Farming of Liiicohisiiire. 



413 



The condition of the labourer is undoubtedly of a superior order 

 as compared with v/hat it is in most agricultural counties, but to 

 sav that it is " good" is a matter which admits of hesitation ; how 

 the workmen exist in those counties where 7s. or 85. is a com- 

 mon weekly w^age {icithout a constant supply of ale, cider, malt, 

 &c.) must for ever remain a mystery to many, when 95., IO5., or 

 125. is here deemed a miserable pittance on which to feed, lodge, 

 clothe, and warm 6 or 7 individuals for seven days. 



To show the amount of improvement which Lincolnshire agri- 

 culture has experienced in fifty years, we may just cjive a compa- 

 rative estimate of the former and present rental. By comparing 

 the average of the minutes gathered by Young as to ibe • •' rent"' in 

 1799, with the average of similar items contained throughout this 

 Report (of course making due allowance for the difference be- 

 tween an average of minutes and the average of the county, owing 

 to the variable areas to which the stated sums refer), it appears 

 that there has been an increase of about 87 per cent. : and this 

 calculation is not very far from the truth. Young divided the 

 county into wrong proportions, and computed the whole area of 

 surface at much more than the truth ; but his divisions are here 

 followed pretty closely for the sake of comparison : — 



1799. 1S49. 



Acres. s. d. Acres, s. d. 



The Lowlands . 776.960 at 23 0 630.000 at 40 0 



The Wolds . . 234.880 .,9 0 230,000 27 0 



The Heath . . 118,400 „ 8 4 120,000 ., 30 0 



Miscellaneous . 718,080 „ 14 0 620,000 „ 25 0 



Total • . . 1,848,320 „ 16 9i 1,600,000 „ 31 0 



By comparing the details of acreage produce given by Young, 

 with those in this Report, a considerable auo;mentaiion since that 

 time will be observed; and stdl further, when the vast improve- 

 ments in the breeds of sheep and cattle, and numerous other de- 

 partments of husbandry, are taken into account, it will be seen 

 how greatly the farm productions of 1S49 exceed in quantity and 

 value those of 50 years ago. And when the enlarged amount 

 paid for labour is also considered, — the cumulative Returns which 

 have been produced since the time of the last Lincolnshire Survey 

 are more clearly apparent. 



As all reports of this kind are intended for some more useful 

 and practical purpose than gratifving curiosity, it is now for the 

 reader, perusing the details which illustrate the foregoins: points, 

 to say how far the landlord who lets, the farmer who occupies, 

 and the peasant who labours, are respectively concerned in pro- 

 moting the various improvements implied or suggested. Capital 

 and skill have here applied physical and chemical laws to the 

 formation of new soils, by the deposition of warp and the disin- 



