[703] 7 Edw. VII, c. 54, amending the Allotments Acts of 1887 and 1890 and the Small Holdings Act of 1892. The Allotments Act of 1887 defined an 'allotment' as any parcel of land of not more than 2 acres held by a tenant under a landlord; but for the purposes of the Acts of 1892 and 1907 a 'small holding' means an agricultural holding which exceeds one acre and either does not exceed 50 acres or, if exceeding 50 acres, is of an annual value not exceeding L50. At the same time the Act defines an allotment as a holding of any size up to 5 acres, so that up to that size a parcel of land may be treated as a small holding or an allotment. [704] Jebb, _Small Holdings_, p. 25. [705] Jebb, _op. cit._, p. 28. [706] _Allotments and Small Holdings_ (1892), p. 19 et seq. [707] The gross income derived from the ownership of lands in Great Britain, as returned under Schedule A of the Income Tax, decreased from L51,811,234 in 1876-7 to L36,609,884 in 1905-6. In 1850 Caird estimated the rental of English land, exclusive of Middlesex, at L37,412,000. Cf. above, p. 310. [708] According to the Commission of 1894, the amount expended on improvements and repairs alone on some great estates was: On Lord Derby's, in Lancashire, of 43,217 acres, L200,000 in twelve years, or L16,500, or 7s. 8d. an acre, each year. On Lord Sefton's, of 18,000 acres, L286,000 in twenty-two years, or about L13,000, or 14s. an acre, each year. On the Earl of Ancaster's estates in Lincolnshire, of 53,993 acres, L689,000 was spent in twelve years, or 11s. 7d. an acre each year; and many similar instances are given.--_Parliamentary Reports, Commissioners_ (1897), xv. 287-9. [709] Shaw Lefevre, _Agrarian Tenures_, p. 19. CHAPTER XXII IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.--LIVE STOCK It is a curious fact that the barriers which protected the British farmer were thrown down shortly before he became by unforeseen causes exposed to the competition of the whole world. Down to 1846 Germany supplied more than half the wheat that was imported into England, Denmark sent more than Russia, and the United States hardly any. Other competitors who have since arisen were then unknown. By the end of the next decade Russia and the United States sent large quantities, as may be gathered from the following table [710]: ANNUAL AVERAGE IMPORTS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR FOR THE SEVEN YEARS 1859-1865. Cwt.