FOOD AND CLOTHING. 59 



We make no apology for quoting, in extenso, the 

 extremely interesting paragraphs which follow the 

 tables we have given in the Board of Trade report. 

 Although the figures and deductions were not published 

 yesterday, they are of comparatively recent origination. 

 On such returns there must always be fluctuations, but 

 those given represent the circumstances with quite 

 sufficient general accuracy fairly to show the earnings 

 of present-day agricultural labourers throughout 

 England. The comments on the tables the contents 

 of which, for greater convenience of reference, we have 

 arranged alphabetically are as follows : 



" It will be observed that more bread and less meat is 

 eaten in the eastern and southern groups than in the 

 northern and midland groups, where wages are on the whole 

 higher, the weekly expenditure on bread and flour in the 

 eastern and southern and south-western groups being 

 nearly 43., and on meat between 33. and 33. 6d., while in 

 the northern and midland counties the weekly expenditure 

 on bread and breadstuffs is about 33., and on meat between 

 43. lod. and 55. 3d. In counties in which wages are com- 

 paratively low, beef or mutton is frequently purchased only 

 once a week, on Saturday, for consumption on Sunday. 

 In the eastern counties the amount of beef and mutton 

 consumed in a week is shown to amount to only i Ib. 12 oz., 

 while pork and bacon amount together to about 4 Ib. 

 In the northern counties and in some of the north midland 

 counties more beef or mutton is eaten than in the other 

 districts, but frequently not every day. Pigs are often 

 kept by the labourers there, and a good deal of bacon is 

 consumed. The single men who are hired in the farm- 

 houses in the northern counties are well fed, frequently 

 having five meals a day namely, breakfast, lunch, dinner, 

 tea, and supper. They usually have mutton or beef, hot 

 or cold, for dinner, and sometimes they have cold beef or 

 mutton at breakfast or supper as well. The figures given 

 in the first table bring out clearly the practice of many of 

 the labourers in the northern counties of baking their own 

 bread, their expenditure on bread being comparatively 

 small, and that on flour large. The practice also prevails 

 to a considerable extent in the eastern counties. The 

 computed value of the articles of food shown in the last 

 tables compared with the average earnings of farm labourers, 

 including all classes (ordinary labourers, and also men in 

 charge of animals), is shown below : 



