40 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



of the plough in his left hand, carried in his right a "clotting beetle," 

 or "maul," such as that which is depicted in the Cotton MSS. A 

 "Dover-court beetle" was a necessary tool in the days of Tusser; 

 and Plot, whose Natural History of Oxfordshire appeared in the seven- 

 teenth century, recommends its use after the land was harrowed. 



The amount of wheat, rye, beans, and peas usually sown to the 

 acre was only two bushels; and of oats and, strangely enough, of 

 barley, four bushels. The yield of wheat rarely exceeded fivefold, or 

 ten bushels to the acre; that of leguminous crops ranged from three- 

 to sixfold, or from six to twelve bushels to the acre; that of oats and 

 barley varied from three- to fourfold, or from twelve to sixteen bushels 

 to the acre. Considerable care was exercised in the choice and change 

 of the seed-corn, which was often one of the produce-rents of the 

 tenants. Wheat rarely followed a spring grain crop. The most 

 important crops of the farm were the corn crops of wheat, rye, and 

 barley, which were raised for human food and drink. For such ready 

 money as he needed, the lord looked mainly to the produce of his 

 live stock. For their consumption were grown the remaining crops 

 the hay, beans, peas, and oats; though oats were not only used 

 for human food, but in some districts were brewed into inferior 

 beer. 



Horse-farms appear in some estate accounts; but they probably 

 supplied the "great horse" used for military purposes. As a rule, oxen 

 were preferred to horses for farm work. Though horses worked more 

 quickly when the ploughman allowed them to do so, they pulled less 

 steadily, and sudden strains severely tested the primitive plough-gear. 

 On hard ground they did less work, and only when the land was 

 stony had they any advantage. Economical reasons further explain 

 the preference for oxen. From St. Luke's Day (October 18) to April, 

 both horses and oxen were kept in the stalls. During these twenty- 

 five weeks, neither could graze, and Walter of Henley calculates that 

 the winter-keep of a horse cost four times that of an ox. Horses 

 needed more attendance; they required to be rubbed, curried, and 

 dressed. Oxen were less liable to sickness than horses. The harness 

 of the ox, mainly homemade from materials supplied on the estate, 

 was cheaper to provide and repair. Shod only on the forefeet, the 

 shoeing of the ox cost less than that of the horse. When either horse 

 or ox was past work, the profit of the one lay in his hide; of the other, 

 not in his hide, but the larder: the ox was "mannes meat when dead, 

 while the horse is carrion." 



