TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS, 205 



" crofters," of whom we have spoken, bore the appearance of remarkably strong 

 men; their working dress was of thick white flannel, called "gladding;" the cut 

 of the coat was peculiar, having a loose, open appearance, and a low, fiat collar, on 

 which the shirt-collar usually rested. They had their necks uncovered ; and, their 

 employment being so much exposed to moistiure, they seldom wore stockings. 

 Altogether, they assumed a bearing of unconcern about the state of the weather, 

 and were quite regardless of the splashing of water. Their emploj-ment consisted 

 mainly in the handling of wet cloth, and in removing it, either by hand or by 

 wheelbarrows, from one operation to another. Perhaps the most distressing part 

 of their labom- was that of caiTying upon their shoulders a pile of wet cloth, rising 

 to some height above the head, which they conveyed to some considerable distance 

 in the fields, and spread upon the grass. In the severity of the winter season there 

 would be drippings from the cloth, forming icicles, which would be adhering to the 

 skirts of their clothing. It has been through a succession of mechanical inventions 

 that these laborious operations have been dispensed with, and one after another 

 they have been handed over to the power of the steam-engine. The result has 

 been that the time required for the operation of bleaching is now about as many 

 days as fonuerly it required weeks to accomplish. Honour to British genius that 

 these advantages have been derived to our country ! 



The general public will, no doubt, feel curious to ascertain whether any and what 

 proportion of the money-saving thus effected has reached the consumer ; some other 

 portion of the public will inquire in what extent the advantages thus achieved by 

 science and art have been shared by the operative class employed, — it is not ex- 

 pected that much concern will be manifested about the interests of the proprietor ; 

 and it is not unreasonable to suppose that a still more minute inquiry will be raised 

 about the "human machine," more especially whether, during the progress of these 

 advances in manufacturing art, the material, moral, and intellectual condition of the 

 working class has been made to keep pace with all these improved manipiUations, 

 which, amidst the sti-uggle of changes, have destroyed the character of many 

 employments, but have greatly increased the whole number of persons employed ? 



The advantages shared by the consumer will easily be reckoned. We have before 

 us a printed card, or list of prices for bleaching, issued by a leading firm in the year 

 1803. At that time the charge for bleaching a well-known description of cloth 

 was 7s. Gel. for a piece of 28 yards, and it is now Gel The case of the labourers 

 employed in bleaching 60 or 70 years ago was, as before stated, a very harassing 

 one ; they suffered severely from exposm-e to wet and cold, and, as a consequence, 

 from rheumatism and asthma. The earnings of a "crofter " would be from 10s. to 

 15s. per week. Upon wages so scanty, and with some uncertainty of employment, 

 their mode of living was necessarily inexpensive. Oatmeal was the staple com- 

 modity of theii' food. They used it as porridge ; their bread was of oatmeal, either 

 in leavened oat-cakes or baked in the form of a loaf called -jannock, which is said 

 to have been introduced by the refugee Flemings ; and animal food, with the excep- 

 tion of bacon, was seldom foimd at the working-man's table. Now-a-days, the 

 workmen in bleach-works perform all theii' work indoors, and are therefore no 

 longer exposed to the coldness and moisture of the fomier period. The wages are 

 increased in a proportion which cannot easily be estimated, and their- employment 

 is one of gi-eat regidarity. They have nearly ceased to consimie oatmeal ; jannock 

 is unlieard of ; oat-cakes are seldom seen ; and their tables are now daily spread 

 with wheaten bread, animal food from the shambles, and all the other articles which 

 usually enter into the cousimiption of families in the other gi-ades of life. 



The social condition of the operative bleacher of early times cannot easily be 

 separated from the rest of the working population of that day, neither coiUd they 

 now be described in any other manner than that which would apply to the opera- 

 tives around them in other piu-suits. We may refer to their modes of pleasure- 

 taking as aftbrding in itself a very appreciable indication of the past and present. 

 The amusements which fonuerly prevailed were rude and boisterous ; now they are 

 more refined and intellectual. Bull-baiting, bear-baiting, and cock-fighting were 

 amongst the common amusements of the day, especially at the wakes and fairs. 

 The game of foot-ball was a veiy favourite one, so much so that the people of one 

 place would make selection of their combatants and have them pitched against those 

 of some other place, and these would contend in very ardent strife for the renown 



