i;6 Agricultural Labour in April. [may, 
is, however, very general mention of a scarcity of clover plants (except 
in Scotland) ; and sainfoin also appears to be a thin or weak crop. 
Pastures were everywhere short of grass at the middle of April, and 
live stock out at grass consequently did not thrive particularly well ; 
in this case also, however, the rains and more genial temperature at 
the close induced growth and a general improvement. 
Except in the hilly districts, lambing is mostly now finished in 
England. In the central belt of England the fall of lambs has hardly 
been over average, while the severe weather at the beginning seems to 
have caused somewhat heavier losses than usual among ewes or 
lambs. In the lowlands of the north of England, Wales, and in 
Scotland, the fall of lambs is about average or in some places more, 
especially in Scotland. In the hills, lambing is mostly just beginning, 
and it is too early to report anything definite ; but where it is more 
advanced in the north of England, moorland ewes are reported to be 
lambing indifferently, and there is considerable mortality. 
The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have been furnished by the 
Board of Trade with the following report, based on returns from corre- 
Agricultural Labour *P onde " ts «> ™»°" s dis . tri « s > ° n the demand 
. for agricultural labour in April : — 
in -bnglana. Agricultural employment was generally 
during April. regular throughout April, and there was a 
fair demand for men outside the regular farm staff for such work as 
hoeing, carting manure, preparing the land for root crops, planting 
potatoes and threshing. The supply of such men was usually sufficient 
for the demand, but mention of a surplus in the reports was excep- 
tional. Men for permanent situations, especially where the work 
involved Sunday duty, were again reported as scarce in parts of the 
Midland, and more particularly the Southern and South-Western 
'Counties. 
Northern Counties. — There was not much demand for extra labourers 
in Northumberland and Durham, but outside these counties such men 
were generally in fairly good demand, though their employment was 
somewhat interrupted by bad weather in the western districts. With 
"the exception of the Bridlington and Norton Rural Districts in York- 
shire, where a surplus of extra labourers was reported, the supply of 
these men was usually balanced by the demand in the districts 
•reported on. There was a surplus of men for permanent situations in 
the Patrington Rural District {Yorkshire). No general change in wages 
was reported at the hiring fairs for farm servants which took place in 
Durham. 
Midland Counties. — Extra labourers in these counties were usually 
in regular employment, though some men lost a little time at the end 
of the month through rain. The principal operations at which such 
men were employed were carting manure, threshing, hoeing, planting 
potatoes, and cleaning the land for root crops. Some scarcity of men 
for permanent situations was again reported in several districts. 
Eastern Counties. — There was a fairly good demand on the whole 
for extra labourers in these counties, which arose chiefly from such 
work as hoeing, cleaning fallows for turnips and mangolds, carting 
