"The folk museum is trying to build up a picture of how farmers, in the past, helped each other in their work. In answering this questionnaire, it would be most useful if you chose a farm you actually knew, or one that you think was a typical farm in your area." 1. What size was the farm? 2. What sort of farming (crops/livestock) was carried on? 3. Was any particular name given to the practice of lending farm machinery, livestock, or labour? 4. Would a farmer usually go to the same people for help? 5. Which of the following groups did farmers share machinery, livestock or labour with? A YES or NO answer will do: (a) relatives, (b) neighbours who lived nearby, (c) neighbours with whom they were particularly friendly, (d) neighbours who had a similarly sized farm to their own. 6. Were there any jobs which the farmer specially hired people to do? 7. What sort of people would be hired to do work? 8. What implements would the farmer lend or borrow at seed-time? 9. What implements would he lend or borrow at harvest? 10. What sort of help in the form of labour could the farmer expect from other farmers? 11. Would he give labour or lend implements or livestock in return? 12. Was livestock borrowed or lent? 13. Were there any implements or livestock a farmer would not lend, or any work that he would not do? 14. Would a farmer from a bigger farm help or be helped differently than one from a smaller farm? 15. How could a farmer be sure that if he gave help, he would be helped in return? 16. Did people enjoy helping each other, or did they try to drive a hard bargain? 17. Were there any farming co-operatives in your area? If you have any other information connected with the subject that you think is important, please write it below or overleaf.
