746 '.. HEREFORDSHIRE. ° 
Hereford- unrivalled fertility. It is mostly limestone of differ- 
shire. 
Rivers. 
Wye, 
Lugg.- 
Teme. 
Leddon, 
Arrow, 
Canals. 
ent qualities. In some parts, particularly near Snod- 
hill castle, it assumes the ap ce and properties of 
marble, being beautifully variegated with red and white 
veins. Deep beds of gravel are occasionally met: with 
in the vicinity of the city of Hereford, and the subsoil 
of several of the hills is of siliceous grit. Fullers 
earth is sometimes dug near Stoke; and red and yel- 
low ochres, with tobacco pipe-clay, are found in small 
quantities in various parts of the county. Iron ore has 
been met with on the borders of Gloucestershire, but 
none has been dug for many years.» | 
The principal rivers in Herefordshire are the Wye, 
the Lugg, the Munnow, the Arrow, the Frome, the 
Teme, and the Leddon. The Wye, so highly and de- 
servedly celebrated for its picturesque beauties, enters 
Herefordshire near Clifford. Between Whitney and 
Hereford, its general character is mild and pleasing, 
consisting of delightful reaches, with the most agree- 
able landscapes and luxuriant scenery on both sides. 
From Hereford to Ross its features occasionally assume 
greater boldness; but, at the latter town, it resumes 
the brightness and rapidity of its primitive character, 
and forms the admired bending seen from the church- 
yard of Ross. Beneath the arches of Welton bridge it 
flows through a charming succession of meadows: the 
peninsula of Symond’s rock succeeds, round which the 
river flows in a circuit of seven miles, though the op- 
posite points of the isthmus are only a mile apart. New 
and pleasing objects now rapidly succeed one another ; 
and the romantie village of Whitchurch, stupendous 
hills, and hanging rocks, exhibit a rare union of what 
is grand, beautiful, and picturesque. Shortly after- 
wards, the Wye quits the county and enters Monmouth- 
shire. This river is navigable:to Hereford in’ barges 
from 18 to 40 tons ; but either a large or small suppl 
of water is fatal to the navigation. The” Lugs, which 
rises in Radnorshire, enters Herefordshire on the north- 
west side: near Stapleton castle, below Leominster, it 
is joined by the Arrow and the Frome. Soon after its 
junction with the latter, it falls into the Wye. The 
Munnow rises on the Herefordshire side of the Hatterel 
mountains ; and, after many windings, forms the boun- 
dary between the county and Monmouthshire, till it 
quits the former. The Teme enters Herefordshire a 
short distance north-west from pton Bryan, but it 
soon enters Shropshire; thence gain it enters Here- 
fordshire, but soon leaves it for Worcestershire, where, 
having made a considerable circuit, it once more flows 
on'the borders of this county, after which it falls into 
the Severn. The Leddon rises on the east side of Here- 
fordshire, and after running south, and giving name 
to the town of Ledbury, it flows into Gloucestershire, 
and unites with the Severn. The Arrow enters Here- 
fordshire from Radnorshire, and, flowing to the east, 
falls into the Lugg near Leominster: 
The inland navigation of this county is very imper- 
fect. The Hereford and Gloucester canal, which was 
begun in 1791, is not yet completed. *It begins at 
Hereford, and is to fall into the Severn near Glouces- 
ter. “Its total length is to be 35 miles 5 furlongs. At 
the beginning of it is a tunnel of 440 yards, and ano- 
ther about the middle of the summit 1320 yards long. 
The Kingston and Leominster canal begins at the for- 
mer place, crosses the Lugg, and afterwards the Teme, 
and is to unite with the Severn near Stourport in’ Wor- 
cestershire. ‘The total length is. to be 45 miles: on it 
there are two tunnels, one of 1250, and the other of 
3850 yards, 
» 
The test estates in this county, apg H 
Hospital, the Duke of Norfolk, the Ear 
ford and Essex, Sir George Comerall, R, P. Knight, Esq. <i. or 
&c. In that part of the hundred of Wormelow, called property. 
Irchenfield, the tenure of gaval-kind prevails, by which,. 
in cases of persons dying intestate, landed property de- 
scends in equal divisions to all the sons. In the manor 
of Hampton-Bishop, which belongs to the see of Here~ 
ford, the tenure o oe prevails, by which 
the youngest son s s to the exclusion of his bro- 
thers, yhold property is not so common in this as 
in many other counties of England. Leasehold estates 
are more common. They are for the most part held un+ 
der the dean and chapter of Hereford, the co tion 
of that city, &c. It is estimated, that two-thirds of the 
whole county is freehold, and the remaining third un- 
der the other tenures. The size of farms varies from 
200 to 400 acres. ; 
The produce of Herefordshire is uncommonly vari- Produce. 
ous. Ina general view, however, it pee 
as acorn county. The bottoms ne less furnish 
great quantities of grass ; and the sides of the hills pros 
duce in great abundance, and of excellent quality, most 
kinds of woods, especially oak. The immediate banks 
of the vallies, and the skirts of the higher hills, are co+ 
vered with orchards. ‘The objects of husbandry are 
principally cattle, sheep, swine, corn, hops, and fruit 
liquor ; but two products render Herefordshire particu 
larly famous, its.eyder and its wool. 
of Ox. shire. 
4 
The principal cultivated lands are under tillage. The Wheat, &c. 
wheat grown in the vales, in tlie vicinity of Hereford, 
and thence through the clays towards Ledbury, is of a 
remarkably fine quality: The lighter lands produce exs 
cellent barley. Ross is the centre of the principal bar- 
ley district. Oats are grown in most abundance on the 
borders of Wales, and on the eastern confines of the 
county. Neither turnips, nor artificial grasses, are suf- 
ficiently attended to. 
The most’ fertile meadows lie on the banks of the Meadows, 
Wye, Frome, and Lugg. For fattening cattle, they can« 
not be exceeded; but Herefordshire has no preten- 
sions to rank among the dairy counties, Mr Knight 
has proved by experiments, that equal quantities of milk 
in Herefordshire and Cheshire will produce unequal 
quantities of curd, highly to the advantage of the latter 
county. A . 
Considerable quantities of hops are grown in this Hops 
county, icularly about Bromyard, in that of 
Herefordshire, bordering on what may be called the 
hop district of Worcestershire. They are of two kinds, 
the white and the red ; but the former are the most de- 
licate, and are preferred by the buyers. 
Plantations of fruit trees are found in every aspect, Orchards 
and on every soil; but the most approved site is that and fruit- 
which is open to the south-east, and sheltered in other liquor, 
points, but particularly in the direction. The 
period when the orchards of this county acquired the 
high character which they still retain, seems to have 
been the reign of Charles I. when, according to a 
in his Pomona, by the noble exertions of Lord “ 
more of Holm Lacey, and other gentlemen, Hereford- 
shire became ina manner “ one entire orchard.” Of 
the apples that are cultivated, there are various kinds, 
yielding liquors of different quality and The 
Styre cyder is remarkable for a strength and unu- 
sual to this liquor, and keeps very well. The pears 
most in estimation are the Squash, so called from the 
tenderness of its pulp; the sack pear, the red’ pear, 
and the Longland. ery pear tree when nearly fully 
—— le 
