EKT. J. C. CLTTTTEEBirCK — PRODUCTS OF nERTFOEDSniKE. 43 



river bounds the Home Park at "Windsor, -n-ith a view of relieving 

 the Queen's drive of floods, by the advice of Mr. Menzies, the sur- 

 veyor of the park, this was not carried out, lest the noble elms in 

 that part of the park should suffer from the level of the subsoil 

 water being thus lowered. 



Not to trench on ground already occupied, the coppice under- 

 wood is for the most part hazel. This is used for the ordinary 

 purposes of underwood ; but, as I remember well, having often as a 

 boy watched the doings of a wood-turner, the hazel rods are some- 

 times cut into short lengths and turned into various forms used in 

 the manufacture of tassels and the like in furniture. The produce 

 of these trees being deemed of wild growth, and therefore common 

 property, is often sought by strangers to the detriment of the 

 underwood. The soil suited to the hazel is also fitted for the cul- 

 tivation of the filbert as a marketable article. 



The cherry is the principal fruit-bearing tree of the county ; its 

 wood is not without its proper use. I do not know if its growth 

 is continued as extensively as of old. It is mostly found on the 

 higher levels of the chalk district, where the chalk is covered by 

 thick beds of loam resting on gravel. When viewed from the 

 higher ground when the cherry-trees are in blossom, the orchards 

 have the appearance of patches of snow. Though the season of the 

 year dissipates this illusion, it gives no security against the late and 

 untimely frosts by which the promise of the future crop is so often 

 destroyed in a single night. The age of many of the trees shows 

 that the culture of the cherry is of ancient date. The commercial 

 value of the fruit is considerable. Often bought on the trees by 

 dealers, much of the fruit finds its way into the manufacturing 

 districts, where it is used in dyeing ; it is used also in making 

 cherry brandy, and, if report be true, enters largely into the com- 

 position of liquors to which it does not give its name. The chief 

 sorts are the small Hertfordshire black and caroon (spelt corowne 

 in the book already spoken of). The wild uncultivated tree grows 

 freely in the woodlands, and affords stocks on which the fruit- 

 bearing trees are engrafted. The north-western limits of the 

 county either in part comprehend or verge upon a district in which 

 the phim is extensively and successfully cultivated, subject to the 

 drawbacks it has in common with the cherry orchards in the cen- 

 tral parts of the county. 



The greater part of the soil of Hertfordshire is under arable 

 cultivation; the portion occupied by meadow or grass land is 

 almost confined to that bounded by the county of Middlesex, of 

 which the produce is chiefly made into hay, for which a ready sale 

 is found in London. The process of haymaking, from the critical 

 requirements of the London market, is carried out with much care, 

 not freed from anxiety lest the colour and bouquet should suffer 

 either from the weather or the want of care and judgment in 

 making or stacking. The feeding properties of the grass are not of 

 a high order. The arable land, mostly gravel on chalk, is rather 

 healthy than fertile, and for this reason an old writer has said of 



