191 1.] Agricultural Labour in January. 



953 



of men for permanent situations was reported from certain parts of the 

 Midland and South- Western Counties. 



Northern Counties.- — January is usually a slack month in these 

 counties, and in many districts, particularly in the more northern 

 counties, there was little employment for men outside the regular farm 

 staff. Extra labourers were, however, in some demand in parts of 

 Lancashire and Yorkshire, and a number of such men obtained fairly 

 regular employment at carting and spreading manure, hedging, ditching, 

 and threshing. The demand was fully equalled by the supply in most 

 districts, and in the East Riding of Yorkshire a surplus of labour was 

 generally reported. 



Midland Counties. — Day labourers Jost a little time in the early part 

 of the month in some districts on account of rain, but their employment 

 generally became more regular as the month advanced and the weather 

 became finer. At no time, however, was there much demand for extra 

 labour, and in most counties the supply was said to be above the 

 demand in certain districts reported on. Extra men were chiefly 

 employed at threshing, hedging and ditching, and with the manure 

 carts. 



Eastern Counties. — Employment in these counties was fairly regular 

 on the whole, though here also day labourers lost a little time at the 

 beginning of the month. In some districts there was a very fair demand 

 for such men on account of threshing, hedging, ditching, draining, and 

 manure-carting. In others there was only a moderate demand, and a 

 surplus of labour was reported, particularly in the Newmarket, North 

 Witchford, and Ely rural districts of Cambridgeshire, and the Bourne 

 (Lincolnshire), and Henstead (Norfolk) rural districts. 



Southern and South-Western Counties. — There was generally very 

 little interruption to farm work in these counties, and day labourers 

 were usually in fairly regular employment. There was, however, but 

 little request for extra men in many districts, it being the slack season 

 of the year, and, generally speaking, the only counties in which the 

 demand was more than moderate were Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, 

 where it was described as fair. The demand was chiefly for threshing, 

 hedging, ditching, manure-carting, and root-cleaning. An excess of 

 extra men was reported in the West Ashford (Kent), West Lampnett 

 (Sussex), Hav'ant (Hampshire), Devizes (Wiltshire), Wareham and 

 Purbeck (Dorset), and Hereford rural districts. Some scarcity of men 

 for permanent situations was reported in the Williton (Somerset), Ax- 

 minster and Newton Abbot (Devon), and the Camelford, Truro and West 

 Penwith (Cornwall) rural districts. 



