1 IK 



SI \ TISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part IV. 



homed cow* of BlktVtll BOd Povla in most repute. 



i ■ net . in u •■. 'i'ii'- bail i md 



■. meal m irv.i ible chee 



been tnui h m inurt 

 nlti ■■* ill be I i 

 1 



, dticrion of plants, which did not row there bef 



ox i,, thi .it" nma thai did. nw ■ au • ' 



with Hi-- eo« . l"it the herbal > * ' 



The tame cow, on t ■ panted onlj by a hedge, will 



. a ide fine, 



.■ cheese ; while from the other shall be mode 



he i>i^." t h - 1 ..>v. unpleasant to the palate, and unfit 



f..r the market. In the pariah of Haresfield, two grounds ed- 



other w re atternatelj used for the pasture oi 



',,+ . while they were < ane»exci lentcho ewaatn ide; but 



on tin- other, it was >liiii. wit to in ike in] tolerably Rood. The 



latter bad bean latelj well dnand with manure, which pro- 



>1 ints unfevourable to the dalrj ; and the dalrj ■ ui 



herself remarked, th u it the farmer contlnui d t.. enrich the 

 h< rit.ii.i- with dung, the mual aire up making cheese. It Is 

 nropCT) therefore, thai rniUdng-cows ihould nol be removed 



rVom one p lature to (mother Lnd i rii itely, hut that certain 



^riuinti . i to t!u- stock, should be assigned to their 



,i tin-, is the practice on man* farms where cow 



pastures hare tor time Immemorial been appropriated exclu- 



i the u « of the dairy. The dung ol the cow, indeed, 



n iture, i-> the best m mure (or cow-pastures. 



Other animal - ichascoU and sheep, mar occasionally be let 



in toed rasa, but not more than one sheep should 



n . Among the plants which -ire useless, 



or unfavourable to the making of good cheese, are white 



clover. [Trifoliura ripens), the different kinds of crow-foot 



r/UnOnculus), and garlic M'liium). White cloeer is brought 

 i i i.. manure and sheep stock, and is a proof of good 



I , .,,|. nd m t state of high cultivation ; hern -■ it 



., > to raise the trualitj of the milk, and make the 



cheese t .... 



, iking. IhM Cheese not attempted while the cows 



ihayj generafly commences about May, when the cowa 

 ere turned Into the pastures* Cows milked twice a day, el 

 four in the morning, and at the tame hour in the afternoon ; 

 the cheese-factor discorert the " hoved" cheese by treading 

 ( >n them- , , 



Sheep. Principal breed the Cotswolns ; now very much mixed 

 es with the Leicester and South Downs. The liver rot 



com I in the rale, and therefore few bred there. Wilt.hires 



axe bought in and fed oil*. 



Hi>rx<*, no particular breed. 



/' das, formerly numerous, now on the decrease. 



1 i Politic ii Economy, 



« in the hilly districts, where --tone abounds, the roads greatly 

 Improved of late; those under af'Adam excellent; but the 

 vale roads in ma rj places very bad. Manufacture of woollen 

 broad-cloths, chiefly superfine from Spanish wool, exte nsi vely 

 carried on in the district called (he Bottoms, Carpet weaving 

 ami thin stuffs it Cirencester; stocking frame knitting at 

 Tewkesbury ; wire, cards, rug*, blankets, iron and bran wire, 

 tin plate, pins, writing paper, felt hats, manufactured at dif- 

 ferent places. Spinning 01 flax the winter work of women in 

 the vale of Kvesham. Extensive iron work-, in the forest; the 

 l.< ^t iron in the kingdom mule at Huxley; nails made at Little- 

 de m- Articles of agricultural commerce, cheese, bacon, cider, 

 perry, grain, and salmon, to the extent of -1000/. per annum ; 

 in manufacturing commerce, broad-cloths and pins are of the 



greatest importance. 



77«>:. WORCESTERSHIRE, A surface of 431,360 acres, according to the official estimates laid before 

 parliament, though some Of the calculations which have been published make it amount to 599,040 acres, 

 distinguished by the two extensive vales of Worcester and Kvesham. In the fertility of its soil, and the 

 amenity Of its situation, surface, and natural embellishments, very few districts of similar extent are equal 

 to it— scarcely one excels it And its agricultural products are not only more abundant, but more various, 

 than those of other counties ; not corn, cattle, and dairy produce only, but fruits, liquors, and hops, rank 

 among its productions. [Pomeroy's Worcestershire* 1794 Pitt's Report, ISO/. Marshals Review, IS18. 

 EdinMoz. 1827. ) 



1. Geographical State and Circumstances. 



Climate of the middle, south, and west of the county, re- 

 markably mild, soft, and salubrious; the vales of the Severn, 

 Avon, and Terae, with the contiguous uplands, rising to 150 

 feet above th ir level, ripen their products from a fortnight to 

 a month earlier than what takes place in elevated counties, 

 even with i similar soil and surface; sixty yards perpendicu- 

 lar <= one degree more to the north ; conformably to this idea, 

 earl* at Worcester, and late at Birmingham. Apparent!* 

 ess rains folia here, than in counties more elevated and 

 more inward. 



i fii thousand acres of deep rich sediment deposited by 

 i i n. and i good deal on the Avon, Teme,andSiour ; half 

 : the* Dunty, rich clay and loam : some light sandy >-oils 

 ibc t Kidderminster, and springy gravel about Bromsgrove. 



i/j. Brick -clay, {travel, sand, marl, freestone, coal, at 

 M amble; quartaern, a siliceous stone, forms the basis of the 

 Malvern hills. Extensive lime quarries and coal mines at 

 ; excellent common salt at Droitwii h. 

 fVater. Rivets, but no lake, pool, or pond formed by nature. 

 Malvern we I, a good chalybeate; it is limpid, without smell 

 <.t taste* 



. the Severn, salmon, shad, lamprey, and lampern; 

 naprei prows to twenty-Six inches long, and is often three 

 oe i tat i -mids in weight ; it Leaves the sea in the spring, and 

 is esti icy, but unwholesome when eaten too 



freely. Thelampern goes to the sea at certain seasons; is ten 

 or twelve inches long, about the Bute of a man's finger, and 

 common in Worcester, potted or preserved; vast quantities 

 Bold tor b its to the cod fishery. 

 J Property, 



u divided among all classes; many resident families 

 or" considerable opulence ami fortune. 

 :. Buildings. 

 Some erected at dif- 



fisrent times, and no way remarkable, unless for being badly 

 ■t^l and arra-<;:< i ; great wanl of sheds for cattle* Cot- 

 tages have nothing to recommend them ; often buiH of timber 

 and plaster, i I with thatch. Some good stone bridges 



over the >< rem, end an iron one of one arch, L50 feel span and 

 fifty feel rise, at Si«urport. 



i Occupation, 



1 ftom 40/. to 4002. a year, but some larger; 

 mn held on lease j but when a tenant takes a farm on strong 

 lends, where the course is fallow and three crops, he holds 

 it by custom for four years. Knight* of I/ea Castle, farms 

 utterly style; large farmers hare a turn for 

 Irapi 'in .hi oppor tu nity ; many 



mt. trodu ed, but the sensible farmer 



uof. : them thai ■ ill ansvi er. 



by Knight, About 200 acr< i around 



a on. ..nth divisions, with « Id 



ether, the roads 



and the 



op; but the ureas, which are in abundance, 



park-like appearance i this is di- 



■ mpor iry hurdles. 



.. rtmng, l*he same gentleman, when the volun- 



il lis Ihmvy farm horses, oil 



, on w hich he > 

 of nw own servants for miliu fl»e hones doing all 



tt>« farm work, and occaaionaliy istrting for aaddle hones, or «o 



draw ' 



lients. 



d, and drawn bv three bonei bl B line, 



Lkine. In the furrow ; bi llu I eavy swing 



ploughs are seen oowhere alee; they are all 



the share and coultl r ; \. i 



4hre board; a load . the four-w 



..,.'. ■ .irk. Knighl n • ■ 



1 1 reasi 



Variou> dull lor sowing wheat, and stirring the .soil between 



the rows ijlg* 995.), manufactured at Kvesham, and used in 

 the neighbourhood. 



G. Arable Land. 



Fallows ploughed four times, which is rather rave in Eng- 

 land; rotations generally a fallow and two corn crops, with 

 an intervening leguminous herbage, or turnip crop. Drilling 

 In use for wheat, in the vale of Evesham and other places; 

 beans commonly dibbled. Turnips cultivated broad-cast ; and 

 Carpenters author of A Treatise on Practical and Experimental 

 Agrtcuiturt, has discovered since he published his book, that 

 the fly i's to be prevented or destroyed by steeping the .seed in 

 sulphur before sown, and harrowing as soon as the fly is dis- 

 covered ; " then sow eight bushels per acre of dry lime, or line 

 ashes, when the dew is on the leaves, so as it may adhere to 

 tin in." Carrots sown by Knight and others in the neigh- 

 bourhood, where a good deal of seed is raised for the London 

 seedsmen. 



Hops grown to great perfection, and fruit trees generally 

 planted among them, at the rate of forty-eight to an acre; 

 lOOO stools of bops are considered an acre, whatever ground 

 thej in 13 stand on, and labour is paid for accordingly* Gold- 

 ing-vine, mathon-white, red, nonpareil, and Kentish grape, 

 local names for varieties distinguished by very slender shades* 

 Land stirred between the plants with the plough; only two 

 poles to a stool ; picking chiefly by Welsh women. When 

 tithe of hops is taken in kind, the parson may either take 

 even tenth basket when green, or every tenth sack when dried ; 



in the latter case, allowing 25«. per cwUfor drying, sacking, 



and duly. The eu'ture ot hops having been carried too far, 

 the trade here, as elsewhere, is on the decline; corn, on the 

 average of years, is found to pay better. 



Asparagus, cucumbers, and onions, grown in the fields of 

 Evesham, and sent to Birmingham market, though thirty 

 miles distant ; also, poppy. heads for the London druggists. 

 Clover for seed in various parts of the county. 



7. Grass. 



The hank-, of the rivers chiefly under meadow of the vt*ry 

 richest kind; employed chiefly in fatting cattle and sheep; 

 .i ivers and rye grass cultivated* 

 s. Garden* and Orchards, 



Market g ard< as near most of the prinripal towns ; produce, 

 besides local consumption, is sent to Bath, Bristol, and Bir- 



i. Orchards, long and successfully cultivated in the 



middle, south, and western parts of the county; round 



towns, vii g j, and farm-bouses; and all the hedge-rovrs of a 



ntcd with fruit trees, and Tery productive* In 



a plentiful ye n, or what is called a " hit of firuit," it will not 



pay for carriage to market from remote places; no casks can 



In 1/84, cisterns were formed in the 



liquor, but they ran out ; in Pershore, it 



orients of perry ran into the common sewers* Large 



quantities of apples rot, or are devoured bv hogs; cider in 

 -oh a year sold for 21*. a hogshead, in Worcester market: 

 two or three tons of cherries often sold In Worcester market 

 in th«* morning before five o'clock; six tons trove been sold 

 00/. has been paid for the tonnage of 

 rVull on ib Trent and Severn canal in one year: canal forty - 

 ix nub long, tonnage lj(/. per ton per mile; 7000 tons must 



