184 THE PRINCIPLES OF 



in practice in some of our later and less advanced counties at 

 the present time. 



The rotation as I have given it is not without its advan- 

 tages. Perhaps there is no method of cultivating land which 

 enables the cultivator to enter upon his farm with so small 

 an amount of ready money or capital. Two-thirds of the 

 arable land are in grain, and one-third, instead of being 

 cultivated with that expensive plant the turnip, and those 

 plants which are akin to it, is subjected to a system of bare 

 fallowing. Two-thirds in corn and one-third lying idle means 

 a large and rapid return, and when the price of corn was high 

 the return in money was very considerable indeed. Then 

 with reference to the maintenance of live stock, our fore- 

 fathers and also those nations, such as the Germans, who 

 practised this rotation, always preserved a large amount of 

 their land in permanent pasture. 



Every village community of peasants had a consider- 

 able proportion of woodland, grazing-ground, and pasture, 

 Avbich formed a ring or boundary of demarcation between 

 them and the next parish, and it was upon this outer ring 

 of pasture-land that the cattle grazed, and from which hay 

 was mown, and the cattle were brought through the winter 

 with the aid of hay, and also with the aid of straw and corn. 

 But at the time when such a rotation as this was practised 

 fresh meat was scarcely to be had during the winter months. 

 Animals were slaughtered towards Martinmas, they were 

 salted down, and the population fed upon bread and salt 

 meat during the winter months, to the great disparagement 

 and injury of their health, and the extension of a large 

 number of diseases which happily have now disappeared, 

 such as scurvy and leprosy. 



The next point in advance was undoubtedly the introduc- 

 tion of fallow crops, doing away with the bare fallow, and 

 substituting for it root crops and various crops akin to root 



