112 REPORT 1864. 



Cheese. — In tlie poorest districts of England and in Soutli Wales cheese is eaten 

 very largely by the labouring popidatiou^ whilst in the better-paid districts, as 

 Yorkshire, it is regarded as a luxiu'v, and eaten rarely. In the west of Ireland, 

 where the people are so poor, they say cheese is too dear for them, and I scarcely 

 foimd a family which purchased it. The explanation of this anomaly is the price 

 charged for the kind of cheese in question. In Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts, and in 

 South Wales, the cheese which is so largely eaten is made from skimmed milk, and 

 is highly nitrogenous, but it is tough if too new, and hard if more than one ^-ear old. 

 It is sold retail at 2^d. to Qkd. per lb. I found a man and his wife in Wales who 

 ate 1 lb. a day each, and lived almost entirely on bread and cheese. In other dis- 

 tricts this kind of cheese is unknown, and when 8f7. to IQd. per lb. is charged for 

 it, the poor rightly regard it as wasteful. It should be ^vell understood that the 

 cheap cheese contains more nitrogen than dearer cheese, but is deiicient in fat 

 (carbon) and flavour, and when it is in a digestible state, it is three times as cheap 

 food as the richer kinds. Cheese is eaten generally by indoor operatives living 

 in countiy districts or country towns. Those living in London eat it less abun- 

 dantly. 



Among farm labourers 57 per cent, obtained cheese in England, 72 per cent, in 

 Wales, and 48 per cent, in Scotland, whilst its use was almost unknown in Ireland. 

 The quantity per adult weekly was b^ ozs. in England, Q^ ozs. in Wales, and 

 2^ ozs. in Scotland. Of indoor operatives, shoemakers ate about 3| ozs. per adult 

 weekly, stocking-weavers 2i ozs., and kid-glovers in Somerset 10 ozs., whilst 

 silli-weavers and needlewomen scarcely ever pm-chased it. Its extensive use 

 was restricted to South Wales, Dorset, and Somerset, but it was generally eaten 

 in Gloucester, Durham, Sussex, Sm'rey, Hants, and Rutland. 



Tea. — Tea is used almost universally both by indoor and outdoor operatives, 

 except in the very poor districts of South Wales and the west of Ireland. It is 

 drunk very weak, and the infusion is little more than hot water flavoured. In 

 many districts it is drunk with sugar, as in Devon, in others without milk, and the 

 very poor — cutting off milk and sugar rather than tea — drink the infusion alone. 

 Its use supplies a warm fluid in a palatable form, which is necessary and agree- 

 able in both hot and cold weather alike, and a meal is made by it for the wife and 

 children, when bread, with a little treacle or fat, is added. In a very few cases, 

 the husband takes a cold infusion with him to his work, and one famUy consumed 

 f lb. of tea per week. It is very desirable in the poorest districts that tea should 

 not be introduced, since it is a dear food in relation to its cost, and most important 

 everywhere that it shoidd not supplant milk in the dietary of children. Many 

 needlewomen — the poorest class of operatives — take tea thrice a day, and buy i oz. 

 daily. This is the most ill-fed class, and the one which spends money with the 

 least economy. When the pressure of want is not so great, it may well be ad- 

 mitted as a luxmy, and as supplying a warm agreeable fluid with the bread. 

 Coffee is used by 44 per cent., whilst tea is drank by 99 per cent. 



Beer and Cider. — In the cider districts two to four pints of cider are allowed 

 daily to each labourer, and in harvest time the quantity is increased to one and even 

 to two gallons. Half that quantity is allowed to each woman. Beer is not 

 usually given except during harvest time and on occasions of special labour ; but 

 whenevereither cider or beer is given its value is estimated and considered as a part 

 of the wages ; hence it cannot be doubted that, regarded as food, they are dear, and 

 it woidd be much better to allow their value in money, and leave the labourer to 

 drink as he pleases. This is indeed done in a very few places. When the wife 

 does not work in the fields, she most rarely obtains either beer or cider ; for whatever 

 maj' be the quantity allowed to the husband, it is quite exceptional to find a man 

 who takes any portion of it home. I have been exceedingly struck with the very 

 small quantity of beer which is drimk by farm labourers' families. In towns it is 

 far more general for the operative and his family to obtam beer, and usually it is 

 drunk at suppertime, and particidarly on Saturday nights and Sunday. In some 

 country villages I foimd a weak beer which was sold at 2d, per gallon, and which 

 was the ordinary beverage of the operative. 



Hence, in reference to luxurious foods, as sugar, fats, meats, and tea, England and 

 Wales stand at the head, whilst in reference to breadstuli's and milk, England is 



