it at the exact time he may require it; those who let the machine must make a profit from those who hire it, and for several reasons a high charge must be paid for the use of the machine. There is the expense of taking it from one farm to another; it is earning nothing when being so moved, and the wear and tear caused by dragging it along the roads is very considerable. But a small farmer who hires such a machine is under still greater disadvantages, for he not only has to hire the machine, but must also hire the men to work it, since he has not enough men in his own employment. Men who are hired in this irregular way must be paid more than the ordinary labourer, whose employment is constant, for they have to sacrifice much time in moving from place to place in quest of this irregular employment. Such a farmer will not be able to thrash his corn at the time most convenient to him; he must thrash it when he can get the engine and hire the men.
Fields are larger,Small farming generally involves small fields; these fields will be surrounded by hedges, and must be approached by roads, and thus a great deal of land is wasted; the disadvantage of small fields will be greatly increased when steam cultivation is introduced The steam plough requires considerable breadth of land upon which to work; at every turn that the plough makes, time is lost; after the centre of the field has been ploughed, the headlands will remain to be ploughed separately; the labour of moving the engine from field to field is considerable; much time may be thus wasted, and in fact it has been calculated that a steam cultivator would plough a square field of ten acres in half the time occupied in ploughing two fields of five acres each, and at two-thirds of the expense.
and labour frequently more productive.Many kinds of labour on a small farm are less productive than on a large one. Thus a flock of 400 sheep requires nearly as many shepherds as a flock of 800. Each farm has a carter, whether the farm is 300 acres, or 600 acres. Again, much of the time and energy of a small farmer is frequently wasted, for he would often be able to superintend his farm quite as well if it were larger.
These and many other considerations show that large farming now possesses advantages over small farming,