labor as would make q
considerable proportion of the price re-
ceived for it. farmer who thrashes
out his grain from the field when il is
dry and bags it and keeps it in the bags
instead of pouring it out into bins and
measuring it into bags again, saves time
and labor enough TO pay for the bags,
and by disposing Of it at once will mostly
save more labor and money as well.
Some say the bags will be torn and the
wheat damaged by rats and mice. This
is a most lame and impotent excuse, for
no farmer should suffer himself to be
made "a prey by these Insignificant
vermin, which damage him and not his
bags or grain. And this affords another
instance of how and where labor can be
issyed by having his buildings vermin
proof so that he can leave bags of grain
safely without being compelled TO build
costly 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 is necessarily laborious work 10 har-
vest corn, but if 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 the labor can be
saved. A few points may be given in
this respect. First, as to the cutting.
This should be done with heavy, sharp
knife, one blow of which will cut off the
whole hill, and the stalks should be cut
close to the ground. This is where tho
| fodder is saved for indoor feeding. A
shocking horse is then used for building
the shocks This is pole about ten
feet long having pin three feet long
put loosely through it two feet from the
end, and pair of legs to raise the end
about four feet from the ground placed
i've 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 twne bands, as follows; A
wooden pin, like a long skewer- the
cross-piece of the shocking horse may
be used If one end is pointed-is pushed
through the shock and the loop of one
end of a piece OF light rope is slipped
over il; the free end of the rope is car
ried 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 n slip
knot is made. This all takes less time
to do than to read it. Second, as TO
the husking. A husking tool should be
used having a board seat on each
side, so that two huskers can
work at the shock at the same
/ time, while il rests on the
stool AS the ears are husked they
should be thrown in boxes made for
this purpose and Tor harvesting potatoes
and roots, and each holding a heaped
bushel level with the edge. These boxes
are the most convenient things about
the farm and save their cost every year.
They are made of three e-quarter-inch
strips three inches wide, and are eigh-
teen inches long, thirteen inches wide
and twelve inches deep, thus having a