Book I. 



AGRICULTURE OF BERKSHIRE. 



1095 



2. Property. 



Few large estates ; church tenures very common, one estate 

 of 20,000/. a year, one of 12,CI00/., one of 7000/., one of 

 5000/., and so on. 



3. Buildings. 



Blenheim, the noblest in En^and ; Maylands' house, at 

 Broadeaton, recorded by Young, as a model for.houses, which 

 cost about 20,000/. building. In farm buildings, the best 

 thing is the coped stone rick and granary stands ; farm build- 

 ings generally of stone, covered with stone slate ; wretchedly 

 contrived, and bsidly executed in most parts of the county. 

 <jardens to most of the cottages. Bishop of Durham has built 

 some very comfortable ones at Mungewell. 



4. Occupation. 



Farms generally smaller than in most other counties ; few 

 abova 500 acres. Leases of fourteen and twenty-one years not 

 uncommon, many of seven years. Farmers in general very 

 ignorant, and much prejudiced against new practices. 



5. Implements. 



The prevailing plough, a swing wooden boarded implement, 

 drawn by from three to six horses, and incapable of^ making 

 good work under tltt; guidance of the best ploughman. 



6. Arable Land. 



Very badly mana-jed in general ; on heavy lands two crops 

 and a fallow ; but the fallow kept unploughed for the sake of 

 attbrding couch grass leaves for the sheep. Davis, of Bloxham, 

 an extensive farmer and land-surveyor, " never saw any land 

 U{X)n which a naked fallow is necessary ; not even on the stiff est 

 soils", has been in many counties, and employed on twenty-six 

 commissions of enclosure at the same time ! Wheat sown early, 

 and either ploughed in or folded ; often both. A scantlet of 

 lentils cultivated. Turnips in most parts seldom bigger than 

 apples. A good deal of saintfoin on the Chiltem, and other 

 calcareous soils, also on the Stonebrash, which 



causes : he found that though one person hail been willing to 

 buy the estate held on twenty -one vears' leases, yet that it would 

 sell much Ijetter held at will ; and was thence induced to buy 

 up from the Scotch tenants the leases granted them two years 

 before; and was still unsuccessful in endeavoring to sell the 

 estate. At last the proprietor found himself with the greater 

 part of his lands in hand, and one farm, it is proper to observe, 

 was put under the management of an Irishman, who rendered 

 himself notorious by some parts of his conduct, and finally left 

 the country cland<tinely ; and whose actions have unfortu- 

 nately often been confounded with those of the Scotch farmers. 

 \VTien peace was concluded in 1814, land fell still lower, and 

 finalW this estate wiis sold for less than half what it had been 

 sold for in 1809 ; but still (which may be considered as remark- 

 able), for about double what was asked for it in 1807. It is 

 now (1823), probably not worth a third part of what was given 

 for it by the purchaser, from the change in theltimes,; so that 

 even had the original scheme and sale worked well, it is probable 

 that by this time both landlord and tenants would have been 

 ruined, for more money might have l)een raised bv mortgage 

 on such an esUte in 1810 than it would have sold tor in 1820. 

 The depreciation of the estate has been attributed to the break- 

 ing up of old turf, a most, unfounded error, as there were not 

 1000 acres to break up, and of them only 250 were ploughed, 

 and, as would have been proved had.the convertible.system been 

 continued a few years, greatly to the benefit of the whole. We 

 regret that the landlord, a most amiable and patriotic man, 

 should have suttered in this business ; but he entered into it 

 aware that he was incurring an extraordinary clianceof loss for 

 an extraordinary chance of benefit, and of course he takes the 

 result as every man ought to do. Besides he has still a very 

 handsome fortune. 



As a trait <if the tpirit of Vie Board of Agriculture at this time 

 we may mention that Arthur Young examined the estate a few 

 weeks after it was sold at so high a rate ; and drew up a re- 

 matkable report (a 1\IS. copy of which, from his office, is in 

 our possession) in favor of Scotch farming, which was published 

 in the first edition of Sir John Sinclair's Utulxindry of Scotland. 

 In that reiwrt a disini;enious attempt Ls made to attribute to 

 the Board the merit of the introduction of Scotch farming into 

 this and other counties ; whereas it was and is perfectly well 

 known, that the Farmer's Magazine, the Scotch farmerGourlav, 

 late of Wiltshire, and our pamphlet, were the true causes. A 

 general account of all the operations on Tew estate by Scotch 

 farmers, will be found in Denerufor Famu and Farm Buildings 

 in the Scotch Style, adapted to England, S;c. 4to. 1812. 

 10. Livestock. 



There is a good deal of dairying in the county ; the perma- 

 nent grass lands being chiefly occupied in this way. The 

 prac-tices are almost entirely the same as in Buckingham- 

 shire. The butter is taken to London by waggons from 

 all the principal towns. Much good dairying at Atterbury, 

 A. Young asked John Wilson, of Uiatneighl)ourhood, if he ever 

 fed on straw : answer, " JVo ; straw be a good thing to lay on." 



; chiefly lime. 



7. Grass. 

 Some good meadows near Oxford, on the Thames and Isis ; 



very rich grass land at Thame. 



8. Woods and Plantations. 



Of considerable extent. A great part of the forest of Winch- 

 wood belongs to the government. Great attention paid by 

 Fane of Wormsley, to pnming; many beech woods on the 

 Chiltem hills; young wood at Blenheim neglected. The na- 

 tural forests of Whichwood and Stoken Cnurch, chiefly of 

 beech, but some oak, ash, birch, and aspen. 



9. Improvernents. 

 Fane, Prat, and Davis, andotheis, are of opinion, that the 



agrieulture is much superior to what it was thirty years ago, 

 chiefly from the introduction of a better breed of stock, the use 

 of roots and herbage plants, and the enclosure of commons and 

 common fields. 



Scotch Farming. In 1S09 an attempt was made to improve 

 the estate of Great Tew by letting it to Scotch farmers. As 

 this originated in conse<iuence of a i>araphlet which the com- 

 piler of the present work published in 1808, it might be 

 deemed a detect in this sketch, if the Fcircumstance was 

 passed over without particiUar notice. It ^will, no doubt, 

 long be recollected in the county as at least a ruinous pro- 

 ject of wild adventurers, this Ijeing the very mildest term 

 applied to failures in similar cases. At this distance of 

 time, looking back on the matter, as far as the result affected 

 ourselves, with our natural sans froid, we shall state our opi- 

 nion as to the causes of failure. Ihis resulted principally 

 from too great anxiety, both in the landlord and tenants, to 

 reap a large benefit; and secondly, from the general fall of 

 prices both of land and produce, which succeeded to the pub- 

 lished report of the Bullion Committee in 1807. Anxiety to 

 increase the rent-roll, induced 'the landlord to let the whole of 

 his estate of nearly 4000 acres, then under nearly a score of 

 tenants, to two cultivators, instead of trying first the effect of 

 one or two moderate sized farms under the new mode. "The 

 same anxiety induced the teneuits to ofler too high rents, and 

 to attempt a profit by subsetting. Before the estate had been 

 eight months let, it was sold on the new rental for nearly four 

 times the sum at which it was oti'ered tor sale, only a year be- 

 fore ; but the title not proving satisEic'ory to the purchaser the 

 purchase was never completed. The landlord became involved 

 in diiiiculties owing to the expenses of new buildings, roads, 

 drainages, the piurchasing up of certain outgomgs, and other 



7005. BERKSHIRE. One of the most beautiful counties of England; occupies a surface of 474,000 

 acres, of which about 200,000 are enclosed, or in parks or plantations, 190,(XXJ in common fields and 

 downs, 40,0(X) in forests, wastes, and commons, and 8JJ77 in roads. Its productions are almost equally 

 corn and stock ; it i)roduces a good deal of butter and cheese, and the breed of swine is noted for its ex- 

 cellence. Tlie celebrated Jetliro TuU was a yeoman in this county. George III. and E. L. Loveden 

 Esq. were among its most noted farmers. On the whole it is a county much more indebted to nature 

 than to art. (Pcarce's Berkshire, 1794. Mavor's Report, 1808. MarsUars Review, 1813. Smith's Geolo- 

 gical Map, 1821.) 



1. Geographical State and Circumstances. 



Climate diversified, but in every part the air pure and 

 salubrious ; in elevated situations pure, piercing, and braces 

 by its sharpness ; in the vales relieves the weak organs of re- 

 spiration by its Foft and b.alsamic qualities ; no storms known 

 in the county. About Reading," vegetation nearly a fortnight 

 earlier than "in some parts of the county. 



Soil, calcareous in general, but in some places gravel, and 

 in a few clay ; vale of the.White Horse entirely chalk. 



Minerals. None excepting chalk, Sarsden stones, a sort of 

 large siliceous pebble, in lumps'scattered over tlie Wiltshire and 

 Berkshire Downs, and frequently blasted and used for paving. 

 In the vale of Kennet is a considerable stratum of peat, 

 formed from prostrate trees and other vegetable bodies, and 

 used for fuel, and also bumeil for the ashes as a manure. The 

 ashes abound in sulphate of lime. 



Water. Some artificial lakes for breeding fish. Loveden 

 has one of thirty acres, and a " fish-house" or cottage, with an 

 apartment,! iniwliich are three stews with covers, which lock 

 so as to prevent even the cottager from stealinc the fish. Many 

 gentlemen have ponds, which are let to tenants, and prixluce 

 a crop, if it may be so termed, every third or fourth year, of 

 can) and tench. The occupier stocks with yearlings alKiut two 

 inches lone, obtained chiefly from Yatelv, on the neighboring 

 confines of Hampshire. The breeders are alwut eight or nine 



Sheep, the Berkshire, 'Gloucester, Wiltshire, Leicester and 

 other hardy breeds, b ane has tried crossing the llylands and 

 South Downs with Merinos ; several other proprietoi-s of farms 

 have also tried Down Merinos and other crosses, and some the 

 pure breed. 



11. Political Econmny. 



Forty years ago roads "formidable to the bones of all who 

 travelletf on wheels," now they are much changed for the belter. 

 Birmingham canal and the Thames of immense impor- 

 tance to Oxfordshire. A good deal of wool, formerly woven 

 into blankets at Witney ; now very little. About the Ijcginning 

 of the last century the manufacture of ^wlished steel was intr<> 

 duced at Woodstock, an J flourished for half a century : at pre- 

 sent nearly extinct. Steel chains have been madehere weigh- 

 ing only two ounces, and sold for 170/. Scissars from five 

 shillings to three guineas. The steel is wholly made from old 

 nails of horse shoes. Leather breeches making, and glove 

 making have succeeded to the steel manufacture, and the 

 latter thrives well : from 360 to 400 dozen of gloves are manu- 

 fectured weekly. 



12. Miscellaneous. 



Dr. Sibthori>e, the late professor of Botany at Oxford, left 

 200/. a year to endow a professor of Agriculture and Rural 

 Kconomy, to be established as soon as the Flora Gra:ca is com- 

 pleted. This will not be for some years. 



4 A 4 



pounds weight ; but in the Berkshire ponds thev are nei-er suf- 

 fered to breed, but are sold off to the inns at Henley and other 

 places, wlien the ponds are dra>-n, which is generally once in 

 four years, and weh;h at that age alxjut three or four pounds 

 each. The value of land thus applied cannot aver.nge less than 

 about twenty shillings jier acre. Tlie jwnds are regularly laid 

 empty, and the fi*h with which they are stocketl, which are 

 uniformly carji and tench, are taken out every third or fourth 

 year. The pond is afterwards allowed to lie fallow for the re. 

 mainder of the summer season, and is again stocked early in 

 the ensuing year with yearling fry of the same species. The 

 nonds in one parish are all subject to an abundance of coarse 

 bony, insipid fish, denominated Prussian or Germ.Tn carp! 

 As this sjiecies is carefidly destroyed, it is wonderful thev sliould 

 increase with the rapidity and universality which thev" apiiear 

 to do : every acre of i>ond, properly stocked and well situated, 

 must produce an annual increase of from eighty to one hunifred 

 liounds weight. If artificially fed, the increase would be 

 greater ; or less, if the pond is not so situated as to receive 

 manure from the circumjacent lands. Bv retail,'? the fish 

 here are generally sold at a shilling per i>6und ; but uiulcr 

 particular circumstances they may sometimes be liad as low as 

 ten jHmce. 



2. Slate Of Property. 



Largest estate 8000/. a year , a ft w of 5, 6, or 7000/ ; E. Cra- 



