ABSTRACT
T H E British reader needs no reminding of the fact that Great Britain is, in weste~,n Europe, the classical land of large estates and extensive farms. Whoever travels across the English country-side can recognize certain distinctive aspects of the landscape, familiar from so many descriptions. No motley chequerwork spreads over hills and villages, as in France - a visible sign of small-lot cultivation. Scarcely any ploughed land is to be seen, except in the eastern counties. What could be said of the Roman latifundium is still true of the English estate. Far-spreading grazing lands unfold a green mantle, streaked with tall hedges. Farms and dwellings stand wide apart, villages are scarce: the eye may wander sometimes over a broad tract of country without catching sight of a single church tower.
