250

ON THE RURAL ECONOMY

ground for barley or potatoes ; a cart-load of fuel broughtifom the nearest place of sale, and liberty to keep somefowls. These cottages, in general, consist of one apartment,about 15 or 16 feet wide by 18 feet long. Though some ofthem are on a proper construction, yet in too many in-stances they are far from being comfortable, having neithera floor except of earth, nor ceiling. The wundows, also, arevery small, which may admit a little light, but are rarely cal-culated for the admission of fresh air. When sickness, there-fore, comes into the poor man’s family, the consequences areoften fatal. At the same time, from the great expence ofkeeping up cottages, farmers are never anxious to have morethan what are barely sufficient to accommodate the labourers,necessary for all the different operations of the farm. Inmost situations, therefore, tradesmen are gradually withdraw-ing themselves from the country, and taking up their resi-dence in towns and villages.

From what has been stated, when treating of the differentclasses of servants and labourers, it is evident, that the num-ber of cottages attached to farms, is very different in the va-rious districts of the country. In all those counties where thepracticeis general, of employing aconsiderable number of mar-ried farm-servants, instead of having the whole of them singlemen, cottages are always to be readily had, for whatever num-ber of hands may be necessary, as even the farmers do nothesitate, provided they have any length of lease, to erect anadditional number, rather than not to be accommodated withthe kind of servants they find most advantageous ; while, onthe other hand, in those counties where unmarried servantsare generally employed, a complaint that cottages are scarceis very common. It is certainly for the interest both of land-lord and tenant, to remove, as quickly as possible, anyground for this complaint. For experience has clearly shewn,that without a sufficient command of all kinds of labourers,it is in vain to expect that a judicious and profitable systemof husbandry can be exercised ; and how are these to be pro-