186 State of Agriculture in Northumberland. 



" The conditions of a hind (E adhere to the local term) vary with the 

 price of grain from 30/. to 40/. a-year; and, at the present prices, 

 are as under : — 







s. 



U', 



Mncnplc nr rir^fQ 



U 



• U 



1 9 



n 

 u 



24 do. barley . 



5 



12 



0 



12 do. ])eas • 



3 



0 



0 



3 do. wheat 



1 



5 



0 



3 do. ^"3'^ • • 



0 



I o 



u 



36 to 40 do. potatoes 



2 



14 



0 



24 pounds of avooI 



A cow's keep for the year 



1 



0 



0 



£8 to 9 



0 



0 



Cottage and garden . • 



3 



0 



0 



Coals carrying from the pit 



2 



0 



0 



Cash .... 



. 4 



0 



0 





£38 



18 



0 



In 1841, 36/.* 



Each hind being bound to supply the labour of one woman (or boy) 

 whenever the farmer requires it, at Is. per day in harvest, and lOd. per 

 day at other seasons. The other females of the family receive lOcZ. or 

 1^. a-day generally, and 2.?. 6d. in harvest. 



The food of the peasantry in the north of England, as in Scotland, con- 

 sisting chiefly of porridge made of oatmeal with milk, for breakfast, and 

 bread, made of barley and pea-meal mixed, regulates the above proportions 

 to the demands of a family. Were the same mode adopted in the southern 

 districts, although they could not probably get a more wholesome food, 

 yet the kinds and proportions of grain would have to be regulated by 

 the taste and habits of the people. These ' conditions ' are proved, in 

 innumerable instances, to be adequate, under a proper economy (which 

 economy the system has a tendency to produce), to the support of a 

 man, his wife, and any ordinary number of children ; for the eldest 

 are probably earning, at the same time, from three or four to eight or 

 nine shillings per week; and the joint produce of their labour, under 

 the management of a frugal housewife, renders their cottage a scene of 

 comfort and contentment. It often happens, indeed, that a hind, with 

 but few in family, has, at the end of the year, a good deal of corn to dis- 

 pose of, for which, of course, his master is always willing to give him 

 the market-price. 



" The grain given to the hind is always of the best that the farm 

 produces. He is paid in advance, at the beginning of each quarter, a 

 fourth part of his conditions. It is sent to one of the many small mills 

 which abound in the country, and ground at a cheap rate into the 

 different kinds of meal ; and thus the intermediate profits of retail 



* In addition to the above, the steward on the farm receives 6/. or 7l. 

 extra; and the shepherd has, besides, several sheep kept, of which he sells 

 the produce, thereby possessing a particular interest in the safety and vvel~ 

 fare of the flock. 



