22 ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL LABOURER 



We get more than a glimpse into the labourer's life in 

 the south-west counties of England six years previous to 

 Arch's movement in the story of Canon Girdlestone's 

 incumbency. Canon Girdlestone became the Vicar of 

 Halberton, near Tiverton, in the county of Devon, in 1866. 

 He found there labourers who were forced to live on 73. or 

 8s. a week with additional allowances, such as cider for 

 ordinary labourers, and either a cottage or an extra shil- 

 ling for the carters and shepherds whose hours were longer. 

 The price for extra work in harvest time was their supper, 

 for seldom any additional wages were paid except in cases 

 where the harvest work was done as piece work. Fuel was 

 only given to the labourer when he " grubbed up " a hedge. 

 In very many cases the peasant of North Devon was for- 

 bidden by the farmer to keep a pig, or even poultry, for fear 

 he might steal the food for fattening them. Potato ground 

 could only be rented by the labourer from the farmer at a 

 rack rent very frequently four and five times the rent 

 paid by the farmer to his landlord. 



The food of the North Devon agricultural labourer con- 

 sisted of " tea-kettle broth " for breakfast. This appetising 

 dish was made by putting into a basin several slices of dry 

 bread which were then soaked by having hot water poured 

 upon them seasoned with a sprinkling of salt, with the addi- 

 tion sometimes of an onion or half a teaspoon of milk. 

 But milk, it appeared, was rarely obtainable, for this pre- 

 cious food was too valuable to waste on the labourer, and 

 almost invariably, when there was a surplus, was given to 

 the pig. Lunch consisted of bread and hard dry pieces 

 of skim-milk cheese. Dinner consisted of the same fare. 

 Supper, which was eaten at the conclusion of the day's 

 work, consisted, as a rule, of potatoes and cabbage flavoured, 

 when the labourer was allowed to keep a pig, by a tiny piece 

 of bacon. Butcher's meat was enjoyed on Sundays only. 



Women were compelled to work for yd. or 8d. a day. 

 They did not wish to do so because the wear and tear of 

 clothes very nearly outbalanced this economic advantage, 

 but the agreement made between their husbands and the 

 farmer generally bound them to this form of serfdom. 



