318 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



of 3000 per annum, which was lately sold at thirty years' purchase, 

 or for a sum of 90,000. It was bought by an enterprising gentle- 

 man, who set to work to develop its resources. The quarries were 

 extended ; and at the present time the property is giving an annual 

 rent of 5400, without any considerable outlay to procure it. Every- 

 thing in my experience tends to show the erroneousness of valuing 

 estates by the rental An estate should be thoroughly examined by 

 a valuator, and its price fixed by its capabilities. The points to be 

 looked at and considered in the valuation of a landed estate may be 

 comprised under the heads of " Its Situation," " The Quality of the 

 Soil," " The Condition of the Buildings, Eoads, Fences, Soil, &c." 

 When a valuer is sent to fix a price upon a property, he should not 

 decide upon that price by the rental, but should examine the pro- 

 perty, and by considering everything as he may find it on the estate, 

 put his valuation on by the help of his experience and judgment. He 

 will have to consider the situation, aspect, and exposure of the property, 

 as these in many ways will influence its value; high-lying and ex- 

 posed estates not being, as a rule, so valuable as those more favourably 

 situated, other circumstances being equal The climate and temperature 

 of the district in which a property is situated affect its value. Presuming 

 that an estate with one kind of soil is worth, in an exposed district, about 

 25s. per acre rent ; then another estate, with a similar soil and subsoil, 

 but lying in a more sheltered situation, will in all probability let for 

 from 35s. to 2 per acre. But although this is the case, it should be 

 considered that the capabilities of improvement on exposed estates are 

 often greater than in the case of a low-lying sheltered property. Such 

 high-lying estates can, for instance, be infinitely improved by providing 

 shelter in the first place. 



The situation of an estate as regards its convenience for railway 

 accommodation adds to or diminishes its value according as it may 

 be situated close to a railway station or at a distance from it. Many 

 proprietors of an estate look more to their own desires in regard to rail- 

 way accommodation, than to the benefits it confers upon their tenantry. 

 An estate's proximity to a railway, however, adds very much to its 

 value, inasmuch as it opens out a market for the produce of the soil, 

 whether that may be in the shape of grain, beef, mutton, or timber ; and 

 it supplies a cheap transit to the farms for different manures and 

 other materials which are requisite to good husbandry. The proximity 

 of an estate to markets for the sale of its produce, increases or 

 diminishes its value according to distance ; and besides the influence 

 produced by markets, the means of conveyance must be taken into 

 consideration, whether by railways, canals, or good roads. 



