ABSTRACT
In some respects the English countryside had changed little in appearance over the long period of three hundred years that had elapsed since 1400, while in others it looked very different indeed. The animal population of the country had changed considerably since 1400. The slow but steady enclosure of the open fields went on throughout the seventeenth century, so that by 1700 a greater proportion of lowland England was devoted to 'several' fields than had ever been the case before. However, in other parts of the country, major changes were taking place and by 1700 a marked degree of regional specialisation had established itself. Another form of agricultural specialisation which was well developed by 1700 was that of market gardening. The increase in the area of land under farming by 1700 had been accomplished in two main ways: by the reclamation of marsh and swamp; and by 'assarting', or clearing of woodland, heath and waste.
