Agricultural History Review, Volume 43 Part 2 (1995), pp. 160–177

By investigation of agriculture in one county, Essex, this paper reviews broader debate on farm incomes, investment, medmds, and output during the so-called 'golden age'. In several respects, particularly the extent of investment and 'high farming', the Essex experience offers scant support for traditional interpretations. Landlords' and farmers' response to price changes receives particular attention. It is argued that Essex farming was characterized by continuity in methods and output: milk and meat production in 1873 were scarcely less subservient to corn than they had been in 1850. But there were good reasons why this was so. 

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