FOOD AND CLOTHING. 57 



chapters of this book. A private individual, however, 

 has not and cannot have the same status and authority 

 as a great Government department, with its big register 

 of correspondents selected, as authorities, after careful 

 official investigation. We were fortunate, in our own 

 inquiries, to obtain information from thoroughly re- 

 liable persons ; but to get at those persons involved a 

 large amount of preliminary inquiry. 



For the information which follows we have preferred 

 to rely on the Board of Trade reports, based on not one 

 or even a dozen " commissioners," had they been em- 

 ployed, but on no less than one hundred and fourteen 

 returns furnished by landowners, farmers, Local Govern- 

 ment Board inspectors, members of local boards, the 

 clergy, Poor Law relieving officers, local tradesmen, and 

 agricultural labourers themselves. The report from 

 which we shall quote says : 



" The particulars given were compiled after careful 

 inquiry by these investigators among a large number of 

 farm labourers and their wives, and they represent the 

 ordinary expenditure on food by farm labourers in the 

 districts to which the returns relate." 



The table on next page will give the average quantity 

 of the various kinds of food consumed in a week by an 

 agricultural labourer and his wife and four children 

 in certain groups named of counties in England. 

 We take it that the family of six is looked upon as an 

 average family for the purposes of the return. 



The report says : 



" Particulars of the quantities of fish and eggs were 

 asked for, but in many cases, consumption under these 

 headings is very occasional, and, in some cases, is not in 

 addition to, but in place of, the items included in the table. 

 Other articles sometimes purchased are tinned meats or 

 tinned fish, currants, raisins, pickles, and suet. But 

 dumplings are frequently made of flour and water without 

 suet. Salt has, of course, to be bought." 



