JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  23,  1902. 
'U 
How  the  German  Labourer  Fares. 
On  all  hands  we  hear  of  the  dearth  of  the  English  agri¬ 
cultural  labourer,  and  we  are  told  that  (in  the  main)  we 
have  only  ourselves  to  thank  for  it.  We  pay  him  badly; 
we  house  him  worse  ;  we  offer  him  and  his  no  advantages  ; 
there  is  no  prospect  before  him  but  the  work-house,  and  that 
altogether  his  is  an  evil  case.  Well,  as  to  the  pay.  In  the 
first  instance,  we  must  get  at  the  value  of  the  commodity 
the  man  manufactures,  for,  after  all,  the  farm  is  a  factory 
out  of  doors.  What  does  the  man  do?  He  is  engaged  in 
the  production  of  certain  articles  of  consumption,  food  and 
clothing,  both  in  a  raw  state ;  and  if  that  food  and  clothing 
is  quoted  (as  it  is  now)  at  a  low  figure,  the  man  can  only 
have  his  share  of  the  profit,  which  profit  has  to  be  divided 
with  the  owner  of  the  land  and  the  occupier,  who  also  pro¬ 
vides  the  capital.  The  man’s  capital  is  his  labour,  and  for 
that  we  maintain  he  gets  good  interest,  much  better  than 
that  obtained  by  his  fellow  capitalists.  Ask  any  landlord 
to-day  as  to  the  percentage  he  is  deriving  from  his  acres  ; 
he  will  not  have  a  very  brilliant  record.  Ask  the  majority 
■of  farmers  how  they  fare  ;  they  shake  their  heads,  and  say  it 
is  but  a  poor  game.  Personally,  we  wonder  how  many  of 
them  keep  their  heads  above  water.  Those  that  do,  possibly 
are  still  living  in  a  great  measure  on  the  savings  of  the  years 
of  plenty,  or  on  hope,  which  is  but  an  unsatisfactory  form  of 
nourishment. 
When  was  the  English  labourer  better  off  than  at  present? 
When  had  Is.  greater  purchasing  powers?  Just  consider  for 
a  moment  the  price  of  every  commodity  which  a  working 
man  needs.  We  need  not  go  into  details — every  little 
grocer’s  shop  answers  the  question.  At  what  period  of  the 
world’s  history  had  a  working  man  more  comforts  than  now  ? 
He  has  far  less  anxiety  and  care  than  the  majority  of  workers 
belonging  to  the  lower  middle  class.  His  children  are 
educated  free  ;  he  has  clubs  and  benefit  societies  on  every 
hand,  and  a  good  man  need  never  be  a  day  out  of  work.  In 
spite  of  all  that  has  been  said,  the  majority  of  the  cottages 
have  good  gardens,  and  allotments  are  plentiful  everywhere. 
He  is  practically  master  of  the  situation,  and  is  perfectly 
independent  of  any  master.  There  were  days  when  the  wife 
was  glad  of  her  earnings  to  help  the  family  purse.  Now, 
to  see  a  Avoman  at  Avork  in  the  fields  is  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule.  We  are  glad  it  is  so  ;  but  this  shows,  we 
think,  that  the  pressure  of  poverty  is  not  so  severe.  We 
would  rather  have  the  Avomen  at  home  looking  after  their 
families. 
We  wonder  hoAv  our  English  labourer  would  like  the  lot 
■of  his  German  brother?  We  have  just  come  across  some 
little  account  of  the  German  agricultural  labourer  in  a  book 
by  Mr.  Harbutt  Dawson,  Avhich  has  rather  opened  our  eyes. 
Agriculture  is  protected  in  Germany  by  high  import  duties  ; 
but  the  poor  Avorker  is  by  no  means  protected.  When  we 
hear  that  the  average  wage  for  the  rural  labourer  is  well 
under  2s.  per  day,  with  Is.  for  the  Avife,  the  prospect  does 
not  look  bright.  Twelve  hours  is  the  average  day,  but  in 
some  parts  of  West  Prussia  it  is  lengthened  out  to  sixteen, 
and  of  the  man’s  earnings  the  rent  of  the  cottage  has  to  be 
paid.  In  many  cases  the  man  not  only  works  himself,  but 
binds  his  wife,  and  all  the  available  children  too,  to  Avork 
for  his  employer — very  much  like  the  old  system  of  serfdom. 
We  copy  here  an  agreement  between  a  Lord  of  the  Manor 
and  his  labourer,  it  reads  rather  like  the  dark  ages  :  — 
"  The  Lord  of  the  Manor  offers  his  labourer  a  dwelling, 
AAuth  60  sq.  roods  of  garden  and  50  of  Potato  land,  for  £3  15s. 
per  annum,  rent  to  be  deducted  weekly  out  of  the  wage  of 
Is.  6d.  per  day.  He  may  not  keep  a  goat  or  cow,  but  can  buy 
ncAv  milk  at  Id.  per  litre  (one  pint  and  three-quarters),  old 
milk  at  Jd.  He  may  keep  a  pig  and  a  few  hens,  and  has 
litter  free.  He  must  find  his  own  food  and  doctoring.  Fuel 
is  conveyed  at  3s.  per  load,  if  the  distance  is  under  three 
miles.  Seed  Potatoes  are  supplied  at  the  rate  of  6d.  ner 
square  rood.  He  repairs  his  dwelling,  the  landlord  finding 
material.  He  and  his  family  bind  themselves  only  to  work 
■  on  that  Lordship,  and  at  the  folloAving  wages  : — For  himself 
during  winter.  Is.  6d.  per  day ;  during  summer.  Is.  9d.  ; 
with  6d.  per  day  extra  during  the  six  Aveeks  of  harvest.  His 
sons,  once  twenty  years  old,  are  paid  at  the  same  rate.  His 
wife  has  9d.  in  Avinter,  and  Is.  in  summer,  Avith  no  extras  for 
harvest.” 
We  think  this  needs  no  comment;  and  then  the  man  has 
not  the  field  to  himself.  He  is  confronted  Avith  Polish  cheap 
labour.  Any  quantity  of  Poles  can  be  got,  who  are  paid  at 
the  rate  of  Is.  to  Is.  6d.  per  day,  and  live  on  Potatoes  and 
sleep  on  sacks.  If  the  farm  hand  emigrates  to  the  toAvn  he 
does  not  improve  himself  much.  The  rents  are  very  high, 
and  the  Avages  are  not  high  in  comparison.  Mr.  Dawson 
says  ;  — “  In  the  steel,  iron,  and  coal  industries,  the  average 
earnings  do  not  exceed  £l  per  Aveek,  and  in  the  textile 
trades  this  average  is  not  reached.  The  hours,  too,  are 
twelve,  as  against  our  nine,  and  there  is  no  Saturday  half¬ 
holiday.  All  German  industries  are  in  a  depressed  state. 
How  long  would  our  Avorkmen  endure  a  diet  of  sauerkraut, 
sausages,  and  black  bread?  We  should  be  going  back  100 
years.” 
We  are  not  saying  all  this  because  Ave  think  our  men 
deserve  no  better  lot.  Not  at  all ;  only  we  feel  if  our  men 
would  but  look  abroad  they  might  see  that,  after  all,  and 
in  spite  of  their  incessant  grumble,  they  are  far  and  away 
better  off  than  their  German  compeers.  We  fear  this  does 
not  onb^  apply  to  Germany  alone,  but  to  most  of  the  other 
Agricultural  States  of  Europe — dare  Ave  say  the  Avorld  ?  It 
appears  that  the  system  of  “  Protection,”  instead  of  raising 
Avages  has  a  downward  tendency  ;  hoAv  it  is  Ave  cannot  under¬ 
stand.  We  should  like  a  bit  of  “  Protection  ”  sometimes  ; 
but  it  seems  as  though  Ave  might  as  well  cry  for  the  moon. 
If  this  is  the  result  of  Protection,  may  it  be  far  from  us ! 
We  see  the  Americans  are  loud  in  their  outcry  against  the 
importation  (under  a  heavy  duty)  of  what  they  call  “  Pauper 
Pota-toes  ” — Avhy  pauper  Ave  fail  to  see.  At  the  price  at 
which  they  Avill  have  to  be  retailed  to  cover  initial  cost, 
carriage,  and  duty,  they  appear  to  us  to  be  only  luxuries  for 
the  rich.  What  would  they  say  had  they  to  contend  with 
cheap  Germans  that  are  landed  here  Avithout  a  penny  of 
duty  ?  And  how  would  they  take  it  if  we  Avere  in  a  position 
not  to  need  their  superfluous  cargoes  of  food  stuffs?  In 
that  case  they  would  have  good  cause  for  complaint. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
We  have  got  rid  of  the  surface  water  at  last.  As  soon  as  the 
ground  frost  melted  there  v’as  little  trouble,  but  the  floods  have, 
Ave  fear,  left  their  mark.  At  the  present  time  there  is  a  keen 
black  frost,  AAnth  every  indication  of  snoAv,  so  perhaps  AA'e  have 
not  seen  the  last  of  Avinter.  Work  on  the  land  is  still  out  of  the 
question ;  but  a  feAv  fine  days  may  make  all  the  difference,  and  we 
must  be  ready  to  take  advantage  of  anj'  change  for  the  better. 
The  question  of  manures  is  already  occupying  the  attention  of 
farmers,  and,  as  there  is  no  likelihood  of  any  fall  in  A’alues,  they 
Avill  act  Avisely  in  immediately  nurchasing  their  supplies  at  current 
rates  and  urging  immediate  delivery.  By  so  doing  they  insure 
themselves  against  bad  delivery,  and  also  take  the  opportunity  of 
a  slack  time  tO'  get  their  manures  on  the  premises.  It  is  rather 
galling  to  be  carting  manures  from  the  station,  Avharf,  or  ware¬ 
house  in  fine  March  Aveather,  Avhen  the  sun  is  shining  and  the 
dust  bloAving,  and  everything  is  favourable  for  making  OA'ertime 
Avith  the  drill.  How  to  keep  the  horses  in  healthy  exercise  seems 
to  be  the  present  problem.  We  have  cleared  the  yards  of  manure 
as  much  as  is  advisable  in  inidAvinter,  and  though  the  Potato  trade 
is  brisk,  supplies  are  short  enough  to  suggest  a  little  speculation 
in  futures,  so  delivery  is  stopped  for  the  present.  Sanguine  souls 
are  predicting  a  rapid  rise  to  £5  per  ton,  but  in  these  go-ahead 
days  prophecy  is  apt  to  go  unfulfilled. 
The  washing,  cleaning,  and  painting  of  farm  implements  might 
well  occupy  any  spare  time.  Carts,  for  instance,  Avhich  are  nearly 
ahvays  at  Avork  for  some  purpose  or  other,  may  have  a  little  respite 
just  now,  when  a  thorough  cleaning,  folloAved  by  a  coat  of  paint, 
may  put  off  indefinitely  a  serious  bill  for  repairs.  A  farmer  will 
give  £12  to  £15  for  a  neAv  cart,  Avhich  may  run  for  tAvelve  or 
fifteen  years,  waiting  in  vain  for  a  coat  of  paint  until  it  has  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  village  Avheebvright,  who,  like  the  spider, 
having  once  got  it  into  his  clutches,  Avill  gladly  paint  it  all  the 
colours  of  the  rainboAv  if  he,  by  so  doing,  may  attract  other  flies. 
We  have  seen  no  lambs  yet,  though  probably  there  are  some  in 
sheltered  nooks  out  of  sight.  Ewes,  whether  near  lambing  or 
lying  off  until  March,  must  be  liberally  fed.  Hay  is  too  dear 
to  give  to  sheep,  and  straAv  is  very  scarce,  being  of  more  use  and 
value  amongst  the  cattle.  Dried  grains  or  malt  culms  are  excel¬ 
lent  dry  foods  for  sheep,  and  at  similar  prices  we  prefer  the  latter. 
Their  value  as  manure  is  something  like  £3  per  ton,  and  they  are 
a  very  healthy  food  for  OAves,  but  Ave  should  not  give  them  to 
young  lambs.  _  The  feeding  sheep  are  a  little  more  comfortable, 
but  their  lair  is  not  exactly  a  bed  of  roses  yet. 
