702 



Earnings at Corn Harvest in 1908. [dec, 



number of days on which harvesting was done was rather less in most districts, the 

 crops on the whole being lighter than in the previous year. The extensive use of 

 machinery lessened the demand for extra labour, and in many districts there were 

 men who were unable to obtain employment. 



The following Table shows the average cash earnings, exclusive of the value of 

 any food and drink which may have been provided in addition, of men employed on 

 certain farms in the eastern, midland, and southern and south-western counties of 

 England respectively for the corn harvest of 1908 : — 



District. 



Number of 



Men 

 employed 

 at Harvest on 

 Farms 

 included in 

 Table. 



Average 

 Duration of 

 Harvest from 

 Start to Finish 

 (including 

 Sundays). 



Average 

 Number of 

 Days 



on which 

 Harvesting 



was done. 



Average 



Cash 

 Earnings 

 for Harvest 

 per Man. 







Days. 



Days. 



£ s. d. 



Eastern counties ... 



589 



35 



27 



7 13 5 



Midland counties ... 



341 



41 



24 



5 !3 10. 



Southern and south- 







western counties 



607 



34 



20 



4 15 2 



It will be seen that the earnings were highest in the eastern counties, which com- 

 prise the great corn-growing counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge, Lincoln, Norfolk, 

 Suffolk and Essex. The payments in these counties ranged from about £6 ics. to 

 £8, though more was earned by some men on piecework in the Fen districts. In 

 parts of Norfolk and in Suffolk and Essex, the usual system of payment is for the 

 labourer to contract with the farmer to perform the harvest work for a fixed sum, 

 irrespective of the number of days occupied. A short harvest is thus a profitable one 

 for the labourer, as he gets back to ordinary farm work at weekly wages sooner than 

 in a year when the harvest is lengthened by unfavourable weather. 



In the midland and in the southern and south-western counties the systems of 

 payment are frequently on a time-work basis, so that harvest earnings fluctuate from 

 year to year according to the duration of the harvest. 



The various methods of payment are as follows (apart from that already described 

 for certain eastern counties) : To give the work in separate portions as piecework ; 

 to give the ordinary weekly wages, and in addition, a bonus of a pound or two at the 

 end of the harvest ; to give extra time wages for a month certain, and then to pay the 

 ordinary weekly wages ; to pay double the ordinary weekly wages during harvest ; to 

 pay a certain rate per day as long as harvest lasts. Occasionally the ordinary weekly 

 wage is paid and overtime money given. 



The northern counties have been excluded from the above Table, as the majority 

 of the farm servants in the north are hired by the year or half-year, and paid a regular 

 wage with free board and lodging during the whole period for which they are hired, 

 and are given no extra money for harvest, though they are often given extra food and 

 drink. Except in Northumberland and Durham, where the system of engagement 

 closely resembles that in the Border counties of Scotland, the married men attached 

 to the staff of a farm generally get from about £4 to £6 for a month at harvest, some 

 food and drink being frequently given in addition. Extra hands, both English and 

 Irish, in these districts sometimes get rather higher payments than the regular men, 

 and often more food. The Irishmen are usually provided with lodging in barns or 

 outhouses on the farms. 



