45 
inadequate for the plough lands, if all were arable. In fact, how- 
ever, King’s Brompton never had 7,200 acres of arable land, nor 
Winsford a like quantity. 
Since writing the above it has seemed desirable to enter in each 
hundred a complete list, not only of plough lands, but also of 
ploughs both in demesne and in the villa. Asa result, plough 
lands and ploughs are often very different in number. If they 
nearly correspond we infer that the manor was mostly arable. 
On the other hand instances of no plough in a manor indicate 
absence of arable land, often a park. Moreover we can compare 
the amount of arable in demesne and villa. The comparative 
value of land in different hundreds will also appear by comparing 
the number of geld hides with the number of plough lands. 
The difficulty would be in a great measure dissipated by 
assuming that the statement in the “ Liber niger ”—7zhe 
hide consisted at first of 100 acres—referred to the carruca of 
demesne and villani. Carruca and hida are certainly convertible 
terms. We should thus have a convenient margin for wood, 
pasture, &c., and also for the part of the King’s forest lands not 
excluded as waste. 
The Boldon Book makes the bovate, and therefore the plough, 
a somewhat varying quantity. 
However, Domesday items of area are after all only roughly 
approximate ; the great purpose of the survey was fiscal, other 
items incidental. Not a tittle of evidence exists of a survey of 
area. The whole work was completed in less than a year. When 
the jury were asked—how much land in this manor? and they 
answered in multiples of plough lands, very rarely taking notice of 
a half, we may safely conclude that fractions of a plough land 
were disregarded ; in other words the question was answered 
without previous thought and with limited knowledge. 
As regards the status of the undertenant in a manor, clearly the 
manor was divided into demesne and villa ; and the undertenants 
were the villani, as Zn ipsa villa (169) Monchetona proves, so 
