224 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE 



The summer of 1783 was amazing and portentous and full 

 of horrible phenomena, according to White, with a peculiar 

 haze or smoky fog prevailing for many weeks. ' The sun at 

 noon looked as blank as a clouded moon, and shed a rust- 

 coloured ferruginous light on the ground and floors of rooms.' 

 This was succeeded by a very severe winter, the thermometer 

 on December 10 being i below zero; the worst since 



1 739-40. 



In 1788 occurred a severe drought in the summer, 5,000 

 horned cattle perishing for lack of water. 1 In 1791 there was 

 a remarkable change of temperature in the middle of June, 

 the thermometer in a few days falling from 75 to 25, and the 

 hills of Kent and Surrey were covered with snow. 



We have now to deal with one of those landowners whose 

 great example is one of the glories of English agriculture. Coke 

 of Holkham began his great agricultural work about 1776 on an 

 estate where, as old Lady Tovvnshend said, ' all you will see 

 will be one blade of grass and two rabbits fighting for that ; ' 

 in fact it was little better than a rabbit warren. It has been 

 said that all the wheat consumed in the county of Norfolk was 

 at this time imported from abroad ; but this is in direct con- 

 tradiction to Young's assertion, already noted, that there were 

 in 1767 great quantities of wheat besides other crops in the 

 county. Coke's estate indeed seems to have been considerably 

 behind many parts of the shire when he began his farming 

 career. 2 When Coke came into his estate, in five leases which 

 were about to expire the farms were held at $s. 6d. an acre ; 

 and in the previous leases they had been is. 6d. an acre. We 

 may judge of the quality of this land by comparing it with the 

 average rent of ios. which Young says prevailed at this time. 

 With a view to remedy this state of things he studied the 

 agriculture of other counties, and his observations thereon 

 reveal a very poor kind of farming in many places : in Cheshire 



1 Baker, Seasons and Prices, pp. 224 et seq. 



2 A. Stirling, Coke of Holkham, i. 249. 



