170 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF 



Labour. 



These counties are, generally speaking, fairly well supplied 

 with labourers of all classes. In many parts the supply is less 

 than twenty-five years ago, but still it is not, as a whole, far- 

 short of the demand. Farmers in the neighbourhood of towns 

 find that the factories and other works draw away many of their 

 best labourers. One reason why town work is preferred to^ 

 farm labour is, no doubt, that in connection with the former the 

 house accommodation is far superior to that provided on most 

 farms. These counties are better supplied with farm cottages 

 than most other counties in the north, excepting Eoss and 

 Cromarty, great improvement in this important respect having 

 been effected during the past twenty-five years. There is still, 

 however, a great deal to be done, and until the supply of 

 cottages is considerably increased there is every prospect of the 

 number of farm labourers continuing gradually to decline. The 

 position of farm servants can never be anything like satisfactory 

 until ample facilities are provided for their entering into married 

 life. In the meantime, owing to the want of farm cottages, a 

 very large number of Scottish farm-servants have no such pro- 

 spect to brighten and elevate their lives. On all the larger 

 farms in these counties there is less or more cottage accommo- 

 dation. On some it is now ample or almost so, but on others it 

 is greatly deficient. Perhaps fully one-half of the servants are 

 married, and these, as a rule, live in cottages on the farms on 

 which they are employed. When there is not sufficient cottage 

 accommodation on the farm, the wives of the married servants 

 have to reside in villages, perhaps a pretty long distance from 

 where their husbands are engaged. Nearly all the single men 

 are lodged in " bothies," a few being boarded with married men 

 and a very few kept in kitchens. As a rule, the bothy com- 

 prises a general sitting and cooking room, and a bed-closet for 

 every one or for every two men, with, in some cases, a small 

 store or pantry. In a very few instances there is also a small 

 reading room. Bothies, like cottages, have been greatly im- 

 proved during the past twenty-five years, but in not a few cases 

 they are still somewhat deficient in accommodation and com- 

 fort. As a rule, the bothies are cleaned out and the beds made 

 every day by a woman engaged for the purpose. In some cases, 

 however, the men, who are almost always their own cooks, also 

 have to perform these other services. On several farms female 

 outdoor servants also live in bothies, while on others they are 

 lodged either in the farm kitchen or with married servants. 

 The wages of ploughmen at present vary from £25 to £35 a 

 year, according to the capabilities of the men, with board and 

 lodging. The average would probably be about £28, 10s. for 



