Nurfolk Farming. 



291 



crowded, that this one should be left almost entirely in the 

 hands of unqualified and ignorant persons ! 



Within the last fifteen years, but more particularly during the 

 last five, the rents on some of the large light land estates of West 

 Norfolk have increased. The average advance of rent on such 

 soils has been computed at from 107. to 15/. per cent. In the 

 East rents have also risen, perhaps, from 5/. to 10/. per cent; 

 but there is this difference, that in West Norfolk the lands, 

 from being farmed well for 14 or 21 years, are, at the expira- 

 tion of such leases, really better farms and worth more to a 

 tenant : in the East the land is no better than it was, but farmers 

 increase while farms do not, and so, as the demand exceeds the 

 supply, prices rise. Corn-rents are not common in Norfolk, but 

 under all the new leases on the Holkham estate the rent is paid as 

 follows : one-third in money, one-third in wheat, and one-third in 

 barley : of course the money never varies, but the wheat rises 

 from 18^. to 28s. per coomb of 4 bushels, and the barley from 

 12s. to 16s. The fixed rent supposes the price of wheat to be 

 5s. and barley 3s. per bushel. Perhaps the working of this corn- 

 rent would be better understood by the following illustrations. 

 Let the amount of rent be fixed at 900/., it would vary thus : — 



starting Point. 



One-third Money . . 



One-third Wheat,] 

 1200 bush, at 5/ J 



One-third Barley,] 

 2000 bush, at 3/ J 



£. 



300 



300 

 300 



900 



Lowest. 



One-third Money . . ' 



One-third Wheat, 1 

 1200 bush, at 4/6 j 



One-third Barley,) 

 2000 bush, at 3/ J 



£. 

 300 



270 

 300 



870 



Highest Rent. 



One-third Money , 



One-third Wheat,)! 

 1200 bush, at 8/ j 



One-third Barley,) 

 1200 bush, at 4/ j 



£. 



300 



430 

 400 



1180 



The price of corn is taken from the average of the last three 

 years. It will be observed that these rents rise a good deal, but 

 fall very little ; they are fixed at the lowest point at which it is 

 considered corn can range, but it would simplify the matter to 

 start from the very lowest point and so have no drop at all, and 

 to take the average price of the last year instead of the last three ; 

 of course it all depends on how the start is effected, and it must 

 be said that on the Holkham estate the start is made fairly and 

 liberally. 



In all the parishes in which the tithes were not fixed in 1843 a 

 commutation has since taken place. The New Poor Law, which 

 had then only begun its operations, has since become better 

 understood, is better worked, and better appreciated. The 

 labourer is certainly not so badly off as he was 15 years ago. 



