28 



Manor-Farming 



partly serfs bound to the land, and partly small holders working 

 their holdings in an awkward and wasteful manner, could not 

 achieve much. Nor could the bailiffs, half policemen, half land 

 agents, contribute much. Nor had lords of the manor time or 

 interest to give to farming. The bailiffs always, and the lords 



generally, by the exercise 

 of their power repressed 

 enterpriseinsteadof open- 

 ing the ways and stimu- 

 lating it. 



There was one class of 

 men, the monks, some of 

 whom gave a little of 

 their interest to this work. 

 The monasteries had huge 

 estates, and a few of the 

 monks who were familiar 

 with the works of Roman 

 writers on agriculture, 

 and who had a natural 

 love for farming, did 

 something to lead and 

 instruct the cultivators in 



Sowing by Hand. In the foreground a harrow 

 and a plough in the background. 



better methods. By very 

 slow steps the yield of 

 corn was increased and 

 famine and scarcity became less common. 



From an early stage in the growth of the manor the value of 

 manure was appreciated, perhaps as much as it is to-day, but 

 the chief source of manure at that time was the live stock on 

 the manor. In many cases the villains and smaller semi-servile 

 farmers were compelled to fold their sheep and less often their 

 cattle in the lord's fold. This regulation generally held from 



