..M( 



f 199 ) 



OBSERVATIONS on Mr. VANCOUVER'S QUERIES. 



By the Rev. Z. BISKE, of JFiddington, EJex. 



.OSTLY a clay, with fmall trails of gravel and chalk. 

 2i Chiefly by tenants — Farms vary much in fize — from 40 to 350 acres. 



3. A mixture of both, though the paiture, which is in general in itself poor, and befides little 

 attended to, bears but a fmall proportion to the land employed in hufbandry : paftures may 

 be worth on an average i6s. per acre; arable incloferd 14s. arable open field los. 



4. Some little faintfoin. — Flocks of the mixed Hertfordfliire and Weftern breed. — Wool, the 

 great objeft with the farmers. — Few or no flieep fattened. — Mr, Chifwell has a flook of 

 Norfolks, which as he has much ornamental ground laid down in pafture (though it fvvards 

 very indifferently, being molUy on a clay foil) anfwers well.— Cows on the fmaller farms 

 chiefly Welfh; on the larger, middle fized Derbyfliires. — Not famous. — Dairying moflly, 

 praftifed. Cows cannot be computed on an average to yield a neat profit of I believe 

 more than 4I. 10. per annum. — No pecuUar dlfeafes. 



5. None watered, and but fmall extent capable of that improvement. 



6. Wheat, barley, peas and oats, mixed and clean, with fome little rye. 



7. The produce fliould be computed on a term of three years: the fyftem of farming being 

 as it were confined by reafon of the open field, to a conftant unvaried fucceffion of two crops 

 and a fallow, fore crop, wheat or barley; moftly alternate every three years. Produce 

 wheat, from two to three quarers per acre ; barley three to four ; etch crop, generally 

 mixed peas and oats, an uncertain crop: average produce about three quarters per acre; 

 or fometimes clean peas or clean oats, then fallow, and fo on. Turnips, clover, tares, much 

 fown by the flock mafters, with fome little colefeed and rye, though indeed tares are yearly 

 becoming more univerfally general ; all anfwers well with good hufbandry. 



8. Anfwered in the foregoing. 



9. Dung and earth, feparately or turned over together, folding by the flock owners: adlive 

 farmers very attentive. 



10. Much the fame as in the neighbourhood of London. 



11. Horfes without exception. ' 



12. Wheat per acre on the fallows two bufliels one peck ; on what little clover lands are fowri 

 three bufliels, fown at Michaelmas, or as foon after as poffible ; barley four bufliels, middle 

 of March ; peas two bufliels as foon after Chrifl:mas as the land will work ; then two and a 

 half bufliels of black oats, harrowed in the beginning of March; clover feed from twelve 

 to fourteen pounds: harveft beginning of Augufi:. 



13. In Debden mollly enclofed ; in the other pariflies larger proportions of open field lands. 



14. No inclofures here taken place. 

 1 3. Vary from two to twenty acres. 



17. No divifions propofcd. 



18. Very little wafte land. 



20. A fliilling per day and beer ; i4d. without; labour per grate, varies; land ditching at ifd. 

 and 2d. per rod; hedging and ditching one fpit dry 3d. per rod. 



21. Much attention paid in h^. heavy lands to land ditching, the greateft improvement of which, 

 they are yet found capable ; land ditches drawn generally a rod afunder, moftly ploughed 



out 



