valuable aid to a farmer. They frequently possess some little special
knowledge of carpentering or blacksmith's work, which renders them
extremely useful, and at the same time increases their earnings. These
men are the real true peasantry, quiet and peaceful, yet strong and
courageous. These are the class that should be encouraged by every
possible means; a man who keeps his little habitation in the state I
have described, who ornaments it within, and fills his garden with fruit
and flowers, though he may be totally unable to read or to speak
correctly, is nevertheless a good and useful citizen, and an addition to
the stability of the State.

Though these cottages are worth the smallest sums comparatively, it is
interesting to note with what pride and satisfaction the possessors
contemplate leaving them to their children. Of course this very feeling,
where there are quarrelsome relations, often leads to bickerings and
strife. It is astonishing with what tenacity a man who thinks he has a
claim to a part of such a small estate will cling to his cause, and will
not hesitate to spend to maintain his claim all his little earnings on
the third-class lawyers whom the agricultural poor mostly patronise.
Even after every shadow of legal chance is gone, he still loudly
declares his right; and there is more squabbling about the inheritance
of these places than over the succession to great domains.

Another class of labourers' cottages is found chiefly in the villages.
These were not originally erected for the purpose to which they are now
applied; they were farmhouses in the days when small farms were the
rule, or they were built for tradesmen who have long since departed.
These buildings are divided into two, three, or more habitations, each
with its family; and many makeshifts have to be resorted to to render
them decent and comfortable. This class of cottage is to be avoided if
possible, because the close and forced intercourse which must take place
between the families generally leads to quarrels. Perhaps there is one
pump for the entire building, and one wants to use it just at the moment
that another requires water; or there is only one gateway to the court,
and the passage is obstructed by the wheelbarrow of the other party. It
is from these places that the greater part of the malcontents go up to
the magistrates in petty sessions. It is rare, indeed, that the cottager
living more or less isolated by the side of the road