300 = 34 
British Agriculture. 
The tenant- 
i'armers ; the 
'.iroportionate 
■xtent of their 
iioldings, and 
the emulation 
that exists 
among them. 
Their numbers, 
and capital. 
Land-agents. 
1 
... . i 
thousand millions. There is no other body of men m the countrjw 
who administer so larg-e a capital on their own account or 
whose influence is so widely extended and universally present^ 
From them the learned professions, the church, the army, and thej 
public services are largely recruited. 
The tenant-farmers are the second class, and a much morej 
numerous one. Their business is the cultivation of the land,* 
with a capital quite independent of that of the landowner.^ 
They occupy farms of very various extent, 70 per cent, of them' 
under 50 acres each, 12 per cent, between 50 and 100 acres, andj 
18 per cent, farms of more than 100 acres each. 5000 occupj; 
farms of between 500 and 1000 acres, and 600 occupy farms' 
exceeding 1000 acres. Many of them are men of liberal educa- 
tion, and some of these are found in most parishes and in every! 
county. A spirit of emulation exists among them, elicited by' 
county, provincial, and national exhibitions of agricultural stock, I 
and by a natural desire, in a country where everything is openil 
to comment, not to be behind their neighbours in the neatness,/ 
style, and success of their cultivation, or in the symmetry andjf 
condition of their live-stock. They are brought into the closest' 
relations with their labourers, and although, occasionally, feel- 
ings of keen antagonism have arisen, there is generally a very 
friendly understanding between them. The farmer knows that 
it is for his interest that the labourers should find their position \ 
made so comfortable as to value it. 
To the farmer is committed the management of the details i 
of the parish, as those of the county to the landowner. His I 
intimate knowledge of the condition of the labourer, and con- { 
stant residence in the parish, fit him best for the duty of Over i 
seer of the Poor, member of the Board of Guardians, Church- ( 
warden, and Surveyor of the Roads. He is frank and hospitabli \ 
to strangers, as a rule ; in favour of the established political in I. 
stitutions of the country : loyal as a subjc-ct ; generally availabL ; 
in case of need as a mounted yeoman ; and constantfy in requisi t 
tion as a juryman in the Courts of Law. 
The farmers are six times as numerous as the landowners t 
there being 560,000 in Great Britain, and 600,000 in Ireland fi 
the holdings there being on a smaller scale. They employ 
vast capital in the aggregate, upwards of four hundred million ,{ 
sterling, and, unlike that of the landowners, much of it is i ' 
daily use, circulating among tradesmen and labourers. 
Between the landlords and farmers there is an intermedia! .( 
class, the land-agents, to whom on most large estates the detai i 
of transacting business with the farmers, and looking after tl i 
cultivation and buildings and general condition of the propert; \ 
are committed. These gentlemen, in most cases, are prepared \ i 
