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THE

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LAND QUM^TION
ITS EXAMINATION

SOLUTION

REESE LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

^ . , JUN 14 1893 .

I^eceived , 'oq .

<iAcces$ions No:

y^y^zs

Class No.

n

PRODUCTION

OF

Cereals and Butcher's Meat Profitable

IN

ENGLAND.

LETTER TO THE ^'TIMES'' NEWSPAPER

IN REPLY TO

Crop and Stock Prospects

PUBLISHED IN THE COLUMNS OF THAT JOURNAL,
SEPTEMBER 14th, 1885,

DENYING THAT CEREALS AND BUTCHER^S MEAT CAN

BE PRODUCED PROFITABLY IN THIS KINGDOM

AT LOW PRICES.

B^ one of the ©l^eet flDentbers

OF THK

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND.

Printed by CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited:
1.A BELLE SAVVAGE, LONDON, E.C.

i UNIVERSITY

THE LAND QUESTION

FARMING PROFITABLE UP TO 18S3— DISASTROUS IN 1885,
BUT REDEEMABLE.

"THREE ACRES AND A COW" ATTAINABLE.

To the Editor of the Times.

SlE,

My attention has been drawn to an article in your columns of
September 14th, 1885, headed "Crop and Stock Prospects." In this
article you have made comparisons with the twenty-three years^ experi-
ence of the Right Hon. Lord and Lady Herbert, of Lea, in farming the
Wilton House Home Farm, belonging to the Earl of Pembroke and
Montgomery, the farm in question being an inferior type of the farms
in Wilts, Dorset, and Hants.

The analysis of this farming account is so minute, comprehensive in
detail, and to the point, that I, as a looker on in agricultural matters for
the last sixty years, cannot find any statistical record extant, which
develops the entire results of a farm so minutely and for so long a
period as the one which dilates on the land question by Prof. Elliot in
his work published by Cassell and Co., in 1884, entitled "The Land
Question ; its Examination and Solution.-'^ I therefore adopt the
products realised therein, together with its actual expenditure, as a
foundation for my observations. And as they illustrate a success in
farming, I think it a public duty that they should be made known and
thoroughly understood at the present time.

The writer of the article " Crop and Stock Prospects," in my
opinion has misunderstood the bearing of this matter, and thereby has
mutilated the meaning of the account, which confines itself to the farm
in question. In showing to landlords, tenants, and agricultural
labourers, as well as consumers, their relative positions, it seems necessary
for me to recapitulate the facts of Prof. Elliotts published work. These
clearly indicate that farming has been, and may be a profitable business

where ample capital and skilled farming are forthcoming ; and to make
myself understood^ I venture to quote the following extracts from the
Professor^s analysis^ which show the result in cultivating inferior arable
land of a purely calcareous character and a chalky subsoil.

The results attained on the Wilton House Home Farm (marked A)
compared with the returns of eighty -five producers in eleven counties, as
published in the Times newspaper, September 14th, 1885 (marked B), are
shown as follows : —

Cereals.

Rent and Tithes

Rates and Taxes

Manual Labour

Seed purchased and of home growth

Horse Corn

liorse Forage, exclusive of Straw and Chaff

Market and Fair Expenses ...

Cost and wear and tear of Implements (the
quantity kept in column A being exces-
sive)

Sundries

Bad Debts

Manure and Chemicals purchased ...
Total Cost of Production per Acre ...

£ s. d.

1 10 3

1 16 9i-

0 16 ej

0 13 log

0 2 Oi

0 1 51

0 4 7
0 3 3
0 0 64

£ s. d.
1 10 3

3 19 O.a

0 9 3f
0 12 1

6 1 41

£ s. d
1 15 7
0 5 0

3 17 8

£ s. d.
2 0 7

3 17 8

5 18 3
2 12 6

8 10 9

A.

B.

Receipts for Grain, as shown in diagi'am (fo. 58 of Prof.
Elliot's book, to which my references apply), being the
average acquired products in 23 years, at cost prices, in
contrast with the 85 producers

Straw sold per acre

£ s. d.

7 1 Oi
0 7 7.^

£ 9. d.

6 16 0
1 12 0

7 8 8J

8 8 0

Memo.

A. — Per acre in receipt of Cereals, Wheat being produced at 4s. S^d. per
bush., or 37s. 6d. ])er quarter .. ...

B. — Wheat being produced at 4s. Od. per bush., or 36s. per quarter exclusive
of £2 12s. Gd. charged — it is presumed erroneously — to Cereals only, and
not coupled with Hay, Root, and Green Crops for Manure

£7 8 ^

£8 8 0

The rent, tithes, rates, and taxes on A are the actual charges upon
the average of twenty-three years made upon lands of an inferior type
to the averages of the kingdom. The like charges on B are concluded
to be on the average class of farms in the eleven counties upon which
they are made, or, otherwise, the average of the kingdom (the difference
in rent, on cereals only, being 10s. 4d. per acre) .

The item manure purchased iu A is 1:2s. Id. on eereals^and lis. ll|d.
on hay, root, and green crops — together 24s. Okl. — and is thus
explained in the exposition of expenditure (fo. 68), viz. : — " This item is
spread over the area of the arable land, as its application could not be
separately distinguished in the production of the respective crops
grown.''' It will, however, be observed that the amount applied to the
root and cereal crops has only been such as to promote early vegetation,
while the fully-developed crop was secured by increased fertility in the
soil.

It is contended that the £2 12s. 6d. per acre charged against cereals
in the estimate " B " ought to have been distributed over both cereals
and hay, root, and green crops, and is therefore, as a whole, an illegiti-
mate charge against cereals, and therefore in this comparison it unjustly
ignores the margin remaining in the calculation as due to the tenant for
interest on capital. The remaining items of expenditure are the actual
costs on "A" from 1850 to 1873, amounting together to £3 19s. Ofd.,
and on '^B'' to £3 17s. 8d., and may therefore be taken as
synonymovis.

In 185U the normal products of the farm (exclusive of Hookland or
lands adjacent to water-meadows, consisting of a small area) were :
wheat, 18 to 20 bushels per acre; barley, 28 bushels; and oats, 32 to

36 bushels. The ewe flock consisted of 150 Hampshire downs (improved
breed). In 187U the foregoing crops stood respectively 32|, 46, 57 1,
and pulse, 37^ bushels per acre. From 1870 to 1873 the relative
quantities per acre were : wheat, 36 bushels ; barley, 50 bushels ; oats,
61 bushels; and beans or pulse, 41 bushels; and the ewe flock numbered
312 (exclusive of chilver or ewe lambs). The aggregate average increase
is, therefore: wheat, 15^ bushels; barley, 19|; oats, 23| ; and beans,

37 per acre; and ewe flock, 7. These results, it will be remembered,
were maintained for twenty-three years.

SYNOPSIS OF RESULTS.

The first section of accounts is a statement of facts as they occurred
between 1850 and 1873, showing a profit realised by the producer
(folio 22) of £11 2s. lid. per cent, on the capital employed. The
second section of accounts assumes that the yield of the farm between
1850 and 1873 could have been maintained at the same cost during- the
following ten years, viz., 1873 and 1883. If the quantities of pro-
duce obtained in the twenty-three years be sold at the gazetted
prices for cereals, and the market prices were obtained for the quality
of meat produced on the farm for the same period, the result would

show a profit to the producer of £9 Os. 9|d. per cent, on the working
capital.

The abstract for the year 1883 only, included in the second section
of accounts, shows a profit of only M 4s. 4d. per cent., the market
prices in this year being the lowest on record, for cereals, since the
average of the years 1851, 1852, and 1853.

Third section of accounts. Taking the relative products realised in
the first section at cost price (including interest on capital employed
as might have occurred between 1873 and 1883), it is shown by the
average of the three first diagrams to be . . j617 10 3 per cent.

The average of the three others . . . 11 19 llf „

Average .... £14 9 11

This result is obtained by taking the relative prices for products
obtained from 1873 to 1883, and the second average at cost prices as
arrived at in the transposition of prices (folio 47), which are low for
cereals, and high for butcher^s meat. This result, however, may be
taken as an estimate, presuming that one moiety was obtained on the
average prices from 1873 to 1883, and the other moiety at the cost of
production, supposing mutton and beef to be marketed at lOd.
per lb. (a price commonly obtained during the term of years quoted).
The transposition price per cent., however, would be the correct
one, so far as the farm in question is concerned, and is shown to be
£9 lis. Gd.

The recapitulation of the experience of the twenty-three years (1850
to 1873), representing a period during which the Wilton House Home
Farm was increasing year by year its products, shows that the profit on
cereals was £4 17s. 5|d. per acre, and the loss on the hay, root, and
green crops £2 18s. 8d. per acre. This loss, however, includes the con-
version of the hay, root, and green crops into meat, also the cost of
increased fertility of the farm and its maintenance between 1850 and
1873. The capital employed on the farm in question was £12 15s. lOd.
on the total area (including roads, wastes, and down pasture), and
£17 8s. 1-^d. on the arable land only. It will be observed that the
percentage of profit was produced on .€3,500 — the amount of the capital
employed by the producer. Therefore the loss caused through the pro-
duction of meat and the cost of increased fertility were thus covered by
the percentage realised, and show that increased production is the best
remedy known for low prices of cereals. It should be remembered that
in this instance there was an excessive expenditure in feeding-

stuffs, owing- to a large head of stock kept, to at least the amount of
the loss sustained, hence the consequent loss of £2 18s. 8d. per acre in
capital.

The rent of Wilton House Home Farm was fixed at £300 per annum
(as extra parochial, i.e., tithe and tax free), or £1 10s. 3d. per acre, the
landlord's net rent, however, being 19s. 6d.

The writer of the article, " Crop and Stock Prospects,^' assumes that
the rent is a low one, but Professor Elliot, in his work, was led to believe,
in obtaining" a knowledge of this farm, that it was based upon the same
scale of value as ueai'ly 100,000 acres which were let in the counties
of Wilts and Dorset during the period (23 years) in which the
experiment of high farming was carried out on the farm in question.
The £1 10s. 3d. per acre of rent on this light, chalky land, is considered
equivalent to the rent of a wheat farm producing 34 or 25 bushels
per acre (scale of normal products).

The foregoing statements are explanatory of Professor Elliot's
publication in 1884 ; but it is to be observed that the results of the year
1883 were followed by disastrous circumstances in the year 1884, and up
to October 26th, 1885. Now, assuming the products realised between
1850 and 1873 being the same for those years, the loss in 1884 would be
£7 10s. lOd. per cent, and for 1885, £9 19s. lOfd. per cent.

The price per bushel of the cereals in 1884 is the average gazetted
price quoted in the " Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng-
land," and the prices for 1885 are those subsequently gazetted weekly,
the prices for meat being taken from the estimate of Messrs. Bonser,
Wykes, and Williamson's returns of the Sraithfield market, London
(per carcase weight, sinking offal).

The following tabula shows the prices per bushel and per lb. at
which the foregoing result (per cent.) have been obtained : —

CEREAL PRODUCTS.

Nos.

Periods.

Wheat.

Barley.

Oats.

Beans.

Profit
per ceut.

Loss
per ceut.

s.

d.

s. d.

s.

d.

s. d.

£ s. d.

£ a. d.

1

1850 to 1873 (see folio 17)

7

oi

4 7i

3

H

5 6i

11 2 U

—

2

1874 to 1883 (both inclusive,

folio 44)

6

H

5 0

3

41

—

9 0 9|

—

3

1883 (folio 47)

5

2t

3 11|

2

8|

3 7i

2 4 4

—

4

Transposition Prices (folio 61)...

4

H

3 04

2

n

3 7i

9 11 6

—

5

Cost Prices (folio 47) or the price
at which the respective crops

have been produced ...

4

H

3 1

2

H

3 81

11 7 lOl

—

6

1884(foUo27)

4

5i

3 9|

2

H

—

—

7 10 10

7

From January 6th, 1885, to

October 10th, 1885

4

2

3 H

2

n

~

~

10 11 21

JIEAT PRODUCTS.

Nos.

Periods.

Mutton.

Beef.

Swine.

Poultry.

Wool.

d.

d.

d.

s. d.

s. d.

1

1850 to 1873

H

n

-5|

—

1 41

2

1874 to 1883

H

8

H

1 0

1 3i

3

1883

H

8

6i

1 0

1 H

4

Transposition Prices

10

10

81

0 9i

1 71

0

Cost Prices (realised)...

lOi

H

72

0 10

1 8f

6

1884

H

6

51

—

—

7

From January 6tli, 1885, to October

10th, 1885

6|

5i

'5i

0 10

The percentages of profit^ 1 to 5 in the above schedule, show the
ratio of interest on the capital employed by the producer. The losses
shown, 6 and 7 as above, are, however, drafts upon the producer's
capital, yielding him no remuneration for skill in farming, or interest of
money, consequently his loss may fairly be put down at 20 per cent,
upon his working capital, if the statistics of the farm in question are to
be relied upon ; and I personally have no doubt of their authenticity, as
they are corroborated by the experience of 85 contributors in fore-
going accounts marked " B,^' and also by the exposition to the accounts
as regards cereals, and by the stock accounts as regards hay, root, and
green crops. Further, with a view to test these results, I have
substituted for the products " per acre " of Wilton House Home Farm,
Sir J. Lawes' average produce of cereals in the kingdom, viz. : Wheat,
28^1^ bush., barley, 37^, oats, 4^7 tu, and beans 31to bushels per acre ;
and as to the meat productions, I have taken them as they stand in
Professor Elliot's work (not forgetful of the circumstances attending the
farm), putting these quantities at the average market jmces of 1883,
1884, and up to October 26th, 1885, the application shows a loss of
£9 5s. 8|d. per cent., which is synonymous with the results of Professor
Elliot's analysis. It, however, must be borne in mind that Sir James'
average produce is estimated upon qualities from soils of greater fertility
as compared with those constituting the Wilton House Home Farm.
It therefore remains to be proved at what cost for artificial manures or
feeding stuffs per acre the necessary increase in products can be obtained
throughout the kingdom, so as to neutralise the cost of increased
fertility, and the loss occasioned in converting the hay, root, and green
crops into meat. It is to be observed that the increased produce of
wheat (reaching to 36 bushels per acre) which has been obtained on
Wilton House Home Farm, is synonymous with Sir. J. Lawes' experi-
ments at Rothamstead, but the relative ratio of other crops on the farm

exceeds those quoted by Sir James. My predictions at present are that
the average products of the kingdom should be raised to that obtained
on the Wilton House Home Farm for cereals^ viz., 36 bushels per acre of
wheat, as an average (other crops following in ratio), also increased
production of mutton and beef to the extent at least of 305 lbs. of meat,
and 12 lbs. of wool per acre.

It must not be forgotten that these calculations are for arable land
only, and not influenced by the lessened cost of producing meat by the
grazing of meadow or pasture lands, which constitute so large an
area of the kingdom. It only remains to be shown how the successful
result of £11 7s. 10|d. per cent, profit, which is arrived at by the
Wilton House experiments, can best be applied to the circumstances of
the kingdom. It is a momentous matter at the present time, and calls
for further consideration. I have threaded closely Professor Elliot's
proved analysis, and I abide by its results in the necessary calculations
(allowing for variation in rent) , and if it is true that " what has been
done, in the natural order of things may be done again,'' then the
results obtained from the Wilton House Home Farm ought to encourage
the tenant farmer of the present day. I venture to predict that the
conclusions arrived at by the writer of the article " Crop and Stock
Prospects," viz., "That wheat-growing at present prices gives a heavy
dead loss, not far short of the landlord's entire rent," is a delusion, and
calculated to mislead, inasmuch as it is shown that 20 per cent, loss on
the Wilton House Home Farm, amounts only to j660 per annum on a
rent of £300, and I hope to make this matter more apparent.

In reviewing these results, it may be but fair to scan the effects of
the depression which has prevailed in leading agricultural districts of the
kingdom ; as, for example, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, and districts in Scot-
land, where the effect of a succession of bad seasons has brought to the
front disastrous circumstances. But as the tenant farmer had struggled
on from 1846 to 1884 in the decade of falling prices, it would seem that
the succession of bad seasons had induced the money-lender to withdraw
the aid which had previously been afforded to those farmers wanting the
necessary capital to carry on their holdings ; and the consequence is that
vast districts are tenantless, not through farming being a bad business,
but from the scarcity of tenants with the necessary capital to conduct
their business profitably. This matter I venture to think will be shown
as I proceed with my exposition of Professor Elliot's publication.

In pursuing my remarks, I observe that the cropping of the farm in
question, between 1850 and 1863, was that about two-thirds of the
Hookland arable, and two-fifths of the Field and Down arable, were in

8

cereals, and the average of the entire period has been four-ninths of the
area in cereals and five-ninths in hay, root, and green crops. The normal
products of the farm in 1850 stood at 19 bushels per acre of wheat,
28 of barley, and 36 of oats; and these quantities relatively taken at 7s.,
4s., and 2s. 9d. per bushel (Protection prices) amounted to £17 4s.

The yields, however, in 1873, on the average of 23 years (varying
with the vicissitudes of seasons) stood, viz., wheat, 36 bushels ; barley,
50 ; oats, 61 ; beans, 41, per acre ; and these respectively at the prices
realised stood at 7s. 0|d., 4s. 7|d., 3s. 3^d., and 5s. 6jd. per bushel, and
in the aggregate show an amount of £45 9s. 8d. ; consequently, the
increase is £28 5s. 8d., or £164 8s. 9d. per cent.

Sir J. Lawes^ estimated yield of cereals in the Kingdom are quoted,
viz., wheat, 281^0; barley, 37?; oats, 47to ; and beans, 31to bushels
per acre ; and these quantities calculated at prices realised on the Wilton
House Home Farm, as shown above, in the 23 years amount to
£34 15s. 7d., and consequently the increase on Wilton House Home Farm
exceeds the average of the Kingdom by £10 14s. Id. — a result of
national importance yet to be made apparent by obtaining and maintain-
ing increased produce in yield through higher cultivation. With this
view the question arises whether by increased production the English
markets might not be suj)plied between harvest time and the following
spring at prices which would prohibit foreign competition, as has been
indicated by circulars issued by corn merchants.

The cost in producing the relative crops grown on the farm were
separately kept between 1850 and 1863, and is shown in minute detail
(folio 25) where it is stated, " that if there be no loss on the conversion
of the hay, root, and green crops into butcher's meat, or a check upon
increasing fertility, as compared with the quantities of produce obtained
in the 23 years' experience, the cereal crops may be sold at a profit
if they realise any sum above the following prices per quarter : —
wheat, 30s. 6d. ; barley, 19s. 2d.; oats, 14s. 6d. ; beans, 26s.; and
rye, 25s. 4d.'" With a view to confirm these results, I have compiled
from Prof. Elliot's work an acreable statement of crops grown on
Wilton House Home Farm, together with their products at realised
prices and cost of production, and thus a farm of 8 acres is consequently
substituted in evidence of results, and stands as follows upon its own
merits and entirely exclusive of the extraneous circumstances attending
Wilton House Home Farm.

THE ADOPTED EIGHT-ACRE FARM.

Area.

Acre3.

?v^

Descriptiou of Crop.

Cereal Products at realised prices
OH an average of'lZ years.

Wheat, per acre

Barley, „

Oats or dredge, ,,
Beans or pulse, „

Quantity

grown
per Acre.

Bushels.

36
50
61
41

Straw saleable or consumable by Stock
I taken into Fold Yards, but not-^
\^ belonging to the Farm. 1

Total on Four Acres..

per
Bushel.

Amounts.

s. d.

4 8f

3 1

2 21

3 8i

7 it
per
acre
per
ann.

Cost of Production.
/"Manual Labour
Manure purchased (as per exposition) . . .
Seed pm-chased, and of home growth . . .
Horse corn ...

Horse forage (exclusive of straw and chaff)
Market and Fair expenses
Cost and wear and tear of implements, beinj

excess on Wilton House Home Farm
Sundi-ies
Bad debts

Rent, rates, tithes, and taxes taken at the esti-
mate of the 85 producers in 11 counties, as
shown in contrast -with the Wilton House
^. Home Farm

Total on Four Acres ...

8 8 9

7 14 2

6 13 b\

7 12 01

30 8 ^

I

p 10 7
J

1 16
0 12
0 16
0 13 lOf

4 11 \{

2 0 7

6 11 U

Totals.

Profit.

31 18 11

26 6 11

THE EIGHT- ACRE FARM.

Area.

Acre.

Descriptiou of Crop.

Say, Root, and Green Crops, viz. :
Clover, Vetches, Turnips, Rape,
etc., Swedes and Matty olds.

( Mutton

I Beef

Swine ...

I Poultry

^ Wool

Quantity.

lbs.

155 J

75
69i

5*

12*

Hay, Root, and Green Crops sold to

Dau-y Stock in fold yards, otherwise

available for conversion into meat . . .

^ Ditto consumed by Working Horses . . .

Or on Foui- Acres

Price

per lb.

lOi
7S

1/-

Amounts.

Totals.

Profit.

6 13 Qi

2 17 9i

2 4 8i

0 5 6

12

1

n

0

12

9

12

13

H

0

14

lOi

0

6

10

13

15

5f

£ s. d.

55 1 5|

10

THE EIGHT-ACRE FARM {continued.)

Area.

Acre.

Description of Crop.

Cost of Production per Acre.
( Manual liabom- ...
Manure purchased (see exposition folio)
Seed purchased, and of Home growth...
Horse Com

Horse Forage (exclusive of Straw and Chaff)
Market and Fair Expenses
Cost and wear and tear of implements being in

excess on the Farm
Sundi-ies ...

Bad Debts

Agistment ..

Feeding stuffs purchased, and of
Home growth, as on Wilton
House Home Farm

Deduct loss in conversion and cost
of increased fertility

£ s. d.

6 19 U

2 18 8

Rent, tithes, rates and taxes as evidenced by
\^ the 85 producers in the 11 counties ...

Or on Four Acres

Amounts.

&

s.

d.

2

12

11^

0

11

lU

0

11

2

1

1

1

0

3

9*

0

2

9i

0

7

6^

0

8

3

0

0

6^

0

1

9i

5 16 10

4

0

^H

9

17

H

2

0

7

11

17

10^

Totals.

£ s. d.

47 11 6

Profit.

£ s. d.

7 11 11^

It is, however, necessary to observe that the only items in the above
calculations which vary from the Wilton House returns, are the reduc-
tion of capital to £14- 9s. 5|d., the necessary increase of rent and the
lessened cost of feeding stuffs, and these differences arise through the
quality of the average soils in the kingdom being estimated as superior
to those on the Wilton House Home Farm.

The capital on the 8 acres (£14 9s. 5|d. per acre) is admitted to stand
at £115 15s. 8d., the cost of producing the crops grown being equivalent
to the cost prices of the same as on the Wilton House Home Farm.

RECAPITULATION OF RESULTS IN THE ABOVE STATEMENTS.

Amounts.

Totals.

Balance in favour of Cereals

Balance in favour of Hay, Root, and Green Crops

£ s. d.
5 12 0|
7 11 11|

£ s. d.

Total Profit on 8 Acres, being the amount remaining for
Interest on Capital employed in fai-ming, admitting vicis-
situdes of seasons

13 4 0^

Thus yielding £11 8s. l|d. per cent, profit to the producer,

11

This it must be remembered is the result of 23 years^ experience on the
farm in question (the fertiUty of the land being also maintained), but
Professor Elliot nevertheless defines that the respective crops can be
grown at reduced prices, as shown by the following diagram : —

Description of Crop.

Wheat ...
Barley
Oats
Beans

Quautity

Grown

per Acre.

Bus.
36
50
61
41

Price

per

Bushel.

ytraw Sold (4 acres, at 7s. 7|d. per acre)

Cost of Production, as shown heretofore...

Balance per Acre in favour of Cereals ...
Profit on Hay, Root, and Green Crops, as stated in previous
diagram ...

£ s.
6 17
5 19
.5 10

6

16

8

25
1

4
10

H

7

26
26

14
6

m
11

0

7

7
11

Tot,.l Profit.

7 19 11

Being £6 18s. lid. per cent, on the j6115 15s. 8d. capital estimated
to have been employed in the 8 acres, but this result, though showing
a profit at the low prices quoted, is not sufficiently compensating to the
producer for the capital and skill employed by him.

But with the liberal allowance of £4< Os. 5id. per acre annually, for
feeding stuffs, the products would undoubtedly be raised to equivalents
grown on the best soils of the kingdom (under the like climate), and,
therefore, the yields would consequently stand at an estimate, viz. : —
Wheat, 40 bushels per acre; barley, 54 bushels; oats, 65 bushels; and
beans, 45 bushels. These quantities at profitable prices, as shown by
the results obtained on the Wilton House Home Farm, viz. : — Wheat,
4s. 8;jd. per bushel : barley, 3s. Id. : oats, 2s. 2]^d. ; beans, 3s. 8Jd., and
7s. 7|d. per acre for straw — would amount to £34 13s. 9|d., from which
the cost of the production of cereals would have to be deducted, and a
profit per acre remains of ... ... ... ... ... £8 6 10|

The like ratio of increase on the hay, root, and green
crops, would amount to £11 5s. Hid-, but the sheep flock
being at the rate of an ewe and a half per acre (or rather
more) on the arable land (on the farm in question, and on
the average of the 23 years) the profit on these crops is
consequently taken fairly as shown in the first diagram of
8 acre cropping, and not after the increase ratio admitted
in the cereals. ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 11 11

£15 18 10

12

Consequently the profit to the producer on the capital employed
(£115 15s. 8d.) would be £13 15s. 2d. per cent., and hence by increased
production the loss of £2 18s. 8d. per acre in the conversion of the hay,
root and green crops, into meat, and in increasing the fertility on the
Wilton House Home Farm, between 1850 and 1873 is consequently
neutralised. This profit, coupled with the £1 1 Ss. l^d. per cent, shown
in the first diagram (8 acre cropping) are irrespective of 10 per cent,
allowed in the farm account for depreciation in working stock. More-
over, the extraneous circumstances attending the farm in question being
excluded from the 8 acre calculations, the meat products consequently
show an increase.

It must, however, be admitted that no such increased production,
or such favourable results as are here foreshadowed, can be anticipated
until the Land Laws are so adjusted as to give necessary security to
the producer for the capital employed. This further consideration will
involve a careful solution of the landlord's and tenant's interest in the
matter, upon which I am anxious to say a few words.

In considering the relative positions of landowner, tenant-farmer, and
labourer, it will be necessary to take into consideration their acquired
positions as existed for half a century previous to the abrogation of the
Corn Laws, when they stood in division, viz., landowners as capitalists,
landowners as freeholders and occupiers, tenant-farmers (large and small),
and labourers in general.

Prof. ElHot demonstrates at folios 27 and 28 of his work, that " Pro-
tection,'' as heretofore afforded by law, gives a premium per bushel to
the producer on cereals, according to the cropping of the farm in ques-
tion, viz., wheat, 2s. 4d. ; barley. Is. 6|d. ; oats, Is. 6d. ; and beans,
Is. lOd. ; these premiums assumed butcher's meat to be sold at 6d. per
pound, under the impression that at that price it would be profitable.
Its production, however, on the Wilton House Home Farm is shown
(folio 32) to be a loss of 2^d. per lb. This loss is only to be neutralised
by increased production. The erroneously low estimate for meat, and
the high " Protection " price for cereals, induced farmers to enter upon
the cultivation of the soil without possessing the necessary capital for
developing the land's productiveness, and they thereby retarded the
progress of agricultural improvements. The landowners, however,
gradually acquired a knowledge of their properties, and drew a compara-
tive distinction between the interests arising from their capital as occu-
piers and as freeholders — the former assumed to be 10 per cent., and the
latter 3 per cent. Assuming the area of the farm of the freeholder to
be 273 acres, 2 roods, 18 perches (the contents of Wilton House Home

13

Farm) the matter would stand thus : — Farming- capital, <€3,500 ; the
vahie in fee simple of the estate (373 acres, 2 roods, 18 perches, at 19s. 6d.
per acre) £2Q6 15s. 5d. per annum, which, at 33 years^ purchase, would
be £8,803 8s. 9d., the two tog-ether being £12,303 8s. 9d., thus pro-
ducing an income of (£3, .500 at 10 per cent., and .€8,803 at 3 j^er cent.)
£G14 2s. Od. Now, if these capitals were united and employed eqiially
in farming at 10 per cent., they would realise £1,230 6s. lOd. per
annum. This command of capital by the freeholders and occupiers
jointly induced them to acquire larger holdings, while the smaller free-
holders merged their freeholds mostly into the adjoining estates belonging
to capitalists. During the period when the production of food for the mul-
titude, in increasing quantity, became absolutely necessary, the smaller
occupiers of land in detached portions disappeared ; the cost of working
their small holdings being much more expensive in comparison with the
larg-er areas, which were at the same time better cultivated.

Nothing short of the yield produced on the Wilton House Home
Farm could have saved these small occupiers and satisfied the yearly
demand made upon farmers by the increasing demands of the people.
The annual products per acre, on an average of 23 years, amounted
to £22 6s. 4jd. {iritle folio 19). And it may confidently be asked,
Where is the small holding to be found which has ever attained such
a result? Yet nothing short of it can satisfy the requirements necessary
for the maintenance of the population of the country.

This change of circumstances naturally induced the landed aristocracy
to make their farms into areas suitable to the occupation of the o-en-
tleman-farmer, and also with a view to save themselves extra cost in
farm homesteads ; but in many instances their decision led them into
error by making their holdings too large ! This mistake has been
avoided in arranging the farms for the consequences of " free trade " on
the estate in which this home farm forms an integral part, and, though
the farms have been allocated as best suited to the aspect of the country,
yet their areas have been apportioned so as to give a margin for intel-
ligent and persevering men obtaining such an income as would induce
capitalists to embark in the occupation of such holdings.

With a view to check indiscretion in running to the extreme, of
making- farms too small and thereby reverting- to the usag-es of past
times, perhaps the following instance will best illustrate my meaning : —
Supposing a farm of 1,000 acres, let at £1 an acre, is found necessary to
be divided into two holdings of 500 acres each, the cost of the division,
if the landlord is intended to be remunerated for his investment in build-
ings, could only be defrayed by letting the divisions at an extra rent of

14

10s. or 12s. an acre, and lessened areas would require a still further
increase of rent. But rather than adopt this alternative in order to meet
the requirements of capitalists^ might not the 1^000 acres be farmed by a
company, under the directions of skilled men possessing judgment and
means for obtaining the utmost production, and also with the power to
maintain such production, as shown in the instance of "Wilton House
Home Farm, the area of which, however, was considered too small to
induce a skilled tenant to occupy it.

On large estates where the tenant farmer's capital is not sufficient to
develop the full resources of the land, might not a company of farmers
be substituted for individual tenants, provided the land laws of the
kingdom were so improved as to afford security and give encom-agement,
so that the necessary capital might be obtained ? These alternatives
necessarily arise when we consider the position of the landowner under
the circumstances of " Protection,^' and also the position of the Consol or
Fund-holder during the like period, the latter being insured against
taxation, in consequence of the Protection on the produce of land. But,
under the circumstances of Free Trade, the issue of the relative positions
become changed, and the question arises. Why should the landed interest
be sacrificed in the production of food at low prices for the benefit of
the community ? And, at the same time, why should the Fimd-holder
not bear his relative proportion of taxation ? I do not infer that rents
should be increased by the change of circumstances, but that taxation
should be fairly adjusted by Parliament.

As regards the farm labourer as a sine qua non, he should have a
home with accommodation suitable for the requirements of his family,
in regard to sexes, together with a garden allotment, adjacent to the
cottage, varying in size, according to circumstances, of from twenty to
forty perches each, but not greater than could be maintained in proper
cultivation. Should the garden adjoining the cottage not be equal to
his wants, an increase might be provided in an allotment field, so situated
as to best suit the accommodation of the villagers. These allotments
might vary in size beyond the cottage requirements, according to cir-
cumstances, and extend to cow allotments (to the most deserving parish-
ioners) of hay ground, lea pasture, and an acre of arable ; the areas
being limited to the quality of the soils, their situation, and with due
regard to the position of the cottage to which it might be attached ;
the hay ground allotments to be mown, and the after-math to be fed off
in common ; the summer lea ground allotments also being grazed in
common ; the cultivation of the arable portion being left to the dis-
cretion of the occupier; the number of cottages and allotments being

15

fixed according' to the average requirements in each parish^ and deter-
mined by the amount of manual labour necessary to fully develop the
resources of the land in the district ; the owners of the respective
estates being obliged to make provision for the comfort and well-being
of their labourers, power being given by Act of Parliament to the
guardians of the parish to provide extra accommodation in such cases as
the owners of the respective properties are not in a position to give.

The tenants of the farms in the parish having a choice of the
labourers in their employ where the cottages belong to the owners of the
farm which they hold. The guardians of the parish having authority
through Parliament to conduct the necessary machinery for the working
of the scheme. Such an arrangement would make provision for efficient
labourers being retained in the country, and not driven to the necessity
of emigration. Moreover, such a scheme would be preferable to that of
Mr. Shaw Lefevre's, where every labourer is supposed to become the
owner by putting him into the hands of the money-lender, and thereby
increasing his rent, as well as confining him to the limits of the district
in which he is living for employment. The comfort afforded to the
villagers by the necessary arrangements of allotments has been exem-
plified in many instances, one at Stanton St. Bernard, Wilts, belonging
to the Earl of Pembroke ; and perhaps by none more than in the case of
the Rev. F. O. Morris, the rector of Nunburnholme, in Yorkshire, where,
though the distribution of his glebe has been in action for twenty to
thirty years, does not secure, except for the Rector's life, the comforts
which the parish now enjoys, and to be continued would necessitate the
interference of Parliament.

Moreover, might not the comforts of life to the aged and meritorious
labourer be extended by the guardians of the parish having power by
Act of Parliament to secure to them at fair rents (with a view to
encourage thrift in their earlier career) residences in the parish in which
their character has been exemplified, and thus prevent the separation of
man and wife in the district union workhouse.

The rent of Wilton House Home Farm being based on the produce
principle, in accordance with that adopted in letting the Earl of
Pembroke and Montgomery^s estate. Prof. Elliot in his analysis has
given a full definition of the operation of the scheme, and shows how
fairly it was adjusted to meet the mutual interests of landlord and
tenant, and it warrants me in asserting my belief in the justice of its
action; though the adjusted rent in 1851 diminished to the extent of
£21 15s, Id. per cent., but nevertheless the scheme ended in 187;3 with
eight shillings per cent, in favour of the tenant occupier.

16

With the foregoing statements I have arrived at the following con-
clusions, viz. : That Prof. Elliotts work is a literal statement of his
analysis of the Wilton House Home Farm account with the general
bearing of the facts recorded — it gives the normal products in 1850 and
the average increases obtained in an experience of twenty-three years,
which singularly as to wheat accord in yield to Sir James Lawes^
acquirements at Rothampstead ; it also shows that soils of an inferior
type in Wilts, Dorset, and Hants, may be made to yield products (and
their maintenance in fertility, though its extraction in fertility may be
readily evinced) sufficient to afford remunerative interest on the capital
employed, as exemplified by the tests in the foregoing statements, which
also prove that -the loss of £2 18s. 8d. in the hay, root, and green crops,
as deduced in Prof. Elliot's analysis, was occasioned by an excess of that
amount in the cost of feeding stuffs (before the designed increased products
were acquired) , and therefore I have corrected this amount both as regards
capital and expenditure in the foregoing calculations on the eight-acre
farm, which is shown to be entirely exempt from the local circumstances
attending Wilton House Home Farm, and confined to purely farming
results as tested with the facts of the twenty-three years' experience,
including the vicissitudes of seasons in that period.

With the views here recorded, and the land latos adjusted to the
necessities arising through a rapidly -increasing population in this
country, I venture to think that the landlord, tenant occupier, and the
labourer, may yet hold their former own in this kingdom.

I am, your obedient servant,
*'An Impartial Looker-on op Sixty Years' Standing."

*

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