Not only wilderness but nature in the tangible, tillable form of acreage had a significance in Shakespeare's time that it has lost in our present era of Internet trading and pieds-a-terre.
We bought a country acreage, had a child (a daughter, Alice, born in 1989), and settled in to enjoy life.
"This tiny acreage has become like a playground and retail gated community for them," Mr. Ross said, adding that one much anticipated development in Mayfair is the opening next year of the Beaumont, a boutique hotel being developed by Christopher Corbin and Jeremy King, the restaurateurs behind the Ivy, the Wolseley, J. Sheekey, Colbert and Le Caprice.
Hop acreage has dropped from a high of 71,189 acres in 1878 to around 2,500 now, and the bright citrus and tropical flavours of American and New Zealand hops are growing in popularity compared with of the earthy, floral, hedgerow fruitiness of English varieties.
"Every landowner with enough acreage has the option of chipping a piece off that could be useful to us.
A considerable acreage has been sown with autumn wheat, and in many places the blade is well up, and gives good promise for the coming season.
And even that acreage has come under threat recently, as a proposal to build housing on nine acres of the best vineyards has moved ahead, despite considerable opposition from vignerons and wine-lovers.
California has suffered from periodic droughts, which have had an impact on agricultural production, and acreage has declined somewhat as more farmland has undergone commercial and residential development.
As a result, world hop acreage has fallen from about 234,000 in 1994 to 113,000 in 2006.
Between 1999 and 2000, organic acreage has risen by 17percentt, mainly driven by an increase in cereals and forage crops.
