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wolram
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Any insight as to how they lived, what they owned, ate, housing.
mgb_phys said:Assuming you can have a Victorian American - something like the Amish?
Before 1850 - not very different, most of the farmers would be in New England with small farms very similar to those in England. It was only much later with railroads and machinery that most farmers moved out to the midwest.wolram said:I was just looking to compare the English farm labourer c1850 with some equivalent in America.
mgb_phys said:Before 1850 - not very different, most of the farmers would be in New England with small farms very similar to those in England. It was only much later with railroads and machinery that most farmers moved out to the midwest.
After 1850 when the corn laws were repealed, English agriculture got very business-like, a big boost in output a lot of mergers into bigger farms and the railways let them ship a lot of produce to the cities. I don't think the same boom occurred in America until much later.
Upto the tudors it was pretty medieval, crop rotation, common land shared fields and subsistence, then the enclosures created larger farms, landowner farmers and a lot more produce grown for sale in markets. This wasn't all bad, the total amount of food grown doubled.wolram said:I have a book, the English rural labourer from Tudor to Victorian times printed in 1949, it paints a grim picture,
Not really. Thoreau's book "Walden" was an autobiographical account of simple living and self-sufficiency, and he went into painstaking detail on the cost of his tools and supplies, and the materials needed to build and improve his little cabin. I enjoyed that book greatly. It's right in the 1850 time-frame, so that part fits. Thoreau wasn't really running a farm, but in addition to other vegetables, he raised a couple of acres of beans for market. When you're tilling and hoeing by hand, 2+ acres is a lot of work. The good thing about beans is that if you let them dry on the vine, then strip the beans out of the pods, you have a good staple food that stores well, and would sell in markets all winter and spring, etc until the next harvest.wolram said:Nice one Turbo, do you know of any personal accounts surviving from the 1850s?
mgb_phys said:Upto the tudors it was pretty medieval, crop rotation, common land shared fields and subsistence, then the enclosures created larger farms, landowner farmers and a lot more produce grown for sale in markets. This wasn't all bad, the total amount of food grown doubled.
Then with the end of the corn laws the same thing happened again.
But it was pretty bad - ever wondered why those people living in an idealic rural landscape were in such a hurry to move to the dark satanic mills!
turbo-1 said:Walden in text from Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/205
The typical daily routine of a Victorian American farm hand involved waking up early in the morning to tend to the animals, followed by working in the fields until lunchtime. After lunch, they would continue working until sunset, with occasional breaks for meals and rest. Evenings were spent completing any necessary chores and preparing for the next day.
The living conditions for Victorian American farm hands were often basic and cramped. They lived in small, simple cabins or bunkhouses, sometimes sharing a bed with other workers. They had limited access to clean water and often had to use an outhouse for a bathroom.
Victorian American farm hands used a variety of tools and equipment, including plows, hoes, scythes, and sickles for working in the fields. They also used pitchforks, shovels, and wheelbarrows for moving hay and other materials. Other common tools included axes, saws, and hammers for building and repairing structures on the farm.
Victorian American farm hands were often paid in the form of room and board, as well as a small wage. Some farm hands were also given a percentage of the crop yield as part of their pay. However, wages were generally low and many farm hands struggled to make a living.
The main crops grown on Victorian American farms varied depending on the location and climate, but some common crops included wheat, corn, oats, and potatoes. Livestock, such as cows, pigs, and chickens, were also raised on many farms for meat, milk, and eggs.