186 



^.AND RECLAIMED BY WEAVERS. 



the heath at Stratton Strawless^ on the property of Robert 

 Mar sham, Esq., and at Snare Hill, grown by H. C. Partridge, 

 Esq. These references are sufficient, I trust, to guide the 

 most critical inquirer; if not, I can readily offer him many 

 more. But of all the successful and convincing experiments 

 that I could advance, by far the most important to our present 

 project is that made by Mr. Feltom, upon one of the worst 

 spots of Mousehold-heath itself ; the crop of seed from which 

 was of an excellent quality, and the stalks of flax ranked 

 amongst the finest at the recent exhibition at Ipswich. 



But it may be objected that the habits and constitution of the 

 Norwich weaver are ill-adapted to the work required. I reply, 

 that about forty years ago, the weaving trade failed in the vil- 

 lages around Aylsham, and the men were reduced to the greatest 

 straits. At that period my father purchased the Bolwick Hall 

 Estate, adjoining which was a tract of what had a few years 

 before been common land, lying nearly in its original worthless 

 state. To improve it, many hands were required, and my 

 father, yielding to the numerous applications for employment, 

 set the weavers to dig, trench, level, and otherwise improve the 

 land in question. At first, they were paid only a few shillings 

 per week ; but when their hands became seasoned, arms nerved, 

 and sinews braced to the work, they received the usual rate 

 of wages. Thus was land reclaimed, and rendered fruitful 

 through the instrumentality of just such men as those in Nor- 

 wich, who could as easily reclaim and render fruitful the 

 worthless Mousehold-heath. To what quarter then are we to 

 look for objections to measures that would render a barren soil 

 productive — ease the city rates — lessen the calls of charity, and 

 improve the condition of our fellow-men, whose unparalleled 

 suff'erings excite our deepest sympathy, and claim our utmost 

 exertions to alleviate ; suff'erings Avhich, to the credit of the 

 city, draw forth yearly charitable contributions exceeding, it 

 ' is said, in amount that of the whole poor-rate ; suff'erings that 

 the philanthropy and piety of both city and county have 

 long expressed an anxious desire to remove ? But they can 

 never be removed in any other way except by employment. 

 If the clouds showered down gold and silver in abundance 

 upon the people, the idleness engendered by such a supply 



