26 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE [vii. 



or manor is the unfailing accompaniment of the 

 arable land or terra registered in Domesday. There 

 was also, in many cases, pannage, or feeding for the 

 swine in the oak woods : the pastures and pannage 

 by no means necessarily adjoining the arable. 



The extent of the hide probably varied, in some 

 degree, from one part of the country to another. 

 Mr. Eyton, after a very careful examination, esti- 

 mates the average hide in the county of Dorset at 

 240 acres. Now the virgate, or yard land, contained 

 on an average about twenty-four acres, and was esti- 

 mated, as I have mentioned, to be as much land as 

 two oxen could plough in a year. The eight oxen of 

 the Saxon plough would therefore suffice for about 

 ninety-six acres. We may suppose, then, that the 

 hide was originally divided, not very unequally, into 

 arable and pasture, the latter tending to predominate. 

 If an estate consisted of many hides, the same pro- 

 portion of arable to pasture was probably preserved. 



We may describe the original hide as a"n allotment 

 containing arable for one plough, with the appropriate 

 quantity of pasture and meadow. 



The first taxation of land in England took place 

 under Ethelred about the year 994, and the land was 

 assessed by the hide. The reason for adopting this 

 system is obvious. The assessors could readily 

 ascertain how many ploughs were employed in culti- 

 vating each estate, and they appear to have usually 

 assessed it accordingly. 



