360 History of the English Landed Interest. 



these seeds of coming agricultural growth were laid in the 

 feitile soil of Cromwell's Protectorate, and their germination 

 was checked by the political events of the ensuing reigns. 

 They were mostly the exotic products of Flemish brains, and 

 they required the genial soil of intelligence to enable them to 

 fructify. The media by which they were introduced into this 

 country were, as we have already pointed out, the pens of 

 Cromwell's partizans. Eagerly as such works were read by 

 the Roundhead farmers, probably the mere bigotry of Restora- 

 tion loyalty would prevent their being used by the next genera- 

 tion. It has been already pointed out that manj^ of these 

 writers had directed attenti-on to landlord's abuses, and it is 

 more than probable that amidst a squirearchy so narrow and 

 uneducated as that depicted b}^ Macaulay, the whole class of 

 this literature was quite as much tabooed as are the works of 

 the extreme Anglican school by the Evangelical party at the 

 present day. If we add to drawbacks such as these, the 

 universal want of capital amongst every class of the landed 

 interest, the uncertainty of tenure, the difficulties of loco- 

 motion and the general insecurity of the times, we have ample 

 reasons for the want of progress that has been described as a 

 feature of this age. 



Out of a total population of five and a half millions in the 

 England of Gregory King's day, 160,000 were fi-eeholders, 

 150,000 farmers, and 849,000 houses were occuj^ied by the 

 agricultural community. Out of a total area in England and 

 AVales of 39,000,000 acres, this writer computes^ the area of 

 arable land at 9,000,000 acres, averaging a rent of 5,s'. 6tZ. per 

 acre ; pastures and meadows at 12,000,000, averaging 8.>>. 8(Z. ; 

 woods and coppices at 3,000,000, averaging 5.s'. ; forests and 

 parks at 3,000,000, averaging 36'. "Sd. ; barren lands at 

 10,000,000, averaging I5. ; houses, gardens, orchards, churches 

 and graveyards at 1,000,000 ; and water and roads at 1,000,000. 

 The whole national rental he fixes at £12,000,000 and the 

 annual yield of com at 90,000,000 bushels, realising a gross 

 annual value of £11,338,600. The remaining annual produce 



^ Gregory King, Natural and Political Conclusions. 



