Farm Cajntal. 
179 
por man pc^r (lav, although in practice the allowance was uii- 
iiipited wlion carting' was going on. 
£. s. d. 
1 c<alcnli\ted that the one quart of hecr per day from Lnrly-day 
to Michaelmas, at Qd. per gallon, was 9r/. per week, or for 
the whole pi-i iod 0 19 G 
The extra quart of heer per day at M. per Erallon, and the 
tjallon of ale at Is. per sjallon, for the six weeks during which 
tlie hay and corn harvests and covering in the ricks usually 
last, was 2 0 6 
Making a total cost for Leer per man of £3 0 0 
In consequence of the constant disputes ahout the beer, and 
the discontent which I had seen ensue at different places when 
a petition for more beer had been refused, I determined not to 
give any beer, but a money allowance instead. This I thought 
would not only put an end to a constant source of annoyance, but 
would enable me to ascertain the exact cost of every act of 
husbandry. I therefore informed the men one Saturday night 
that I intended to give no beer. At this they were disposed to 
murmur, but I set that to rights by informing them that during 
a great part of the time they really did not want the beer, and 
that they would find coffee better for them, although they could 
not do without beer in harvest time or when they worked extra 
hours ; and by asking them whether the beer they received was 
■worth 21. 12s., or \s. a week for the year, to each of them. They 
admitted that it was not, and I then offered to hire them from 
that time, Lady-day, till the following Michaelmas at 13^. per 
Aveek without beer, they being bound to serve me, and I to find 
them work, wet or dry, and to give them so much of the harvest 
work by the piece as they could do well. They accepted this 
offer, having only the alternative of leaving. Of course it was 
not necessary for me to show them that I was a clear gainer by 
the transaction, the extra Is. a week, or 26s. for the time, being 
much less than the cost of the usual allowance of beer. But I 
considered that I was doing them no injury, inasmuch as I was 
to find them regular work for the whole time, whether imme- 
diately profitable to myself or not. 
This being an entirely new mode of proceeding in this part of 
the country, I anticipated some little difhcultv in carrving it out 
The men, however, seemed very pleased with their full pay, and 
everything went on very smoothly until haymaking began, when a 
few of the men began complaining that they could not work with- 
out beer. Bottles were very ostentatiously filled with water at the 
ponds, and their contents drunk, as a hint to me. I took no notice 
of this except by a good-humoured joke, advising them to get their 
wives or sweethearts to make them a good lot of tea or coffee to 
N 2 
