I02 History of the English Landed Interest. 



ciilliiral. enclosare^ \m tliose daj's) from the Saxon " fearme " 

 oi* ^' feorin^^" m^aiiirig' food or provision, and proving the 

 custom of paying the rent in provisions, victuals, or other 

 necessaries of life. The Normans later on distinguished 

 between " ferme " simply and " blanche ferme," the former 

 signifying that the occupant paid his rent in kind, the latter 

 that he paid it in money.^ Thus, too, the word " bacon " is 

 derived from " bucon," the old term for beech-mast, on which 

 the swine fed. But when compared with the numerous in- 

 stances of Roman surnames having an agricultural origin, the 

 Saxon vocabulary is markedly deficient. The few words that 

 do exist, either as surnames or heraldic emblems, such as the 

 scythe of the Sneyds, the haj'wain of the Hays, and the dress 

 of the Washbournes probably owe their agricultural origin to 

 some warlike exploit.^ 



And here is again evidence how little natural taste the 

 Anglo-Saxon had for rural pursuits. Hungering to be a landed 

 proprietor, he was utterly destitute of resources to occupy his 

 leisure as such. He was, as we have said before, first a soldier, 

 then a squire. Furthermore, if he neglected his military 

 duties, he ceased to be a landlord. A gesithcund man owning 

 land, who neglected the fyrd, forfeited by King Ina's laws the 

 very estate which made him a soldier. 



It is indeed strange how everything during this period com- 

 bined to oppose progress in husbandry amongst a race whose 

 property consisted almost entirely of rural possessions. 



Besides the troublous and disturbed times, the very laws 

 and customs of the people militated against good husbandry. 



The first steps towards a proper system of agriculture were 

 the drainage of morasses, the destruction of wild animals, and 

 the levelling of forests — all of which were forbidden by the 

 forest laws of the time. The monks were the agricultural 

 pioneers of the age.^ The huge grants of land constantly 

 offered by conscience-haunted kings for the purpose of founding 

 monastic communities, were largely composed of waste and 



' Ilees, Encyclop., sub voc. " Farm." 



- Prothero, Pioneers of English Farming, p. 1 i. 



^ Morton, Cyclo. of Agriculture, Intro. Essaj'. 



