138 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



potatoes, the consumption of which in the western pro- 

 vinces is greater by more than a stone per week than in 

 Ulster. Taking Ireland as a whole, the returns show that 

 3|- stones of potatoes a week are consumed, whereas in the 

 eastern counties of England the amount is less than 2 

 stones. The consumption of potatoes varies greatly, 

 according to the time of year, it being often as much as 

 5 or 6 stones per week during the autumn. They are 

 seldom purchased, and in the spring, when the stocks are 

 exhausted, more bread, oatmeal, or Indian meal are used 

 until the new crop is available, and the consumption of 

 these articles thus, roughly, varies inversely with that of 

 potatoes. The amount of bread, flour, and meal consumed 

 in Ireland is 32 Ibs. per week, compared with 38^ Ibs. in the 

 eastern counties of England ; but in Ireland nearly 5 Ibs. of 

 oatmeal are consumed, compared with i Ib. of oatmeal 

 and rice in the eastern counties of England. It will be 

 observed that the amount of fresh meat eaten is small 

 ( Ib.). It mainly consists of pork, and in very many cases 

 ordinary agricultural labourers in Ireland seldom eat beef 

 or mutton during the year. The average quantity of bacon 

 eaten is a little over 2f- Ibs. The amount of meat eaten in 

 the eastern counties of England is i Ib. 12 oz. of beef or 

 mutton, and about 4 Ibs. of bacon and pork. In England 

 the labourers who keep pigs frequently eat home-fed bacon 

 and pork, but in Ireland the labourers usually sell their 

 pigs, and buy cheap American bacon for their own con- 

 sumption. As compared with the other districts of Ireland, 

 it would appear that in Connaught and Munster less meat 

 is eaten and more potatoes. In districts near the coast 

 fish sometimes takes the place of meat, and in other parts 

 it is occasionally eaten on fast days. The quantity of tea 

 consumed is also rather larger, and a greater proportion 

 of maize meal is consumed. The average amount of tea 

 consumed in a week is said to be 9 oz., and of sugar, jam, 

 and syrup, 4^- Ibs. In the eastern counties of England the 

 weekly consumption of tea is 6\ oz., and of sugar, jam, and 

 syrup, 5 Ibs. Eggs are seldom eaten unless produced at 

 home. Milk is rarely purchased, and the sources of supply 

 are, allowances from the farmers (often skimmed, or butter- 

 milk), the produce of their own goats, and, particularly 

 in the case of herds, of their own cows. Butter is used 

 very sparingly when not obtained by the labourer from his 

 own cow or from his employer. The average weekly 

 earnings of all classes of adult male farm labourers, exclud- 

 ing casual labourers, in Ireland, is ics. nd. But the 

 labourers often add to their earnings by the sale of home- 

 grown produce derived from tillage or grazing land, or 

 from cows, pigs, goats, geese, ducks, and poultry. The 

 estimates of value of the articles given in the preceding 

 table are based on ordinary retail prices in the various 

 districts. No account has been taken of the smaller cost 



