104 
Tlie Labour Bill in Farming. 
away costs about 10s. upon 36 score of sheep, and the whole 
work woukl be cleared off in a day by the gang. I believe it is 
not easy to join this companionship. An entrance fee is de- 
manded from new-comers, and the leading man of the gang is 
particular in admitting only strong, healthy recruits. A vacancy 
rarely arises except through death or old age, for the employ- 
ment is lucrative and congenial to men not afraid of hard work 
and liking the excitement of moving about from parish to parish. 
As to lodging, the clippers sleep in a barn, under a stack, " or 
anywhere," while they go about the country. They make nearly 
10s. a day apiece — at least the best hands do, for here again a 
man must approve himself by quick and good shearing before 
he can expect a full share of the money earned, and at first he 
will probably only receive a quarter of the sum shared by tlie 
others. Really good clipping is a difficult handicraft, and the 
immense cxj)erience of these gangs makes them much sought 
after by the farmers. 
For drilling wheat, 6fZ. an acre is paid. In drilling soft corn 
— barley, oats, peas — the land can be got over somewhat more 
quickly, and the price is hd. an acre. The men get through 
10 acres of wheat and 10^^ or 11 of soft corn daily. If the i 
average work is 10 acres of wheat, the men will earn Is. a day 
above the rate of day wages, or rather more than Is. Some- 
thing, of course, depends on the horses as well as on the men.' 
Eleven acres and a half have been done in a day. I am assured 
it is not very hard work ; but to make up such a daily average 
there must be " no stopping at the ends ;" you must " keep going 
on." Heie is an account of 23^ days' work in drilling : — Soft 
corn, 210 acres (some on mixed, some on light soil), at bd. per 
acre, 4/. 7s. 6rf. Seeds, 14 acres, 5s. IQd. Sainfoin, 21 acres, at 
3rf. (a long, wide drill is used, covering a good deal of ground), 
5s. dd. ; total, 4Z. 18s. Id. Deduct money paid on account, 
21. 9s. Balance earned in excess of nominal weekly wages, 
21. 9s. 7r/., divided between the man who leads the horses and 
the man behind who holds the drill. These extra earnings are 
a gicat encouragement to both men, and the money thus made 
in drilling is said to be equivalent to an extra shilling a week 
upon their wages all the year round. The total acreage covered 
by them in these 23^ days' work was 245 acres, which gives a 
daily average of very nearly 10^ acres. There are plenty of 
farms on which no more than six acres a day are got through. 
A difference in the width of the drill may account in some mea- 
sure for the smaller acreage covered, but probably a cause which 
lias greater influence is the different mode of payrnent and the 
stimulus which piece-work gives. Both the men engaged in 
the drilling at Knettishall were horsekeepers receiving 15s. a week, 
