382 THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



vised the labourers to duck the farmers ! The agri- 

 cultural women either go out to field-work or become 

 indoor servants. In harvest they hay-make chiefly 

 light work, as raking ; and reap, which is much harder 

 labour ; but then, while reaping, they work their own 

 time, as it is done by the piece. Significantly enough, 

 they make longer hours while reaping. They are 

 notoriously late to arrive, and eager to return home on 

 the hayfield. The children help both in haymaking 

 and reaping. In spring and autumn they hoe and do 

 other piecework. On pasture farms they beat clots or 

 pick up stones out of the way of the mowers' scythes. 

 Occasionally, but rarely now, they milk. In winter 

 they wear gaiters, which give the ankles a most un- 

 gainly appearance. Those who go out to service get 

 very low wages at first from their extreme awkward- 

 ness, but generally quickly rise. As dairymaids they 

 get very good wages indeed. Dairymaids are scarce 

 and valuable. A dairymaid who can be trusted to 

 take charge of a dairy will sometimes get 20 besides 

 her board (liberal) and sundry perquisites. These 

 often save money, marry bailiffs, and help their 

 husbands to start a farm. 



In the education provided for children Wiltshire 

 compares favourably with other counties. Long before 

 the passing of the recent Act in reference to education 

 the clergy had established schools in almost every 

 parish, and their exertions have enabled the greater 

 number of places to come up to the standard required 

 by the Act, without the assistance of a School Board. 

 The great difficulty is the distance children have to 

 walk to school, from the sparseness of population and 



