50 I N C L O S U R E S. 5. 



In the prtfent ccntnry, more efpecially 

 within the lalT: fifty years, inclofnre has made 

 a rapid progrefs •, and its efiedts have in ge- 

 neral, I believe, been equal to thofe forefcen 

 by Fitzherbert. The garden is the higheft 

 ftate of cultivation ; open fields and common 

 pafturcs the loweft ; feparate inclofures a 

 middle flate which feems to be well adapted 

 to the prefent population of this countr}'. 



Be this as it may, the fpirit of inciofure 

 continues to be fuch, that in half a century 

 more an open field, or an undivided common 

 may be rare^ and the remembrance of them 

 will of courfe foon wear away. This is there- 

 fore the proper time to regiftcr interefting 

 fads relative to the fubjedt, and this the pro- 

 per place for adducing them. 



In my own remembrance, more than half 

 the Vale' under obfervation lay open: now 

 fci.rcely an open field or an undivided com- 

 mon remains. Befides, the largeft parifli in 

 the Vale — c;ne of the moft extenfive parifhes 

 in the kingdom — is now under inciofure ; 

 and the circumftanccs attending it arc fuch as 

 have fcldom occurred: afuitable opportunity 

 this for endeavouring to afcertain juft ideas 



of a 



