WAGES OF AGRICULTURAL. LABOUR. 363 

In Wales the wages were ascertained of the hired 
labourers (yearly or half-yearly) who are mostly single men 
and who live and board in the farm-houses, and also of the 
married labourers who live in cottages, and whose wages are 
paid weekly, either entirely in cash, or partly in food. 
As it was found impossible to compute the number of 
hired men in the different classes who had been affected 
by changes, the changes of the married men were, as in 
former reports, assumed to apply to the hired labourers. 
In 1899, 2,909 labourers were living in districts in which there 
was a change, the increase calculated upon this number 
amounting to £106 per week, or tod. per head. In 1898 
the number of labourers in such districts was 5,938 and the 
aggregate increase amounted to £166 per week. 
With regard to Scotland, reports received by the Labour 
Department of the rates of wages agreed upon at the 
hiring fairs in 1899 by anumber of representative employers 
indicate that there was an upward movement, though, 
generally speaking, the rise was not sufficient to affect the 
predominant rate of wages paid. At the hirings which took 
place during the first six months of 1899 wages were well 
maintained, and there was little change later in the year. 
At the early autumn fairs, notably in the counties of Forfar 
and Perth, a rise of about 20s. for the year was paid, but as 
the hiring season advanced wages returned to their former 
level. 
HARVEST WAGES IN 1900. 
The Labour Department of the Board of Trade have 
received returns from 126 farms in the Eastern, Midland, 
and Southern and South-Western Counties giving the cash 
earnings for the corn harvest of Igoo, of 1,945 agricultural 
labourers, exclusive of the value of food or drink which may 
have been given in addition. Generally speaking, the 
returns show that the rates of harvest wages were frequently 
slightly higher than last year. 
The average duration of harvest on the tarms reported on 
was twenty-five days. The weather during harvest was 
