244 • O^ MEASURE-WORK. 



tlie roots we have usually paid 3d. a square rod. To make 

 myself g'eiierally understood, I shall describe the operation : 

 — The turnips^ are laid iu a straig-ht trench formed by the 

 spade ; two diggings across them intervene between the first 

 and next row of plants. On a sandy soil that digs well, 

 I find that a man, with a boy or a woman to lay the turnips 

 in the trench, will get over 10 rods in a day; at 3d. a rod 

 they earned 2.s. 6d. a day. When the turnips are larg-e, the 

 work will, of course, go oif slower. 



14. Tliatching. — In measuring thatchers' work, the prac- 

 tice for a round stack is to take the height in feet from the 

 eaves to the top, and half the girth at the eaves ; these, mul- 

 tiplied together, will give the dimensions in feet, which may 

 easily be reduced into squares or yards. For a long- stack 

 w^e measure the length and the height of both sides of 

 the roof; but when the stack is hipped, we either allow 

 two yards extra in the length, or measure one in addition 

 to the side : the former method is adopted when the dimen- 

 sions are calculated in square yards ; the latter when the 

 square of 100 feet is used. The price for thatching corn 

 and hay stacks is 1^. a yard, or from 10^'/. to l.s. the square. 

 I am informed by an experienced thatcher, that, with the 

 help of a strong lad, he is able to thatch, in a workmanlike 

 manner, 100 square yards in a day, and thus earn 85. ; but 

 to do this he is obliged to work early and late, and leave the 

 finishing up of his stacks till the busy time of harvest is 

 over. In Hertfordshire, and other places where the thatch- 

 ing* is done in a superior style, the charge is nearly double 

 that paid in Suffolk. 



II. — Task-work to which lineal measure is applicable. 



Table of Lineal Measure. 



12 inches make 1 foot 



3 feet ,, 1 yard 



5^ yards ,, 1 rod 



40 rods or 10 chains ,, 1 furlong 



8 furlongs or 1,7C0 yards ,, 1 mile. 



Under this head are included those descriptions of task-work 

 which are usually paid for at a certain rate per chain, rod, or 

 yard in length ; and it applies more especially to ditching", 

 fencing, and draining. 



1. Difigiug Ditches and Fencing. — All operations done 

 with the spade depend in a great measure upon the nature 



