12 REPORT ON THE DIETARIES 



without almost any article of household furniture other than a 

 mere pallet of straw, destitute of the proper means of cooking 

 their scanty meals, dirty, and slovenly, are unfortunately too 

 numerous in many rural districts. In the midst of so much 

 destitution — so far as comfortable accommodation and arrange- 

 ment are concerned — we may expect to find the poorest fare in 

 daily use. Yet it is surprising to see how m/u<ch r even in cases 

 of this description, the national dietary does for the health of the 

 labourer, and how much nutritive diet is obtained even under 

 such adverse circumstances. As a class, however, the state of 

 the bothy resident admits of much improvement, and no other 

 mode seems to be so good, or so likely to - attain this desired 

 result, so- far as their dietary is- concerned, than the practice of 

 more generally paying this class a considerable part of their 

 wages in kind. This would go far to 1 remedy many evils, and 

 we could cite cases (No. 3, for example) where the benefits aris- 

 ing from? partial payments in kind have been very decided. In 

 the example referred to, the average weekly consumpt of nutri- 

 tive food is 40,269J- grains per adult. It is objected to this 

 proposal, that the recipients would simply "sell" the potatoes, 

 milk, meal, or fuel so given them; but admitting that possibly 

 some surplus portion may be so disposed of, we still think that a 

 more liberal quantity will be reserved and consumed than is used 

 under the money payment system, and most likely what is 

 " sold" might be more properly said to> be bartered for groceries 

 or provisions of nutritious value. Those of Class IV., who occupy 

 their own? homes in villages- or hamlets; are better off than those 

 who lodge in or occupy bothies, and they have frequently other 

 little comforts which go far to ameliorate their condition. In 

 fact we find that, invariably throughout Scotland, the family 

 system of living is much the best; and although, in married life, 

 the ploughman's great "millstone" is often his "large small 

 family," that grievance exists only for a time, for if the children's 

 upbringing is 



" Mixed wi' admonition due," 

 and 



" Their masters' and their mistresses' command 

 The younkers a' are warned to obey, 

 And mind their labours wi' an eident hand," 



he, by-and-by, finds them to become to him a " paying con- 

 cern ;" and in many of our returns the earnings of the family 

 will be seen to be by no means inconsiderable. 



We do not by this mean to recommend the early sending of the 

 agricultural labourer's children to field-labour; such a practice is 

 unfortunately much too prevalent, and the result is that the edu- 

 cation of the rural youth of both sexes is by far too much neglected 

 and stinted, and many of those branches (such as writing and 



