THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



123 



On the question of efficient steam, agriculturists are 

 willing to accept the judgment of engineers and of the 

 outside public. On the question of efficient horses the 

 public are not likely to add anything to the experience 

 or the judgment of the farmer; the question of efficient 

 labourers is one on which wide differences exist, on which 

 the possession of mere manhood is enough to justify in- 

 dejjendent thought — on which men of diiferent pro- 

 fessions therefore do not fed bound to accept one 

 another's judgment, and on which I believe that the 

 most good is likely to arise from a discussion at a meet- 

 ing of townsmen with agriculturists. All that I can do 

 in the short remainder of the hour is to indicate the 

 points on which that discussion should turn. 



The object is to retain — indeed I now should say to 

 obtuin — a sufficient number of well qualified agricultural 

 labourers. The Oxford Farmers' Club met the other 

 day, and Mr. Mein, who is, I believe, agent to the Duke 

 of Marlborough, read a capital paper on this very sub- 

 ject. His method of obtaining more men was none the 

 less sensible for its simplicity ; it was just to offer higher 

 toages. And this is, I presume, essentially the solution 

 of the difficulty. 



He said in effect : We have not provided constant 

 employment nor wages at which a comfortable living 

 can be had, and no wonder that our men liave brought 

 up their children to other trades to be better paid; we 

 have not paid young men wages according to their 

 ability ; married men have been paid at one rate, and 

 young unmarried men have been paid at another and 

 much lower rate ; they have thus been treated as 

 children. But they are not children, and no wonder 

 they have left us. Our remedy is to improve the con- 

 dition of the labourers in their cottages ; to give them 

 more regular employment and better wages (it resolves 

 itself into this, whether a farmer upon four hundred 

 acres had better spend £100 more in labour during the 

 winter or lose £''200 at harvest-time in shed and 

 damaged corn) ; to give the labourers more task-work, 

 and allpw them to earn fair prices at it, simply ao- 

 cording to their ability; and lastly, on occasions of utv- 

 usual pressure, to give unusual wages. " Even at 

 harvest, hitherto," he said, "the prices have not been 

 anything to compare to the daily wages of the trades- 

 man ; nay, not enough to induce Paddy to join us in 

 this district." 



Bat there are other points besides the amount of 

 wages to be paid. These will indeed increase — not by 

 the exhortations of our public speakers, but by the 

 pressure of competition among masters, and are high or 

 low just according to the relation between the resident- 

 population and the employment for them, so that in 

 Wiltshire they are 8s., while in some parts of the north 

 they are almost twice as much. 



But besides the amount of wages there is the mode of 

 payment, which greatly affects the character and position 

 of the labourer. It may be (1), in money solely; it 

 may be (2), partly in board and lodging in the house ; 

 it may be (3), partly in money, along with an immense 

 variety of perquisites. These three include, I believe, 

 all the various systems of payment adopted. Of the 

 last I give two instances from the extremes of the island, 

 Farfarshire and Dorsetshire. Mr. Bell, of Ferryden 

 Farm, Forfarshire, writes to me as follows : 



'Our ploiighmpn receive per aauura £17 in money, 6-^- bolls 

 oatmeal (14 lbs. a boll — present price ITs. 6d.); \\ Scotch 

 pint warm milk (3d. a pint), during summer six months, 1 

 pint in winter ditto; 15 cwt. potatoes, and house and garden, 

 at say £3. This for married ploughraeu. Unmarried : £20 

 and £11, 1 pint warm milk daily all the year, 6^ bolls meal, 

 and tire and lodgings in a bothy. At hay and corn harvest 

 they get two buttles of beer daily, and bread and beer while 

 leading to the stack-yard. Married men get all their fuel 

 driveu by their masters." 



I value these wages et £34 6s., oi 13s. weekly. The 

 daily workers, when getting something like steady work, 

 have 12s. a week in winter, 15s. in summer, with no 

 beer or other allowance. 



In Dorsetshire, Mr. Saunders, of Watercomb Farm 

 Dorchester, writes to me as follows : 



"In answer to your inquiry respecting the wages of the 

 labourers of this part, I will give you an account of what I 

 pay my agricultural labourers of different callings. They all 

 live on the farm near ttieir work, where it is convenient for 

 most of them to go in to dmner every day. I have 18 cottages 

 for which I never receive any rent, as my men all live rent free, 

 and most of them have good gardens besides oiher potato lands 

 free. It ia a very great accommodation to labourers to reside 

 near their work, quite equal to Is. per week to a man not to 

 have to travel a mile to his work morning and evening, and 

 all have their regular pay wet or dry weather, no loss of time 

 except they are working by piece-work, which most of them 

 get in their turn during the year, when they generally earn 

 from IQj. to ISs. per week, according to circumstances, besides 

 their yearly privileges, which I will state below, and which 

 many of my labourers have said to me at different times ' is 

 nearly half our livmg,' referring to a cottage and garden, 

 potato land, and the privilege of having grist over that of buy 

 ing bread of a baker, as I regulate the grist by allowing a peck 

 a head to the family of workers in a house. I think our sys- 

 tem is nearly equal to other counties, where they give nearly 

 double the wages, and no house nor other privileges, nor pay 

 for wet days. In this county we agree for a family at a cer- 

 tain sum from the 6th of April to the Gth of April in the fol- 

 lowing year. Some of my men have continued ou my farm 

 with me for more than 30 years without change, where they 

 are good labourers. This, I believe, is about the general run 

 of our county as an average. I will now state how, and in 

 what way I pay my horse-men, as you term them : 



£ g. d. 

 House, good garden, worth to let, sf 4 per year. ... 400 

 Weekly wages 8s., and 30 perch of potato land 

 ploughed in with their potatoes, often growing 

 15 sacks, now worth lOs. per sack, and allow the 



seed out, would be £5 25 16 



200 furze fagots, carried home free to the cottage 10 

 28 cwt. of best coals, carried home at la. per cwt. 



and coat to fetch from ship 1 14 



Extra for harvesting, cash £1, and 1 gallon of ale 



per day 2 



Every journey with team Is., average one per week 2 12 

 3 quarts of ale per day at haymaking for 8 weeks, 



at 9d. per gallon 17 



1 bushel of wheat per week if a family of small 

 children, none to go to work, at 5s., not much ad- 

 vantage now, say 6d. per week, but when dear os. 15 







£39 14 

 The whole of horse-man's wages is about 153. per 



week. 

 My shepherd has the same as the horse-man, except 

 he earns about £3 extra for sheep which he shears 

 when no pay ia taken up from him ; and he has 

 Is. per score for all lambs bred, which, at 

 about 600, is £1 lOs. ; and also 6d. for every 



ram let or sold, generally £2 10s. in all 7 



Take from this the difference of carter's journey 



money, which is 2 12 







Leaving in favour of shepherd 4 8 



Wages and perquisites as carter's account 39 14 



£44 2 

 Shepherd's wages weekly 17s., all hut 23. in the year. 

 Labourer 7?. per week, house as above, garden, potato land 

 in many cases, 200 of furze, 15 cwt. of coals; grist, as I have 

 before stated, at one peck per week for every one who works, 

 great and small, some at 58. per bushel and some at 6s. per 

 bushel ; and most of my labourers have piece-work at different 

 times of the year when convenient. I consider on an average, 

 a good labourer's place with me is full 128. per week." 



This is a most elaborate scheme of payment, and 

 certainly a very liberal one, though I do not value the 



