THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 199 



farms, and even the laws which govern it. Kent once 

 formed a distinct kingdom of itself, and in a country so 

 tenacious of old customs, some remains of them are still 

 found there. 



Geologically speaking, Kent belongs to the great clay 

 basin of which London is the centre. Such land, in the 

 present state of British agriculture, being the worst culti- 

 vated and the least productive, this county may be con- 

 sidered in arrear of the greater part of the kingdom ; still 

 it is not so far behind as the .neighbouring counties of 

 Surrey and Sussex, although the clay of these is not of 

 such a refractory nature, and notwithstanding the benefit 

 they must derive from the impulse which is given to 

 industry by the great commerce of the Thames and the 

 neighbourhood of the capital. The subsoil is calcareous. 

 A line of chalk hills runs along the coast, forming those 

 white cliffs from which the island received its name of 

 Albion. 



In 1847, the rent of land in Kent was nearly equal 

 to the average; that is to say, 20s. to 25s. per acre, tak- 

 ing arable and uncultivated lands together. This is high, 

 no doubt, compared to the average of rents in France, 

 but nothing as compared to the central and northern 

 parts of the island. English agriculturists disapprove 

 of the mode of cultivation still practised in Kent, but it 

 was formerly considered one of the best cultivated coun- 

 ties in the country. It has retained most of its ancient 

 methods of tillage, which have been discarded by the 

 wealthy and skilful farmers of the north. It may be said 

 that the agricultural revolution commenced by Arthur 

 Young has not reached this quarter, and that it follows 

 more the old English system than the modern. The 

 rich grass-cultivation, the pride and peculiar feature of 

 Britain, is, there little adopted. The wet lands by the 



