egislation. The 24th Henry VIII., cap. 14, requires every
person occupying land apt for tillage, to sow a quarter of an acre of
flax or hemp for every sixty acres of land, under a penalty of 3s. 4d.

The profit which arose from sheep-farming led to the depasturage of the
land; and in order to check it, an act, 25 Henry VIII., cap. 13, was
passed. It commences thus:

"Forasmuch as divers and sundry persons of the king's subjects of
this realm, to whom God of His goodness hath disposed great plenty and
abundance of movable substance, now of late, within few years, have
daily studied, practised, and invented ways and means how they might
gather and accumulate together into few hands, as well great multitude
of farms, as great plenty of cattle and in especial sheep, putting such
lands as they can get to pasture and not to tillage: whereby they have
not only pulled down churches and towns, and enhanced the old rates
of the rents of possessions of this realm, or else brought it to such
excessive fines that no poor man is able to meddle with it, but have
also raised and enhanced the prices of all manner of corn, cattle, wool,
pigs, geese, hens, chickens, eggs, and such commodities almost double
above the prices which hath been accustomed, by reason whereof a
marvellous multitude of the poor people of this realm be not able to
provide meat, drink, and clothes necessary for themselves, their wives,
and children, but be so discouraged with misery and poverty, that they
fall daily to theft, robbery, and other inconveniences, or pitifully die
for hunger and cold; and it is thought by the king's humble and loving
subjects, that one of the greatest occasions that moveth those greedy
and covetous people so to accumulate and keep in their hands such great
portions and parts of the lands of this realm from the occupying of the
poor husbandmen, and so use it in pasture and not in tillage, is the
great profit that cometh of sheep, which be now come into a few persons'
hands, in respect of the whole number of the king's subjects, so that
some have 24,000, some 20,000, some 10,000, some 6000, some 5000,
and some more or less, by which a good sheep for victual, which was
accustomed to be sold for 2s. 4d. or 3s. at most, is now sold for 6s.,
5s., or 4s. at the least; and a stone of clothing wool, that in some
shire of this realm was accustomed to be sold from 16d. to 20d, is now
sold for 4s. or 3s. 4d. at the least; and in some counties, wher