March  26,  lStlft, 
292  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
unknown  in  our  village  to  see  a  working  man  the  worse  for 
drink.  This  is  in  a  measure  the  result  of  better  and  more 
plentiful  food. 
As  the  Saturday  half-holiday  question  has  been  discussed  in 
its  bearings  on  the  horticultural  world,  a  challenge  was  sent  to 
us  to  give  our  views  on  the  movement  as  affecting  the 
agricultural  population.  The  farmer’s  men  are  employed  as 
factors  in  the  making  of  his  livelihood.  The  great  man's 
gardener  administers  to  his  pleasure  and  luxury,  and  therefore 
they  cannot  be  put  on  the  same  footing.  With  all  the  good 
will  in  the  world  a  farmer  cannot  afEord  to  let  his  men  off  for  a 
weekly  half-holiday.  If  the  gentleman  can  afford  himself  the 
pleasures  of  a  beautiful  garden  and  long  ranges  of  glass,  he  can 
also  afford  himself  the  pleasure  of  large-hearted  liberality 
towards  his  servants.  The  question  of  £  s.  d.  comes  first  in  this 
practical  workaday  world ;  would  the  labourer  be  willing  to  do 
as  much  work  in  five  and  a  half  days  as  in  six  ?  If  he  would  the 
question  might  be  considered.  He  gets  so  very  much  better  paid 
now  than  he  did  twenty  years  ago,  and  farming  will  not  stand 
the  strain  of  greater  expense. 
To  get  at  the  real  value  of  the  labourer’s  wage  it  must  be 
converted  into  hind,  and  it  will  be  found  by  anyone  examining 
the  annexed  table  that  he  gets  more  in  produce  with  less  money 
than  he  did  twenty  years  ago.  Now  this  is  somehow  how  the 
figures  work  out : — 
Wages  at  18s.  per  week,  | 
less  2s.  rent  ( 
Wages  at  15s.  per  week,  j 
less  2s.  rent  J 
1876. 
8. 
d. 
3b  utono  wheat  at  la.  6d, 
...  6 
3 
3|  atone  barley  at  Is.  3d. 
...  4 
H 
3  lbs.  mutton  at  8d. 
...  2 
0 
3b  lbs.  beef  at  9d. 
...  2 
7* 
1  lb.  wool  at  Is.  9d. 
...  1 
9“ 
16 
0 
1896. 
s 
d. 
stone  wheat  at  9J.  ... 
...  3 
4* 
4^  stone  barley  at  9d.  ... 
...  3 
4  lbs.  mutton  at  7d.  ... 
...  2 
4 
4J  lbs.  beef  at  6d. 
...  2 
3 
If  lbs.  wool  at  Is. 
...  1 
9 
13  1 
Everything  that  a  working  man  buys  is  cheaper,  some  things 
are  50  per  cent,  less,  and  so  the  purchasing  power  of  his  money 
has  increased ;  this  is  seen,  and  happily  so,  in  the  gi-eater 
comfort  now  found  in  the  labourer’s  home. 
Do  the  labourers  as  a  body  want  a  Saturday’s  half-holiday  ? 
We  doubt  it.  Possibly  some  of  the  young  fellows,  infected  with 
the  restless  spirit  of  the  age  and  its  accompanying  love  of 
excitement,  would  like  the  chance  of  visiting  the  nearest  football 
or  cricket  match.  Given  a  free  Saturday  afternoon,  how  long 
would  it  be  before  the  various  sporting  amusements  of  pigeon 
shooting,  rabbit  coursing,  sparrow  and  starling  sweeps,  and  with 
the  necessary  (?)  bookmaker,  all  now  so  common  in  the  colliery 
villages,  be  introduced  into  the  agricultural  districts  ? 
“  Satan  finds  some  mischief  still  for  idle  hands  to  do,”  and 
if  the  result  of  a  free  time  has  a  similar  effect  on  farm  labourers 
to  what  it  has  had  in  the  towns  we  may  well  pause  before  we 
give  any  encouragement  to  such  a  movement. 
But  apart  from  the  social  and  moral  standpoint,  as  well  as 
the  financial  one,  Saturday  is  on  most  farms  (especially  in 
winter)  the  busiest  day  in  the  week.  A  heavy  stock  of  horses 
and  cattle  must  have  attention  every  day  alike,  and  if  Sunday 
work  is  to  be  minimised,  much  preparation  is  required  on 
Saturday.  In  fact,  for  a  regular  holiday  this  would  be  the  most 
unlikely  day  in  the  week.  Most  labourers,  at  least  in  the  districts 
we  know,  can  get  a  day  off  almost  when  they  like,  and  not  only 
that  but  the  modest  request  for  “  t’ould  galloway  and  shepherd’s 
cart  to  tak’  missus  and  bairns,”  is  granted  too.  All  the  young 
single  men  get  a  week  once  a  year,  and  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
aBk  for  a  day  “  off  ”  at  the  time  of  their  village  feast  or  the  county 
agricultural  show ;  and  mind,  there  is  no  stoppage  of  wage  as 
there  would  be  did  they  work  in  mill  or  foundry. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  farm  labourer  is  rapidly  deteriorating 
in  technical  skill  and  ability  to  perform  his  work.  Of  course 
there  are  exceptions,  but,  speaking  generally,  the  young  men 
who  stick  to  agricultural  work  show  little  or  no  anxiety  to  improve 
themselves  a*  labourers.  They  do  not  take  any  trouble  to  learn 
the  arts  of  hedging,  stacking,  thatching,  and  clipping,  but  would 
seem  to  prefer  to  watch  and  criticise  the  work  of  their  elders,  with 
the  supremest  indifference  to  the  future.  If  free  lectures  and 
classes  on  these  subjects  are  offered  them,  they  laugh,  and  say, 
“  Not  me.”  As  one  old  labourer  remarked,  “  They  doant  want 
to  larn  for  fear  they  may  be  set  to  do  it.”  Clever  labourers  are 
scarcer  and  commanding  better  wages  every  year,  so  that  there 
is  every  inducement  for  young  men  to  improve  themselves  But 
although  they  are  qualified  to  use  nothing  but  a  muck  fork 
(and  are  not  fond  of  that),  they  quite  consider  themselves  worth 
as  much  as  any  skilled  workman,  and  expect  the  same  wage. 
As  long  as  he  has  two  arms,  two  legs,  and  a  head  (even  if  there 
are  no  brains  in  it)  “  a  man ’s  a  man  for  a’  that.”  It  would  be 
well  if  all  labourers  were  paid  strictly  according  to  ability,  and 
not  by  bard  and  fast  line,  on  the  strict  equality  system. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
March  came  in  like  a  lamb  in  the  Midland  counties,  and  we  must  wait 
to  see  if  it  fulfil  the  other  half  of  the  proverb,  and  ■  go  out  like  a  lion. 
High  winds,  heavy  rains,  showers  of  snow  and  hail  have  made  up  typical 
March  weather,  except  that  the  rainfall  has  been  rather  in  excess. 
Great  is  the  satisfaction  of  those  who  took  advantage  earlier  of  the  fine 
tilth,  and  got  in  a  large  portion  of  their  spring  corn,  the  land  may  "not 
be  in  such  condition  again  this  side  May  Day. 
On  strong  l»nd  which  was  in  a  rough  condition  the  rain,  however, 
may  have  been  hardly  yet  sufficient.  We  are  preparing  for  Mangolds, 
another  dressing  and  ploughing  being  given.  Nothing  more  will  now 
be  needed  until  drilling  time.  Winter  Tares  look  well,  and  we  are  now 
making  another  sowing  for  forage.  Except  for  the  latest  mowing  we 
prefer  winter  to  spring  Tares,  as  we  think  they  grow  a  more  bulky  crop, 
and  also  make  better  food  less  frothy. 
Swedes  are  now  coming  from  the  pies  in  beautiful  condition,  and  the 
difference  in  weight  between  them  and  those  still  in  the  ground  is  most 
marked.  Surely  if  storing  will  pay  this  winter,  when  will  it  not  ? 
Where  moles  are  not  closely  killed  they  have  been  hard  at  work 
throwing  up  hills.  In  pastures  if  these  are  spread  with  a  shovel,  and 
the  land  be  then  chain-harrowed,  a  benefit  will  have  been  gained  rather 
than  damage  done  to  the  grass.  Numerous  molehills  look  very 
unsightly,  and  on  young  seeds  appear  to  do  much  damage  ;  but  little 
surface  is  really  covered  by  them,  and  they  can  be  easily  spread.  The 
wisdom  of  exterminating  the  mole  has  long  been  open  to  question,  and 
one  of  the  oldest  and  cleverest  farmers  in  the  East  Riding  would  not 
have  a  mole  killed,  as  he  had  great  faith  in  the  utility  of  these  hard¬ 
working  underdrainers. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
OAMDEN  SQ0AHB,  LONDON. 
Lat  .61°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
A 
a 
1896. 
March. 
1  Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
|  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  ol 
Wind, 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  ..  16 
29-937 
38-6 
36-8 
S.W. 
42-9 
63-0 
29-4 
77-9 
25-1 
0-037 
Monday  ..  16 
29-677 
60-1 
48-6 
S.W. 
42-9 
56-4 
38-3 
94-8 
38-0 
0-016 
Tuesday  ..  17 
29-974 
47*9 
45-2 
S.W. 
45-2 
56-2 
40-7 
80-2 
33-7 
0-532 
Wednesday  18 
29-616 
47-1 
46-6 
N. 
44-6 
48-1 
46-7 
61-3 
46-1 
0-358 
Thursday..  19 
29-967 
41-1 
38-1 
N. 
43-6 
52-8 
31-8 
83-2 
*6-3 
— 
Friday  . .  20 
29-938 
48-1 
44-4 
S.W. 
43-0 
80-8 
38-9 
69-2 
32-2 
0-401 
Saturday  . .  21 
29-801 
49-9 
48-9 
S.W. 
44-0 
64-8 
45-7 
64-1 
45-0 
0-040 
. 
29-844 
46-1 
44-1 
43-5 
53-2 
38-9 
75-8 
35-2 
1-383 
REMARKS. 
16th. — A  little  faint  sunshine  about  11  A.M. ;  rain  about  4  P.M. ;  the  remainder 
overcast. 
16th. — Overcast  and  showery  morning ;  sunny  afternoon  ;  high  wind  all  day. 
17th. — Sunny  early  ;  clouded  over  before  noon ,  and  slight  showers  in  afternoon. 
18th.— Incessant  rain  from  3  A.M.  to  6  p.m.  ;  clear  cold  night. 
1 9th. — Bright  sunshine  all  day  ;  clear  night. 
20th.— Overcast,  with  frequent  slight  showers,  and  almost  incessant  rain  from  5.30  P.M. 
21st. — Almost  continuous  rain  from  midnight  to  10  A.M. ;  dull  and  damp  till  noon  : 
fair  afternoon  ;  shower  at  night. 
A  wet  week,  with  temperature  above  the  average.— G.  J.  SYMON8. 
