COKE OF HOLKHAM 227 



from his hayloft. It was not until the Society for the En- 

 couragement of Arts offered prizes for clean hay seeds that 

 some improvement was noticeable. In Norfolk, as in other 

 parts of England, there was at this time a strong prejudice 

 against potatoes ; the villagers of Holkham refused to have 

 anything to do with them, but Coke's invincible persistency 

 overcame this unreasoning dislike and soon they refused to 

 do without them. 



Coke was a great advocate for sowing wheat early and 

 very thick in the rows, and for cutting it when ear and stem 

 were green and the grain soft, declaring that by so doing 

 he got IS. a quarter more for it ; he also believed in the 

 early cutting of oats and peas. It was his custom to drill 

 4 bushels of wheat per acre, which he said prevented tillering 

 and mildew. He was the first to grow swedes on a large 

 scale.^ The famous Holkham Sheep-shearings, known locally 

 as ' Coke's Clippings', which began in 1778 and lasted till 1821, 

 arose from his practice of gathering farmers together for con- 

 sultation on matters agricultural, and developed into world- 

 famous meetings attended by all nationalities and all ranks, 

 men journeying from America especially to attend them, and 

 Lafayette expressed it as one of his great regrets that he had 

 never attended one. At these gatherings all were equal, the 

 suggestion of the smallest tenant farmer was listened to with 

 respect, and the same courtesy and hospitality were shown to 

 all whether prince or farmer. At the last meeting in 1 82 1 no less 

 than 7,000 people were present. His skill, energy, and perse- 

 verance worked a revolution in the crops ; his own wheat crops 

 were from 10 to 12 coombs an acre, his barley sometimes nearly 

 20. The annual income of timber and underwood was £2,yoo, 

 and from 1776 to 18 16 he increased the rent roll of his estate 

 from ;^ 2,200 to ;^20,ooo, which, even after allowing for the 

 great advance in prices during that period, is a wonderful rise. 

 It is a very significant fact that there was not an alehouse on 

 ^ H. A. S. E. Journal (1895), p. 12. 

 Q 3 



