Agricultural Capital and Profits 43 



by changes in the nature and amount of 

 the capital required. In the present chapter 

 I shall try to indicate the great landmarks 

 in agricultural progress in England from 

 the point of view of the part played by 

 capital. To some extent the same facts 

 will be appealed to as in dealing with 

 rent and progress ; but the subject is so 

 large that different details can be taken 

 by way of illustration. 



We may begin, as with rent, with the 

 manorial economy of the mediaeval period. 

 The first point we notice is, that at first 

 the serfs may be said to have provided 

 the lord of the manor with the capital 

 necessary to work his demesne land, or 

 what corresponds to his home farm. He 

 had no need for circulating capital in the 

 form of money to pay wages, because he 

 obtained all the labour required through 

 compulsion or custom. It is true that for 



