bettering-house

He then resolved that he would turn a "scab" unknown to the association, and continue his work; but having a neighbor whom it was impossible for him to deceive, he went to him and said that he knew his circumstances, and that his family must perish or go to "the bettering-house" unless he continued to work.

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 099, March, 1876 Various