A Short History of English Agriculture Part 38

Forty years ago hardly any foreign b.u.t.ter or cheese was imported; to-day it is perhaps no exaggeration to say that not one hundredth part of the b.u.t.ter eaten in London is British; in 1907 the amount of b.u.t.ter imported was 4,310,156 cwt., and of cheese, 2,372,233 cwt. The increase in the imports was largely a.s.sisted by the fact that in the last half of the nineteenth century English farmers had directed their attention chiefly to meat-producing animals and neglected the milch cow. However, of late years great efforts have been made to recover lost ground, and in England the number of cows and heifers in milk or in calf has increased from 1,567,789 in 1878 to 2,020,340 in 1906.

The regulation of the imports and exports of live stock did not concern the legislature so early as those of corn. One of the earliest statutes on the subject is II Hen. VII, c. 13, which forbade the export of horses and of mares worth more than 6s. 8d., because many had been conveyed out of the land, so that there were few left for its defence and the price of horses had been thereby increased. A subsequent statute, 22 Hen. VIII, c. 7, says this law was disobeyed by many who secretly exported horses, so it was enacted that no one should export a horse without a licence; and 1 Edw. VI, c. 5, continued this. But after this date the export of horses does not seem to have occupied the attention of Parliament.

22 Hen. VIII, c. 7, also forbade the export of cattle and sheep without a licence because so many had been carried out of the realm that victual was scarce and cattle dear. By 22 Car. II, c. 13, oxen might be exported on payment of a duty of 1s. each, the last statute on the subject.

As for sheep, their export without the king's licence had been forbidden by 3 Hen. VI, c. 2, because men had been in the habit of taking them to Flanders and other countries, where they sheared them and sold the wool and the mutton. 8 Eliz., c. 3, forbade their export, and 13 and 14 Car. II, c. 18, declared the export of sheep and wool a felony.

The importation of cattle was forbidden by 15 Car. II, c. 7, which stated that the 'comeing in of late of vast numbers of cattle already fatted' had caused 'a very great part of the land of this kingdom to be much fallen and like dayly to fall more in their rents and values'; therefore every head of great cattle imported was to pay 20s. to the king, 10s. to the informer, and 10s. to the poor after July 1, 1664.

By 18 Car. II, c. 2, the importation of cattle was declared a common nuisance, and if any cattle, sheep, or swine were imported they were to be seized and forfeited. By 32 Car. II, c. 2, this was made perpetual and continued in force till 1842, though it was repealed as to Ireland, as we have seen.[716]

It appears from the laws dealing with the matter that in the time of the Plantagenets England exported b.u.t.ter and cheese. In the reign of Edward III they were merchandise of the staple, and therefore when exported had to go to Calais when the staple was fixed there. This caused great damage, it is said, to divers persons in England, for the b.u.t.ter and cheese would not keep until buyers came; therefore 3 Hen.

VI, c 4, enacted that the chancellor might grant licence to export b.u.t.ter and cheese to other places than to the staple.

The regulation of the export of wool frequently occupied the attention of Parliament It has been noticed[717] that the laws of Edgar fixed its price for export, and Henry of Huntingdon mentions its export in the twelfth century, while during the reign of Edward I it was for some time forbidden except by licence, which led to its being smuggled out in wine casks.[718] The _Hundred Rolls_ give the names of several Italian merchants who were engaged in buying wool for export, the ecclesiastical houses, especially the Cistercians, furnis.h.i.+ng a great quant.i.ty, and the chief port then for the wool trade was Boston, The export was again prohibited in 1337, the great object being to make the foreigner pay dearly for our staple product: an object which was certainly effected, for when Queen Philippa redeemed her crown from p.a.w.n at Cologne in 1342 by a quant.i.ty of English wool, 1s. 3-1/2d. a lb. was the price, and it was even said to sell in Flanders at 3s. a lb., a price which, expressed in modern money, seems fabulous.[719]

However, in the next reign English wool began to decline in price, owing probably to changes in fas.h.i.+on, but the long wools maintained their superiority and their export was forbidden by Henry VI and Elizabeth.[720]

In the reign of James I it was confessed 'that the cloth of this kingdom hath wanted both estimation and vent in foreign parts, and that the wools are fallen from their stated values', so that export was prohibited entirely; and 13 and 14 Car. II, c. 18, declared the export of wool a felony, though 7 and 8 Will. III, c. 28, says this did not deter people from exporting it, so that the law was made more stringent on the subject, and export continued to be forbidden until 1825.[721] In a letter written in 1677 the fall of rents in England, which had caused the value of estates to sink from twenty-one to sixteen or seventeen years' purchase, is ascribed mainly to the low price of wool,[722] owing to the prohibition of export and increased imports from Ireland and Spain. It was now, said the writer, worth 7d.

instead of 12d., and a great quant.i.ty of Spanish wool was being sold in England at low rates. These 'low rates' were 2s. and 2s. 2d. a lb.

for the best wool, whereas in 1660 the best Spanish wool was 4s. and 4s. 2d. a lb.

We have seen[723] that Spanish wool was imported into England in the Middle Ages. In 1677, according to Smith,[724] England imported 2,000 bags of 200 lb. each from Spain[725]; in the three years 1709-11, 14,000 bags; in the three years 1713-14, 20,000 bags; and about 1730 some came from Jamaica, Maryland, and Virginia, and down to 1802 imports were free.[726] In that year a duty of 5s. 3d. a cwt. was imposed, which in 1819 was raised to 56s. a cwt., which, however, was reduced to 1d. a lb. on 1s. wool and 1/2d. a lb. on wool under 1s. in 1824. In 1825 colonial wool was admitted free, and in 1844 the duty taken off altogether, and imports from our colonies and foreign countries soon a.s.sumed enormous proportions. Down to 1814 nearly all our imports of wool came from Spain; after that the greater part came from Germany and the East Indies; but Russia and India soon began to send large quant.i.ties, and in recent times Australasia has been our chief importer, in 1907 sending 321,470,554 lb., while New Zealand sent 158,406,255 lb. out of a total import of 764,286,625 lb. About 1800 our imports of wool were 8,609,368 lb.![727] Of our enormous imports of wool, however, a very large quant.i.ty is re-exported.

In 1828 it was stated before the House of Lords that English wool had deteriorated considerably during the previous thirty years, owing chiefly to the farmer increasing the weight of the carcase and the quant.i.ty of wool, so that fineness of fleece was injured. The great extension of turnips and the introduction of a large breed of sheep also appeared to have lessened the value of the fleece, yet English wool to-day still commands a high price in comparison with that of other countries, though the price in recent years has declined greatly; in 1871 it was 1s. 5-1/2d. a lb., in 1872 1s. 9-1/2d., in 1873 1s. 7d. In 1907 Leicester wool was 12-1/2d., Southdown 14d. to 15d., and Lincoln 12d. a lb.; Australian at the same date being 11d., and New Zealand 11-1/2d.

The fruit-grower has also had to contend with an enormous foreign supply, which nearly always has a better appearance than that grown in these islands, though the quality is often inferior. In 1860 apples were included with other raw fruits in the returns, so that the exact figures are not given, but apparently about 500,000 cwt. came in; by 1903 this had increased to 4,569,546 bushels, and in 1907 3,526,232 bushels arrived. Enormous foreign supplies of grapes, pears, plums, cherries, and even strawberries have also combined to keep the home price down.

The decrease in the acreage of hops, from its maximum of 71,789 acres in 1878 to 44,938 in 1907, was ascribed by the recent Commission to the lessening demand for beer in England, the demand for lighter kinds of beer, and the use of hop subst.i.tutes, and not to increase in foreign compet.i.tion; which the following figures seem to bear out:

IMPORTS OF HOPS.

Cwt.

1861 149,176 1867 296,117 1869 322,515 1870 127,853 1875 256,444 1877 (the year before the record acreage planted) 250,039 1879 262,765 1903 113,998 1904 313,667 1905 108,953 1906 232,619 1907 202,324

In recent years they have been a loss to the grower; as the average crop is a little under 9 cwt. per acre, and the total cost of growing and marketing from 35 to 45 an acre, it is obvious that prices of about 3 per cwt., which have ruled lately, are unremunerative.

However disastrous to the farmer and landowner, the increased quant.i.ties and low prices of food thus obtained have been of inestimable benefit to the crowded population of England. In 1851 the whole corn supply, both English and foreign, afforded 317 lb. per annum per head of the population of 27 millions. In 1889 the total supply gave 400 lb. per head to a population of 37-1/2 millions at a greatly reduced cost.[728] The supply of animal food presents similar contrasts; in 1851 each person obtained 90 lb., in 1889 115 lb. The average value of the imports of food per head in the period 1859-65 was about 25s.; in the period 1901-7, 65s.[729] The products which have stood best against foreign compet.i.tion are fresh milk, hay and straw, the softer kinds of fruit that will not bear carriage well, and stock of the finest quality. These islands still maintain their great reputation for the excellent quality of their live stock, and exports, chiefly of pedigree animals, touched their highest figure in 1906:

Average per No. Total Value. head.

Cattle 5,616 327,335 58 Sheep 12,716 204,061 16 Pigs 2,221 20,292 9

1877.[730]

Acreage under crops and gra.s.s in England 24,312,033

_Corn crops._ Wheat 2,987,129 Barley or bere 2,000,531 Oats 1,489,999 Rye 48,604 Beans 470,153 Peas 306,356 --------- Total 7,302,772

_Green crops._ Potatoes 303,964 Turnips and swedes 1,495,885 Mangels 348,289 Carrots 14,445 Cabbage, kohl rabi, and rape 176,218 Vetches and other green crops 420,373 --------- Total 2,759,174

Flax 7,210 Hops 71,239 Barefallow or uncropped arable 576,235 Clover, sainfoin, and gra.s.ses under rotation 2,737,387 ---------- Total arable 13,454,017

Permanent gra.s.s, exclusive of mountain or heath land 10,858,016 ---------- 24,312,033

1907.

Total acreage under crops and gra.s.s 24,585,455

_Corn crops._ Wheat 1,537,208 Barley 1,411,163 Oats 1,967,682 Rye 53,837 Beans 296,186 Peas 164,326 ----------- Total 5,430,402

Potatoes 381,891 Turnips and swedes 1,058,292 Mangels 436,193 Cabbage 65,262 Kohl rabi 20,572 Rape 79,913 Vetches or tares 145,067 Lucerne 63,379 Hops 44,938 Small fruit 73,372 Clover, sainfoin, and gra.s.ses under rotation 2,611,722 Other crops 117,914 Bare fallow 248,678 ---------- Total arable 10,777,595 Permanent gra.s.s 13,807,860 ---------- 24,585,455

The small fruit was divided into: Strawberries 23,623 Raspberries 6,479-1/2 Currants and gooseberries 24,178-3/4 Others 19,090 --------------- 73,371-1/4

As arable land has suffered much more than gra.s.s from foreign imports, it was inevitable that this country should become more pastoral; in 1877 the arable land of England amounted to 13,454,017 acres, and permanent gra.s.s to 10,858,016. By 1907 this was practically reversed, the permanent gra.s.s amounting to 13,807,860 acres and the arable to 10,777,595. In corn crops the great decrease has been in the acreage of wheat, but barley, beans, and peas have also diminished, while oats have increased. In green crops there has been a great decrease in turnips and swedes, compensated to some extent by an increase in mangels, and a sad decrease in hops. The changes in thirty years can be gathered from the tables of the Board of Agriculture given on p. 331.

In 1877 no separate return of small fruit was made, but in 1878 the orchards of England, including fruit trees of any kind, covered 161,228 acres, which by 1907 had grown to a total area under fruit of 294,910 acres, among which were 168,576 acres of apples, 8,365 of pears, 11,952 of cherries, and 14,571 of plums. Much of the small fruit is included in the orchards.

'Other crops' were further divided into:

Acres.

Carrots 11,897 Onions 3,416 Buckwheat 5,226 Flax 355 Others 97,020 ------- 117,914

The average yield per acre of various crops in England for the ten years 1897-1906 was:

Bushels.

Wheat 31.1[731]

Barley 32.88 Oats 41.38 Beans 29.28 Peas 27.15

Tons.

Potatoes 5.74 Turnips and swedes 12.19 Mangels 19.24

Cwt.

Hay from clover, and gra.s.ses under rotation 29.40 Hay from permanent gra.s.s 24.33 Hops 8.81

The live stock in 1877 consisted of:

Horses used solely for purposes of agriculture 761,089 Unbroken horses and mares kept solely for breeding 309,119 --------- 1,070,208 --------- Cattle. Cows and heifers in milk or in calf 1,557,574 Two years old and over 1,072,407 Under two years of age 1,349,669 --------- 3,979,650 --------- Sheep 18,330,377 Pigs 2,114,751

In 1907:

Horses used solely for agriculture 863,817 Unbroken 325,330 --------- 1,189,147 --------- Cattle. Cows and heifers in milk or in calf 2,032,284 Two years old and over 1,043,034 Under two years of age 1,912,413 --------- 4,987,731 --------- Sheep[732] 15,098,928 Pigs 2,257,136