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mi;;ht be, and arc chiefly fertilized by the winter and spring 

 Hoods. The next district in importance, in an agricultural 

 point of view, is the vale of Rennet, extending along the 

 river of tliat name, and on the south of the hills above men- 

 tioned, from Hungerford to Reading, a distance of about 

 twenty-five miles. The soil of this vale is not so generally 

 fertile as that of White Horse, which is called ' The Vale,' 

 by way of pre-eminence ; but its soil is well adapted to the 

 growth of corn ; and the inferiority in natural fertility is 

 compensated by superior care in the cultivation. The mar- 

 kets of Newbury and Reading not only supply the less 

 fertile districts and the dairy counties with corn, but like- 

 wise give employment to numerous mills, whence the grain, 

 in the shape of flour, is sent in considerable quantities to 

 the London market. 



The soil in this vale is chiefly gravelly, covered with a 

 layer of more or less depth of loam, some of which is of a 

 reddish colour, and may vie in fertility with the while land 

 in the vale of White Horse. On the south of the Kennet 

 are some compact clays, in which oaks thrive, and where 

 good crops of wheat and beans are raised with careful 

 culture. South of Newbury, towards the boundary of the 

 county, the soil becomes less productive : till it assumes the 

 character of the brown heath, which indicates the barren 

 ferruginous sand of Bagshot. Along the river Kennet, from 

 Hungerford to Reading, there is a valuable tract of water- 

 meadows, which in some places are capable of considerable 

 improvement by a better distribution and regulation of the 

 waters of the river. These meadows produce much herbage, 

 which is sometimes made into hay, and at other times depas- 

 tured with sheep and cattle, but the aftermath is not found 

 so good for sheep, being apt to rot them. They are let for 

 spring feed at thirty or forty shillings per acre, the letter 

 having the privilege of folding the sheep at night, which is 

 an advantage equal to 1<U. more. Thi is from Lady-day 

 to old May-day ; after which they will still produce a ton 

 and a half, or two tons of hay per acre when mown, or the 

 gru<s may be cut green for cart-horses, which is thought 

 more profitable to a certain extent. 



Under the meadows, along part of the Kennet near New- 

 bury, there is a species of peat, which is extensively reduced 

 to ashes by burning, and applied as a top-dressing to clover 

 and artificial grasses. It lies in some places only eighteen 

 inches below the surface, and in others four or five leet. 

 The stratum varies in thickness from one to eight or nine 

 feet. The bottom on which it rests is a gravelly loam with 

 an uneven surface. The true peat is of a compact nature, 

 and is composed almost entirely of vegetable matter. In 

 it are found the remains of trees partly decomposed, and 

 surrounded by a tough mass of decomposed aquatic plants. 

 This peat is dug out, with a long and narrow spade made 

 for the purpose, in oblong pieces, which are laid to dry, 

 and then placed in the form of a dome, and set on fire from 

 below. As the peat begins to burn, more is added, so as 

 to keep up a smothered fire ; and in proportion as the heap 

 increases, and the fire becomes more powerful, moister 

 pieces are put on to prevent its breaking out. Thus a large 

 mass of slowly burning peat is formed, which burns for a 

 month or six weeks before the whole is properly converted 

 into ashes. This/ heap is often three or four yards high, 

 and fifteen or; -twenty yards in circumference. As soon as 

 the ashes sfe cooled, the whole is riddled to separate the 

 unburnt clods; and the ashes are used immediately, or 

 storcii under cover till they are wanted. The quantity 

 usually put on an acre of young clover is fifteen or twenty 

 bushels : the price at Newbury is fourpence a bushel. 



These ashes have been analyzed by Sir H. Davy, and 

 found to contain, 



Oxide of iron . . . .48 

 Gypsum ..... 32 

 Muriate and sulphate of potash . 20 



100 



The principal cause of their good effects on green crops 

 and clover-leys is, most probably, the quantity of gypsum 

 which they contain. (See GYPSUM ) Between the vale of 

 White Horse and that of the Kennet extends a district 

 of inferior land, parlly consisting of chalky hills covered 

 with sheep-walks, and of dales of moderate fertility. The 

 soil is principally calcareous, with variations of clay and 

 gravel. 



The chnlky hills on the west side of the Thames are 

 separated from the hills in the south-east angle of Oxford- 



shire, by a narrow opening near Goring, through wliich the 

 river flows : if this opening, at any time, did not exist, the 

 country above must have had considerable lakes in it, 

 formed by the pent-up waters of the Thames and tributary 

 streams. This may account for the rich alluvial soils found 

 in the vale of White Horse. On the hills which border the 

 Thames, there are extensive views over the rich vale of 

 White Horse, and into Oxfordshire ; and, in general, the 

 aspect of the country from any considerable hill is that of 

 great richness and variety. No county in England, except 

 Middlesex and the part of Surrey nearest to London, con- 

 tains so many villas and gentlemen's residences. 



The eastern part of the country, or the Windsor Forest 

 district, though less fertile, is not less inviting as to situ- 

 ation. The hills from Kgham to Bray are covered with 

 very fine old and young plantations, and form the pic- 

 turesque scenery of Windsor Great Park. This forms a 

 contrast with the open heath extending to Bagshot, which 

 was divided and inclosed in the year 1813, when the forestal 

 rights were abolished by act of parliament. These rights, 

 if claimed to their full extent, would have been extremely 

 burdensome, and not readily submitted to in these times. 

 While they existed, they had a visible influence on the 

 agriculture of the district, and greatly retarded its progress, 

 in spite of the example of George III. 



The parishes contained within the Forest of Windsor were 

 Old Windsor, New Windsor, Winkfield, Sunninghill, Bin- 

 field, Easthampstead, Sandhurst, Finchampstead, Bark- 

 ham, Wokingham, Arborfield, and Swallowfield ; and parts 

 of Clewer, Bray, and Hurst. The open uninclosed forest 

 in all these parishes amounted to about 'J4.0UO acres, very 

 little of which would repay the expense of cultivation ; and 

 much of it remains now in its original state, although 

 divided and inclosed. The allotments given to the crown, 

 amounting to above one-fourth of the whole, have been 

 mostly planted with trees, where they were not already in 

 woods. 



The soil in the forest district is extremely various : along 

 the Thames, in the parishes of Old and New Windsor, 

 Clewer, and Bray, there are excellent meadows, and some 

 very good arable land, consisting of loam and gravel. To 

 the south, along the hills, which extend at the distance of 

 two or three miles from the river, the soil is a very tena- 

 cious clay, better adapted for grass than for corn. The 

 cultivation of it as arable land is laborious and expensive, 

 from the necessity of bringing chalk from a great distance 

 to correct its cold nature, and neutralize the large portion 

 of iron and saline substances which it contains. The waters 

 found in the land springs, and within a certain depth in 

 this soil, are more or less impregnated with sulphates and 

 muriates of soda and magnesia; so that in many places 

 mineral wells have been discovered, and occasionally much 

 frequented by invalids for their purgative qualities. Of 

 these there are several in Windsor Great Park, St. Leonard's 

 Hill, Winkfield Plain, where a regular pump-room has 

 been fitted up, and in Winkfield Park ; this last was for- 

 merly in some repute. Beyond these clay hills, as we go 

 south from the river, the soil becomes lighter, and gradually 

 changes into a poor light loam, then a sand and gravel, 

 which diminishes in fertility till it becomes the poor thin 

 soil of Bagshot Heath, in which the impregnation of car- 

 bonate of iron is so strong as to deposit the iron in the 

 brooks in the form of a rusty powder. 



The old inclosures in the forest were chiefly pastures. 

 The arable land was confined to common fields, which 

 were of very inferior value, owing to the right of pasture 

 over them after a certain time of the year; and while the 

 pastures let for nearly the same rent a century ago as they 

 do now, the arable common land let for only one-fourth of 

 its present value ; but the pastures enabled the occupier to 

 keep sheep and cattle on the extensive commons, on which 

 was his chief reliance for profit. Since the inclosure of the 

 forest, arable land has improved, and pastures have de- 

 creased in value. 



The general state of agriculture in Berkshire is neither 

 of the most improved kind, nor yet to be greatly found 

 fault with. The number of rich proprietors who hold land 

 to some extent in their own hands is considerable. They 

 employ intelligent bailiffs, and improved modes of culti- 

 vation are readily tried by them. The most perfect ma- 

 chines and implements may be found on their farms, and 

 everything new finds some person ready to give it a trial ; 

 but there are many obstacles to their general adoption. Old 



