A VERY large proportion of this county has been enclosed in modern times, and within the last 30 or 40 years, under the authority of different acts of parliament ; very little of the county now remains unenclosed, except the wastes : I suppose the whole county does not contain more than 6 or 8 open fields, dispersed in different quarters, and that there whole extent does not exceed 10,000 acres of land.
The enclosures in the vale of Belvoir have been very considerable, but these belonging principally to the Duke of Rutland, have been noticed in chap. II. Under the article, Management of Estates. In a Leicestershire enclosure, if the fences are well managed they soon grow up, and in seven years every appearance of the common field is obliterated ; and a stranger would form no idea of its having been so lately in the common field state, when it assumes the appearance of an enclosed county.
In the autumn of 1801, I examined the two new enclosures of Swithland and Thurcaston, but I think but little agriculture is to be reported from hence ; they are both of the same age, and then seemed to have been 2 summers under cultivation since actually enclosed, though I believe the acts of enclosure is 1798. Swithland lies to the east of Charnwood Forest ; the village is the ancient residence of the D'Anvers family ; its slate mines are well known there. There are ancient enclosures about the village ; the common field lately enclosed is 353 acres, of light meagre soil, apparently worn out by perpetual tillage, and the attempt at renovating it had not then succeeded, the turnips being poor and foul, and the harvest stubble the same, and abounding in couch grass and weeds.
The Thurcaston enclosure is of the same age, and of much greater extent ; it consists of a deep light or gravelly loam, carrying good crops of turnips and barley, with the seeds promising, but weeds abounding as in Swithland, only in smaller quantities. These enclosures are formed with 2 rows of post and rail, each containing double rails, with a mound beneath the under rail, and quicksets planted between ; the expense of enclosing in this manner, independent of act of parliament, commissioners, surveyors, &c. may be thus estimated, per perch of 8 yards :

If we suppose a square mile divided into 10 acre enclosures, it will contain 640 acres, and 18 miles, or 3960 perches in length of such fencing, at 13s. - £2574.
This is upwards of 4 l. per acre, besides the additional expense of gates, &c. but as all enclosures are less uniform and more divided, I suppose the expense will be £5 per acre.
In Leicestershire enclosures well managed 7 or 8 years raise the quicksets to a fence, and the post and rail are taken away ; also in that time, the land well managed loses all traces of the common field, and becomes a regular enclosed country. The sort of quickset universally used and prefered is the white-thorn or haw-thorn- Crategus monogynia.
As in this county stock is the principal object, and no farmer has risen to any degree of opulence, without excelling in that particular, a large proportion of the best soils are upon enclosure naturally laid and left to permanent pasture, so soon as a good turf can be formed, which will graze well ; upon which principle the enclosure of common fields lessen the breadth, and perhaps the general produce of corn, though it tends to increase that of animal food,, and that of produced from animals : hence it will follow, that the enclosure of waste lands should accompany that of common fields, as waste lands upon enclosure are generally obliged to be kept for many years in cultivation.
The enclosures in the vale of Belvoir have not lessened the population, but it is admitted by those who effected them, that less corn is grown than in its open state, but fewer horses are kept, and less oats consumed.
Queeniborough enclosure-I went over this enclosure with Mr. Grahame, who occupies 400 acres of it. The act of parliament for this enclosure passed in 1793.
It consists of 2 divisions of soil ; 1. Strong clay loam, on a clay marl bottom ; 2. The sand land, so called here, consisting of light soil on a sandy or loose gravelly bottom.
The enclosure was by 2 rows of post and double rail, with mounds and quicksets ; no lambs to be kept for the 3 first years of the enclosure, but this is not strictly adhered to. The land had for the greater part been, time immemorial, in the 3 shift tillage, 1 wheat, 2 beans, 3 fallow, with some variations on the sand land, and was pretty much exhausted ; produce seldom more than 2 quarters per acre, of beans or any other crop : a considerable proportion of old pasture, and some patches of grass land, for mowing or tethering stock.
Mr. Grahame says, this land in its open state was very unprofitable to the occupier, though rented at from 10 to 12s. per acre ; the great expense of cultivation, and collecting crops from patches of land dispersed over the whole lordship, the trespass from stock getting loose, and loss from disorders in sheep, particularly what he calls the water, which I understand to have been watery bellies (dropsy) was such, that he thinks the occupiers could not have gone on ; the enclosure was 2050 acres. The principal and almost sole proprietors were, Mr. Loveden and Mr. Hungerford ; the former lord of the manor, and lay impropriator of great tithes, which were collected in kind.
The church living was a vicarage, depending upon small tithes and fees. Upon the enclosure the great tithes were exonerated by giving one-sixth of the land ; and the small or vicarial ones, by annexing a small glebe to the vicarage-house, in addition to an annual money payment, subject to variation with the price of corn ; the exact particulars of which Mr. Grahame did not know. The enclosure at £5 per acre would cost £10,250, but this would not cover the expense of act of parliament, and charge of commissioners and surveyors : the expense of these latter I have no means of acertaining.
The rent, according to Mr. Grahame, is now 23s. per acre upon average, tithe free ; the former average rent having been 11s., advance 12s. per acre, or £1230 per annum. The enclosure has, therefore, been a good speculation for the proprietors, but Mr. Grahame believes the occupiers could not have paid their way, had it not been for the late extraordinary prices of corn and sheep : as the improvement is now coming round, he believes they will be able to go on.
The number of sheep kept in the common field system was, 10 flocks, of 210 each ; these were folded on the fallow field, counting the lambs in May, when the culling ewes with their lambs were sold off in couples, and the whole stock reduced by sale to the above number ; these were under the care of 3 public shepherds, at £30 per annum each.
The poors' rate in this parish is now about 7s. per acre, making with the rent an average of 30s. per acre. The number of horses, horned cattle, and sheep now kept is not more than in the open state ; the present stock of sheep at shearing time is about 1 per acre. The acres of the different sorts of grain are certainly not much, but Mr. Grahame thinks the produce may be about the same from getting better crops ; instead of 2 quarters per acre, from 3 to 4 are now obtained of beans, wheat, and other grain.
A much greater breadth of green food is now cultivated, which enables the farmer to fat his sheep instead of selling them as stores. Mr. Grahame is in the habit of sending sheep to Smithfield, constantly, 10 or 15 at a time, as they become ready, or as he chooses to part with them ; they are taken up by regular drovers, and the money brought down at 18d. per head.
The village contains a number of tenements occupied by stocking weavers, who frequently take apprentices, and thus make parishioners (this accounts for the high poors' rates ;) when the trade fails they apply to the parish officers, and if the farmers give them employment they make very indifferent labourers.
The alteration of circumstances by this enclosure may be stated thus : no more corn grown, nor greater number of cattle kept, or increased produce of butter, cheese, or beef, no more sheep in number kept, but of better quality, with much fewer losses, and sold fat instead of lean ; from which cause, as well as from greater convenience of managing land concentrated together, instead of dispersed and intermixed, the occupier is enabled to pay a greater rent.
Respecting human labour, and employment for the poor, the balance seems to go rather against the enclosure ; the breadth of plough land is certainly contracted, and the business rendered more convenient, both which circumstances imply a necessity for fewer hands.
The management adopted in the clay land is as follows :
1. A certain portion of each occupation, but in what proportion I could not exactly ascertain, (though I think it must exceed a fourth of the whole), is set aside for permanent pasture (I suppose it may be about three-tenths of the whole), after a course of cropping dictated by the landlord or his agent : this is upon the best land, as being likeliest to form a good sward, and make rich feeding land. The method most approved is, to make a summer fallow for barley, and lay down with red and white clover, trefoil, and rye-grass ; some fallow for wheat, and sow the seeds on the wheat in the spring ; and some allow barley and seeds to suceed the fallow wheat.
On the other part of the clay land, which is permitted for tillage, after laying 3 years at grass, it is ploughed up, and sown with 1, beans ; 2, wheat ; 3 fallow ; 4, barley or oats, with seeds ; or, 1, beans ; 2, fallow ; 3, wheat ; 4, barley or oats, with seeds ; sometimes pease are sown in part instead of beans : this management has not yet fully succeeded in forming clean turf, but it may be improved by a well managed fallow the succeeding tillage.
In this course, supposing the clay land in 10 equal divisions, 3 of them will be permanent pasture, 3 convertible pasture, 1 fallow, 1 beans or pease, and 2 grain, wheat, oats, or barley ; but Mr. Grahame, upon 400 acres, does not grow more upon an annual average than 20 acres of wheat.
On lighter lands the course is, 1, a crop on the turf, wheat, oats, or barley ; the stubble immediately ploughed upon harvest being cleared off, and sown with turnips, rape, vetches, or rye ; 2, turnip ; 3, barley, with seeds, and then generally 3 years at grass.-See Courses of Crops.
Small plots of cabbages in the turnip field, and elsewhere occasionally ; Swedish turnips in good repute ; sheep rather inclining to the old Leicester ; the farmers undecided in opinion, and unwilling to go to the expense of crossing with new breeds hire rams, such as they can get, at from 5 to 10 guineas, and have an idea that the old breed, full wooled on the belly, and with moderately thick pelt, are hardier, and stand the winter better.
Mr. Grahame says, he generally shears 400 sheep, and sometimes puts 200 ewes to the ram; his annual sale of sheep may be 200 at £3 each - - £600
And of wool 100 tods, at 29s. being 28lb. to the tod 145
745
Shepherds wages, and expense of sales will take off 45
Remain £700
Mr. Grahame states, that he folds 200 sheep upon his wheat fallow in dry weather, and sometimes gets over 15 acres in a season ; he believes it injures the sheep, but assists the fallow. The other manures he uses are his farm-yard dung, lime from Barrow, or from Derbyshire, by the Melton Canal, dung from Leicester, and soot sown on the wheat in March ; this last, he says, succeeds best when the wheat plant is thick on the ground, but otherwise is apt to force weeds in the vacant places ; he sows from 2 to 3 bushels of wheat per acre.
No drilling nor tillage experiments have been made here, except a few beans set by hand, in which the saving of seed pays the extra labour ; but they reckon upon little or no advantage in the crop ; 1 bushel of seed per acre is saved, about 3 bushels being set, and 4 sown broad cast : the bushel here 34 quarts.
No irrigation practised ; a perennial stream comes through the middle of the parish, for 2 miles or more ; but they conceive it would starve the clay land, already too wet, and the light land is chiefly valued for tillage and green crops.
One instance of irrigation here only occurs ; a wind machine has been erected, to pump up water from the brook, near its junction with the Werke river, by means of which, about 10 acres can be watered ; but the owner of the machine never thinks of working it except in dry weather, when the land is thirsty, and then the wind does not always blow : the project is smiled at by neighbours as a visionary scheme.
The clay land in this parish, as in many other parts of the county, is generally laid in broad high ridges, from 10 to 20 yards wide, and from 1 to 3 feet deep in the hollows, supposing a line stretched across the ridges, to measure from. This has been the custom in the strong land common fields from time immemorial, and is generally continued in the enclosure, both in tillage and at grass. Mr. Grahame informed me, that the best corn was generally, and particularly in wet seasons upon land so laid, and that he should not lay otherwise any of the clay land in his occupation ; the light or sand soils are laid nearly flat.
In the opinion of Mr. Watkinson, of Woodhouse, enclosures have done the most good upon light sound land, and he gives an example of Quorndon, now first rate sheep land, and carrying great crops of barley and green sheep food. Upon the heavy lands of a good staple for wheat, the improvement is much less apparent ; less wheat is produced, in consequence of much less land being cultivated ; and the attempts to turf the land have often failed, of which he gives an instance in Barrow-upon-Soar, where after the first two years of seeds, it has produced little of any thing, whilst in the common system it might have borne good wheat.