618 Agricultural Labour in England. [nov., 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have been furnished 

 by the Board of Trade with the following report, based on 

 Agricultural Labour about 210 returns from correspondents in 

 in England various districts on the demand for 

 during October. agricultural labour in October : — 



There was little or no interruption to employment in October from the weather, 

 which was fine on the whole. The demand for extra labour was fairly good, but it 

 was generally fully met by the supply, and in several districts there was some surplus ; 

 in certain districts in the Eastern counties, however, there was not a sufficient number 

 of men for potato digging. 



Northern Comities. — There was a fairly good demand for extra labour in 

 Northumberland^ Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, chiefly for potato 

 lifting, but the supply was sufficient. Employment was generally regular in 

 Yorkshire, where there was a good deal of employment on the potato and mangel 

 crops. In some districts, however, day labourers were not able to get regular work. 



Alidland Comities. — Employment was regular in Cheshire, where there was a 

 fairly evenly balanced supply of and demand for labour. Work on the potato and 

 mangel crops and threshing caused a good and constant demand for extra men in 

 Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, which was fully met by the supply. Employment 

 was regular in Staffordshire, but day labourers tended to be somewhat in excess of 

 the demand. There was a good demand for extra labour in Shropshire, and a corres- 

 pondent in the Wellington Union reports that more men would have been employed 

 if they could have been obtained. There was generally regular employment in 

 Worcestershire and Warwickshire, though a few day labourers were reported as in 

 irregular work. Lifting potatoes, cutting mangels, and carting manure afforded a good 

 deal of employment to day labourers in Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Bucking- 

 hamshire ; the supply of this class of labour was said to be ample. Employment was 

 fairly regular in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. 



Eastern Counties. — There was a good demand for extra men in Huntingdon- 

 shire and Cambridgeshire, the supply being insufficient in certain districts. Work 

 was plentiful in Lincolnshire on account of threshing, and lifting the potato and mangel 

 crops. Although many Irish labourers were employed, the supply of extra labour in 

 some districts was not equal to the demand. It was reported that day labourers 

 were also in some demand in Unions in Norfolk and Suffolk, but generally speaking 

 the supply of extra men in these counties and in Essex was quite sufficient for 

 requirements. 



Southern and South Western Counties. — Raising potatoes and mangels, threshing 

 and hedge trimming caused a fair demand for labour in Kent and Surrey, but the 

 supply was generally in excess of the demand, and consequently there was some 

 irregularity of employment among day labourers. Similar reports come from Sussex 

 and Hampshire. A demand for extra labour was reported from certain districts in 

 Berkshire. In Wiltshire the demand was fair, but in some districts was more than 

 met by the supply. Threshing and other work generally provided regular employ- 

 ment in Dorset. Some interruption to outdoor work, due to rain, was reported in 

 Somerset, where otherwise employment was regular, and the supply of labour on the 

 whole about equalled by the demand. There was generally regularity of employment 

 in Herefordshire. In Gloucestershire there was some irregularity of employment 

 among day labourers, the supply being in excess of the demand. Employment was 

 generally regular in Devonshire and Cornwall, where raising the mangel and potato 

 crops, threshing and hedge trimming caused a demand for extra men in several Unions. 



