JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLA^iD. 
I. — The Farming of Middlesex. By the Rev, James 
C. Clutterbuck. 
Prize Essay. 
The geographical limits of the metropolitan county of Middle- 
sex are mostly ruled by physical features. On the south it is 
bounded by the Thames, on the west by the Coin, and on the 
east by the Lea. The northern boundary, though imperfectly 
defined and irregular in direction, to a certain extent follows 
the undulations of a low range of hills, and from the Coin to 
Barnet Gate coincides with the limits of the watershed of the 
Brent, Yedding, and other brooks and watercourses by which the 
surface of the county is drained. According to a Return pre- 
sented to Parliament in 1866, the county contained 180,136 
statute acres ; its population being 2,200,485, and, in 1867, 
2,414,022 : the largest, with the exception of Lancashire, of any 
of the counties of England. 
Notwithstanding its vast population and limited extent, the 
percentage of corn-crops to acreage under all sorts of crops 
exceeds that of Lancashire by nearly 6 per cent. ; that of Lanca- 
shire being 15-2, whilst that of Middlesex is 19-1 ; in 1867, ]8*8. 
Unlike Lancashire, its population is concentrated in one locality, 
namely, the south-eastern limit of the county, which is occupied 
by London and its suburbs ; with this exception, Middlesex 
would give a high average of cultivated surface, as compared 
with many of the counties of England. This is mainly due to 
its geological condition and the character of the soil. No portion 
of it is absolutely sterile, though some spots are naturally poor and 
unproductive, 
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