Tally sticks

We took the boys to Stott Park bobbin mill, owned by English Heritage.  It was one of the last working mills in the country, closing in 1971.  Workers were paid according to how many gross (144) bobbins they produced, not by the hours worked, so speed and efficiency were essential.
In the early days boys as young as eight could be working in the mill.  Many had no formal education and couldn't count up to 144.  But they could count up to twelve, so they would put every twelfth bobbin on one side, and when they had twelve bobbins on the side they knew they had produced 144 bobbins.  The mill had a tally man, who carried a stick for each worker, and would cut a mark in that worker's stick for each gross of bobbins.  At the end of the day each worker would be given his stick and would take it to the office for his day's work to be recorded.