11 oO 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Pakt IV. 



loth,- value „f ,.»,.,»■ air., of ,u.-h :i firm, in addition lo a f.iii 



rent being pin upon the in. Mil. >«. 



n,t attention md ,-„,, ,. ,,,.,, stqfftrdhtmbtm a 



wi,.,t,., r ...y >t could be emplo .-.l ban fii Iallj ,-. . stending 

 Iheoomfon ..r ,„1 v.,,,. ,,,..■ the nod behavioural hi cot) mere; 

 ... onductM char* i ti.ii.- of the great md ... ilthj propi 

 i.t these k i ngd o m s, iii.u it must M dtadnmiifa Hi. ... .,, the 

 l ..I human I 



.■../..«/., ■harm thrj haw been n ecessary , ban been en- 

 counted, either aiding them l.v subscription, ..r by granting 

 tbe accom mod a tion ofschool-housea. Two Banks for Savinw, 



,:" U ll wh ill and another at rrentham, of which Lord 



Stafford i- the treaaurar, have bean 1 1 abliahed, anil t 

 •Mails an- 1 or.iluiuii I., hi, inanaajen, aaabted l» U 

 clergymen and the principal tenantry, and their anoeeai amona 

 tiu- agrk ulmr u labourer! h .. i«vn ran g ra Ufyi ug. 



rin- cnantirt of thit famili) .in- worth, of an English nolile- 

 iii .m ; and during the residence of tin- Marquess and Mar. 

 chianeaaal rrentham, there la distributed ilailv to every imor 

 oUa i. who b u ... Iling along the road, and who applies for 

 Hi.- tame, a portion of good wholesome bread, in quantity 

 alwut fourteen . each full-grown man, and ten in 



ptneeanian m iromen and children, vrith a pinl of good table- 

 beer. Tha Dumber of people who receired this don.it on in 

 1819, amounted to 9504 men, 8376 women, anil 1789 children 

 ...n. I. mm:: 1590 loaves, ami 1703 gallons of beer. Fiom this 

 charity are excepted all soldiers and sailors receiving the 

 King's pay, all persons residing within the parish ofTrentharn 

 or in it- Immediate vicinity. Other distributions take place on 

 particular occasions; for example, to those who reside in the 

 parish, annually on St. Thomas's day, there is a distribution 



i certain quantity of beef to the poor. During 1819, there 

 were 13,785 quarts of rich soup, and above 8500 quarts of milk 

 distributed within the parish, besides 11,131 quarts of milk 

 iwaj under the head of allowances. Such farts are 

 Jt-rongh illustrative of the beneficial effects derived to the poor 

 from the residence of the great families of England on their 



I re estate.. 



The foregoing statement would have been given with some 



on, had not the facts been of a nature rather to exhibit 



and illustrate the character and extent of the clmriiies distributed 



' England m general, than as beta" at all 



pe uliar to the instance to which the details belong; and 



ta in i. help t,, explain to foreigners the nature of the 



connection which exists between the richer and poorer classes 



in this country. 



The town «f Lout-Bad, one of those which compose the 

 .•Staffordshire potteries, is partly situated on, and is partly 

 contiguous to the e 1st end of the Trentham estate. The taha- 

 bitants being ill supplied with water, carried in barrels, they 

 petitioned to be provided with this necessarv article, which re- 

 quest has been complied with ; and this "town, after a very 

 considerable outlay, now enjoys a regular supply of water, con- 

 veyed m iron pipes. 



'I'll.- ehdneUr of the ntnneroui eottueers upon Hie entutcM is 

 it si.liitude, ami without any 

 . inner ill which a man ma. choose to occutiy 

 their regular and decern behaviour Is made the sub. 

 lectofcars md attention; and the steward has strict directions 

 ll ) over tli, in, and where possible to promote 

 their Improvement. Wherever a potato garden can with ad- 

 • added to their cottage, that accommodation is 

 them. In the vicinity of Trentham the cottages are 

 .it the best sort, and with their gardens kept in the nicest 

 ordi r. I',, almost .very one of them is attached land for the 

 maintenance cf one or two cows. It is a circumstance worthy 

 ol remark, that of all the latiourers who possess a cow, none 

 r.v. Ive relief from the Ivor's rate, except one widow at Tren- 

 tham, who has a large family, and even in this instance, the re- 

 lict she reed yes is in a less ratio than any iierson labouring under 

 similar difficulties. ( la& in 1819.) 

 1 1. Live Stack. 



Cattle generally „f the longhomed breed. The Staffbrd- 

 feecf C °" "' e " ura "- v con s'<l«-'red a tolerable milker, as well as 

 Sheep. Three sorts considered native breeds : the grev -faced 

 hornless, or Cannock heath sheep, with fine wool ; the" black - 

 laced horned, with fine wool; and the white-faced hornless, 

 with long wool. * 



Swine. A cross between the slouched-eared and dwarf 

 breeds ; require hue attention or feeding, and easily get fat on 

 the refuse of the dairy or bam. Pitt, the reporter/had a very 

 fine sow, which littered ten at the first litter. 



:t,M,„s. i.-jij j„ Otesandy lands. A good many bees kept ; 

 1 hurley's plan tried, but bees are found to succeed best in 

 straw hives thatched in autumn. " Those which have not 

 raised a sufficiency o! food for winter, it is doubtless humanity 

 to destroy, as sudden suffocation is better than a prolonged but 

 certain starvation." r ° 



12. Political Economy. 



Roads now generally good; numerous canals; several pri- 

 vate rail-roads. Manufactures, iron, hardware, nails, glass 

 toys, japanned goods, potters' ware, cotton cloth, silk fabrics' 

 leather, v, oollen, linen, and many others. .Manufactures some' 

 times carried on in the country in straggling groups of houses, 

 but tor the most part in towns. Many thousands both of men 

 and women employed in making nails." An agricultural society 

 at Newcastle, and another at Latch field. 



Experiment,! Farming. « It would be a wholesome plan for 

 trie lioard to commence farming upon their own ideis, parti- 

 cularly in counties where the modes of agriculture seem impro- 

 l"r: tor instance, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland. 

 Northumberland, &c. ; by which ocular demonstration the,; 

 plan might be imitated ; for hearing or reading of any particu- 

 lar practice will not do for farmers in general." Such is the 

 reporter s opinion, in ours a most erroneous one. 



bea^ulTrfSr^^ia ArS** ° f "^ 639 ' 76 ° acres < mostly flat, but generally rich in soil and 



I. Geographical State and Circumstances. 



Clnrmte, mild and healthy. S. W. the prevailing winds : 

 effects i.t an easterly variation felt till th L . middle of May 

 fr'.st Vl ' Kt ' Utl0nChecked; not ' however > b * excess of damp or 



Soil, chiefly clay or sand, marl, and limestone. The portion 

 of sandy or moorish soil very small. The tract of land called 

 the county of Coventry ta a rich, red, sandy loam, chiefly in 

 still clay " Car Birmin « ha ' u is gem rally either sand or 



M,,„r,,h, coal, limestone, freestone, iron, blue flagstone, 

 marl, blue clay, and soapy clay, which the late Earl of Warwick 

 attempted to prepare for sale as a soap. 



-. Property. 



I ...rgi-it estate Stoneleigh, Chandos Leigh, Esq., 25,000 

 acr.-. ; but agreai variety of extent, and some curious and ab- 

 sunt tenures. 



.'!. Buildings. 



\y.,r»,,ii:.„,i,. and Ragle; first-rate edifices. Old firm- 

 houses built of mud and timber, and frequently at the extre- 

 mity „f the farms. The Duke of Buccleugb, at Dunchurcb, 

 I. u constructed some good farmeries. ' 



+. Occupation. 

 Farms from BO ... 500 acres; 150 the average size ; on the 



ii..r,.-.se. F»™«s pi general ex lingl, -h, and i us; one 



'the head of his rScWon, told Mumy 



ntage the county of Warwick 1,1 



i .in su.-h a «urve, ; that it must do i great deal of hurt 



vmf ; : 7" '"' -»'' '"i-erfii i-i, he decline," 



b ,i " I', f " r " 1 """' <»> »h| dm, r, ,„ heads of queries put to 

 ..,. Land, _g..,,er.ill.y h.1,1 at will, but very low rental. 



I , ) i ', r 'i ' ''•' , '" ''"•"■ farms may farm well; 



■ > Implements. 



I'l..ugh, ihedouble and single Rotherham with wheels, the 

 do,, hie drawn h> five or s,t horses In .. line, the single plough 



'"> h"-"'l»-lfnnr...i , .,,,,1 in both i. J-. „ iff 



'.7k ^ mllK " -'' w,„, , hma tbnut 



iin.er the reporter remarb, would make better work, and do 



t. >„i„e winnowing and threshing machines in use 

 Dy prop] 



6. Tit It i uc. 



I age crooked ri.'ges gatherer! verv high with a small one 

 between; go only one yoking per da; throughout the year. 

 Fallowing general, and then two white 



7. Grass. 



235,000 acres in meadows and pastures, and 60,000 in arti- 

 ticial herbage. Formerly dairying common, and Warwick- 

 shire cheeses produced in abundance ; but now breeding is 

 fast assuming its place. Old pastures overrun with ant-liills 

 and rubbish. Murray verv prophetically observes, that if 

 peace were to take place, grass lands would be safer for the 

 farmer than corn lands. Dairying and feeding both in practice. 



8. Gardens and Orchards. 



The gardens of the Marquis of Hertford, at Ragley, noted 

 tor their pine apples ; few sale orchards of any extent.' 



9. Woods and Plantations. 



Oak and elm every where abounds ; the Leigh estate the 

 "ey wooded, but every where abundance of timber 



10. Improvements. 



Much draining done in the northern part of the county ; but 

 it is rather singular that the names of Fazelev, Ellington, or 

 thi lr tnrms, are not once mentioned in Murray's report. 

 Joseph Elkington lived at Princethorp, in Strettoii on Duns- 

 moor, six miles S. W. of Coventry, and afterwards in Birming- 

 ham. He died in 1806. He was a mere empiric practitioner 

 and knew nothing of geology, the only foundation for drain- 

 ing on scientific principles; less even 'than some of his con- 

 temporaries, as Farey has ably shown in the Derbyshire report 



Irrigation practised in a few places on a small scale. 



11. £jt»e Stock. 



No particular breed of cattle ; hut as feeding Ls the prevailing 

 practice, farmers buy in whatever breed they think will nav 

 them liest. 



Sheep a good deal attended to; the large-polled sheep, or 



;"' " urwickshire, now gent-rally mixed with other breeds. 



1 tie In st cross of a Leicestershire ram and Warwickshire ewe 

 produces the best sheep for the butcher. 



Harm, the heavy black Leicestershire breed ; a good many 

 Dred, of cart, coach, riding, and hunting horses. 



Poultry abounds, owing to the prevalence of small farms; 

 great quantities sent to Birmingham and London. 



Gome, as pheasants, partridges, and hares, more than com- 

 monly .-.hnndant. 



l'-». Political Economy. 



Roads tolerably good; several canals; innumerable manu- 

 t c urcs, especially at Birmingham, for iron, and others of the 

 metal kind, and Coventry for pbands. 



1 I. Cleans of Improvement. 

 t mSm . a '" ", r !: "T " 01 ""'.'! mode of labouring; draining; 

 drilled root, and herbage crops, and better rotation; 



, ,.,,..._. viW j,^, an(l ot .r tcr rotation;. 



