A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



on, particularly in the carrot culture.' The soil, 

 a fine, rich, deep, dark-coloured sand, yielded great 

 crops of every kind, and was let on an average at 

 i8/. an acre, considerably above the ordinary 

 rent of land in England at the time, which Young 

 put at los. an acre all round. The balance- 

 sheet for an acre of carrots was u 



nips, and some malt grains. The flocks of 

 sheep ran from sixty to 140, the average value 

 of their fleeces being 4*. For 100 acres of 

 tillage the farmers of that part of the county 

 considered eight horses necessary, three or four 

 being used for a plough. One plough did an 

 acre a day only 4 in. deep, which was considered 



Turnips usually followed the carrots, and 

 then barley, which on the doubly-hoed land 

 produced great crops of 6 to I o quarters to the 

 acre. 



Sherwood Forest was then waste land, but 

 ' highly improveable, for the sand is not devoid of 

 fertility,' a prophecy which subsequent events 

 fully justified. West of Newstead the land was 

 all inclosed, a somewhat unusual circumstance at 

 this date, rich, and let at i an acre nearly, and 

 farms were from 50 10300 acres. The rotation 

 of crops was either three-course : (i) fallow ; (2) 

 wheat ; (3) oats, the same rotation that had been 

 customary under the old open-field system for 

 centuries ; or four-course : (i) fallow ; (2) barley ; 

 (3) clover (two years) ; (4) wheat. The average 

 crop of wheat for which the land was ploughed 

 four times was 30 bushels per acre, and of barley 

 35 bushels. Turnips were commonly fed off 

 witli sheep, though some were given to the cattle, 

 and the average crop was valued at ^3 an acre. 

 Lime was much in use for manure, especially 

 for wheat on cold land, the usual dressing being 

 two cart-loads per acre at 6s. a load. Wet lands 

 were well drained with covered drains, no doubt 

 made in the then prevalent way, that is filled in 

 about 1 8 in. deep at the bottom with stones which 

 were covered with clods, and these again with 

 loose mould and turves ; or by sod drains. 



The best grass-land let at 305. an acre, and 

 was mainly used for dairying, an acre keeping a 

 cow through the summer. The favourite breed 

 of cattle was the Longhorn, though there were 

 some Shorthorns which at this date had not yet 

 benefited by the work of the Collings, and their 

 winter food was hay and sometimes a few tur- 



13 Carrots were at this time by no means a common 

 crop in England. 



worth 6s. All the ploughs then used were swing 

 ploughs. 



The labourer's wages had risen is. 6d. a week 

 since 1750, and at this time (1770) were about 

 the same as those paid in England generally ; is. 

 a day in winter, and is. with board in addition 

 in harvest time, and in hay time lod. a day and 

 board. To reap an acre of wheat cost 5*., an 

 acre of oats 45. ; to mow barley cost is. 6d., 

 which was also the price of mowing grass. 

 Hoeing turnips cost 5*. an acre, threshing wheat 

 is. 8d. a quarter, making faggots 2s. a hundred. 

 Women earned in harvest time 8d. a day and 

 board, and in hay-making time 6d. a day and 

 board. 



The price of implements was 



' '< 

 A wagon 20 o o 



A cart 1000 



A plough loo 



A pair of harrows ....0150 



A stone roller 050 



Harness for a horse I o o 



And of provisions 



Oat cake bread, 14 Ib. for . . o Oil 



Cheese, per Ib 004 



Butter 006 



Beef 003^ 



Mutton 004 



Pork 003^ 



Bacon 007 



Milk, per pint o o o 



The labourer's cottage cost him i los. a 

 year, and rates were only n. in the . 



A typical loo-acre farm near Mansfield, half 

 grass and half tillage, let at 100, was stocked 

 with eight horses, nine cows, six young cattle, 

 four fattening beasts, and sixty sheep, and the 





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