718 



ENGLAND. 



Tithes, 



Terras of 

 entry, and 

 payment of n ' 

 rent 



are the largest. It luu already been remarketl, that 

 lite-leasehold is very common in the west of England, 

 and also in Lancashire, Cheshire, &c. Where no leases 

 are grunted, the tenant either holds at will, the only 

 tie In-tween the owner and occupier being the custom 

 of the estate or of the countv in which it lies, uml the 

 common law of the huul ; or he holds from year to year, 

 under a written agreement with specified covenants : 

 this is a modern usage, but it is In-coming more and 

 more prevalent. 



Where leases are granted in England, they are in ge- 

 neral much clogged with restrictive clauses; o dial the 

 tenant is eithi-r uniler the lu-ct-siu of c;ii>t'nlly moid- 

 ing all attempts to improve his farm. l>y introducing 

 practices and courses of crops, or he exposes him- 

 self by deviations from the covenants of his lease, to 

 the payment of those heavy fines which are specified 

 in it. 



When the advantages that die English agricultu- 

 rist possesses, in respect to climate, are considered, it 

 will probably be found that the rent, which he pa\ - i'.ir 

 land, is comparatively low. It is impossible to fix 

 with accuracy die average rent, eidier of arable or of 

 pasture land, throughout the kingdom ; but we shall not 

 be very wide of the truth, if we estimate the average 

 of them lx>th, taken together, at 20s. per acre. Per- 

 haps, indeed, in the opinion of many, this may be 

 reckoned too high, since the average of the county of 

 Norfolk, which, though of inferior soil, is much better 

 farmed, than most of die arable counties of England, 

 is not above 16s. per acre ; but, on the other hand, it 

 should be considered, that most of the arable farms in 

 the north of England, particularly in Northumberland, 

 Durham, and Yorkshire, as well as in many of the 

 arable counties in die south-east of England, as Essex, 

 Kent, Hampshire, &c. are let much above 20s per 

 acre, and a very small proportion of the grass land is 

 let at so low a rent as this. From communications 

 made to the Board of Agriculture, it was ascertained, 

 that the rise of rents in England between die year 

 1790 and 1804, was '() per cent, and since that period 

 .1 still farther rise has taken place, probably to the 

 amount of '!(> per cent. All the other expences of cul- 

 tivation have also increased, some of them hi as great a 

 proportion The highest rents tor arable land (subject 

 to the payment of tithes, poor rates, &c.) in England, 

 do not, per! ,-.ps, exceed .50s. unless where some pecu- 

 liar and lo'.-al advantages exist : much land, even of a 

 moderately good quality, is let from 10s to 12s. per 

 acre. Pasture land varies from 20s. to L.3; arid where 

 it is of smaller extent, anil occupied for local purposes, 

 especially in some of the manufacturing counties, it is 

 let as high as L. ~>, or L.C per acre, or even higher. 



The English farmer, besides the payment of his rent 

 to his landlord, is subject to the payment, in most cases, 

 of ti'lies and poor rates. The latter vary very much 

 in different p;;ri-: es and even sometimes in the same 

 p, riil i, at different periods. The former are more steady 

 and regular in their amount. Perhaps, together, diey 

 may amount to one half, or 3-5ths of the rent 



The ordinary term of entry to a farm in England is 

 Lady-day; but Candlemas, Whitsuntide, and Michael- 

 also common terms in some parts of the king- 

 dom. Michaelmas and Lady day are the customary 

 terms of payment; the first payment commences six 

 months after entry to the possession of die farm. Let- 

 tu:g l.iiids for a 'enn of years for a former rent, but 

 making die farmer pay a considerable sum by way of 



fine, waj formerly a very common custom, but it is now Statistic*, 

 chiefly confined to the crown and church lands. ^^ 'V*' 



SECT. II. Agricultural Departm iits. 



HAVING premised these general remarks, we shall Agrirultu- 

 now proceed to an account < f the agriculture of Eng- ra l depart- 

 land. This kingdom, not including Wales, hi an agri- Ulcnu - 

 cultural point of view, may \i-ry properly be divided 

 into six departments or districts: by an agricultural dis- 

 trict, meaning that tr.it-t, which is" di-tingm'slitd from 

 other jwrts of the kingdom, by a uniforn ity or simila- 

 rity of practice, whether it heck by grazing, 

 heej)-tarmiiig, arable management, or mixed cuitiva- 

 tion ; or by the production oi' ome particular article, as 

 dairy produce, fruit-liquor, c\c. The -ix .^riiultural 

 departments distinguished from out another in this 



JMiint of view, arc the northern, the western, the mid- 

 and, the eastern, the southern, and the south- wi-stirr 



The northern agricultural district includes the prin- Xorthcm 

 cipal parts of Northumberland and Durham, the whole agricultural 

 of I innbcrland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, and York- district. 

 sJiirc, (excepting the fens and marshes bordering on 

 Lincolnshire,) with parts of Cheshire. Staffordshire, and 

 Derbyshire. This department is distinguished by a 

 coolness of climature, and a backwardness of se.v 

 as compared with the more southern part- of the island; 

 but its most striking natural feature is deriu-d from 

 its mountains. As a field of rural economy, it is also 

 strongly distinguished from the other agricultural dis- 

 tricts. On its western side, manufactures indeed, have 

 prevailed over agriculture ; but on its eastern side, all 

 the branches of the latter flourish. It would not, in- 

 deed, be easy to point out any portion of the kingdom, 

 in which a greater degree of agricultural skill and in- 

 dustry is displayed, than in the northern parts of North- 

 umberland, and on the banks of the Tees. 



The western department extends from die Mersey Western, 

 to the banks of the Somersetshire Avon; being bound- 

 ed on die west, by die Welsh mountains ; on the east, 

 by the lower hills of Staffordshire, and the uplands of 

 Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, and on die south, by 

 the chalk hills of Wiltshire, and die Sedgemoors of So- 

 mersetshire. Nearly the Whole of this agricultural de- 

 partment, comprises an uninterrupted succession of 

 vale districts, formed by the passage of the Severn, the 

 Avon, die Dee, and die Mersey, to the sea. It is no 

 less distinctly marked by agricultural produce, as the 

 whole of it, widl the exception of the high lands of 

 Shropshire and Herefordshire, the Cotswold hills in 

 Gloucestershire, and the Mendip hills in Somerset- 

 shire, may be almost said to be applied to the produce 

 of the dairy. It is also distinguished as an agricultural 

 district, by its fruit-liquor 



The midland department is bounded by the moun- Midland. 

 tains of die northern, and the chalk hills of the south- 

 ern departments, in its length ; and by die rising 

 grounds, which separate it from die western depart- 

 ment, and the banks of the marshes, where the eastern 

 department commences, in its breadth. Compared w ith 

 the great variety of soil and surface, exhibited by the 

 other departments, this may be regarded as one widely 

 extended plain of fertile lands, without a single emi- 

 nence, except the Chain wood hills. In its agricultural 

 character, it is distinguished by its mixed cultivation, 

 to which the nature of its soil and surface is Almost 

 uniformly suitable. " A- . vide field of apiculture, 

 (to use die words of Mr Marshall,) in which every 



