ABSTRACT
The farm workforce of the nineteenth century was far from being an undifferentiated mass of John Hodges. In the south at least, women and children had been withdrawn effectively from regular involvement in the workforce by the gangs legislation of 1867 and the Education Acts. The actual work done by the farm worker varied according to skill and, crucially, season. Threshing provided work for the few true casuals as well as frozen-out farm workers. In sheep country, like Sussex, the pattern of seasonal work centred round the flock and took on a different rhythm, though few farms produced sheep alone and so the basic pattern of cereal production was still present. Farm work was unremitting toil in all weathers, from the sleet that accompanied winter ploughing to the burning sun of August.
