74 FRANCE - AGRICUI,TURAI. ECONOMY IN GENERA!, 



769 persons were classified according to their occupations before they be- 

 came infirm : 272 or 35 per cent, had no calHng ; 273 had trades connected 

 with commerce, industry or transport ; 168 or 22 per cent, were employed 

 on agriculture ; ten belonged to the group of the professions and the civil 

 service ; and 46 to that of domestic service. 



Thus cases of disability are much less frequent in agriculture than in 

 industry : the difference shown by our figures — that between 35 per cent, 

 and 22 per cent. — would be yet more noticeable if the total number of 

 disabled persons were compared with the total active population in each 

 group. On the other hand disability seems to affect the material situation 

 of the agricultural labourer most gravely, first because he does not enjoy 

 the benefits of the law on accidents of labour, and secondl}^ because he of- 

 ten suffers a considerable reduction in wages. On the whole disabled agri- 

 culturists change their occupation rarely ; but there are a certain number 

 of them who have learnt a trade in which their infirmity is no drawback 

 — clog-makers, shoemakers, tailors. These have been able to do this 

 only because they had savings which made a time of waiting possible to 

 them. Many disabled agriculturists become shepherds and cowmen and 

 earn very low wages. 



