( 203 ) 



is felled at is. 6d. per Jot of fifty feet. Oak timber is ilrippej and felled at about 21s. per 

 lot of bark, which confifts of twenty-five fathom, or fifty yards ; the coat of bark (as it is 

 called) being fet thee rinds thick, and well capped to fecure it from wet. 



21. Under-ditching (or as it is here called land-ditching) is very much praftifed, and with great 

 fuccefs, there being no part of hufbandry from which our lands receive greater benefit: 

 indeed it is not uncommon for a farmer to extend the practice over almoft the whole of his 

 land. The ditches, when cut, are filled very differently, as the farmer has opportunity 

 of getting materials: fometimes they are filled with ftraw, or haulm only, butoftener with 

 wood and ftraw : green broom is much fought after for that purpofe, and the lops of elm 

 pollards are much efteemcd. Straw twifted into a thick kind of rope hs been ufed for the 

 purpofe in fome parts of this county, and it is faid with fuccefs. 



22. Paring and burning is fcarcely ever pradifed here. 



23. This neighbourhood is plentifully wooded. The woodlands, which are generally kept in the 

 hands of the proprietors, are for the moft part cut at fifteen, fixteen, or feventeen years 

 growth, and are more or lefs valuable, according to the quantity of hop- poles they produce, 

 which is the chief article worth attention, as fire wood is very cheap ; owing to which, 

 confiderable portions of vi^oodlands are cleared annually, and brought under the plough. 



24. Diilant from the metropolis, but little more than thirty miles; the price of provlfions is 

 confequently high, and depends in a great meafure on the London markets. 



25. Our roads, both public and private, are tolerably good, though with the advantages of 

 excellent materials upon the fpot, they might be kept in excellent order, were the inftroc- 

 tions laid down in the Highway Aft, fully attended to and complied with. 



26. The flate of farm houfes and the offices, depend fomuch on the attention, the purfe and the 

 caprice, both of the proprietor and occupier, that it is difficult to anfwer this query. There 

 are many farm houfes with their out-buildings, which are properly fituated, and well con. 

 ftruded: but here property is diftributed in a variety of fmall portions, and the buildings on 

 many of thofe little farms are in a moll forlorn Hate. ^ 



J 



27. The leafes commonly granted, contain fuch a variety of covenants, that it is difficult to 

 - enumerate them: the chief aim of them however is to prevent the tenant exhaufting the 



land, by over-cropping, or fuffering the buildings to run to ruin. They point out his mode 

 of farming, admitting him to fow only half of the arable. land with grain in the fame feafon, 

 direding a fourth of it to be laid down with clover, or other artificial grafTes, and com- 

 pelling him to make a fallow of the remaining fourth part, great part of which, if light lands, 

 he fows v.'ith turnips or colefeed for feed ; and if ftrong and heavy, he lays up in Oi'lober,. 

 or November, for receiving his barley in the enfuing fpring; for wheat is not fown upon 

 the fallows in general-. Penalties are annexed to mowing twice in the fame feafon, taking 



C c 2 a third 



