We said that a farm always belongs to one man, called the farmer.
This man lives with his wife and children in a brick or stone house in
the middle of his land. Sometimes, when his children grow up, the
sons marry and bring their wives to live in the father's house, while
the daughters go away to live with their husbands on other farms. The
girls who do not marry still live at home with their father and
mother. So there are often many people living together in one great
farmhouse. Each man and woman will have their own room to sleep in,
and everyone will eat together in a big room, not used for sleeping.
In the evening they all sit together to talk about what has been done
during the day. Outside, not far away, there are huts for the
Africans who work on the farm, and sheds for the cattle and horses and
the carts and ploughs. The Africans who work on the farms are not
like those who work on the mines for a while and then go home. The
farm-workers usually make their homes where they work, living there
with their wives and children. They have as a rule no other village
or chief of their own. Their wives work in the farmer's house.
All the Europeans have some work to do. The men see that the
ploughing and sowing is done well, and, because the farm is large,
this takes a long time. They have to look after the cattle and horses
and sheep, and to take care that their food and water are good and
that their sleeping sheds are clean. If the cattle get ill, sometimes
a whole herd will die, and the farmer will lose a great deal of money.
The children watch the herds while they are grazing, and take care
they do not stray too far away. The women have to see after the
household. There are always African women servants to help, but there
is a great deal of work in a European house. In every room there are
many chairs and tables which have to be moved when the room is swept.
On all the beds there are blankets and white cotton sheets. A white
cloth is spread on the table when food is to be eaten. Europeans wear
many clothes. All these have to be washed whenever they are dirty,
and so one person will be kept busy all day washing and ironing if
there are many people living on a farm.
Then Europeans eat three or four times a day, and have many different
kinds of food. Maize or wheat flour is made into bread or cakes.
Meat is either roasted or boiled, and is often eaten with green
vegetables. Sometimes meat and vegetables are cut up into small
pieces and all boiled together for a long time. Then it is called
soup, and is eaten with a spoon. Milk from the cattle is used to
drink, and is also made into butter and cheese, which are hard, and
can be eaten with bread. Europeans drink coffee like the Arabs, or
tea which is made from the leaves of another plant. When mealtime
comes all the family come to the big room where a large table is
covered with a white cloth. The food is brought in a large bowl or
dish, and the farmer or his wife puts some on a plate for each person.
Europeans use knives and forks and spoons in eating food. The men and
women and children all sit together round the table. On the farms as
a rule there is no wood or coal to make fires, so the sweepings of the
cattle-shed are made into cakes and dried in the sun. This makes very
good fuel for fires.