WHEAT, IN AMERICA & ENGLAND 93 



lady, with her mother seated beside her, and a small 

 groom in simple livery attending on them. I 

 recognised my hostess, Mrs. Randall, and her 

 daughter, and apprised our Yankee travellers of the 

 fact that that was the equipage of the before-named 

 tenant farmer. The astonishment of the professor 

 may be conceived. I further informed him that I 

 myself was only a humble tenant farmer. As to 

 our agriculture, perhaps he was not aware that the 

 average crop of wheat per acre in the United States 

 from the superior tenant farmer never exceeded 

 from twelve to sixteen bushels, whilst that of the 

 inferior English agriculturist averaged a crop of 

 from twenty-eight to thirty-two bushels per acre, 

 and that I had grown on five acres the unprecedented 

 amount of eighty-two bushels per acre. The learned 

 professor having exchanged cards with me, we 

 parted. He, however, wrote to me afterwards, 

 thanking me for correcting the hurried opinions 

 which he had formed of the farmer and correspond- 

 ing classes from his cursory glance at England. I 

 am aware that Mr. Randall was scarcely a typical 

 specimen of the ordinary tenant farmer, but he was 

 one. At the time when farming was prosperous, 

 many of my neighbouring farmers kept a good table, 

 had a stock of choice wine, and rode a good horse 

 to hounds, and held their own against any others of 

 the community. 



A great deal was said some time since about 

 farmers who had been living beyond their income. 

 It was urged that they had no business to ride to 



