172 THE AGPJCULTURE OF THE 



nected with farms, but accommodation for workers is found in the 

 villages. In this parish the population has diminished, as hand- 

 loom weaving, on which the village depended, has come to an 

 end ; but the people who remain have good gardens, for which 

 they pay £2, and more than a dozen of the villagers keep cows. 

 They conjointly rent a park, and get the summer grass for 70s. 

 to 75s. For winter keep they purchase standing oats, which 

 they cut, dressing the oats for their own use, and giving the 

 straw to their cow^s. The cottages contain two apartments, have 

 generally thatched roofs, with walls in bad repair, floors damp, 

 ceilings low, and the interiors smoky and badly lighted. In 

 Larbert parish many of the people are employed at the Carron 

 ironworks, and at collieries. The condition of cottages for farm 

 labourers is fair, with good gardens attached. In St Ninians 

 parish the number of cottages has increased, but the bothy 

 system still prevails to some extent. On some farms the ser- 

 vants get their food in the kitchen, and sleep either in the house 

 or in the bothy. In time of turnip thinning and harvest work, 

 people are got from the neighbouring villages ; and some Irish 

 people come from Stirling in harvest, who sleep in barns and 

 other outhouses. In some cases the singling of turnips is done 

 by Irish females and lads, who go down on their knees and thin 

 the turnips with their hands without using a hoe. They are 

 very expert, and can make 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. in ten hours, at the 

 rate of Id. or l^d. per 100 yards. By working long hours some 

 have been known to earn 5s. and upwards in a day. In Kippen 

 parish the farms are generally small, and a good deal of work is 

 done by the families of the farmers, and young men who board 

 with them. The extra work is done by gangs of Irish, who go 

 out from Stirling and Eaploch, take their bedding with them, 

 and sleep in an outhouse. The farmer's family and the servants 

 have their food at the same time, though there is a slight dis- 

 tinction in the viands, especially in the morning and evening. 

 In Kilsyth parish, the cottages are fair both as regards number 

 and accommodation, and have gardens attached. In the town of 

 Kilsyth are feus called " allotments " and " pendicles," which 

 originated in the division of a common by Act of Parliament 

 about eighty years ago. The ownership includes a title to "grass, 

 moss, meadow, and arable land," but the holders are generally 

 poor. The usual hours of work for farm servants in summer 

 are from seven in the morning till six in the evening, with an 

 hour for dinner. In winter the hours are from daylight till 

 dusk, with the like interval of an hour. 



