The Rural Voice, 1979-06, Page 24Farming for Profit in 1880
How to keep 'em
down on the farm
It was a problem 100 years ago too
BY ADRIAN VOS
In this year of the child, the right way to bring up a child is
a much debated topic. Should the naughty child be spanked, or
should the teachings of Dr. Spock who says that most
wrongdoings by the child can be corrected by talking, be
applied?
Should the child be made to do chores, and if so, should she or
he be paid for it? Or is it a part of the total family duty?
A hundred year ago. there was no such debate. John Read,
farmer, writer, wrote in Farming for Profit (1880): "That labor is
a duty as well as a positive requirement, there can be no possible
doubt. The father who allows his children to grow up in idleness,
thereby inflicts upon them a great wrong, and the youth who
wishes that he could live without work could have few wishes
granted which would be more destructive to his happiness.
Industry is not only the fountain of all wealth, but also the source
of happiness and the preserver of health and virtue. The idle
man is a useless member of society, is unhappy, and often
miserable."
There you have it, folks. Chores were good for the kids then
and I don't see any difference from 1880.
Read warns however never to become a slave to work, or to
make slaves of the children. "The work of children should be
proportionate to their strength."
He finds that there is a time for work, for leisure, for study,
and for social contacts.
"It is a good plan to give the last half of the Saturday afternoon
to the boys and the girls for their own enjoyment."
And make note of this little piece of wisdom: "If home is made
pleasant and cheerful, most boys will think it is the nicest place
in the world, and will choose to spend their evenings in it rather
than abroad."
How to keep the boys on the farm was also a hot concern in
1880. The arguments that boys used then to leave the farm and
that parents used to try and keep them there, are not all that
much different from those used today.
Many farmers overworked and underpaid their boys. The old
PG. 22 THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1979
author says father should provide the boys with books and
papers and a pleasant room to spend their evenings in. He
should also have good clothes for off the farm and be furnished
with "the spending money he really needs."
Leaving the farm for clerk's job was not all it appeared to be
either in 1880 because, "the expenses of living are so high that
the city clerk, whom they envy because of his large salary, can
hardly keep out of debt."
We see buttons today saying: "I'm proud to be a Farmer."
'Mr. Read points out that farming is not only a honorable
occupation, but "it is the kind of labor which God directly
marked out for man..."
A farmer should tell his son the why's and
wherefore's
To prevent him from losing interest, a farmer's son should be
told the why's and wherefore's. Givc him a piece of land for his
own, Mr. Read urges. Let him buy the seed and pocket the
returns. "The father who gives the son spending money does a
great deal better than the one who never allows him to have any,
but it is by far better to have the boy earn the money which he
spends."
The girls were not entirely neglected. A girl who married a
farmer did not throw herself away.
Many wives have been terribly overworked, and we can
sympathize with the mother who desires an easier life for her
child. But even a hundred years ago it was necessary for a farm
wife to work herself to death. The farmer who overworked his
wife would do the same if his job were something else.
And finally this gem:"The children should be taught to
respect themselves and their occupation."
Basically. nothing has changed.