56] A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



out an orchard, or for a village on a fertile soil to be -without a 

 crab-mill to make verjuice, cyder, and perry, and the means of em- 

 ploying it. The French are far before us in this respect ; and 

 though we are superior to them in strong ale and good beef, their 

 peasantry drink wine whilst ours drink water, when at the same 

 time they might drink cyder and perry, if due attention were paid 

 to fruit-trees. But the business can only be done by the land- 

 owner, it not being consistent with the uncertain tenure by which 

 land is commonly held in occupation. 



Timber, Plantations, and Woodlands This county still continues 

 well-stocked with all kinds of timber, notwithstanding the immense 

 quantities that have been cut of late years. Amongst the 

 many well-timbered estates, that of Lord Bagot is most prominent. 

 The woods (in the neighbourhood of Abbot's Bromley), extend 

 over many hundred acres, and are almost wholly of oak of th(f first 

 quality : many of these oaks are of great length, and contain from 

 60 to 70 feet of timber. In the Park are many hundreds of extra- 

 ordinary bulk, containing from 200 to 400 feet of timber each : 

 some of these are of great antiquity, being mentioned by Dr. Plot 

 as full-grown timber in 1686. The succession woods and young 

 plantations are very extensive, and still continuing : they are some- 

 times made by sowing acorns with fallow wheat, sometimes by 

 planting-out young plants of oak and other wood, and at the end of 

 two years, when such plants have taken well to the ground, they 

 are cut off near the surface, and the second shoot trusted to for the 

 tree, this thriving with more vigour and luxuriance than the first, 

 checked by transplanting. After cutting down a wood, the re- 

 planting is also sometimes effected by striking-in with'a pick-axe a 

 sufficient number of acorns, and other seeds of forest-trees and under- 

 wood ; and all these methods have been attended with success. 

 The soil is a moist gravelly loam, upon a clay or marl bottom ; the 

 young plantations are always well fenced, and carefully guarded 

 from trespass by a woodman appointed for that purpose. 



The Chillington estate, belonging to Thomas Giffard, Esq. is 

 extremely well-timbered. From this estate has been sold, within 

 thirty years, timber to a great amount ; but the growth of suc- 

 cession wood more than supplies the place, and keeps up the value. 

 Some very fine ripe oaks grow in the woods, and around the pool, 

 a large and beautiful piece of water. The woodlands remain very 

 extensive, and in the modern plantations oak has been particularly 

 attended to ; but there are all or most of the other varieties, of ex- 





