1166 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part IV. 



S.iintf-iin cultivated with success on the chalky lotlf, md vers 



I i,,-. Hom on iiir harden ■ ■! Kurrej . A rineyaxd *u 



planted it UndercHtf. In the [i a of Wight, bj the late Sir 



d VVorsley, In 179*, wad en 

 ovai to attend ll ; the extent was eboui two end a hail 

 and ;\ Ughi wine vu made; bul In 1808, when M. Vancouver 

 called to se ■ It, he (bund the rlnea bad bean grubbed up, ami 

 the ground changed t.> a lawn <»t' turt. 



7. Gras Lands, 



'it, ■ count; famous for water meadows, which are well ma- 

 md productive ; they are chl flj in the i 

 of vVhtchi rter, on the It. h. n ; bul there -ire Instances on most 

 of the other liven and screarna* 

 8 Gardens and Orchards. 



nt market gardens near Gosport and Portsmouth ; 



i,i Its broccoli i whitewashed mud walls, 



« 1th copings of thatch used as fences, and fin wall fruit in some 

 i id fruit walls onlj half a brick thick, and waving at the 

 me foot in twenty in use. In other cases angular walls 

 are In use, the an flea being right angles, and the sides ten feet 

 each. | : e in both cases is the savin- of bri ksj 



hut it is evident (hcv cannot he carried very high, nor, sub- 

 ject as they are to the driving and drawing of nails, can they 

 real duration. (See Bncyctopadin qf Gardening, 1567.) 

 Orchards in various places, and cider made both in the 

 countv and in the Isle of Wight. 



9. Woods and Plantations. 



Extensive be chwoods on the chalk district, those of Ditch- 

 am grove very tine ; elm scarce in the countv, but abundant in 

 Strath fieldaaj Para (now the Duke of Wellington's). Oak 

 abundant Ul the New Forest district, and many young plant- 

 there, and throughout thecounty. Cohbettrais d agreit 

 many American trees of various species at Bo'.Iey. There are 

 several considerable forests, viz. the New Forest, Alice Holt, 

 rVool iter, and Bere. 



The Nov Forest is situated on the south side of Hampshire ; 

 it was formerli bounded on the east by Southampton river, and 

 on the south by the British Channel, being near thirty miles 

 m length, and ninety in circumference ; but, since the disatlbr- 

 estations by Henry the Third and Edward the First, its bound- 

 aries are much reduced, and now only extend from Gadshill, 

 on the north west, to the sea, on the south-east, about twenty 

 miles; and from Hardley, on the east, to Kingwood, on the 

 west, about fifteen miles ; containing within those limits about 

 92,565 acres, the whole of which does not now belong to the 

 crown, as several manors and freehold estates, to the amount 

 of 24,797 acres, are private property ; about 625 acres are 

 copyhold, belonging to His Majesty's manor of Lyndhurst ; 

 1004 acres are leasehold, held under the crown ; 902 acres are 

 encroachments; 1193 acres are held by the master- keepers 

 and groom keepers, attached to their respective lodges; and 

 the remaining 63,844 acres are the woods and waste lands of 

 the forest- The other forests are of much less extent and interest. 



10. Improvements. 



Good examples of draining by tapping were exhibited by 

 Elkington, on Cadland Park estate: the strata bring at a small 

 angle with the horizon, enabled the principles of what is called 

 Elkington's mode of draining to he earned completely into 

 effect. In the eastern part of the Isle of Wight are various 

 tracts of marshy ground, the largest of which, Hrading Haven, 

 containing about 900 acres, was granted by James I. to one 

 Gibbs, a groom of the bed-chamber. The owners of the 

 adjoining lands contested this grant, which the king was very 



earnest in supporting. After a verdict obtained in the Court of 

 K\. hi quer against the g ntli men of the island, Gibbs sold his 

 2000/. to Sir It -in The! wall, a page of the kmg's bed* 

 i h imber, who admitted the famous sir Hugh Muldleton to a 

 share* Thev employed a number of Dutchmen to enclose and 

 recover the haven from theses* Tin? first taking of it in cost 

 4000/. and 1000/. more was expended in building a dwelling- 

 house, bam, water-mill, trenching, qutcksetting, and other 

 necessary, work-.; so that, including the original purchase, the 

 tol il expenditure amounted to 700CM. But after all, the value 

 of the ground did not answer the expectations of the under- 

 taken , for though that part of it adjoining Blading proved 

 tolerably good, nearly one half of it was found to be a light 

 running sand ; nevertheless, an incontestable evidence ap- 

 peared, by the discovery of a well, cased with stone, near the 

 middle of the haven, that it had formerly been good - round. 

 Sir Hugh Middleton tried a variety of experiment g on tht land 

 which had been taken in, before he sold his share ; sowing it 

 with wheat, barley, oats, cabbage, r.nd finally with rapt ed, 

 which last was alone successful : but the greatest div ourage- 

 ment was, that the sea brought up so much ouze, weeds, and 

 sand, which clinked up the passage for the discharge of tl e 

 fresh water. At length, in a wet season, when the inner part 

 of tlu- haven was full of fresh water, and a high spring title, the 

 waters met under the lank, and made a breach. Thus eiuli-d 

 this expensive project; and though Sir John Oglander, who 

 lived in the neighbourhood, confessed himself a friend to the 

 undertaking, which, besides its principal object, tended to 

 render that part of the country more heVlthv , he declared it as 

 his opinion, that the scheme could never be resumed to anv 

 profit ible purpose. 



11 Live Stock. 



No exclusive brsed of cattle. The Sussex, Suffo'k, Leicester, 

 Hereford, Devon, &c. are indiscriminately met with. Several 

 ox teams. 



Sheep. In the Woodland district the heath sheep, old 

 Hampshire, or Wilts breeds, but most of the improved breeds 

 also to be met with. 



The horse* used in teams generally large, heavy, inactive 

 animals. Small horses bred in vast numbers upon the heaths 

 and forests, and which have not improperly acquired the name 

 of heath croppers. Their ordinary height is about twelve hands. 

 Thev propagate indiscriminately upon these wastes, where they 

 seek'their living throughout the* year, and at four years old may- 

 gen rally be purchased at above five pounds. 



The native nog' of this county is a coarse, raw-boned, flat-si 'd 

 animal, agreeing in no respect with the idea entertained of it 

 in other parts of the kingdom. The great number fed for a few 

 weeks in the close of autumn, upon the acorns and mast which 

 the forests and other woodlands produce, in the county, and the 

 excellent mode of curing hog-meat practised by the hous ■- 

 keepers, have contributed in a far greater degree to establi h 

 that superiority ascribed to Hampshire bacon, than any in- 

 herent excellence in its native breed of hogs. Very few, 

 however, of the genuine native hog are to be met with, the 

 common stock being either the native Berkshire breed, or a 

 considerable predominance of that blood in the native swine of 

 the county. 



12. Political Economy. 



Roads in general good, especially in the New Forest. Several 

 canals, and various manufactures and public works at Ports- 

 mouth and other places. The machinery for making blocks 

 (1830) is reckoned the most ingenious and complete of its kind 

 in the kingdom. 



7816. WILTSHIRE. 870,000 acres of varied surface, partly chalky downs, and partly rich vale land ; 

 and both a corn and grass countv. It produces excellent cheese and butter, fat cattle, pigs, and store 

 sheep. The agricultural report o'f this countv was drawn up by T. Davis, steward to the Marquess of 

 Bath, at Longteat, a man of great experience as a land steward, surveyor, and farmer, and universally 

 respected. He divides the county into two districts, the south-east and north-west ; a very judicious plan 

 for giving correct agricultural information. {Davis's Wiltshire, 1794k Marshal's Review, 1801*. Edin. 

 Oaz. 1829.) 



7817. South Wiltshire. 



Wiltshire downs contain about 500,000 acres of hilly sur- 

 face, mostly unenclosed and in common pasture; the atmo- 

 sphere cola and sharp, with a chalky soil, seldom varied by 

 patches of loam, sand, or other earths. There is scarcely a 

 river or brook in this district that is not applied in some * a) or 

 Other to the purposes of irrigation. 



1. Property. 



Ne ir lar^e towns property is generally subdivided when sold ; 

 in this district, when anv is sold it Is generally bought up by 

 such as are considerable proprietors : hence estates generally 

 large* Sh roe of the manors shows that many of them were the 

 property of one lord; each borders on <>r contains a rivulet to 

 tupphj vatex end the accompaniment of rivulets in that dis- 

 trict, meadow land, with hill for wood ; or, where these were 

 wanting, thej were supplied by a grant of those articles from 

 other property. Proprietors generally resident on their estates. 



2. Buildings. 



Farm*hoUses generally crowded together in villages, for con- 

 venience of water* Some of late years erected centrical to (heir 

 farms, i>v the Karl of Pembroke, and other proprietors; wells 

 and panes an important article in these erections. 



3L Occupation, 



Farms of two kinds; those in severalty, or not subject to 

 rights of common, are Gram 1 507. to 500/., and one or two at 

 I000L B vr.tr; i n.t.iiiiary tenement', subjei t lo rights of com- 

 mon, art from 95L to to?, or 50t\ per annum. There are exten- 

 sive sheen commons and com caramons* to which the occupiers 

 of both descriptions o f lands have a right to turn in stink, ac- 

 cording to certain fixed and customary regulations, leases 

 seven, uKlfteen, <>r twent\-one years. 



4. Implements. 



A heavy two-wheel and one wheel plough in use ; the latter 

 sometimes with a foot instead of a wheel. 



5. Arable J. and 



An old error exists, that of over-pulverising the uplands by too 

 rreqni nl ploughing*, bv which the w he its w« re thrown out dur- 

 Ing winter, or if they stood the winter, the March winds blew 

 away the earth from their roots, and *« hanging by one leg," and 

 thus not receiving any assistance from the coronal root, the 

 plains are weak in Straw, and produce sm. ill thin ears. " Ikfanj 



modes have been introduced to prevent this evil, by giving a 

 sufficient texture and firmness to the land previous to a wheat 

 crop. The best farmers have made a point of getting their 

 lands clean ploughed by midsummer, and treading it as firm as 

 possible with the sheep-fold a long time before sowing ; while 

 the slovenly farmers have invented, and generally practise, a 

 very short and cheap way of attaining this firmness in the land. 

 Thev rafter the land (as they call it), that is, they plough half 

 of the land, and turn the grass side of the ploughed furrow on 

 the land th »t is left unploughed. They do this as soon as they 

 can spare the feed of the summer-field, and leave it in that 

 state till near seed-time, when they harrow it down and plough 

 it for -owing. This rafter is usually ploughed across the ridges, 

 or what is better, diagonally ; the latter mode being less sub- 

 ject to drive the land up in heaps before the plough. The land 

 thus raftered is sometimes ploughed twice, but moie frequently 

 onlv once, previous to sowing ; and after it is sown th. v drag it 

 two, three, or four times, and harrow it four, five, or six times. 

 A very heavy kind of drag is used; and as Wiltshire Down 

 farmers are very cautious of ploughing their land too much, 

 they make much use of these drags instead of ploughing, and 

 frequently let In their seed-wheat with them. This practice 

 having been found to answer, has been gradually improved 

 upon. The down lands of this district will not bear tallowing, 

 especially in hoi dry weather; they are too thin and light 

 already* and require rest. Two years* rest for wheat is equal to 

 the best coat of dung. Dung iiia; give the quantity, but re-st 

 must give the quality* 



The course of crops was formerly fallow, wheat, barley, oats ; 

 but now, even on the common fields, is wheat, barley, clover, 

 mowed one year, and fed two years, till it is necessary to plough 

 for wheat. Turnips, Swedes, and rape grown for winter food 

 for sheep, though less necessary than in districts less amply 

 provided with water meadows. Error that of sowing too much 

 * urn. 



Gardens near Devizes, fervington* Warminster, Westlmry, &c. 

 Man] families subsist by this kind of husbandry, occupying 

 from two to five acres each as garden ground- The produce 

 supplies the adjacent towns in the district, and Frome and 

 Bath, in the county of Somerset, with cabbage-plants, peas, 

 beans, carrots, turnips, and vast quantities of potato's. 



Orchard* in some places, and cider made ; but as the district 



