Kenrick Watson

“ The common tale of the nest being built with bones is not true in every instance. I have, myself, seen the eggs laid in a hole in a sand bank, which, I conclude, was made either by a rat or a sand martin, and after the young ones were hatched, the sand at the bottom of the nest was found mixed with small bits of bones, the remains of fish which had been eaten either by the old or young birds ”

“ The canal boatmen are a much more feeble class of men, and live much more upon vegetables. They are usually accompanied by their wives, and, occasionally, their whole family live in the boat, but the majority of them have houses in Staffordshire. The wages usually paid for a voyage to Bilston, which is thirty-two miles distant, are twenty-five shillings. The time required for the journey is three days, but they are frequently detained many days before they can get coal. ”

“ The agricultural labourers get from eight to ten shillings a week, and a gallon of cider or beer a day; sometimes they get a small barrel of cider, or brew a little beer at home, but, in general, the women and children, except among the better class of labourers, are badly off. ”

“ Except upon the farms where it is made, cider is not the common beverage; in the towns beer is drank as in other parts of the kingdom. The cider will produce intoxication when it is very imperfectly fermented, and, even at the mill, the persons employed in making it are drunk for weeks together. ”

“ The cider and perry which are sold by the merchants, are, generally, a mixture of the produce of different years, managed according to the nature of the different kinds produced.
Leases of farms are not generally granted for a longer term than seven years.
With the exception of the parish of Hartlebury, which is copyhold under the See of Worcester, the land is generally freehold. The poor-rates are moderate, and no part of the labourers' wages is paid from the poor-rate, and the tithes are rarely taken in kind. ”

“ In the coal districts, on account of the coal strata being so very thin, the labourers are obliged to lay upon their sides to work, from which cause the spine, occasionally, becomes twisted; but I am not aware that any material inconvenience arises from the deformity. ”

“ The hills, in this immediate neighbourhood, are sandstone; the level grounds, except where the soil is alluvial, are a bed of sand from twenty to thirty feet deep, then sandstone, and afterwards gravel. Before the country was enclosed, it appears to have been drifting sand for miles round. At the distance of four miles, near Abberley Hills, the sandstone disappears, and limestone succeeds in its stead. ”

“ They are a drunken race, and many of those who are not in regular employ, are considered to be men of bad character. Those who go with the regular trading boats are respectable men. In general, the Cheshire men and their wives are the most cleanly and orderly.
The poor, here, have plenty of coal, indeed, stealing coal is not considered a crime. ”

“ Asthma very frequently occurs among the miners, and many young men are unable to work under-ground from that cause.
Upon the whole, the average of life is very high in the clay districts, but I have been unable to make any thing like a correct calculation of the comparative mortality between the wheat-land and the rye-land districts, on account of the population being insufficient for the purpose, and of the constant emigration which takes place from the distant parishes to the neighbouring towns. ”

“ In drying the hops, cokes, made from sulphurous coals, are preferred. The great inducement which brings so many individuals so far from home, is to get apples; it may be fairly calculated that each person consumes or takes away two pots or ten pecks of fruit. ”

“ They are generally stout powerful men, and though exposed to great hardships during their voyages, they appear to be very susceptible of cold when at home. I observe that they exclude every breath of air from their bed-rooms, cover themselves with a heap of clothes, and never seem so comfortable as when they are in a profuse perspiration. They commonly eat their meat broiled, with bread, but very seldom use vegetables. They receive about thirty shillings for a voyage to Stroud, besides their meat and drink. ”

“ The working classes here are bad managers; potatoes, with a very little bacon, or fat mutton broiled, and the fat poured over the potatoes, is their common food; none of the family will touch buttermilk or whey. When the children are weaned, they eat sop; or bread soaked in weak tea with some sugar; and, as soon as they are old enough, they live upon the potatoes and melted fat, and drink water. ”

“ With regard to insects, in some years they are a perfect plague; the light dry soil of the district is particularly favourable to the different species of the aphis family. The ants are likewise very numerous, particularly the Formicæ herculaneæ. ”

“ There are several benefit clubs in the town; the calculations are, in general, badly made, and there is much reason to fear that those members who may live to be old, will never derive any advantage from their contributions. ”

“ There are two wells in the neighbourhood which are used when a purer water for domestic purposes is wanted; the water of these wells does not appear to contain any mineral impregnation.
About 100 persons are employed in an iron foundry; inflammation of the eyes appears to be the only disease to which they are liable, which can be attributed to their employment. ”

“ In some years, the beetles, and the larvæ of the different Lepidopterous tribes destroy whole woods and orchards. The trees, indeed, rarely die, but, for that year, they neither grow nor produce fruit. ”

“ Every now and then the box is said to be shut, or, in other words, there are no funds. None of the persons of influence among the men join the clubs, and there appears an objection among them to enrolment. ”

“ Within a few miles every variety of secondary formation is met with. The hills, or, rather, the high grounds, which bound the valley of the Severn upon the south, are generally covered with coppice, but timber trees are few in number ”