4 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



who proves an invaluable aid. But, on farms of fairly 

 good size large enough, for instance, to employ a shep- 

 herd that functionary seldom does anything but look 

 after his own work ; and on similar farms, too, the carter 

 (" horsekeeper," " horseman," " team-man," " team- 

 ster," or " waggoner "), does little else than look after 

 the horses, whilst, similarly, the "herdsman" ("beast- 

 man," " cattleman," " cowman," " garthman," " stock- 

 man," or "yardsman") looks after his cattle only. 

 The region of the " working farmer " who manages, 

 sometimes wholly and sometimes partly, to do the work 

 of the farm, assisted by any available members of his 

 family, is, more than in some others, found in the coun- 

 ties of Cambridge, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, 

 Devon ; in Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Westmorland, and 

 Yorkshire. Mr. Wilson Fox has an interesting note 

 in one of his Board of Trade reports on this mixing of 

 employments. He says, speaking of farms of medium 

 size : 



" Perhaps two or three men may be engaged who will 

 all give a hand to any job that may be required, whether 

 it consists of ploughing, milking, or feeding and tending 

 animals. The carter may milk the cows as well as attend 

 to the horses. In Cheshire the operation of milking is 

 often carried out by nearly the whole staff of the farm, 

 including perhaps members of the farmer's family, and the 

 rest of the day they are engaged on the general work of the 

 farm. Sometimes one man looks after all the animals, 

 including a small flock of sheep, and where this does not 

 fully employ him, he fills up the rest of his time with other 

 farm work. In some cases the small farmer himself, 

 particularly if he has risen from the ranks, and has been 

 a foreman, shepherd, or head cattleman, looks after the 

 animals, not only because he understands their manage- 

 ment, but because on their well-being mainly depends the 

 success of his farm. In Cumberland and Westmorland 

 the farmer or one of his sons frequently acts as shepherd. 

 In some districts it is not an uncommon practice, where the 

 duties of the men are not particularly defined, or on farms 

 where extra help with animals is required at particular 

 seasons, to pay a shilling, or perhaps two shillings, a week 

 extra on the rate to the ordinary labourers, to those who 

 attend to animals on Sundays." 



