for there is a copy of a court-roll, as we were informed, still extant, dated at the court of the Prior of Lewes, held at Halifax on the Thursday after the Feast of St. Thomas, a Henry the Fifth, 1414, wherein Richard de Sunderland, and Joan his wife, surrender into the hands of the lord of the manor, an inclosure at Halifax, called the Tenter Croft; which is a strong presumption that manufactures were carried on there before that period.

The country chosen for carrying on these manufactures is admirably adapted to that purpose. The raw materials are abundant on every hand; and coals, which are indispensably neces sary, are plentiful and cheap. The ground in the vicinity of the manufacturing towns has in general been originally barren, and in many parts little better than waste; but from the great increase of population, and the additional quantity of manure occasioned by the manufactures, the soil is now equal in value to that of places originally more fertile.

It appears to us, that manufactures have had a sensible effect in promoting agriculture in this District. By them a ready market is afforded for every particle of provisions that can be raised, without which agriculture must always be fecble and languid. They have, no doubt, raised the rate of wages considerably: this always follows of course, where trade prospers, and is a sure sign of wealth; but they have at the same time raised the value of the produce of land, which much more than enables the farmer to pay the increased rate of wages.

From all the inquiries we could make, we did not find that the effects of manufactures were detrimental to agriculture, by rendering hands scarce for carrying it on. In harvest the manufacturers generally leave their looms, and assist in reaping the crop. We could not hear of any season but what there were sufficient to answer the demand, except in 1792, at which time the manufacturers had orders to an uncommon extent. Even then, this scarcity was no further felt in the West Riding than by a great rise of wages; although we were informed that in the East Riding a very heavy loss was sustained.

Having now given this short description of the West Riding

of Yorkshire, it remains only in this place to add, that it is by far the most valuable of the three Districts into which that County is divided; and whether it is considered with respect to magnitude, fertility of soil, local advantages, manufactures, or population, it will be found deserving the most minute attention, and worthy to be ranked with any province in the kingdom.

Without entering into a minute detail, for which we had collected the materials, should the Board at any time wish for it, we shall at present restrict ourselves to the giving of a general view of the present state of this important District, and of the obstacles to, and the means of, its improvement.

1. PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE OF THE DISTRICT.

The husbandry of the West Riding differs so materially, that it is absolutely necessary, before discussing its particular parts, to give a few preliminary observations, tending to explain the respective systems that prevail in the several parts of that extensive District.

Ist. There is the pasture lands, where grass is the chief object, and where cultivation by the plough is only considered in a secondary light.

The parts of the Riding where this system prevails, are at least one third of the whole. From Ripley to the western extremity. of the Riding, almost all the good land is in grass; and where corn is raised, it is only upon the inferior soils. During the time we were in that part of the country, we hardly ever saw a plough; and a stack of corn was as great a rarity. Upon the higher. grounds, there are immense tracts of waste, which are generally common among the contiguous possessors, and pastured by them with cattle and sheep. Some of them are stinted pastures, but the greatest part are under no limitations: the consequences of which are, the grounds are oppressed, the stock upon them starved, and little benefit derived from them by the proprietors.

2dly. There are the lands adjoining to the manufacturing towns. The greatest part of the ground is there occupied by. persons who do not consider farming as a business, but regard it, only as a matter of convenience. The manufacturer has his inclosure, wherein he keeps milk cows for supporting his family,. and horses for carrying his goods to market, and bringing back. raw materials. This will apply to the greatest part of the land adjoining to the manufacturing towns; and although much, ground is not, in this case, kept under the plough, yet compara,... tively more corn is raised, than in the division above described..

3dly. Those parts of the Riding where tillage is principally attended to, and grass only considered as the mean of bringing the corn husbandry to perfection.

If we run an imaginary line from Ripley southward by Leeds, Wakefield, and Barnesley, to Rotheram, we may affirm, that the greatest part eastward of it, till we come to the banks of the Ouse, which separates the West from the East Riding, is principally employed in raising corn. About Boroughbridge, Wetherby, Selby, &c. there is about one half of the fields under the plough. Further south, about Pontefract, Barnesley, and Rotheram, there is two-thirds; and to the eastward of Doncaster, to Thorn and Snaith, three-fourths of the land is managed in a similar way. There is not much waste in this division, and what is in that situation, is capable of great improvement.

4thly. The common fields. These are scattered over the whole of the last division, but are most numerous in that part of the country to the eastward of the great north road, from Doncaster to Boroughbridge. It is impossible even to guess at the quantity of land under this management. In general, it may be said they are extensive, and from the natural good quality of the soil, and the present imperfect state of culture, great room is afforded for solid and substantial improvement being effected upon all land coming under the description of common field.

5thly. The moors. These, besides the large tracts that abound in the first division, mostly lie in the south-west parts of the Riding, above Penneston and Sheffield. Upon them sheep are chiefly bred, and afterwards sold to the graziers in the lower parts of the country. A great part of them is common, which lays the proprietors under the same inconveniences as are already pointed out; and which might easily be remedied, by dividing and ascertaining the proportion which belongs to the respective proprietors.

Having finished this introductory sketch, we proceed to give a comprehensive view of the result of our inquiries during the survey.

Proprietors.A considerable part of the landed property of

the West Riding is in the hands of small freeholders and copyholders: but there are likewise a great number of extensive proprietors. Few of the latter reside upon their estates, at least for a considerable part of the year; and the management of them is chiefly devolved upon their stewards or factors.

Size of farms.A great majority of farms are comparatively small, and there are very few of that size, which in some other counties of the kingdom would be considered as large ones. The size varies so much that it is not easy to fix upon an average. Upon the arable lands we heard of none exceeding 300 acres, and for one of that extent, there are a dozen not fifty. In the grass division of the county, they are still smaller, and we often heard the occupier of 100 acres styled a great farmer.

Leases The greatest part of the land is set without lease; or, which is the same thing, the occupiers are removable upon six months warning. The leases, which in the common acceptation of the word can be considered as such, are of different durations, from 3 to 21 years; but three-fourths of the Riding are possessed from year to year, and this practice, which to us seems destructive of all good farming, is upon the increase. The Duke of Norfolk, and several other proprictors, much to their honour, act otherwise; and are convinced of the propriety of giving the farmer a security of reaping the fruits of his improvements.

We shall, in another part of this work, endeavour to shew the ruinous consequences to agriculture that proceed from giving no leases; and how absurd it is to expect the ground is to be improved by persons who may be removed from their possessions whenever the proprietor, or, more properly speaking, his steward, is disposed from whim or caprice to do so.

Covenants-The covenants that prevail betwixt landlord and tenant are many and various. We were favoured with copies of some leases, and had opportunities of seeing others in the hands of the possessors. We shall give an abstract of the clauses in some of them now lying before us.

In one, the covenants are as follows.

The landlord sets the

ground for 10 years, and gives entry to the land on the ad day