166 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



can be effectually Christianized. Prof. Henslow therefore commenced 

 by gaining the confidence of those whom he wished to influence, and 

 to do this he had to adapt himself to them, and utilize whatever forces 

 lie could find available. lie began by amusing them. He got up a 

 cricket club, and encouraged various manly games. He introduced 

 ploughing-matches, and competitive exhibitions. His acquaintance 

 with chemistry enabled him to construct fireworks, which he would let 

 off upon the rectory lawn, and which were a great attraction to the 

 people. He brought out various natural and artificial curiosities, 

 which were at first vacantly stared at, but, with his extraordinary fac- 

 ulty of adapting his language and illustrations to the commonest ca- 

 pacity, he gradually kindled an interest in the minds of many which 

 grew into a desire to learn. Other recreations and incitements fol- 

 lowed, which will be presently referred to. Prof. Henslow resorted to 

 many measures of amelioration and improvement, and carried them all 

 along together ; but, in our brief sketch of his labors, we must con- 

 sider them separately ; and we will take up first what he did for the 

 laborers, next for the farmers, and lastly, what he accomplished for the 

 education of the children : 



One of the first evils which he attacked was the degradation and 

 dependence of the laborers. The Hitcham farmers held their men in 

 brutal subjection, viewing them as little better than slaves, for whose 

 concern they felt no interest. They were, therefore, the enemies of 

 every measure for the improvement of the laboring-class. Prof. Hens- 

 low considered the lack of an independent home as one of the great bar- 

 riers to the elevation of the working-men, and he therefore urged the 

 adoption of the " allotment system," by which the laborers might be- 

 come the owners or tenants of small pieces of ground, to be cultivated 

 by themselves for their own benefit. This encountered the fiercest 

 opposition from the farmers, and led to a long and determined struggle. 

 All sorts of objections were raised. It was said the laborers would 

 steal the farmers' seed to sow their own ground ; they would give their 

 masters slack work in order to reserve their strength for their own 

 patches at the end of the day. But the worst difficulty was the pro- 

 found class or caste spirit which pervades English society, and which 

 impelled the farmers to fight the change, because it would raise the 

 laborer, and bring him one step nearer to themselves. It was in 1845 

 that Prof. Henslow made his first public appeal upon this subject, in 

 which he pointed out the many advantages that would result from 

 the allotment system to the laboring-class. He urged the reform 

 energetically, and initiated it by granting portions of his own land 

 for the purpose. He pushed the project until he had got fifty more 

 of one-quarter of an acre each. The farmers here made a stand, and 

 determined to crush the whole system. They went into cooperation, 

 and gave mutual pledges that they would "refuse all employment 

 and show no favor to any day-laborer who should hold an allotment." 



