Cottage Economy. (1823)

Product Description This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1828. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... c beer to be had at the public house, and divested of the poisonous drugs which that beer but too often contains; and I shall further suppose that he uses in his family two quarts of this beer every day from the first of October to the last day of March inclusive ; three quarts a day during the months of April and May; four quarts a day during the months of June and September; and five quarts a day during the months of July and August; and if this be not enough it must be a family of drunkards. Here are 1097 quarts, or, 274 gallons. Now, a bushel of malt will make eighteen gallons of better beer than that which is sold at the public houses. And this is precisely a gallon for the price of a quart. People should bear in mind, that the beer, bought at the public house, is loaded with a beer tax, with the tax on the public house keeper, in the shape of licence, with all the taxes and expenses of the brewer, with all the taxes, rent, and other expenses of the publican, and with all the profits of both brewer and publican; so that when a man swallows a pot of beer at a public house, he has all these expenses to help to defray, besides the mere tax on the malt and on the hops. 26. Well, then, to brew this ample supply of good beer for a labourer's family, these 274 gallons, requires fifteen bushels of malt and (for let us da the thing well) fifteen pounds of hops. The malt is now eight shillings a bushel, and very good hops may be bought for less than a shilling a pound. The grains and yeast will amply pay for the labour and fuel employed in the brewing ; seeing that there will be pigs to eat the grains, and bread to be baked with the yeast. The account will, then, stand thus: 27. Here, then, is the sum of four pounds, two shillings and twopence saved every ye... Book Description Throughout the course of his life, Cobbett (1763-1835) was constantly concerned with improving the living conditions of the labouring classes. Performing timelessly as the quintessential guide to self-sufficiency, Cottage Economy (1821) provided practical instructions to teach labourers the arts of keeping livestock, making bread, and brewing beer. About the Author Born in Farnham, England, in 1763, William Cobbett traveled between England and America preaching the virtues of practical self-sufficiency. He was a combative and witty writer who like nothing better than to practice what he preached.