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The range of Chiitern hills, which crofs thefouthward 

 end of the county, are of this defcription, being in 

 many places too fleep to plough. In the more 

 northern parts of the county there are confiderable 

 trails of dov/n-land belonging to mofl villages, which 

 are often over-run with ant-hills and coarfc herbage, 

 being of little value, and chiefly appropriated to the 

 pafturage of young cattle; or fometimes, where they 

 are good enough for that purpofe and fufficiently 

 extenfive, of oxen for the ufe of the plough. 



The mod confiderable, and at the fame time mofl 

 valuable, traft of wade land in this county, is the 

 common of Oxmoor, fituated near Iflip; which con- 

 tains, as near as can be afcertained, about 4000 acres, 

 and is commonable to eight adjoining townfhips. 

 This whole trafi: of land lies fo extremely flat, that 

 the water, in wet feafons, ftands on it a long time 

 together, and of courfe renders it very unwholfome to 

 the cattle, as well as the neighbourhood. The flieep 

 are thereby fubjeft to the rot, and the large cattle to 

 a diforder called the moor-evil. 



The abufes here (as is the cafe of mofl: commons 

 where many pariflies are concerned) are very great, 

 there being no regular flint, but each neighbouring 

 houfliolder turns out upon the moor what number 

 he pleafes. There are large flocks of geefe, likewife, 

 kept on this common, by which feveral people gaia 

 a livelihood. 



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