horse-rake, patented first in 1841, has immensely
improved in the last thirty years.

Another enormous labour saver is the hay and straw elevator, having
endless chains furnished with carrying forks at intervals of a few
feet, driven by horse gear. The steam cultivator invented by John
Fowler is much used, but cannot be said to have superseded the
ordinary working stock of the farm, though for deep ploughing on large
farms of heavy land it is invaluable. Improvements in dairying
appliances have also been great, but the English farmer has generally
fought shy of factories or creameries, so that his butter still lacks
the uniform quality of his foreign rivals.

In manures the most important innovation in the last generation has
been the constantly growing use of basic slag, formerly left neglected
at the pit mouth and now generally recognized as a wonderful producer
of clover.

Most of the suggestions of the Commission of 1879 were carried into
effect. Rents were largely reduced, so that between 1880 and 1884 the
annual value of agricultural land in England sank L5,750,000.[678]
Grants were made by the Government in aid of local burdens, cottages
were improved although the landowners' capital was constantly
dwindling, Settled Land Acts assisted the transfer of limited estates,
a Minister of Agriculture was appointed in 1889, and in 1891 the
payment of the tithe was transferred from the tenant to the landlord,
which generally meant that the whole burden was now borne by the
latter.

Still foreign imports continued to pour in and prices to fall. Wheat
land, which was subject to the fiercest competition, began to be
converted to other uses, and between 1878 and 1907 had fallen in
England from 3,041,214 acres to 1,537,208, most of it being converted
to pasture or 'tumbling down' to grass, while a large quantity was
used for oats. The price of live stock was now falling greatly before
increasing imports of live animals and dead meat, while cheese,
butter, wool, and fruit were also pouring in. Farming, too, was now
suffering from a new enemy, gambling in farm produce, which began to
show itself about 1880 and has since materially contributed to
lowering prices.[679] The enormous gold premium in the Argentine
Republic, with the steady fall in silver, was another factor. As Mr.
Prothero says, 'Enterprise gradually weakened, landlords lost their
ability to help, and farmers their recuperative power. The capital
both of landl