AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



twenty-one years were found in every county. 

 Twenty-one-year leases were much used in the 

 eastern counties, and leases running from seven to 

 fourteen years were quite common in the western 

 and southern counties. The county of Norfolk, 

 the home of the new agriculture, was preeminently 

 the land of long leases. Arthur Young wrote of 

 this county : "The great improvements which 

 for seventy years past have rendered Norfolk 

 famous for its husbandry, were effected by means 

 of twenty-one-year leases, a circumstance which 

 very fortunately took place on the first attempt to 

 break up the heaths and warrens in the northwest- 

 ern part of the county. ... In general it may be 

 held for sound doctrine in Norfolk, that an estate 

 can neither be improved, nor even held to its for- 

 mer state of improvement, without long leases." 1 

 This view was held, also, by that most competent 

 agricultural writer of the time, William Marshall, 2 

 who wrote as follows on this same subject, in 

 1795 : "Marling is the principal improvement 

 of a Norfolk farm, but who would marl on a 

 seven years' lease? Where much marling is to 

 be done, fourteen years is too short a term." 



In some places, it is true, the old and simple 

 system of holding land from year to year was 

 thought to be entirely satisfactory. It was re- 

 ported that great estates were let in full confidence 



1 Survey, p. 47. 



2 Rural Economy of Norfolk, Vol. I, p. 68. 



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