The value of alcohol as a food is generally denied in these days by sedentary people, but very few who have seen its judicious use in agricultural work will be inclined to agree; it is possible that though it may be a carbo-hydrate very quickly consumed in the body, it acts as an aid to digestion, and produces more nourishment from a given quantity of food, than would be assimilated in its absence.  The giving out of the men’s allowances is, however, a troublesome matter and demands a firm and masterful bailiff or foreman, for “much” is inclined to want “more,” and the line should, of course, be drawn far short of excess.  It was related of an old lady farmer in the neighbourhood, who always distributed her men’s cider with her own hands, that in her anxiety to be on the safe side after a season when the cider was unusually strong, she mixed a proportion of water with the beverage, before the arrival of the recipients.  One of the men, however, having discovered the dilution, arrived after the first day with two jars.  Asked the reason for the second jar, he answered that he should prefer to have his cider and the water separate.

My bailiff always said that sixpennyworth of cider would do more work than a shilling in cash.  He was undoubtedly correct, and, moreover, the quantity worth sixpence in the farm cider store would cost a shilling or more at the public-house, to supply an equivalent in alcohol, and valuable time would be lost in fetching it.  It is the alcohol that commends it to the agricultural labourer more than any consideration of thirst, and no one can see its effect without the conviction that the men find it not only stimulating, but supporting.  A friend of mine, however, found so much satisfaction in a deep draught of cider when he felt really “dry,” that he said he would give “a crown” any day for a “good thirst!”

Excess in drink was rare at Aldington, and it was very exceptional for a man to be seen in what were called his “crooked stockings.”  Fortunately, we had no public-house in the village, and if the men had a moderate allowance during a hard day’s work, there was not much temptation to tramp a mile and back at night to the nearest licensed premises in order to sit and swill in the tap-room.  I had one man who lived near a place of the sort, and he occasionally took what my bailiff called, “Saints’ days,” and did not appear for work.  I notice that this sort of day is now called by the more suitable name of “alcoholiday.”

Well-fermented cider contains from 5 to 10 gallons of alcohol, and perry about 7 gallons, to every 100 gallons of the liquor, which compares with claret 13 to 17, sherry 15 to 20, and port 24 to 26 per cent, of alcohol.  I found the truth of the proverb in vino veritas; after a quite small allowance of cider on the farm the open-hearted man would become lively, the reserved man taciturn, the crabbed man argumentative; but the work went with a will and a spirit that were not so noticeable when no “tots” were going round.