There are still traces of seed-measures to be found in some parts of England. But in ‘A pek of londe’—‘Half a pek and a nayle of londe’ (Rolls of Parliament, 1442),[[21]] it is doubtful whether the peck of land was really a seed-measure or a quarter-acre, as the peck is a quarter-bushel. A nail of land would be 1/16 acre.

There were seed-measures of land in Scotland. Thus: ‘15th Cy. Chart Aberd. Als mekill land as a celdr of aits will schawe,’ i.e. a Chalder of land, as much as a chalder = 64 firlots = 55 bushels, will sow, about 25 acres. There was also the Lippy of land, that which took a lippy, 1/16 firlot of seed. It was usually about 100 square yards.

In many parts of Southern Europe there are no other kinds of land-measure than those derived from the corn-measures of seed required.

Thus in Provence, the earliest civilised country in medieval times, the whole series of corn-measures and land-measures have names in common.

Corn-measures Land-measures Sq. cano
Saumado4·4 bushel. Saumado1·58acre1600
Sestié1·1 „ Sesteirado0·4„400
Eimino4·4 gallon. Eiminado0·2„200
Quartiero1·1 „ Quarteirado0·05„50
Pougnadeiro1/4 „ Pougneirado0·01„12-1/2
Cosso (Sc. Luggie)1/5 „ Cosso (Sc. Lug.)„10

These land-measures would correspond to Coomb-land, Bushel-land, Peck-land, &c. The Cosso of land is 1/160 of the Saumado, as our square rod is 1/160 acre.

In Italy and Spain there are similar series of land-measures named after corn-measures.

[15]. For evidence on the form of agrarian units see Notes in section 5 of this chapter.

[16]. It is worth remark that the 160 square rods of the Irish, Lancashire or Guernsey acre being equal to 1·62 statute acres, 100 of these square rods would make almost exactly a statute acre. A rod of 6·957 yards would give a decimal square rod of 48·4 square yards equal 1-10th square chain, or 1-100th acre, or 1-1000th square furlong. A square-shape acre is 69·57 yards square.