50 • REPORT — 1861. 



men who, as a class, were most nearly associated in the average amount 

 gained or lost during their stay ; and when arranged on this principle, it will be 

 found that the groups also represent very accurately the amount of muscular 

 force required to be expended in the respective kinds of work at which they 

 were employed. 



" The first group consists of men employed in picking oakum, an occupa- 

 tion in which the labour is merely nominal ; and it will be seen that these 

 men gained nearly two pounds each on the average, and that a large per- 

 centage of them were gaining weight. The oakum-pickers are placed in a 

 group by themselves, as they consist principally of exceptional cases, a large 

 proportion of them being men who, from weakness or infirmity, were unfit for 

 real labour; many were, on medical grounds, employed in the garden, and 

 had extra allowances. The second groujj contains men working at sedentary 

 trades, as tailors and shoemakers, as well as a few employed in writing and 

 other light occupations. Of these men a large per-centage gained weight, 

 and the average gain was nearly a pound and three quarters per man. The 

 third group comprises carpenters, mechanics, and men employed in winding 

 the yarn into balls, or winding it on to bobbins for the mat-makers. The 

 men in this group generally work standing, and therefore a greater number 

 of muscles have to be brought into play. The weight of work, however, is 

 thrown on the arms, and the legs have little more to do than to support the 

 body in a convenient attitude. A smaller per-centage of these gained weight, 

 and the average amount gained was less. The foiirth group contains the 

 men employed in weaving canvas, in making mats in the loom or on boards, 

 and also a small number (thirty-six) who were engaged in platting coir, or 

 in binding mats. The work of all these men is decidedly heavier than that 

 of the men forming the preceding groups, and the majority of these were found 

 to have lost tveight. The last group contains only one class of work, viz. the 

 weaving of coir matting ; but the effects of this were so very decided that 

 it was necessary to give it a place to itself. 



" The weaving of coir matting by hand is a very laborious occupation : 

 the yarn is coarse and rough, so that the friction between the thread of the 

 warp and weft is great, and to produce good firm work the weft has to be 

 heavily and repeatedly struck, in doing which the muscles of the arms and 

 trunk are brought into powerful action ; the legs have also to be employed 

 in working the treddles, and, in consequence of the power required to work 

 the loom, the M'eaver cannot work sitting. 



" The effect of this greater expenditure of muscular force is very manifest ; 

 for nearly 80 per cent, of the men so employed lost weight during their stay, 

 and the average loss per man was nearly seven pounds. 



" The influence of the various employments would have been much more 

 marked if it had not been, in some degree, counteracted by the extra diet 

 given to those men who were falling off very much in weight; and the nuin- 

 bers to whom it was found necessary to give extra diet, in each class, also 

 bore a pretty close relation to the amount of muscular force expended. 

 Among the men employed in coir-picking, 26*8 per cent, had to be placed 

 on extra diet; in the second group 26-4 per cent.; iu the third 36-8 per 

 cent. ; in the fourth group 39-4' per cent. ; while of the matting-weavers 

 t50*l per cent, required additional food. 



_ " Treadivheel Lahotir. — The Committee have not been immediately asso- 

 ciated with inquiries into the influence of the proper prison punishments 

 over the weight of the prisoners, such as the treadwheel, crank, and shot-drill ; 

 but their inquiries warrant them in stating that the normal action of these 

 punishments is to reduce the weight of the prisoners. In the absence of the 



