SWEDEN - AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL 



a horse, that is 4 crowns for a man and horse. These figures must be remem- 

 bered when the data we have reproduced as to the earnings of forest la- 

 bourers in the various districts and enterprises are estimated. 



Special attention has been given to housing accomodation because the 

 enquiry was provoked by complaints as to the manner in which the forest 

 labourers were lodged and the frequent defectiveness and inadequacy of 

 the temporary forest huts. 



The labourers of course endeavour to live at home as much as they can. 

 Failing this possibilit5^ they use any space available in the farms and houses 

 of tenants and in shepherds' cottages, and if these do not suffice more or 

 less temporary huts have to be built for them. Of all the labourers employed 

 on the forest holdings investigated, 37.1 percent, were lodged on farms, 5.6 

 per cent, in cottages and 57.3 per cent in forest huts. They were most fre- 

 quently lodged in the houses of inhabitants in the departments of Varm- 

 land, Gavleborg and Vasternorrland ; in the other four departments they 

 were mainly accomodated in forest huts. They were lodged in cottages in 

 any large proportion only in the departments of Kopparberg and Jamtland. 

 Labourers lodged in farms and cottages lived far further from their work 

 than those inhabiting the huts, which in a third of the cases were situated 

 at the place of work. 



Detailed information was obtained as to the accommodation of 1,512 

 of the 3,103 forest labourers lodged on farms. They shared with 773 per- 

 sons belonging to the farms 447 rooms of which 390 were dwelUng-rooms 

 and kitchens and 57 wash-houses and similar offices. The rooms varied 

 in size but the average floor area was 22.1 square metres (i) and the average 

 cubic area 52.2 cubic metres (2). All the lodgings were provided with windows 

 and fireplaces, generally an open fireplace or a kitchen stove. As regarded 

 sleeping accommodation there were generally beds or recesses taking the 

 place of beds, but in ten cases there were not enough beds and the workmen 

 had to sleep on the floor. As regarded the quality of the lodgings 13.3 per 

 cent, of the rooms in dwelling houses were characterized as draughty, 10 

 per cent, as cold, 1.3 per cent, as damp and 1.5 per cent, as smoky. Of the 

 lodgings in outhouses the following far larger percentages had the same re- 

 spective defects: 36.8, 42.1, 1.8 and 3.5. On an average five persons were 

 lodged in one room which meant much crowding. The average floor 

 area for each person was 5.6 square metres, the average cubic area 

 13.5 cubic metres.' In the case of only 5.9 per cent of the workmen thus 

 lodged the cubic area enjoyed b}' each was more than 20 cubic metres ; 

 in the case of 32.5 per cent, it was between 10 and 20 cubic metres ; and 61.6 

 per cent, mtist therefore be considered to have been lodged in extremely 

 overcrowded rooms. 



The shepherds' cottages are of the same type as the other cottages 

 in their respective districts ; but they are older and have smaller rooms and 

 more primitive arrangements, and above all they are built not for the win- 



(i) I square metre = 1.196 square yards. 

 (2) I cubic metre = r.308 cubic yards. 



