Year: 1872

The scarcity of labor in the agricultural sections
OF our own State and the adjoining portion OF
MARYLAND and the Peninsular is becoming yer!
serious matter to the farmers. 1t is quite evideh'
that sufficient ialor cannot be had to make the
business Of cultivating the land pay fair interest,"
ON tho investment. This, We are told, does NOT
arise wholly from the scarcity Of men to do the
work. But in great part from tho worthessness OF
the negro laborers who seem to care only 10 earn
sufficient money to keep them from actual want
In very many cases they do not do this ana ai'er
idline away their time become burden through
their demands for charity. The enormous prices
demanded for labor is also urged by the farmers
as one of the difficulties that they find it imposs'-
BILE to contend with successfully. The wages
which the laborers ask are much higher than for
mery wh,ie the amount Of work they perform IN
q given time is much less. Taking this into con-
sideration in connection with the light crops, the
low price of grain and the cost of freigLts and
handling produce before It reaches market reduces
the profit to SO low a figure that farmers lind II
very difficult to make the "two ends meet Snort
ly after the close Of the war it was supposed the
idle habits Of the colore1 population was the con-
sequence of the novel position they held, and that
it would pass away, under the stimulous OF ao-
vanced pay. This has not been the result. The
we'll paid negro is less to be depended upon now
than when he earned only sufficient by constant
effort to keep him from want. The closer he was
held tc his work by the necessity for food the
more certain was he to be found discharging his
duty. While he got his wages by the month and
his daily food was supplied from the kitchen OF his
employer, he was not SO frequently found idling
his time away. The payment Of per diem or week
ly wages has tended to lessen greatly the labor
from this large class of residents in this county as
well As in every part of the Penlnsular lience
the efforts that have been made and are being
made to secure laborers from from abroad. The
Farmers very 10th to 60 into this business; but
they say they are compelled to try the experiment
Their chief objection is that the emgrant may
soon be corrupte,; by the bad example he meets,
and fall into like indolent habits. "1lelp' in the
household has become almost as scarce as "help'
in the field. Even in the villages where on any
day halt dozen of coored people of either sex
may be found at their novels idling away their
time, appeals to them to enter service are unheed-
ed and refused.


This difficulty does not rest only with farmers
VINO tlu large tIaCks IL Win e4uai loiee Wy
on those who cultivate sraal farms In some ca
ses where the farmer has or daughters old
enough to perform the necessary work OF farm
hands, the hard features OF the tunes relieved
So often with the rich or those who own and cul-
tivate large farms, the is not SO hard because
hands are found more willing to work in gangs
than singly.


The consequence OF TIE continuance OF this state
OF things SO long, and the poor prospect OF change
for the better, farms have been selling at prices
far below their supposed valuc-in some instances
for one.third less than they were rated at ON the
county assessment on the tax collectors books
which is usually put down much lower than prop
erty is valued at by owners.


1t is feared that lands will not be highly cult
vated under such circumstances as previously, anc
that instead of growing more valuable they vii
become poor and intrnsically worth less money
One of the consequences will be great Reduction
iu the yield of revenue. The farm that was ratet
at 800 per acre and sold at $50 must have thu
effect to reduce the rate of assessment the mex
year, unless there should be change that now car
hardly be expected.