TliC Supply of Milk to Labourers. 
105 
Mr. R. Neville, Eutlcigh Court, Glastonbury, gives an un- 
usually satisfactory account of the milk supply in his neigh- 
bourhood. He says : — 
"This is a regular dairy country; tlic labourers generally get milk and 
butter from their employers at a fair market price. I sell skim-milk at icZ. 
l^er quart to all who like to letch it, and bring the money with them ; about 
twenty daily arc thus supplied." 
And as skim-milk has lost none of its nitrogenous elements, 
Mr. Neville's neighbours are supplied with a very valuable 
article of food at a very low price. The labourers of Liphook 
referred to by Sir A. Macdonald, are quite mistaken as to the 
comparative value of new and of skim milk. 
Sir A. Macdonald, writing from Woolmer, Liphook, says that 
milk is not very readily attainable in that neighbourhood. 
" The farm-labourers appear to consider milk necessary only for young 
children, and for that purpose they purchase neiu milk at 2d: per pint, in 
preference to skim-milk gratis. 
" In answer to inquiries, I am told by the labourers that they prefer their 
tea or coffee without milk." 
Mr. W. Prankish, Limber, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, describes 
his district as partially supplied either by cottage cow-keepers 
or small farmers, or by those larger ones who sometimes sell 
milk at a nominal charge to the labourers. I have now quoted 
several cases of an unusual character ; but so much evidence 
of the shortness of the milk supply comes from so many cor- 
respondents in various parts of the country, that it is impossible 
to doubt it. Those who do not meet with the difficulty of 
obtaining milk at a poor man's price may be assured that 
their place of residence is highly favoured. Lord Vernon 
says : — 
" In the dairy districts of Derbyshire the labourer has great difficulty in 
obtaining milk." 
Mr. Charles Howard writes from Biddenham : — 
" Milk is not available in many villages to the extent that is desirable. 
A supply of good skim- milk would be a great boon to men with large families, 
and it might be managed without much trouble or inconvenience on most 
farms." 
Mr. Howard adds a hint which I cannot forbear quoting. 
He says : — 
" In this village we have some four or five small holdings, varying from 
5 to 10 acres, on each of which some two or three cows are kept ; formerly the 
milk was made into butter, but as the population of Bedford has increased, 
these cottagers sell their milk to go there, being only a short distance from 
the town. Some of these holdings are occupied by men who have been 
thrifty, industrious labourers. I consider they have a beneficial effect: they 
