ABSTRACT
In 1851, the agricultural labour force reached its recorded zenith and, according to the census of that year, the ratio of labourers to farm occupiers was five to one. Agricultural commentators had long realized the value of the farmer's 'constant men' and advocated long engagements for specialist workers such as plough-men. The social distinctions between masters and men were very much less marked than in England and outdoor labourers were very hard to come by. The Victorian statistics mark only the tail-end of a much more long-term tendency, going back into the eighteenth century and originating from competition within the farm labour force. Poor nutrition, presumably, should be reflected in an above-average rate of sickness among farm workers, and there are conflicting impressions in the literature.
