68 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



but by men who will not take regular work. Such men may 

 take three or four allotments. As a rule, the men do not belong 

 to clubs (this was in one neighbourhood). Some years ago there 

 were some small local clubs, which, owing to mismanagement, 

 broke up, and the men were too old to join the larger clubs. 



HEREFORDSHIRE. 



WEEKDAYS Breakfast. Cold bacon, bread, tea, or cider ; 

 or, bread, butter or dripping, tea. Dinner. Principally cold 

 bacon, bread, cheese, cider (the farmer's allowance). If the 

 man can get home he often has something warm, or bread and 

 cheese, or bread and cold boiled bacon, cider. Tea and Supper. 

 Warm bacon, vegetables, and tea, when the man returns from 

 work (if anything is eaten later, bread, cheese, and cider are 

 taken); or for supper only, in most cases the wives provide a 

 warm supper, consisting of stewed scraps of meat with hot 

 potatoes and other vegetables. On Sundays, Breakfast usually 

 consists of fried or boiled bacon, bread, tea or coffee, or of bread, 

 butter or dripping; Dinner of hot fresh meat, vegetables, and 

 pudding ; or of American beef or boiled bacon and vegetables ; 

 Tea of butter, jam, bread, and tea ; or of tea or cocoa, bread 

 and butter or dripping ; and Supper either of bread, cheese, and 

 cider, or of bread and cheese only. Notes. One correspondent 

 says : " Nearly all the labourers in the district keep pigs. In 

 many cases two are fed, one being sold and the other kept for 

 home use. Large families will consume more than one 2O-stone 

 pig a year. All have good-sized gardens in many cases, also, 

 a small plot of grassland, used as a pig run or for fowls, and 



Slanted with fruit trees. Manure is readily obtained, and 

 orticultural societies encourage a great interest in the gardens. 

 The farm labourers usually belong to one of the large friendly 

 societies, or to a thriving local benefit society. Coal and clothing 

 clubs are open to all labourers of good character, and substantial 

 bonuses are added yearly. The children of the day-schools have 

 their shoe club at the cost of a penny a week. Some of the 

 labourers belong to more than one society, and meet their 

 payments by the extra money obtained in harvest, by their 

 wives' earnings, and by selling the produce of their holdings, such 

 as apples, small garden fruit, eggs, and potatoes." One corre- 

 spondent in Herefordshire reports: "In this district a great 

 many labourers keep pigs, and they generally have large gardens. 

 A great deal of food for the pig is grown in the garden, namely, 

 surplus vegetables, and the small and faulty potatoes. There 

 are no allotments in this district. Many of the men are members 

 of benefit societies, and the wives are frequently members of 

 coal and clothing clubs." 



HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 



Breakfast. Bread and milk, bread and lard, sop with sugar, 

 oatmeal, tea; sometimes herrings when in season. Salt pork 



