390 
TJic Rothamstcd Allotment Club. 
winter's evening, with one small fire entirely surrounded by his 
wife and children, he will hardly blame the man who seeks 
warmth, quiet, and the society of his fellow-labourers elsewhere. 
Some attempt made by me to substitute coffee for beer was not 
successful. It is true the men drank it, and pronounced it very 
good, as long as I supplied it gratis, but they could not be 
persuaded to purchase it as a substitute for their beloved beer. 
To become a member of the club, it is necessary to possess an 
allotment-garden, the ordinary size of which is one-eighth of 
an acre, and the rent five shillings per annum, although some 
allotments are only half that size. I occasionally give prizes 
for the best cultivated gardens, and every second year we have 
a show of vegetables. The men take immense interest in these 
gardens, and should the Royal Agricultural Society offer a 
premium for the best set of allotment gardens, we should stand 
a very fair chance of carrying off the prize. 
At the Annual Dinner, which takes place the first Saturday 
in June, I have an opportunity of meeting almost all the 
members of the club, and of discussing subjects of mutual 
interest ; even the delicate one of " strikes" has not been avoided, 
and a discussion on the subject, bearing upon the relation 
between the employers of labour and the labourers, has not 
in any way altered the friendly feeling between them. The 
influence of the club upon the moral and religious condition 
of the members can hardly be discussed in these pages. I think, 
however, any one who reads over the rules of the club, and 
considers that they have been formed by a committee elected 
by the annual vote of every member of the club, and that they 
are not merely printed rules, but are rigidly enforced, must 
acknowledge that the members submitting to these rules must 
have arrived at a position considerably in advance of that gene- 
rally accorded to the agricultural labourer in this country. 
Rules and Regulations of the Rothamsted Allotment Club. 
1. Every one elected as a member shall pay one shilling entrance fee ; he 
shall sign his name to the rules, and shall pay one halfpenny weekly to the 
club, and threepence on the death of any member or his wife. 
2. Any person wishing to take an allotment garden, can have his name 
written on a board, to be hung up in the club-room, in the following form : — 
A. B. proposed by C. D., member. 
3. When a vacancy occurs in an allotment garden, ,the names of the candi- 
dates shall be taken in the order they are written on the board, and they 
shall be voted on at a meeting of the committee. 
4. The club shall be managed by a committee of twelve members, who 
shall hold office for one year ; they shall have power to make rules, and the 
whole management of the club shall be in their hands. 
5. The annual meeting of the club shall take place in the month of June, 
