280 Farmers' Mucdlany. [April, 



ENGLAND. 



Face of the Conntry. — The general aspect of England is varied 

 and delightful. In some parts, verdant plains extend as far as 

 the eye can reach, watered by copious streams. In other parts, 

 are pleasing declivities of gently rising hills and bending vales, 

 fertile in grain, waving with wood, and interspersed with mea- 

 dows. Some tracts abound with prospects of the more romantic 

 kind; embracing lofty mountains, craggy rocks, deep, narrow dells, 

 and tumbling torrents. There are also, here and there, black 

 moors, and wide, uncultivated heaths. The general aspect of 

 Wales is bold, romantic and mountainous. It consists of ranges 

 of lofty eminences and impending crags, intersected by numerous 

 and deep ravines, with extensive valleys, and affording endless 

 views of wild mountain scenery. 



Climate. — England has an atmosphere of fogs, rain and per- 

 petual changes; yet the climate is mild. The rigors of winter 

 and the heats of summer are less felt than on the continent, under 

 the same parallel. The winds from the sea temper the extremes 

 of heat and cold; the changes, however, are sudden. Westerly 

 and southwesterly winds are most prevalent, and also the most 

 violent. Next are the north and northeast. The perpetual mois- 

 ture of the air is sometimes unfavorable to the crops, but its gene- 

 ral effect is to cover the whole island with the deepest verdure. 

 The meadows and fields are usually green throughout the winter, 

 and the transient snows that occasionally fall upon them are in- 

 sufficient to deprive them of their brilliancy. Many kinds of 

 kitchen vegetables, as cabbages, cauliflowers, brocoli, and cel- 

 lery, remain uninjured in the gardens through the winter. 



Soil. — Of this there is every variety; but the common con- 

 stituents of the soil, are clay, loam, sand, chalk, gravel and peat. 

 Mossy soils are very common and extensive in the northern parts, 

 and here are the widest tracts of barren territory. On the eastern 

 coast are extensive fens and marshes. The most fertile districts 

 are in the centre and south. There are very large heaths and 

 plains, which are nearly unsusceptible of cultivation, and only 



