HEAVY TAXATION 



247 



Cr. s. d. 



360 bushels of wheat, 



@ los. . .,., . . 180 o o 

 300 bushels of barley, 



@ 6s. . . . 90 o o 

 loo bushels of peas, 



6s. . . . 30 o o 

 20 cwt. hops . 60 o o 



Sale of oxen, cows, and 



calves . . . 150 o o 

 Profits from sheep . 100 o o 

 from pigs, poul- 

 try, dairy, and 



sundries . . .. r \ 50 o o 



And on a farm on good land in the same county the follow- 

 ing would be the annual balance sheet at the same date : 

 Dr. 



Rent . 



Tithes . 



Wages 



Extra harvestmen 



Tradesmen's bills 



Taxes and rates . 



Malt, hops, and cider 



Lime . 



Hop poles . 



Expenses at fairs and 

 markets 



Clothing, groceries, &c., 

 for the family 



Interest on i ,500 capi- 

 tal, at j per cent. 



Sundries 



660 o o 



According to this the farmer did little more than pay rent, 

 interest on capital, and get a living. Yet prices of what he 

 had to sell had gone up greatly : wheat in Herefordshire in 

 1 760 was 3J. a bushel, in 1805, los. ; butcher's meat in 1 760 was 

 i\d. a lb., in 1804, >]d.\ fresh butter $%d. in 1 760, is. $d. in 1804 ; 

 a fat goose in Hereford market in 1740, iod. ; 1760, is. ; 1804, 

 4s. ; a couple of fowls in 1740, 6d. ; 1760, *]d. ; 1804, 2s. ^d. 1 



The winter of 1813-4 was extraordinarily severe, and the 

 wheat crop was seriously injured, but the increased breadth of 

 cultivation, a large surplus, and great importations kept the 

 price down. Many sheep, however, were killed by the hard 

 winter, which also reduced the quality of the cattle, so that 

 meat was higher in 1814 than at any previous period. At 

 Smithfield beef was 6s. to 7-y. a stone, mutton js. to 8s. 6d. 

 With the peace of 1814 the fictitious prosperity came to an \ 



1 Duncumb, General View of the Agriculture of Hereford, p. 140. 



2 Tooke, History of Prices, li. 4. 



