Agriculture of Dounark. 291 
purpose. They first took possession of grounds, sufficient land 
lor their immediate wants, and built a villa<i^e thereon. The 
land was not at once divided into as many equal parts as there 
were families, for by such division all parties would not have 
been fairly treated, but it was in the first instance divided into 
lots, according to the quality of the soil and the facilities for its 
cultivation ; these were again subdivided into as many allot- 
ments as there were families. By this means every yeoman in 
the village obtained a share of ec[ual size and quality ; but the 
allotments were spread in various directions between those of 
other owners ; and instances are mentioned where one individual 
has had allotments of land in eighty different places. 
This system, well suited to the period, proved the reverse in 
course of time, inasmuch as no one could undertake improve- 
ments in the cultivation of his land without the consent of all his 
fellow-occupiers, whilst much time and labour was lost in con- 
sequence of the distance between the different allotments, and in 
some cases their distance from the village. This distribution 
was, however, continued in Denmark until the close of the last 
century, when, together with tlie bondage and forced labour, it 
was abolished. By royal decrees of 1781 and 1792 the redis- 
tribution of all lands thus held was ordered to be made in such 
manner that the land of each individual should, as far as pos- 
sible, be collected in one place. The next step to be taken was 
to place the farm-house in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
land belonging to it ; but there are still many yeomen living in 
villages with their land at a great distance. 
The Mode of Agriculture employed under this system varied of 
course much from that which has since been introduced. For- 
merly the land was divided into inner and outer fields ; the first 
were used exclusively for the cultivation of corn, while the other 
was employed as pasture for the cattle. The inner or tilled land 
surrounding the village was divided into three fields, of which 
one was sown with spring-seed, generally barley, the second with 
winter-seed, generally rye, and the third was nearly unemployed, 
as the miserable grass it produced was scarcely of any use : but 
during last century the practice of fallowing was introduced. 
The increase in the population (amounting in Denmark to 
58 per cent, since the commencement of this century), as well as 
in the value of land, caused this system to be given up. The 
next step taken was to place part of the outer field under cultiva- 
tion, which then, year after year, was sown with corn until the 
soil was exhausted, when it was left for bad pasture, and a 
further piece in the outer field was cultivated in like manner. 
By this means the land was so impoverished that want of proper 
food for cattle, and a consequent reduction in the stock, was the 
