74 THE ENCLOSURES IN ENGLAND [230 



sarily differed on the different manors, and the exact terms 

 of these first experimental leases do not concern us here. 



The fact which does interest us is that with the cessation 

 of bailiff farming the last attempt at keeping the land dis- 

 ^' tributed in fairly equal shares among a large number of 

 tenants was abandoned. Bond land had been divided into 

 portions which were each supposed to be sufficient for the 

 maintenance of a laborer and his family. As long as the 

 demesne was cultivated for the lord, it was to his interest 

 to prevent the concentration of holdings in a few hands, 

 unless some certain provision could be made to insure the 

 performance of the labor due from all of them. But even 

 when the demesne was still being managed for the lord, it 

 had already become necessary in some cases to allow one 

 man to hold two or more of these portions, for the produc- 

 tivity had so declined that one was no longer enough. Now, 

 with the leasing of the demesne, the lord no longer had an 

 interest in maintaining the w^orking population of the 

 manor at a certain level, but was concerned with the prob- 

 lem of getting as much rent as possible. When the demesne 

 and the vacant bond tenements began to be leased, the land 

 was given to the highest bidder, and the competitive system 

 was introduced at the start. This led to the gradual ac- 

 cumulation of large holdings by some tenants, while other 

 men were still working very small portions, and others 

 occupied holdings of every intermediate size. The uni- 

 formity of size characteristic of the early virgates disap^ 

 peared. In this chapter these points will be considered' 

 briefly, and a study will also be made of the way in which 

 these new holders managed their lands. 

 j In the first place, as the more destitute villains were giving 



I up their holdings and leaving the manor, and as no one 

 \ could be found to take their places on the old terms, the 

 j landlords gave up the policy of holding the land until some- 



