^14 Mifcellanea Curio/a. Vol. III. 



their Cattle, a.s in the South you do your 

 Sheep, every Night confining them within 

 Hurdles, which they remove when they have 

 fufficiently dung'd one fpot of Ground j but 

 alas ! they cannot Improve much thus, be- 

 lides it produces a ftrong fort of Tobacco, 

 in which the Smoakers fay they can plainly 

 tafte the fulfomnefs of the Dung. There- 

 fore every three or four Years they muft be 

 for clearing a new piece of Ground out of 

 Woods, which requires much Labour and 

 Toil, it being fo thick grown all over with 

 Maffy Timber. Thus their Plantations run 

 over vaft Trafts of Ground, each ambition- 

 ing to engrofs as much as they can, that 

 .they may be fure to have enough to Plant, 

 and for their Stocks and Herds of Cattcl 

 to Range and Feed in, that Plantations of 

 lOGo, 2000, or 3000 Acres are common, 

 whereby the Country is thinly inhabited 

 their Living folitary and unfociable Trading 

 confufed and difperfed ^ befides other Incon- 

 veniences : Whereas they might Improve 200 

 or 3Q0 Acres to more Advantage, and would 

 make the Country much more Healthy ^ for 

 thofe that have 3000 Acres, have fcarce 

 cleared 600 Acres thereof, which is peculi- 

 arly term'd the Plantation, being furrounded 

 with the 2400 Acres of Woods: fb that there 

 can be no free or even motion of the Air, 

 but the Air is kept either ftagnant, or the 

 lofty Sulphurous Particles of the Air, that 

 are higher than the tops of the Trees, which 

 are above as high again as the generality of 

 the Woods in England^ defcending when 

 they pafs over the cleared fpots of Grouhd, 



