1130 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Pari IV. 



10. Woods and Plantations. 



PHrj thousand SI r.~. . tn.-lls n ifiir.il and onium- 



,,. olil <lm. .il (■....('..!. I. A I Sim <>\Hli tlW tjhl— 



..nciii.ii Lotnbardj poplars ■* Men Lord llochfiml iir.nii.-hi from 



ll.ll. (bOUt IT.'iS, .Mid I'r.piil mIii.1i th. _|..ii.r I'.rt "I UlO '' '" 



tha unodotn bar* tew rn^l ; tbm an oventj t.-. i i 



■ .... I..1 llir.-- ill. In* ill « r. uinlYr. n. .■, tiw' l..-t R 



■round j ■ Portugal laurel more than ftfl two yards in clrcum- 

 in,, ., and a very Urge ^'Hmtofc Ph« urnratt abeli 



Elurll mil .11 BeUhoUSr, \v.!i.; larg. ital Loid Pel 



told ilin ... al 131. -i load Including lop and 



I. irk. ii. k> ..i Hatfield ■ana 100 guineas each, Hatfield 

 l-r.-ul I'.ik .«■ rlir it«-.l. I. iii ii"* mi rum . An onl .it \\ imbl ti 

 Incnanad In rlrth Rhii mil •• h ilf m- >n^ In tWrtaen >.'- ir ^ ; .i 

 larch, two reel nine inchea in tbe tame time j Ihe larch, how. 

 tear, eras rooiujer* 



ii. mut 



Fifteen thouund icreai said thai In Jama the First's time 

 alniu.t the whole eounrj was waste. 



1.'. Improvements. 



\ ,_.,... i deal ' i ••<<- ■ * machine in use like the Flemish 



■#. VJ.) for lowering Hi.- mirfice of ploughed 



, the] intend making craas-rurrows 



ie water firom the regular furrow*. Thediain- 



ing wheel [3978.) in u-e, inventor not mentioned. Chalk much 



umiI U .1 in. inure. 



IS, Live Si, irk: 



Kma nivir Eamous for (his branch. The largest dairy 



* ..r near Kpplng, famous for in batter and crenn ; 



no uartlculai ~"it "I cows kept; Derby and Leicestershire 



I reeds preferred, but .mv taken; fed on natural and artifi i.rl 



i.r.1— ^in summer, and hay and p-ains in winter: dairies built 



on the imrtli sldesofthe nrm-nousesj milk keiit in troughs 



lined with lead, whlrh hold nine to ten gallons of milk, five to 



■U tnchea in depth. This In winter is skimmed four, and in 



■ummei two or three times, and the cream, after being kept 



three or four d i\., churned ; milk eiven to hogs. A few cows 



kept for milk ; in other places for suckling calves, and feeding 



on the marshes. Western has the finest swine in the count] ; 



feeds them in w li.n he rails a hog case; ,i Mge which effectually 



prevents the anim il firom taking exercise. A hog half fat put 



,• gains fifteen pounds a week, if well fed with barley 



ad water. A mill r, near M.Uiion, has made a treble 



p wheels, t.. keep moving about on grassland, for its 



Improvement. A portable bridge, carried on a pair of wheels, 



lor pa^NitiL.' sheep over marsh ditches, in use bv Wakefield of 



lli.iinili.ini. [fit;. 'J83.J A decoy for ducks and other aquatic 



birds In Mantes bland, the larwart In the county. Been per- 

 ton that approaches a decoy takes a piece of lighted luif stuck 



983 



on a tahlcfork in his ..and, to prevent the ducks from smelling 

 in. in. Without this C lUtion they will quit thi..-pond. A deooj 

 ;n I roldhanger, At which one waggon load and two cart loads of 

 dun turds were taken it oue h lul of the nei-s ; hut the disturb- 

 ance fo frightened such as escaped, that no more were taken 

 that season. Seven fish poods at Spaines Hill for carp, tench, 



.Hid eeU* A chain of ponds at Leigh's Priory, belonging to 

 (Juv's Hospital, near a mile in length, and occupying alwut 

 thirty acres, once completely sluiced and carefully cultivated, 

 DOW dry and neglected. 



14 Sural Economy. 



Labour done genera' ly by the piece. 



15. Political Economy, 



Koads mostly good j few canals ; various fairs ; and some 

 cattle markets. In the creeks of Crouch, Blackwater, and 

 other rivrs and estuaries, considerable quantities of oyst. rs 

 are deposited for breeding. The produce is afterwards dredged 

 and deposited at W'ivenhoe and other places for feeding* 

 What are called Colchester oysters are fed there, and sent to 

 Hamburgh, Fianders, and France, in time of peace, as veil as 

 to London* ( >ysters are also dredged on the Hampshire coast, 

 ami feil in the Coin, or Co'chesUr bed-.. No distinct account 

 of the oyster economy, however, is given in the rej>ort. There 

 are sait'water ponds for various sorts of sea fish in Foulness 

 island; the lish are caught in weirs on the extensive sandy 

 1 1, ists, and deposited, when plentiful, in these ponds, whence 

 they are dragged for with sni.dl nets, as wanted. 



Sliinufurtuns of woollen have existed from time immemorial 

 in the county ; also of sacks, hop bags, calicoes, baize, lime, 

 bricks. Much baize made at Colchester, Cogg^shall, and 

 other places, for Spain. A society of agriculture at Chelmsford. 



7782. HKKTFORDSHIRE. A surface of upwards of 400,^00 acres, the north part forming a clialky 

 ridge, winch extends across the kingdom in this direction ; the general features art- rich, woody, and the 

 agriculture various, chiefly tillage; the com produced equal in quality to any in the kingdom. Ellis, a 

 well known agricultural author, farmed in this county. {Walker's Report, 179.x Arthur Young's Survey, 

 in;. Marshal** Review, 1818.) 



1. Geographical State and Circu77i$tances. 

 Climate, luj and healthy. 



s,,i7, < h . K loam andclayey loam, next chalk, and a small 

 part bordering on Middlesex, gravel; vales, rich sandy loams, 

 under pasture, and woods »erj beautiful. Naturally 

 barren, but rendered fertile by careful cultivation. 



2. Property. 



Much divided, the counts being a favourite one for wealthy 

 persons DiiUding villas and other retreats. 7000/. a year the 

 largest estate: great part cop, hold, which sells here at six 

 years.' pur. h ue less than freehold. 



I. Buildings. 



Hatfield) C ishi.iburv, Aahridge (partly also in Bucks), Gor- 

 luunbuyy, Bro let, the Hoo. the (jrore, Gilstone, Ware Park, 



OEC* noble mansions. Brown's farm yard, at North Mims, 

 the best in the county. Immense bams at North 

 Mims and Betlibidburv. Gutters to the eaves of farm buildings 

 at Alkenham; wide fattening stalls, with conveniences tor 

 giving bay, uiitt-r, and oil-cake. Cottages seldom with land 

 .itt.t. netL A nwreable sheep-house at Hillhouse, a cumbrous 

 . \)t ii live affair, of which plans, sections, &c. are given in the 

 ri p -rt. 



4. Occupation. 



linns small, largest 500 acres; many of the very small 

 farmers who rent 3w. a year worse oit" than da] labourers. Sir 

 John Sebright, of Beacnwood. a scientific breeder) farms 7ui» 



500 of which are in arable and Well cultivated. Tie 



K.irl of Brldgewater, al Ashrfdge, farms r )(>0 acres, besides the 

 p irk of 1080 acres* The Marchioness of Salisbury farms i90 

 acres, hesldts the p irk of 1050 acres, and has made many cu- 

 <[■ urn. nts ; a prejudice against leases. 

 nplements. 

 Plough large and unwieldy, with two large wheels, the same 

 u figured In old fanning books 150 years ago* One or two 

 thrashing marhhua of Ucikhrs kind. (,/ig. '.is i.) 

 '. End 



\'..ri.> ■ . but -till some commons and open fields ; old fences 



of mil' es of thorn i planting well under- 



stood, but I be rut with the bill m,u!r in a direction dnwn wards 



pwards, as in Berwickshire, bv which ihe stem 



throws out •'» brush of small twigs at the Mound, instead of a 

 Jib) -hoots 



7. ./' able / '.itnti. 



\\\ far the gn oops chiefly 



wheat, bailey, and oats; turnips and clovei uiiposea lo have 

 been introduced n the lira ol Olhrer Cromwell: depth of 

 ploughing generally fimror 6ve inches Greg, who has w ritten 

 a tr.ici on managing clai lands without naked i 



t -t lule ^^ ill admit, [dotations various, : 

 i naked CiDow, once In three, five, or s ten 

 Combing or ribbing in use in some pi 

 Turnips culUvated broad-cast, and yefj pnor crops 

 produced ; the Introduction of turnips in this county nttributi d 

 iwell, who is said to have etll d iOOt. ■ year on the 

 farmei who iirst grew litem* Calibages crow n to a large size bi 

 theMarchioncsrSol Salisbury, ror cows . large ted sort \m rem d. 

 Casrots, parsrwns. beets, ore, culUvated by the Marchl 

 her experimental farm. Good aamlfuin on the cha k>. Drilling 



corn crops with Cooke's drill practised in various places. Water- 

 cress for the London market, cultivated in the streams al 

 Kick mans worth. Sixty acres of furze for faggots at A abridge* 



S. Grass. 



Quantity small, and chiefly a narrow margin near Bamet, 



-j be: 





984 



on which h iv is grown for the London market; some good 

 meadows an the Stort* 



9. Orchards. 



Apples and cherries abound in the S.W. corner of the 

 count) on farms of from twenty to fifty acres. In ten \ears 

 after plantme, < lu rry trees begin to bear; produce till the 

 twentieth year, six dozen pounds; when full grown, lifiy 

 dozen pounds; price, ten-pence to three shillings a dozen. 

 < ra ii. and small black, the favourite sorts. Kentish will not 



thrive here. None of the apples fur cider: orchards kept in 

 li' , but not mowed. 



10. Woods. 



The copse kind abound in the northern and in many parts of 



itr ; produce faggot wood and hurdles; cut at twelve 



years; black willow. ash/and hazel, best for hurdles; aiders 



bought by turners and patten-makers. Fine woods, natural 

 and artificial, at the Earl of Clarendon's, the Grove, near 



Watford. A superb oak at Panshanger, Karl Cowpert; seven- 

 t round at live feet from the ground ; called the great 

 oak m 171 ' ^l gravell) above, but, doubtless, clay be- 



low. The timber in Moor Pan of great antiquity, and in a 

 many immense pollards; and, on'the whole 

 one ol the n osl fbrest-like parks near London. Vast oaks ar.a 

 be chesat IshridgeandBeechwood. Beech excels there ; also 

 1 ' ind the oak, ash, larch, spruce. and common pine excel- 

 Knt- Beech sold to turner^ chair-makers, and for barrel staves- 



