UNEXHAUSTED IMPROVEMENTS 171 



or two-thirds of the last year's and one-third of the previous year's 

 consumption of oilcake. Compensation for tile draining ranges 

 so diversely that improvement is calculated in some counties to 

 extend over six years, and in other counties up to fourteen 

 years. Planting quickset is spread over varying periods from 

 three to ten years. Liming arable land is supposed to benefit 

 the tenant from five years down to only two years ; and liming 

 pastures is taken as lasting three years in some counties up to 

 six years in others. 



Your Committee have experienced much difficulty in ascertain- 

 ing what is understood to consitute an " established custom." 

 According to the common acceptation of the term, a custom must 

 have obtained from time immemorial ; but your Committee 

 find from the Returns received that customs affecting allowances 

 to an outgoing tenant have been considerably changed by addi- 

 tions from time to time within living memory. This state of 

 transition is especially remarkable at the present time. But it 

 is to be observed that, while the process of gradually introducing, 

 extending, and altering custom is going on in some districts, the 

 greater portion of England still remains without any custom 

 affording compensation for the tenant's capital expended in 

 improvements. 



Returns were received from sixty-six districts. 



From the variations in practice occurring within comparatively 

 limited districts it is evident that customs cannot be correctly 

 defined as " county " customs, and that, so far from each county 

 possessing a distinct and peculiar usage co -extensive with its 

 area, a map of England in which the prevalence of each custom 

 should be represented by a distinguishing colour would exhibit 

 a series of most irregularly shaped and unequally distributed 

 patches the most conspicuous feature being the very small 

 proportion of the surface of England enjoying any custom of 

 adequate compensation even for purchased feeding stuffs and 

 manures. 



Schedule I., Form A, refers to nothing beyond the value of 

 produce raised by the outgoing tenant and left for his successor, 

 and the labour performed and seed sown on his behalf. The 

 amount of payment to the outgoing tenant for growing crops is 

 determined with reference either to the cost incurred by him or 

 to the value of the resulting produce. Thus, in the case of 

 Lady Day entries, the corn crops are most commonly paid for 

 at -the cost of seed and labour, while less prevalent is the system 

 of taking the crops, or certain proportions of the crops, by their 

 estimated value at the time of entry. The alternative usage of 

 certain districts, where the outgoing tenant has a right to return 

 and take the wheat crop when at maturity, is referred to under 

 Schedule V., Form H. In Michaelmas entries bare fallows are, 

 in the majority of cases, paid for according to the cost of the 

 working, sometimes with a whole year's, sometimes with only 

 half a year's rent, rates, and taxes ; yet there are some localities 



