I90 



READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



the three districts is the northern end of the county, rising from 

 Banbury westward to the spurs of the Cotswolds. It is the divide 

 between the valleys of the Thames, the Severn, and the Ouse 

 the very heart of England. Before the days of canals and rail- 

 ways its communication with the outer world must have been 

 slow if not difficult. Yet the soil is the best in the county, a 

 much-praised red loam. Before the Civil War the region was a 

 Puritan stronghold, while today certain parishes are peopled 

 largely by Quakers. Perhaps these characteristics have made for 

 the vigor of yeoman farming. 



To this survey of the status of the independent farmer in 1785 

 a glance at his fate for the next two generations is the natural 

 sequence. It is the period of the Napoleonic wars and their 

 aftermath. Though the year 1832 is a political rather than an 

 economic landmark, it is here chosen, since at that date the 

 reaction from the war period had had time to make itself felt. 

 Returns for 1804 show the state of affairs during the crisis. The 

 number of occupying owners and their assessment at each of 

 the three dates is indicated in the following table : 



1785 



Land Tax 

 paid by 



occupying 

 owners 



Number of 

 occupjdng 



Land Tax 

 paid by 



occupying 

 owners 



Number of 

 occupying 



Land Tax 

 paid by 



occupying 

 owners 



Number of 

 occupying 



Group A 

 Group B 

 Group C 

 Group D 

 Group E 



s. 

 15257 

 88615 

 2686 

 1838 



591 

 393 



173 

 175 



, s. 



1752 II 



1 148 15 



318 16 



298 14 



60 16 



646 



499 



188 



185 



20 



s. 

 1672 7 



11764 

 3812 



4274 

 95 3 



553 

 387 

 156 

 146 

 20 



Total 



2863 16 



1322 



3579 12 



1538 



37520 



1262 



While in 1785 occupying owners paid 9.05 per cent of the total 

 assessment of the county, their contribution in 1804 had become 

 1 1.3 per cent and in 1832, 11. 9 per cent. A very marked 

 increase appears in the aYnount of land cultivated by owners dur- 

 ing the early years of the French wars ; and this is true for each 

 group of townships. The total amount even continued to increase 



