WHAT OF THE HARVEST? 295 



sum of 35. from the latter's weekly wage regarding the 

 edifice as a farm-tied cottage for which he imagined he was 

 legally entitled to charge the maximum sum of 35. 



It certainly was " farm-tied," but that was about all 

 that could be said for it, as it was " tied " to one of the 

 farmer's fields. Instead, however, of paying for house 

 accommodation, what the carter was really paying was 

 7 i6s~. per annum as ground rent for a few feet of bare 

 earth. Worked out in cubic space it was assuredly the most 

 expensive cottage in England ; probably it is more expensive, 

 cubic foot for cubic foot, than a mansion in Park Lane. 



Let it not be supposed, however, that the man regarded 

 it as a grievance to live amid sackcloth and ashes. It was 

 his choice, and had been his choice, for a number of years 

 to live under " canvas," but what he did complain of 

 and very rightly, too was the iniquitous deduction of 35. 

 a week from his wages for the space of a man's grave ! 



I also visited a cottage, for the use of which 33. was 

 deducted from another carter's wages. One bedroom was 

 uninhabitable because rats came down the ivy inside the 

 room, through the roof of which rain dripped on wet nights ; 

 and while the unhappy carter ate his meals in the kitchen 

 he could watch through the cracks in the wall the leaves 

 dropping in the orchard ! A pond green with slime was 

 the water supply ! 



As a member of the Cottage Committee, Mr. Jack Shing- 

 field visited a cottage in his area in response to a complaint. 

 He asked the cottager's wife where the oven was. " There," 

 she said, pointing to a corner of the room, " but it's no good." 

 " Why not ? ' he asked. " Because it has no top." 

 " Where's the copper ? " " There," she answered, point- 

 ing to another corner, " but that's no good either." " Why 

 not ? " " Because it has no bottom:" " Where's the well ? " 

 he next asked. " We haven't got one ; we have to fetch 

 the water from 300 yards away," came the answer. " Well, 

 let's have a look at the bedroom," he said finally. " Wait 

 till I fetch a ladder," said the woman, at which she brought 

 a ladder and thrust it through a hole in the ceiling. The 

 value of this allowance was reduced to 6d. 



