The Labour Bill in Farming. 
75 
interest, not only as showing the varied yield of crops upon a 
well-cultivated farm, but as showing also how far the wages here 
have followed the rise or fall in the price of corn. The existence 
from time to time of surplus labour in the district is another 
disturbing element. 
The details that follow relate to a farm of 780 acres, of which 
38 are wood, 20 pasture, and 722 arable. Of the latter about 
5 per cent, would be waste. Part of the land is light ; part is 
good mixed soil. The rent is 1080/. ; the tithes, 224/. ; rates, 
106/. The year's labour bill was 1330/., representing about 
( 34s. per acre. The tabular figures show the total paid for 
labour upon the farm during the last 17 years, and they show 
also the amount given in beer. A good deal of difference will 
be observed in the cost of labour from year to year, even when 
the rate- of wages is the same. This difference is caused by the 
variation in seasons, much less labour being required in a dry 
than in a wet season. Indeed, the effect of a drought in reducing 
wages sometimes extends into the year following, owing to 
shorter crops to be gathered, and a smaller quantity of corn to 
be threshed. It will be seen what little difference seems to have 
been produced by the latest agricultural machinery in reducing 
the total wage account. Steam-threshing caused a considerable 
economy in labour as compared with flail-threshing, but this 
result is not shown, as steam-threshing was adopted upon the 
farm before 1857, when the figures begin : — 
Total Labour for the Years ending October 11. 
Total Labour. 
Including Beer. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
18.57 
1,266 
19 
0 
55 
12 
0 
1858 
1,192 
5 
0 
54 
5 
0 
1859 
1,221 
14 
0 
82 
5 
0 
1860 
1,298 
18 
0 
55 
13 
0 
1861 
1,265 
10 
0 
54 
15 
0 
1862 
1,830 
17 
0 
87 
18 
0 
1863 
1,119 
6 
0 
35 
17 
0 
1864 
1,076 
0 
0 
31 
2 
0 
1865 
1,040 
18 
0 
85 
2 
0 
1866 
1,158 
5 
0 
* 
1867 
1,275 
2 
0 
117 
0 
18G8 
1,244 
6 
0 
134 
2 
0 
1869 
1,126 
17 
0 
93 
5 
0 
1870 
1,165 
15 
0 
78 
13 
0 
1871 
1,043 
11 
0 
50 
2 
0 
1872 
1,199 
4 
0 
61 
4 
0 
1873 
1,318 
17 
0 
11 
6 
0 
* Beer omitted by mistake. 
One cause of the great variation in the value of the beer given 
