Theworking—dayforallartificersandfieldlabourersfromMarchtoSeptemberought，accordingtothisstatute（which，however，couldnotbeenforced），tolastfrom5inthemorningtobetween7and8intheevening。Butthemeal—timesconsistof1hourforbreakfast，11/2hoursfordinner，and1/2anhourfor\"noon—meate，\"i。e。，exactlytwiceasmuchasunderthefactoryactsnowinforce。[86]Inwinter，workwastolastfrom5inthemorninguntildark，withthesameintervals。AstatuteofElizabethof1562leavesthelengthoftheworking—dayforalllabourers\"hiredfordailyorweeklywage\"untouched，butaimsatlimitingtheintervalsto21/2hoursinthesummer，orto2inthewinter。Dinnerisonlytolast1hour，andthe\"afternoon—sleepofhalfanhour\"isonlyallowedbetweenthemiddleofMayandthemiddleofAugust。Foreveryhourofabsence1d。istobesubtractedfromthewage。
Inpractice，however，theconditionsweremuchmorefavourabletothelabourersthaninthestatute—book。WilliamPetty，thefatherofPoliticalEconomy，andtosomeextentthefounderofStatistics，saysinaworkthathepublishedinthelastthirdofthe17thcentury:\"Labouring—men（thenmeaningfield—labourers）
work10hoursperdiem，andmake20mealsperweek，viz。，3adayforworking—days，and2onSundays;wherebyitisplain，thatiftheycouldfastonFridaynights，anddineinonehourandanhalf，whereastheytaketwo，fromeleventoone;therebythusworking1/20more，andspending1/20less，theabove—mentioned（tax）mightberaised。\"[87]WasnotDr。AndrewUrerightincryingdownthe12hours’billof1833
asaretrogressiontothetimesofthedarkages？ItistruetheseregulationscontainedinthestatutementionedbyPetty，applyalsotoapprentices。
Buttheconditionofchild—labour，evenattheendofthe17thcentury，isseenfromthefollowingcomplaint:\"’Tisnottheirpractice（inGermany）