352 CENTURY OF ENGLISH FOX-HUNTING 



a week to the farmer is worth twenty-five shillings 

 a week to the employer of labour in the towns. 

 Unfortunately, there are many people who believe 

 this inference to be correct, so that many young 

 men are persuaded to leave their native villages 

 in exchange for a life in the slums of manufacturing 

 towns. We should also consider the perquisites of 

 the agricultural labourer, and his cost of living, 

 including house rent, before comparing his condition 

 with that of the town labourer. These perquisites, 

 or, as they are technically termed, allowances in kind, 

 vary according to the district and the generosity 

 of the individual farmer. Thus, in Durham and 

 Northumberland there is a considerable excess of 

 earnings due to allowances in kind. In Norfolk 

 and Suffolk a sum ranging from £'] to £'j los. is 

 paid for the harvest month. The excess of earnings 



over wages is — 



s. d. 

 In Essex and Lincoln . . .211 

 In Beds . . •••33 



In Hants . . . . .311 



In Cambridge . . . .41 



There were two counties in England where the 

 actual earnings of ordinary agricultural labourers 

 in 1898 were 20s. or upwards, namely Durham and 

 Northumberland ; six counties where they were be- 

 tween 19^. and 205.; six counties between iSj-. and 

 191. ; seven counties between ijs. and \%s. ; nine 

 counties between \6s. and i^s.; eight counties be- 



