514 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : — 



has been well received everywhere, and which, we trust, will 

 ere long produce a visible good in every part of the island. 

 In agriculture we do not think any very great improvement 

 has taken place, except upon particular estates. In almost 

 every part of the tract which we passed through, three heavy 

 horses, in a line, attended by a man and boy, were to be seen 

 dragging a clumsy plough, of local construction, at a snail's 

 pace ; turnips, almost everywhere, were sown broadcast, or, 

 if drilled, on a flat surface ; and in only one or two instances, 

 under the direction of Scotch bailiffs, did we see Finlayson's 

 harrow substituted for the brake or cultivator. Plantations 

 of trees have been made in many places which were unen- 

 closed common when we last passed through them ; and by 

 the formation of these plantations, and the increased growth 

 of others, the general aspect of the landscape is, in many 

 parts of the country, entirely changed. We were nowhere 

 more struck with this than on the road between Oxford and 

 Woodstock, which, instead of the bleak and dreary appear- 

 ance it formerly had, is now bordered with belts of trees, and 

 sprinkled with cottages. There are now on this road no less 

 than three nursery gardens. 



The roads have been everywhere more or less improved, 

 but still they fall far short of what they ought to be, in order 

 to put the traveller or carrier, who uses only one horse, on 

 a footing with him who can afford to use a greater number. 

 This ought to be the beau ideal object of road-making, and 

 it is only to be done by extending improvement to all the 

 cross roads, and by allowing no slope in any road whatever 

 to exist greater than that of the Simplon, or about one in 

 forty. We have elsewhere shown how this might be gradually 

 accomplished on all the roads in the country, simply by the 

 employment of the superfluous labour of the different parishes; 

 or, in other words, by giving all able-bodied men, who apply 

 for parish relief, work at a fair rate of wages. 



One of the most gratifying marks of improvement which 

 we observed was the establishment of Bell and Lancasterian 

 schools in almost every town, and in many villages. There 

 are also a few infant schools. In our opinion, the subjects 

 taught in these schools at present, are not the most likely to 

 enlighten the minds of the pupils ; but it is a great step to 

 have had a commencement made in any way. This com- 

 mencement, we have no doubt, will end in a national system 

 of education, at the expense of all, and for the benefit of all. 



With respect to gardens and country-seats, we may say, 

 that, on the whole, we never saw them in a state of worse 

 keeping. Generally speaking, the more extensive the park 

 and gardens, the worse they are kept. We scarcely recollect 



