The Housing of the AgricultKral Lahovrer. 23 



and if this were actually the case all might be well ; but in 

 practice we find that the assumption is not justified, for in most 

 districts the scullery, however small, is almost invariably used 

 both as living-room and work-room, w^hile the so-called " living- 

 room " is considered as a parlour and used only on Sundays or 

 for the reception of occasional visitors. This fact is borne out 

 in the Abstract of Evidence given before the Departmental 

 Committee, at least two of the witnesses examined being of 

 opinion that the scullery would be used as the main living-room 

 if it were large enough to hold a small table. 



There are several reasons for this state of things. In the 

 first place, there is a general desire on the part of the better 

 class of labourer and his wife — of the latter especially — for a 

 parlour room which can be kept decently clean and tidy, where 

 what they consider their best things can be kept as free as 

 possible from wear and tear, and out of the children's reach. 

 Like most other people, they have a pride and pleasure in their 

 possessions, few and poor though they may be, and cannot 

 afford to replace them often. It is easy to belittle the 

 labourer's " household gods," and no doubt to a more cultivated 

 taste the cheap and often useless furniture and ornaments seem 

 unworthy of being honoured with a special apartment ; but it 

 should be remembered that their owner does not see them in 

 this light, that they represent to him the aiuenities of life, and 

 help to give him a certain social status amongst his neighbours. 

 Also, he has a natural wish for a room into which he can bring 

 his neighbotirs with the maintenance of an appearance of 

 respectability, and without unduly exposing the mysteries of 

 his private life ; and the living-room of the accepted type of 

 plan serves none of these purposes when it has also to serve as 

 kitchen, dining-room, and children's play-room. 



Secondly : the labourer, when not working on the farm, 

 generally has a garden or allotment to cultivate and has little 

 leisure time to spend in his cottage, so the room in which his 

 wife does most of the household work will naturally tend to 

 become the chief living-room. She will spend the greater part 

 of the day cleaning up and washing, cooking and preparing 

 meals, and when the bedrooms have been tidied nearly all of 

 this work will be done in the scullery ; and it should be 

 rememliered that if she has any young children she will 

 doubtless have them with her, so that she can look after them 

 properly, though the atmosphere in the small scullery, 

 especially on washing days, can be neither wholesome nor 

 pleasant. 



Again, it is not sufficiently recognised that the agricultural 

 labourer's occupation is not a clean one, and that when he 

 comes in fi'om work in the farmyard or on the land, his dirty 



