394 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



corn up to the end of the eighteenth century ; but this 

 period was about the turning-point — a sort of pivot- 

 period, when exports and imports nearly balanced each 

 other. The enclosure of land now begins to mark the 

 consumption of a gradually-increasing population and 

 trade. A committee of the House of Commons, which 

 sat in 1797, computed the total quantity of land enclosed 

 during that century at about four millions of acres. 

 We have in " Spackman's Analysis of the Occupations 

 of the People" a complete record of the progress of in- 

 closure from the commencement of the present century to 

 the year 1840, viz. — 



From 1800 to 1810 1,057,980 acres 



From 1810 to 1820 1.410,930 ,, 



Total 



3,068,910 „ 



Thus, during the first twenty years, the inclosures 

 amounted to upwards of three millions of acres. But, 

 while these twenty years present to our view the pheno- 

 menon of immense inclosure, it must be stated that this 

 took place under the stimulant of the highest range of 

 prices for food ever known, except in cases of famine. 

 At the close of the war in 1815, the average price of 

 wheat had been during the preceding fifteen years 84s. 

 9d. per quarter, and during the succeeding five years it 

 was 78s. 4d. From 1820 the whole scene changed, and 

 the most trying period commenced, the causes of which 

 are now apparent. Three million acres of moderate land 

 had been taken in hand, and a metallic currency was re- 

 sorted to. The inclosure from the year 1820 to 1830 

 only reached 340,380 acres, thus gradually bringing 

 round the natural remedy for the over doses of inclosure 

 which the war had prescribed. From 1830 to 1840 only 

 236,070 acres were inclosed, showing that supply and 

 demand had not yet righted themselves. Thus during 

 the forty years we have an addition of three and a-half 

 millions of acres to the cultivated lands, against an in- 

 crease of upwards of 8,000,OC0 in the population. 

 By the census of 1801 the population of Great Britain 

 was shown to be 10,472,048 ; in tlie year 1841 it had in- 

 creased to 18,664,761. Spackman then tells us that in 

 the year 1800 we had under cultivation 42,000,000 of 

 acres, which produced food for ten and a-half millions of 

 people. The General Inclosure Act was passed in 1835. 

 The fourteenth report, which has just been presented to 

 parliament, gives the following figures — 



Applications for inclosures since the passing of 



the act 809 



Exchanges 1,G97 



Partitions, &c 161 



Total 2,667 



Of this number 316 have taken place in the last year. 

 Acreage of inclosures confirmed .... 281,949 

 Ditto ditto in progress 208,687 



Total 490,630 



Or in round numbers half a million of acres. These re- 

 turns embrace a period of five years, which were included 

 in the last decennial period from 1830 to 1840, but I 

 have no power of separating them. It is estimated that 



there are still 15,000,000 acres of waste lands capable of 

 improvement, 6,000,000 of which would make arable 

 land, and the remainder improved pasture; but as the 

 high prices from 1800 to 1820 caused the inclosure of 

 land to an extent never equalled, so in the proportion to 

 the decline in prices, inclosure has also declined. Still, 

 applications for assistance to drain and improve waste 

 land continue to be made ; and the English yeoman will, 

 as he ever has done, adopt whatever improvements can 

 be suggested by experience, as rent-paying practices. 

 A national report of the waste lands of England and their 

 capabilities would be an interesting and valuable docu- 

 ment at this stage of our progress. Be it remembered 

 that our population is increasing beyond a thousand per 

 day, while the acreage of our island remains the same ; 

 and that there is a certain limit to the high farming of 

 richly-cultivated lands.— Amongst the many and varied 

 practices that have aided the progress of agriculture may 

 be mentioned the practical results of chemistry and arti- 

 ficial manures. These have enabled the farmer to quad- 

 ruple his green crops, to place the right manure in the 

 right place, and to economize the cost of production. 

 The art of draining is another marked improvement of 

 the age, which dates its further development from the 

 " Government loans" for this purpose, which loans were 

 the result of early private practice, acting on public 

 opinion. The improvement in draining-tools and in 

 draiuing-tiles has contributed to the success that has 

 been attained, and is rapidly progressing ; for without 

 this auxiliary, upon certain soils cultivation is simply 

 useless. The growing knowledge of atmospheric in- 

 fluences has had its share in the work, and gone far to 

 arouse the dormant intellect upon points relating to 

 geographical position, the geography of plants, the in- 

 fluence of light and heat, seasons, winds, &c. The en- 

 closing and improvement of waste land has also formed 

 a prominent feature ; and the improvement of local and 

 farm roads is a link in the chain of progress. The atten- 

 tion which has been directed to the education of the 

 labouring classes, the improvement of their cottages, and 

 the (illotment system has not been without effect, each of 

 these being an evident requirement for the improved class of 

 men who arc daily being called into requestto perform the 

 altered cultivation upon the farm. In effect the occu- 

 pation of the man who thrashed the barn-floor for the 

 natural term of the winter months, is gone. His son suc- 

 ceeds him as an engineer, or the director of asteam-engine ! 

 The improvement in farm buildings is another requisite 

 for the times, and has been liberally carried out for en- 

 terprising tenants. The " rotation of crops" has of 

 necessity received much attention, alike in the field, in 

 the laboratory, and in the discussions of this club. The 

 practical issue is this : the four-course shift was invented 

 and adopted for the purpose of improving the land; 

 this has been done to a heavy amount, and it now re- 

 quires correction, by the introduction of another com 

 crop, extending the four to a five-field course. The 

 Scotch system is that of the six-field course — roots, 

 white straw crop, seeds, white crop, beans, and white 

 crop. The extension of root and other green crops 

 since the introduction of artificial manures has con- 



