The Agriculture of Staffordshire. 
309 
one ; tlie price is 5d. per tlirave. Mowing with the scythe is done 
at ratlier lower prices. In the neighbourhood of towns, where 
straw is in demand, "badging" (fagging or bagging) is preferred. 
The best and most painstaking badgers come from the neighbour- 
hood of the Peak and the Derbyshire hills. The " Peakrils," as 
they are called, do a good deal of badging in the early districts, 
and return home in time for their own harvest ; the price is about 
18.9. per acre. The Irish and other strangers who migrate from 
towns and districts where harvest is later are employed to cut 
■wheat ; the home labourers load and stack the corn by the day, 
and cut the later crops. Barley costs 3s. to 4s. to mow ; 9s. if 
sheaved and set up, which is preferred. Oats cost 3s. to 6s., or 9s. 
if sheaved and set up. In Staffordshire generally the carrying of 
corn is done by the regular labourers, milkers, &c. In some cases 
they are paid 25s. for the harvest month, with a large quantity of 
beer for their encouragement when at work ; but generally the 
wages of regular men are not raised in harvest ; they are either 
paid for overtime, or much more generally they get food and beer 
on the days they are at work. As there is no established custom, 
the practice varies a good deal. On some farms luncheon is given, 
viz. bread and meat, cheese and beer, and after late carrying, say 
five or six times during harvest, they come in the house to sup. 
On other farms the feeding is more extensive, extending to break- 
fast, dinner, " fours," and supper on busy days ; the eating and 
drinking accompanies and sustains the work. If carrying begins 
late, or ends early, the first or last meal is waived. A hot supper 
of meat and vegetables, bread and cheese, is provided at about 
8.30 P.M., or whenever the work is over. A gallon of ale per acre 
is added to the usual allowance of one quart of beer a day all the 
year round. In short, beer is commonly given without stint, and 
it is a bribe that never fails. Work never comes amiss when 
beer abounds ; it oils creaking wheels and prevents rust. The 
machinery of a harvest-field, if I may so speak of the labourers, 
would stop in a moment if the beer were withheld. 
Some farmers have given up feeding because it is troublesome 
and brings work into the house ; but the old plan is far more 
popular than paying for overtime, however liberal the wages may 
be. With plenty to eat and drink the men work willingly all day, and 
carrying goes on cheerfully till ten or eleven o'clock at night, when 
a good supper is to follow ; but, without this expectation, work comes 
to a stop at six or seven. After a hard day's work and supper, 
the men go quietly home, and are orderly and well conducted. A 
harvest supper is a popular and it is a common celebration after 
harvest. Reaping-machines are becoming universal. Women 
and families do considerable work in harvest. In hay-harvest 
4s. 6d. to 5s. per acre, without beer, is a common price for mowing 
