whole county they are ruled out of the scope of the Board's activities.

The conditions which subsist in them have been ably described by M.
Bechaux from personal observation, and he declares that the standard of
living is lower than in any other country of Western Europe. Their
inhabitants number more than half a million--that is to say, 10 per
cent. of the total population of the island. Most of them have farms of
two to four acres, and they pay from a few shillings to several pounds
for rent. In many instances the rent which they pay is rather for a roof
than for the soil. They eke out a precarious livelihood by migration to
England, for there is but little demand for agricultural labour owing to
the prevalence of pasture in the West. Fishing has served as a secondary
source of income, and kelp burning was a profitable addition to their
means until the discovery of iodine in Peru sent down the price to a
marked extent.

The right of turbary, which nearly every tenancy possesses, is the one
thing which has kept this population from starvation, and in the case of
seaside tenancies a further gain accrues from the use made of seaweed as
manure, which, owing to the absence of stall-feeding, is only to be
obtained in this way. Home industries, such as weaving, form another
source of profit, and last, but not least, must be reckoned the money
sent home by relatives who have emigrated to America. Calves, pigs, and
poultry are maintained in these circumstances, and, owing to the sale of
the best of the stock, the breed has steadily deteriorated. In the
winter months potatoes, milk, and tea are the main articles of diet, and
after the potato harvest is used up American meal, ground from maize,
and American bacon of the worst possible kind take their place. The
bacon of their own pigs is far too expensive for them to eat. The maize
flour serves also as fodder for the live stock, and the oats which are