ENGLAND, A LANDSCAPE GARDEN. 183 



CHAPTER 



THE GENERAL CONDITION OF AGRICULTURE. ROTATION OF CROPS. PRODUC 

 TIVENESS. SEEDING DOWN TO GRASS. COMPARISON OF ENGLISH AND 

 AMERICAN PRACTICE. PRACTICAL REMARKS. RYE-GRASS, CLOVER. BIEN 

 NIAL GRASSES. GUANO. LIME. THE CONDITION OF LABOURERS, WAGES, 

 ETC. DAIRY-MAIDS. ALLOWANCE OF BEER. 



[&quot; MUST say that, on the whole, the agriculture of Cheshire, 

 L as the first sample of that of England which is presented 

 to me, is far below my expectations. There are sufficient 

 reasons to expect that we shall find other parts much superior 

 to it ; but what we have seen quite disposes of the common 

 picture which our railroad and stage-coach travellers are in 

 the habit of giving to our imagination, by saying that &quot;all 

 England is like a garden.&quot; Meaning only a &quot; landscape gar- 

 den,&quot; a beautiful and harmonious combination of hill and dale, 

 with the richest masses of trees, and groups and lines of shrub 

 bery, the greenest turf and most picturesque buildings, it might 

 be appropriately said of many parts, particularly in the south 

 of the county. But, with reference to cultivation, and the 

 productiveness of the land, it might be quite as truly applied 

 to some small districts of our own country as to this part of 

 England. 



In commencing the cultivation of land that has been in 

 grass, the first crop is usually oats, and the most approved 

 practice upon the stiff soils seems to be, to plough deeply in 

 the .fall or winter, and in the spring to prepare the ground 



