HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 377 



Hunting- is attributed to the very great demand for it in the fen, purse or their genius. When James I. came through it 

 erwoud living sold at a higher price than in most on his journey from Scotland to tnke possession ot' the 

 r counties. The meadow lands consist of about throne of Lni;laiul, the inh.tbitjiius met him with 70 



1 iOO or 1400 acres, bordering on the rivers N'en and 

 Ouse, bui :i the latter. They are extremely 



productive, but the produce is frequently damaged or 

 carried away by the flood*. 



The fens consist of about 11,000 acres, besides near- 

 00 acres of what are provincial!}- called skirty 

 lands. The fen* of Huntingdonshire constitute nearly 

 a seventh part of what M called Bedford Level. About 

 SOOO or 10,000 acres of them are productive; but the 

 expence of preserving them from inundation amounts 

 to almost one-third of the rents, in consequence of the 

 drainage having been undertaken on an erroneous and 

 imperfect plan. It is eB'ected by engines, which throw 

 the water out of the lands into the riven, without hav- 

 ing a proper out-fall near the sea. In consequence of 

 thi*, the embankment* are frequently broken through 

 by the immense pressure of the weight which they con- 

 tain. The mode of management ot the fen lands has 

 been much improved of fate yean, and the fen-men 

 are very expert at the plough ; no such thing a* a driver 

 being Known, though they frequently plough with 

 three hone* abreast. The thirty lands, in general, af- 

 ford luxuriant grazing. 



The climate is rather mild, and by no means so un- 

 healthy as might be anticipated from the fenny nature 

 of a large portion of the county. The most unhealthy 

 part* are the low moorish tract* near Huntingdon, 

 Godmanchetter, Bamsey, and Vaxley ; for in the other 

 part* about Kimbolton, and indeed through the whole 

 of the hundred of Leigh tons tone, the air 11 remarkably 

 good. 



principal riven connected with Huntingdon* 

 hire art the Ouse and the N'en. The Oust-, w i 

 generally called the Lesser Ouse, to distinguish it from 

 a river of the same name in Yorkshire, enters this 

 county from Bedfordshire between St Neots and Little 

 Paxton, and, in its course southward* to Huntingdon, 

 is increased by a number of small streams from the 

 north-west. After passing that town, it flow* east- 

 ward, and pasting the west end of St Ives, becomes, 

 near Ho!;. boundary between thi* county and 



Cambridgeshire, till it enters the great level of the fen* 

 near \ a vigable along its whole line acres* 



this county. The N'en rues in Northamptonshire, and 

 reaches Huntingdonshire near Klton, whtrr it become* 

 the boundary between the two counties. It afterwards 

 flows to Peterborough, below which it sinks ii 

 fens. Some smaller streams water the north- east side 

 of the county, together ril large meres or 



ools of 



new plough-, drawn by as many teams of horses ; for 

 they hold their lands by thU tenure, that whenever 

 the sovereign took this place in th ir progress, the far- 



-hould make the mos-t pompous appearance with 

 ploughs and horses, adorneit like triumphal cars with 

 rustic trophies. King .lame* was go pleased with 



xht, that he granted them a charter constituting 

 God man Chester a borough, at the same time con- 

 descending to partake of a collation prepared under 

 a bush, still known by the name of the King's Hush, 

 and the Beggar's Bush. But Huntingdon-lure is no 

 longer remarkable for the excellence of its agriculture ; 

 nor, indeed, could improvement in this most useful 

 art be excited in a county where so large a proportion 

 of the land is still in the barbarous state of open field. 

 Beside* the common produce of wheat, barley, oats, 

 lump, and rape in the feus, turnips on the drier soils, 

 and a few hops, this county grows a considerable quan- 

 tity of mustard : it is cultivated on various soils, chief- MiutanL 

 ly'rich loam, good old pasture land, rich clay, and the 

 best fen soils. The ground is ploughed only once for 

 it : it is sown any time between Candlemas and Lady 

 Day. There are two kinds, the black and white ; tin- 

 former i* most esteemed. The weeding is performed 

 by sheen, which will not eat the mustard. The pro- 

 duce i* from 28 to ** bushels per acre. 



The breed of sheep upon the enclosed land* i* of a S h. p nd ' 

 mixed description, nearly approaching to the Leices- cattle. 

 tershire and Lincolnshire kinds, with which the native 

 breed* have been much crossed. Those bred on the 

 open fields and commons are much inferior. The cat- 

 tle are for the most part the refuse of the Lancashire, 

 Leicestershire, and Derbyshire breeds: oxen are pur- 

 chased for grazing generally without any attention to 

 the breed, and are never used in husbandry. From , 



the open state of the county, dairy farming is not much 

 followed ; and the cow* are used for sucluing calves in 

 the southern parts, to supply the London ni.ukct. 

 rich and celebrated cheese, c.i. .1 cheese, take* 



it* name from a village in Huntindonshire ; but it i* 



mad* in ll 



Mow bray in Leicester- 





shire ; and it i* generally supposed never to have been 

 made at Stilton, but always to have been sent there for 

 ..ilc . of this, however, there seem* some doubt Mr 



. in liii History and Antiquities of the Coun- 

 ty of Leicester, says that it began to be made in the 

 parish of Little Dalby, in that county, about the year 

 1?SO; but, on the other hand, there is the evidence of 



old inhabitant of Stilton, who died there about 



.itUcsea Mi-re is by far the the year 1 777, aged 80 yean, that, when he was a boy, 

 In the time of Camdrn, it was ix miles long the cream used to be o- i the neighbouring 



i I i -. ... 



and three broad . but ;t- limits are now much contract- 

 ed, so that the water is said at present to cover only an 

 area of 1570 acres. It afford* excellent (ailing and fish- 

 ing ; and is, in the summer season, much : 

 by parties of pleasure. Anciently, there was a naviga- 

 tion from Peterborough by the river to thi* Mere, and 

 from thence to Ramsey. 



agrkuUwr. thii county has long been celebrated I 



wealthy farmers, particularly in the \ 

 manchcitrr, yet its agriculture prrent ... that 



i* interesting or important. In ( 

 manchcitrr was reckoned the largest village in Eng- 

 land ; and at that period, no place 1 M many 



ploughs ; and, m., that aui <ople 



had so much advanced in agriculture . their 



VOL. XI. rAKT 1. 



village* for the purpose of making Stilton cheese : this 

 of course fixes the making of this famous cheese at 

 Stilton long before, according to Mr Nicholls' eviil 

 it was made in Leicestershire. In the fens of Hun- (I , IMfc 

 tingdomhire, mare* are used for all the purpose* of 

 agriculture; and every farmer breed* from them as 

 many feais as he can, selling the colt* off* at two year* 

 old, and a* many of the fillies as can be pared, with 

 proper attention to the team. The high roads in this Roads. 

 county, in general, are tolerably good ; the cross road* 

 arc l>ut indifferent, and in the winter season many of 

 them are nearly impassable. 



No manufacture* of note are carried on in Hunting- 



domhire except wool, stapling, and spinning yarn : the tun*. 

 latter i* the chief business ol the women and children 



3 



