FOOD OF THE IRISH PEASANT. 139 



to the labourers due to home-grown produce consumed by 

 them. But there is no doubt that a very large proportion 

 of the farm labourer's money earnings is spent on food, 

 and that there is but little margin, if any, for other ex- 

 penditure. This must necessarily be so in the poorer 

 portions of the western side of Ireland. The Irish farm 

 labourers, generally speaking, have, however, more oppor- 

 tunities of adding to their supply of food, and of earning 

 extra money by growing produce and by keeping pigs, 

 goats, fowls, ducks, geese, etc., than English labourers. 

 A Local Government Board Inspector of great experience, 

 writing from the west of Ireland, states that it is from the 

 profit on the sale of pigs, fowls, and eggs that clothes are 

 provided for the family and the rent paid. Other corre- 

 spondents express the same opinion, and several consider 

 that 10 to 12 a year can be made from the sale of eggs, 

 and about 2 from the sale of fowls. Land is generally 

 cheaper in Ireland, and there is more waste land for goats 

 and poultry to wander over. The ' herds ' or men in charge 

 of animals frequently get potato land free, from their 

 employers, sometimes manured and tilled, and, though 

 some ordinary labourers get it free, many pay a com- 

 paratively low rent for it. The families in Ireland keep 

 together and help each other as far as possible. The wives 

 and children look after the animals and fowls, help to till 

 the land, get turf, and, if near the sea, collect seaweed for 

 manure and for kelp manufacture. Occasionally the 

 wives earn a little in some districts by working for the 

 farmers at odd times. But without the opportunity of 

 getting some land, a farm labourer in Ireland must have 

 great difficulty in making both ends meet. In towns, or 

 on the outskirts of them, there are men with no gardens or 

 land who work partly for farmers and partly for builders 

 or contractors, and if they are in irregular work in the 

 winter they get into great difficulties. The rent of cottages 

 is cheaper than in England, the most usual rent in Ireland 

 being is. a week, and some land is frequently attached to 

 them. Cottage accommodation is, however, often very 

 inferior. Where labourers have cottages built under the 

 Labourers' Acts, the weekly rental averaging lo^d. a week, 

 they no doubt get good value for their money, for the 

 cottages are of a superior type, and have land, from of an 

 acre to an acre in extent, attached to them. They are 

 provided with pigsties and some with cow-sheds. Fuel 

 (" turf " or peat) is frequently given free to farm labourers 

 in Ireland, or is obtainable at a cheap rate, the men having 

 to cut and saw it." 



The following notes are of especial interest : 



- The estimates given as to expenditure on clothes for a 

 man, his wife, and four children vary considerably, ranging 

 from 5 to 10 a year. Boots are frequently dispensed with, 



