The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-01-24
EMPLOYING FARM woRKMEN

| lsbOreT need not begin WORK at once
out his employer will gain If he s hired
as this time. The best labOrers are
hired first. Just as the demand for
the best pork, or beef, or fruits, alway 8
exceeds the supply, so does the demand
FOR the best farm bOrer exceed It's
| supply. The intelligent and careful
! farm hand la not compelled 20 seek
long for employment. Ths seeking Is
generally for him aud he IL hired early.
1t Is the poor quality of farm labor that
Is on the market. until the very begin
ming of che season of active farm work
| Hence while the man that hires his
labor early IN the year may choose
what he pteases, he that delays hiring
until February or March viii likely
find only the poorer labnTara to choose
from. OffArm labor as of other things,
the b st ls really the cheapest. l. Es
very easy for careless, ignorant, laZT
laboTer TO cause his employer loss of
five dollars per month, by allowing ami
mails TO be injured. or by failure TO aB
tend 10 them properly, bY breaking or
misuaing farm machinery and losing
farm tOUls. or Oy poor blowing. or fence
building, or other work. The wise
farmer E2ll get the best labor, and t0
| make sure of Is, he will contract for it
early In January.
1t would doubtless be more advan-
tageOus TO many employers and bo
their employees as well. If the contract
OF hiring Wer3 made for the year IN
stead of for only five or eight months
beginning about March 18th. a. IL the
common rute II labor we're engaged
by the year, it's stability would Ger
tainly be increased and it would be
much easier to hold a good laboTer
| from year TO year, as IL l. evidently
quite an advantage to have labOrers
tnaS have been with an employer long
enough 90 b. familiar wish his land,
his plans, his methods, his animals,
and his machines fOGd labOrers-will
work for reasonably low Wages during
the winter, rather than DC Idle; and.
although the days are short. 50 small
will be the daily wage that good labor
ers can be very prOfiEably employed
during the winter in Improving the
farm. stopping guilles. getting Ou5 ms
| t@rlai8 FOR teucTs, and especially IN nh
| tictpat;ng a part of the work OF the
busy season. IA in preparing a supply
Of sByvewO d for the rprlng aRd sum
mcr, for example. II laDOr Is 10 be en
! gagged by the year, January Is the
proper time to make the engagement
Providing neat houses for the OcCu
pancy Of married lab6rGrs, rather shan
baking uamarrieJ IsbOFers ineo the
employ er'S family, Ii 10 Ce recon-
mendrd When the labOreFs are boarded
bY the far ,ner, it adds to the labor Of
his wife aud daughters, wh@n probably
thak labor would be- fully hard enough
wiLhout is addition. When laborerS
are taken into tha farmers family, the
chief charms of his home life are taken
away This is not Of ne 7cs@ity con
demninZ the farm laOOTers; this effect
you'd ensue If any strangers, 40 matter
| how intelligent and refined, were taken
INFO the family. TIE marriage of farm
l4bCrers should be encouraged. The
unmarried farm lab ,rer is unfixed. Un-
settled, ~anderer having little IN
tarest in the we'll being of the com
munity In which he may have His n bOde
Let him be married and have a family.
and he h - an anchor, and n spur TO
better labor ant greater thrift. If he
has a house and a garden. a pix pen aud
q COW lot, he feels that he has an III
terest in the farm. and he will won K
more steadily and thoroughly, while
| his wife and children will often fad
employment III his employ er's house
to the profit Of all concerned. And IF
agreeable to the married laoOrer ard
| his family, It IS better for hum to board
any unmarried labOTers that may D."
employ ed. If given the use OF q garden
and truck patch as extra wages, hlS
children can be usetully employed. out
side of school, and will make = good
part of the living for the family BY
ali means let the married labUrer have
his COW and pig and garden. He will
work better, can save more, and has
chi dren will have that useful employ
ment that ia an essential OF the train
ing into good men and women
In many contracts of hiring, the
wage Is apeGifed at 50 much per month,
the amount b"ing the same for each
month. This is a mistake, as not ~
few employers have found TO their cor
row When the IabOrer IS hired tor
ak months, say. twenty collars per
month, beginning March l5'h ne M ty
work until June 18th, drawn ms
wages each month, ami then refuse to
work longer unless paid harvest wages !;
and as rhp labOrpr that will do this has
no property that can be reached by
legal process, his employer Is helpless
Either the farmer must let hand 60
just when he is needed or else pay
him one half more than he should re
;eive The proper plan would be to
specify fifteen dollars as the wage for
each of the first three months. thirty
dollars each for the fourth and fifth
months, and fifteen dollars for the
sixth month. If the hiring If for a
year the wage for each month should
be propDrtioned to the value of the
labor customary at that time. or
course the wage per month will be
least during the winter, and mo:
during the summer than during the
spring and fall
It is both right and profitable to treat
farm laborers humanely. 1t does not
pay to try to OverwOrk them. MAKING
the hours of the day too long, easily