Arthur Young’s account of these proceedings is as follows: “In the Isle of Axholm there is an immense inclosure on the point of beginning, the Act and survey having been passed of no less than 12,000 acres of commons in the four parishes of Haxey, Hepworth, Belton, and Owston. I passed these commons in various quarters, and rode purposely to view some parts; they are in a wretched and unprofitable state, but valued, if inclosed, in the ideas of the islanders at 10_s._ or 11_s._ an acre. In Haxey there are 305 claims on account of 3810 acres. ″ Hepworth ″ 236 ″ ″ 2285 acres. ″ Belton ″ 251 ″ ″ 3664 acres. ″ Owston ″ 229 ″ ″ 4446 acres. “_Cottage rights are claims, but lands without a cottage have none._ It was a barbarous omission that when the Act was procured they resisted a clause to divide the open arable fields subject to rights of common. But they have here, by a custom, a right of inclosure which is singular; every man that pleases may enclose his own open field land notwithstanding the rights of common upon it while open; and accordingly many do it when, by purchase, they get five or six acres together, of which I saw many examples.” (“Agricultural Survey of Lincolnshire,” p. 79.) Somewhat later a second attempt was made in the parish of Owston to obtain an enclosure with partial success. Three of the four fields were divided and enclosed: but the same motives which prevented the enclosure of the four parishes at the previous attempt were strong enough to secure that one field should remain open. It was in 1811, I was locally informed, that the Owston Enclosure took place. I can find no record of the Act. As we saw above, the old system (probably a four-field course) of cultivation had dropped into disuse even before the beginning of the nineteenth century, but still, up to about the year 1850, the custom remained that on one of the four fields, that under wheat, after the crops had been carried, the “Pindar” gave notice that “the fields are to be broken,” and over that field common rights of pasture were exercised for about a month, from some day in October to Martinmas (November 23rd). Then the Pindar kept watch over the grazing animals night and day, and by night built up enormous bonfires, with all the boys of the village clustering round and roasting potatoes. But about 1850 even this custom disappeared, and now every holder of lands in the open fields cultivates them as he chooses, but they must be under some form of tillage as long as they remain open. But the tendency, observed by Arthur Young, for the larger owners of lands in the common fields to buy, sell and exchange strips with other owners with the object of getting some half-dozen acres in one continuous piece and then enclosing them, has continued up to the present day. Such enclosures are laid down in grass, and in this way the area of the open fields has gradually been reduced.