On the Farming of Suffolh, 



323 



The removal of the hedges that are not requh'ed, and the pollard- 

 trees with which so many of them are so thickly studded^ would 

 reclaim more waste land than the brinorinof the tracts of heath 

 into cultivation ; for these are worse than waste : they require an 

 annual expenditure to keep them in repair ; their roots, by ex- 

 hausting the land, injure the crops to a great distance into the 

 fields ; their shade delays the ripening and harvesting of the 

 crops, and harbours an infinite quantity of vermin in the shape of 

 birds and insects. Land is seldom at so dead a level that it can- 

 not be drained on the Suffolk system (of shallow drains) if the 

 fields do not exceed eight acres in extent (there are many of not 

 half this area) ; and where there is a good fall, from 12 to 15 

 acres would be a more profitable size for heavy land fields. 



As a common example, 1 observed that the Brandeston Hall 

 estate, sold by auction by G. Robins in 1841, containing an 

 average of about 650 acres of land, was subdivided into nearly 

 160 enclosures. 



The condition of the agricultural labourer has undoubtedly 

 improved ; but much remains to be done by the landowners and 

 farmers of the present day. Since the introduction of the New 

 Poor-Law the Suffolk labourer has become more independent, 

 and he has not that disinclination to work for his living which 

 some of the worst-disposed of them formerly had under the 

 old system. Though the wages at day-labour, IO5. per week, 

 may appear a small sum for the support of a labourer and his 

 family, yet this is far from being the sum total of his earnings ; 

 during the five weeks of harvest the Suffolk labourer is in receipt 

 of upwards of \l. a- week ; and at other times frequently earns at 

 piece-work from 126*. to 136". per week. It would, perhaps, be as 

 well if the standard of wages was more generally fixed, which can 

 only be fairly taken by adjusting the price of labour to the price 

 of grain. The following system of paying labourers is adopted 

 by Mr. Cooper, of Blythburgh Lodge, who farms upwards of 

 2000 acres, and by other East Suffolk farmers. 



He takes the average price of wheat as his standard, both as 

 being the most valuable production of the labourer's toil, and the 

 principal article of his food : — 

 When wheat is above 5^. per hush, and under Qs. he pays 8^. per wk. 



„^ 7s. „ „ 8s. „ lOs. „ 



Thus increasing Is. per week for every Is. per bushel increase in 

 the price of wheat. 



Mr. C. also allows the labourers flour at the wholesale price. 

 He makes a bargain with the miller to supply his labourers ; in 

 this manner the labourer gets the profit of the Hour-dealer. At 

 first, Mr. C. thought of buying flour in large quantities, and 



