London to John O* Groat's. 235 



sheet of the two men. Their weekly savings hardly 

 differ by a penny ; each amounting to about 5d., or 

 10 cents. At first sight, it might seem, from this 

 result, that the English farm laborer earns half as 

 much, lives half as well, and saves as much as the 

 American. But he has a resource for increasing 

 his weekly savings which his American competitor 

 would work his fingers to the bone before he would 

 employ. His wife is able and willing to go with him 

 into the field and earn from three to five shillings a 

 week. Then, if he commutes with his employer, he 

 will receive from him 4d. daily, or 2s. a week, for beer- 

 money. This, if he and his wife are willing to live, as 

 such families do now, on bread, bacon and cheese, and 

 such vegetables as they can grow in their garden, they 

 may lay up, from their joint earnings, a dollar, or four 

 shillings a week, provided a sufficiently stimulating 

 object be set before them. To me it is surprising that 

 they sustain so much human life on such small means. 

 They are often reproached for their want of wise 

 economy ; but never was more keen ingenuity, more 

 close balancing of pennies against provisions than a 

 great many of them practice and teach. Let the 

 most astute or utilitarian of social economists try the 

 experiment of housing, feeding and clothing himself, 

 wife and six children too young to earn anything, on 



