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612
VI. AGRICDLTURE AND CATTLE-BREEDING OF SWEDEN.
This mother-estate should be able to count upon an annual average of 150
such days’ labour per holding. It seems as if the whole number of crofters,
which in the middle of the century stood at about 100,000, and in 1880 at
about 90,000, in 1890 was in round numbers 80,000. Thus, during the last
mentioned decade, there has been a loss of 10,000 crofters or about l1/! million
days’ labour.
Respecting this decrease, it is to be noted that in a number of places, in
holdings in forest districts possessing both cheap ground and timber, the number
of crofters will, without doubt, formerly have been disproportionately large
compared to the extent of the farming of the mother-estate, in consequence of
which a decline has good reason to account for this state of things. But in many
cases the decline in the employment of the crofter-system certainly implies a
pure loss to Swedish agriculture. What this system can effect is especially to be
seen in Småland, where the crofter-system is still in a wonderful state of
development. Here, the land cultivated is annually enlarged upon ever}’ croft, in a way
which excites the astonishment of the beholder. The gain is evident, not only
for the mother-estate but for the crofter himself, too.
A position something between the crofter proper and the tenement-labourer
is held by the so-called Labourer crofter (Dagsverkstorpare). This last-named
class is also paid by means of small plots of ground, which, however, are so small
that they alone do not afford a livelihood, in consequence of which the
labourer-crofter must receive from the estate a certain yearly supply of fodder
and cereals. These crofters execute day’s-labour when so required, for wages
determined once for all.
D) There exist no satisfactory figures concerning the number of
Day-labourers. A lot of them have their own houses and lease a
piece of land; they often carry on some handicraft during a great part
of the year. When the farmers are very busy, these labourers hire
themselves out for day-wages, or are paid for farm-work by the job
or the piece.
Considerable help for the lesser farmers, who themselves put their
hand to the plough, was afforded, especially in former times, by the
grown-up children and the Bons-in-law who were at home. Still at
the census of 1890, there were entered 127,000 such sons and sons-in-law.
as well as 112,000 daughters and 9,500 daughters-in-law at home, whose
work, in most cases at least, consisted in assisting the father of the family
in his work. In former times and under more patriarchal conditions, this
formed, of course, a very cheap kind of labour, when cash payment
could scarcely have come into question. In our days, pretentions are
of course greater, and in a constantly increasing number of cases the
son or daughter withdraws from this subordinate position by leaving
home and taking up other occupations.
It is undoubtedly shown by the preceding account that the amount
of human help in farming has diminished of låte years, a condition of
things which is also testified to by the decline in the number of the
total agricultural population which is shown by Table 55, page 498.
This decline is partly a consequence of the increased use of
machine-power, but it also partly testifies to a decline below the real needs of
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