[ 19* ] 



We find, firfty That the greateft part of 

 the kingdom is divided into moderate farms ; 

 for thofe under three hundred acres (in- 

 cluding the moft wafle and barren foils) 

 cannot be thought large in any county : 

 The tour extends twice through the large 

 one of Northumberland, which contains few 

 fmall farms, and feme fo great as fix thou- 

 fand acres, feveral of which clafs are in- 

 cluded in the preceding tables ; the gene- 

 rality muft therefore be very moderate in 

 ilze, for the medium of the whole to be 

 no greater than two hundred eighty-ieven 

 acres. This is a fact which contradicts, 

 very ftrongly, the popular ideas current at 

 prefent, or the whole kingdom being mono- 

 polized by great farmer's. buch notions 

 have, indeed, been fo very common, and 

 have given rife to fuch numbers of publi- 

 cations, complaining of this imaginary evil, 

 as one of the moft dreadful that could 

 befall the kingdom, that I was prepoiTef- 

 fed with the expectation of the average 

 of farms being much larger. Whether 

 large or fmall farms are moft advanta- 

 geous to the kingdom, is another quef- 

 tion, that concerns not the prefent part 

 of our enquiry. Granting, therefore, that 

 large farms are ever fo pernicious, yet the 

 aflertions of their being predominant at 



prefent 



