The Organisation oj the Industry. 33 



the supply of labour at the time when the farmers were 

 being- urged to increase their cultivation. They seized the 

 favourable opportunity ; the unions increased their 

 membership and were able to secure substantial increases 

 in wages. Next year Parliament passed the Corn Pro- 

 duction Act, under which minimum rates are fixed for 

 agricultural workers. In England the efforts of the 

 Unions were directed to getting the most out of the 

 machinery provided by the Act ; in Scotland the workers, 

 except in a few outlying counties, relied upon their own 

 efforts and made their agreements independently of the 

 Wages Committees, for rates substantially above the 

 minimum rates. At the present time about fifty per cent, 

 of the workers are members of the unions. 



How far there has been a real gain in the standard of 

 living of the workers it is difficult to estimate by precise 

 standards. The depreciation of the sovereign and the 

 variations in prices make any exact comparison impos- 

 sible. In England at the present time the minimum rates 

 for adult workers, which tend to become the standard, 

 vary from 46/- to 50/6 including the values of all benefits 

 and allowances. In Scotland the actual rates paid to 

 ploughmen vary from £2 5/- to ;^3 5/- a week, the largest 

 number of workers being grouped round £2 15/-. In 

 comparing these rates with those paid to other workers, 

 it ought to be kept in view that many of the workmen are 

 paid partly in benefits and allowances which are reckoned 

 at wholesale prices, and that house rent in England is 

 reckoned at 3/- a week and in Scotland generally at 2/- 

 a week. In England the normal working week is 50 hours 

 in summer and 48 hours in winter ; in Scotland the working 



