17
case the tenant would otherwise be at a disadvantage as compared with one who entered into new buildings which would stand in little need of repair.
In cases where there was a lease, if the land has let at a high rent, the landlord would erect any necessary new building, even during the continuance of the lease without extra charge. But if the rent was low, he would charge from 5 to 7½ per cent, on the outlay. On the small farms—say of nine or ten acres, let as high as £3 per acre for the best soil—the landlord thatched and otherwise repaired the dwelling-house, the tenant repairing the offices. If a new house were wanted on an unleased farm of this size, the landlord would build it, entering into a new contract with the tenant, and charging interest on his outlay, subject to the same modifications as in a leased farm. If the tenant wished to build himself, he would be allowed to do so, if he would build in accordance with the "office plans." In this case he would receive back half of his expenditure if he left in five years, but nothing if he remained in occupation over ten years. It was very seldom, however, that tenants did build for themselves; and we must in frankness add, that we can scarcely wonder at it, when their interest in a work of so permanent a nature was made, by the terms of their annual contract with the landlord, to expire so soon. When drainage was required, the landlord on this estate supplied the tiles; the drains were opened and filled by the tenant, subject in all cases to the approval of the office. On the neighbouring estate only the shoughing tiles—i.e., for ditches or "shoughs" being filled in—were supplied by the landlord.
Such a thing as payment for the tenant's goodwill did not exist on the estate. We may add that the district of which we have been speaking is a rural one. The ordinary yield per acre of oats was stated to us by a farmer to be about 150 stones; that of potatoes, about 5 tons on the low ground The course of cropping we give from the statement of a holder of 16 statute acres, who paid about £2 10s an acre as rent: —
First year, wheat; second, "wuts" {Anglice, oats); third, "we maws" {i.e., mow clover and grass seed); fourth, "pluff'." (By a happy thought it occurred to us that "pluff" meant plough—viz., for potatoes and turnips.)
Our friend had a lease on a life He kept a horse big enough to eat two of our little "garrons" for his breakfast. The horse and his harness were both in a shining condition, which would make some of our gentry open their eyes, let alone our farmers. Two cows and a sturk constituted his dairy stock. He did not "go in for" profit off poultry. Butter fetched in the neighbour-
