Agricultural Capital and Profits 49 



Black Death. The natural rise in the 

 price of labour made landlord cultivation 

 unprofitable unless forced labour could be 

 exacted, but in the scarcity this was found 

 to be impossible. It was to the economic 

 interest of every landowner to attract 

 labour, and the most effective way was 

 to offer higher money wages than were 

 customary. The proclamations and statutes, 

 intended to enforce the old customary rates, 

 were disregarded — sometimes with false 

 entries in the manorial accounts. The 

 landowners found their remedy in the land 

 and stock lease — already briefly mentioned 

 in the last chapter. The essence of this 

 plan was to let the stock that was re- 

 quired with the land. It was a develop- 

 ment of an ancient custom of letting out 

 particular forms of stock, especially cows — 

 a practice which survived to the time of 



D 



