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288 



1? ! 



methods keep a certain hold of practical men, and it is very 

 fortunate that it is to, for no new met nod should be 

 rally adopted till long experience has pr 

 The two extremes, of tin obstinate adhercn 

 bad system, anil an incautious adoption n: 

 are equally unreasonable. The system u 

 throughout the rounty by int 

 modification of the anticnt triennial rot* ' 



i* a clean fallow, for which tut; -n the 



light soils: then two or three crops of com, with an alterna- 

 tion of clover, tares, or beans bMween them, which at. 

 sidcred as less exhausting. The nature of the cr<>] 

 the recurrence of tlic fallows depend on the nature of the 

 land, i sons, and also on the care with which the 



flrst fallow has been cleaned, and the crops have heen 

 weeded or hoed. It is the appearance of weeds that giu-s 

 notice of the necessity of a fallow. A good rotation strictly 

 adhered to would be better for general adoption : and a 

 more extensive cultivation of artificial grasses woiiM 

 more live stock, and make more manure. In the ric! 

 of the Vale great crops of com are frequently obtained with 

 little trouble, and this always maUi - careless farmers. They 

 know the advantage of manure, and will *parc no expense 

 to purchase it, but the real secret of agriculture is to mnke 

 it at home and at the least expense, which can olily be done 

 by means of lire stock, anil raising food for cattle. 



There are in Berkshire a great many small proprietors, 

 or yeomen, who cultivate their own farms, con>>sting of 

 f>rt"y, fifty, or eighty acres. They live frugally, and the 

 times do not much affect them ; but they have no inclina- 

 tion to try new schemes: the old methods satisfy them, and 

 if they can live and pay their nay they arc contented. 



The old implements of husbandry have been much im- 

 proved of late years. The heavy Berkshire plough, drawn 

 by lour or five horses in aline, lias given place to the lighter 

 Scotch and Norfolk ploughs with two horses abreast, or in 

 very wet and stiff soils w itli three in a line : more are seldom 

 used, except to break up grass land, or when the ploughing 

 has been deferred till the ground is very hard. Improved 

 agricultural instruments are manufactured at New bury and 

 at Reading. Drilling machines on the most improved prin- 

 ciple, and on Cook's plan, are made at Hook in Hampshire, 

 and pretty generally dispersed through Berkshire. The intro- 

 duction of these and other improved instruments has been 

 much encouraged by the example of King George III. and 

 the late Duke of Gloucester, whose farming establishment 

 at Kapleys, near Bagshot Park, was on the most improved 

 principles. Drilling the seed is becoming more general 

 than it used to be ; and several professional drillmen find 

 it a profitable employment of a small capital tn purchase 

 the most improved machines, with which they drill the seed 

 for the smaller farmers, who cannot afford such expensive 

 implements. The farmer finds the horses and a man to 

 drive them, and sends the drill to its next destination when 

 his com is drilled. The price paid for the use of the drilling 

 machine is from \t. erf. to 2. per acre, with food for the 

 drillman, who is the proprietor of the drill, or his servant. 

 They drill about ten or twelve acres in a day, with two 

 horse* and two men. This division of labour, which is a 

 certain sign of improvement, is only found in the best cul- 

 ttvat. -. ns in Kssex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, where 



there are still many small farm*. 



Threshing machines were common in many parts of the 

 county, both fixed and moveable : but during the disturb- 

 ances in ls.1l many of them were destrou.il, and the corn is 

 now chiefly threshed by hand, there being always a super- 

 abundance of agricultural labourer*. 



In noticing the agriculture of Berkshire we must not pass 

 the two fiirms in Windsor Great Park, established by 

 King George III., one on a poor sandy soil, conducted on 

 t lie Norfolk s\<toni. and another on a stiff clay, called the 

 Klcmi-h Kurm, tint by no means cultivated on the Flemish 

 model. Tin- u-reate-t variety of improved instrumch 

 introduced, and many experiment!) were made. Both 

 these funiM were well worth the attention of agriculturists : 

 but the circumstance of their being supported by what was 

 thought an inexliau-liblr purse rendered them nearly usc- 

 less as models for imit'iti'>n. They continue to be Vulti- 

 vated, but attract little attention. 



iiu (..xtri-mi.lv fine rattle are bred ami kept in the Home 

 Park at Wind-or. chiefly of I'm improved short-horned 

 breed; and the cowu which ur ihe royal 



arc certainly worthy of the privileged pasture in 



which they range, and the majestic trees which shelter 

 tin in. 



The farm of his lat. e Duke of Glou- 



. at Haple-, . particular 



out thirtj 



of poor land, forming, ihe midst 



of brown heath which surrounded it on n the 



the duke i 



He 



h.ch 



gradvii'. . v 



he took a lease of the comn 

 and in the course of less than twenty \ea- 

 hare and barren tract of land into a produi 

 spersed with thriving plantations. Tl. - 

 b) employing the superabundant labour of the neighbouring 

 parishes. The whole was superintended by an active nativo 

 of Scotland, Mr. Burncss the duke's bailiff, who since the 

 duke's death has been appointed bailiff to some of the Duke 

 of Bedford's farms at Woburn. A thrc.-lnng machine, 

 moved by an artificial stream of water, on the most imi 

 construction, was erected on the premises, with a mill to 

 grind meal, and one to bruise bones for manure. Mr. London 

 has given a description and drawing of this machine in the 

 Mix to his last edition of the Encyclopeedia <>/.4gri- 

 rullure, and asserts it to be the most complete in the 

 kingdom. 



The size of the farms in Berkshire varies considerably 

 in the chalky districts they are large some containing a 

 thousand acres; but in the richer soils they are msstlv from 

 one hundred to four hundred acres : in the forest district 

 .re in general of small extent. Arable land lets from 

 I0.t., and even le^, to _/. per acre; the average may be 

 about 25s.; upland meadows from I/, to 2/., and along the 

 rivers '2f. to St. : irrijrated meadows 4/. to 5l. 



Gardens. Near Reading there are considerable garden 

 ds, the soil being deep and good, and the produce 

 coming earlier to maturity than in any other part of the 

 county. The onions, and especially the asparagus of Read 

 ing, are remarkably fine, and in great demand in the season. 

 Orchards are not very numerous, and fewer than they were 

 at one time, when cider was a more common beverage of the 

 farmer. The apples which grow in (lie Vale, where there 

 are some good orchards, are mostly sent to London. About 

 Wantage are some cherry orchards, the produce of which U 

 great in good years, but it is a very precarious crop. 



Woods and Copp ire. Woods and coppice arc sea- 

 over the county, and add to the diversity, which is a beauti 

 fill feature in its landscapes as viewed from emii 

 Considerable quantities of timber are annually felled, and 

 during the war t readily purchased for 



the dock-yards. The high prices then given have consider 

 ably diminished the number of old oaks, but very line trees 

 may still be found in ihe gentlemen's parks, and 



occasionally in the 1 }, which are still tolerably 



furnished with timber, of which elm forms a cniisid. 

 portion. The Fen M of Wir.d-or, with the exception of the 

 neighbourhood of the parks, hnd but few trees on the \. 

 and these more picturesque in appearance from tin . 

 than valuable as limber. Some of the oldest o:iks in ( 

 bourn Wood, in the ] !, field and Clever, aro 



mere hollow trunks, with a few picturesque blanches. 



The coppices in general arc valuable : and where water 

 carriage is near, which is the ca-e in almost every part 

 of the county, the produce is sent to London in the 

 of hoops, broomsticks, and other rough manufactures. They 

 arc usually cut every ten years, and when veil managed 

 produce from 10/. to IS/, per acre, at every cutting. 



Osiers. Along the Thames, and in the low islands which 

 are frequently covered with' water, there are numerous osier 

 beds, which are 'cut every year to make baskets, and are con- 

 sidered as a very valuable pioperty. 



Cattle. There is no peculiar breed of cattle indigenous in 

 Berkshire, and those generally met with are imported from 

 ^hire. Herclr.riKhtrc, ami Yorkshire. The Glamorgan- 

 shire cows arc in considerable repute in some district*, bi.i the 

 much mixed and crossed, and not always with 

 .non or judgment. .Aldcnicv cows, which 

 nnunlly itn: common for the supply of 



butter and cream in gentlemen's families. Some 

 cows have been produced by erodes nf Aldcrneys with 

 larger breeds. Oxen are n. , i:sed in agriculture, 



although a few teams are kept on some laiu'c farms, and 

 the work of the kinc' Norfolk farm in Windsor Park was 



