iv.] DISTRIBUTION OF LAND IN ENGLAND. ,99 



indeed, everywhere you see signs that nothing has 

 been stinted either in ornamental outlay or for 

 remunerative improvements. The Danbys seem 

 always to have resided at home, spending a large and 

 unencumbered income in their parishes ; they have 

 been liberal landlords to an industrious tenantry, and 

 I believe that in the last fifty years the rents have 

 hardly been altered. Considering the rugged 

 character of the country, there was ample scope for 

 extending cultivation. 



" Swinton may be supposed to have taken its name 

 from the wild swine that, in the olden time, found 

 inaccessible retreats in its woods and swampy wastes, 

 and in the recesses of the precipitous ravines that 

 everywhere intersect them. 



" The father of the late Mr. Danby was a famous 

 improver ; so much so, that Arthur Young was 

 induced to pay Swinton a visit on his ' Northern 

 Tour/ Young, who was much gratified by what he 

 saw, remarks that 'Mr. Danby possessed several 

 thousands of contiguous acres, which did not yield him 

 a tenth part as many farthings a year/ Those barren 

 acres, where they have not been reclaimed, are now let 

 to the sheep farmers ; while as well-stocked grouse 

 shootings, they, of course, have a value which was not 

 dreamed of in 1 768. That Mr. Danby' s son, during his 

 long occupation, seems to have improved almost as 

 indefatigably as his father : he made many excellent 

 roads, and built sundry substantial bridges, while he 



