A CRISIS AND THE EFFECT 15 



profitable, and the land was laid or allowed to 

 tumble down to grass for hay, pasture, and 

 stocking. No one gave reasoned thought to 

 a future which looked so black or considered 

 whether an overhauling of existing methods 

 would not be sufficient materially to pull the 

 industry together. Instead, tenants clamoured 

 to their landlords, the one visible direction 

 from which an amelioration of their straitened 

 circumstances could come. And they were 

 not disappointed. Rents were lowered with 

 more or less promptitude, a considerable 

 reduction being made all over the country. 



After the initial storm a lull ensued. The 

 custom of laying arable land to grass had been 

 started and continued. The state of the labour 

 market went from bad to worse, but the 

 pleading of the agricultural labourer could not 

 be heard above the general depression. The 

 landlords' capital had been depleted, and the 

 return on their outlay reduced to a figure 

 that was quite inadequate. But a failure to 

 appreciate the seriousness of the situation, or 

 possibly a natural temerity at taking definite 

 action, prevented any constructive policy on 

 the part of administrators. Agriculture was 



