41G 
Farming of Dorsetshire. 
" Next in imi)ortanco are the meadows on the course of the Bride river, 
■which has its source at Bridehead, in the pleasure grounds of Mr. Williams's 
beautiful scat of that name, six miles west of Dorchester, passing Kingston 
Russell, Longbredy, Litton Cheney, Swyre, and Burton Bradstock, where it 
meets the sea. The quality of these meadows cannot perhaps be sur|)assed, 
especially at Longbredy and Litton, at both which j)laccs the river receives 
copious tributaries from chalk sources of the purest water, equalled only by the 
beautiful spring, the source of the Wey at U|)we}', and, like that, the spring at 
Litton turns a good mill within 400 yards of its source. 
" The characteristics of the Stourarc not those of a water-meadow river ; the 
formidable volume of water in flood would render it less manageable for irri- 
gation purposes; neitlier is the predominance of a clay soil favourable, as 
experience shows that on clay soils watered, although the ])roduce may be 
augmented, the ])roof or quality of the hay is deteriorated, besides which its 
course is principally through the dairy or fatting bullock country, the vale ot" * 
Blackmoor, where breeding flocks of sheep are not general. 
" Of the Winterbourne waters the quality is not held to be so good as that 
from permanent sources, and another disadvantage is the uncertainty of the 
pel iod of the Sjjrings breaking, which in dry preceding summers is sotnetimcs 
protracted until after Christmas, long before which all water meadows should 
be in work. These streams are, that commencing at Houghton, and, j)assing 
to Stickland, Whitchurch, Kingston, Auderton, Winterbourne Yelstone, and 
Sturminster, joining the Stour at the latter place. Again, from Winterbourne 
Abbas another descends to Stct'ijletoii, Martinstown, Asliton, Winterbourne 
Monckton, Ilerringstone, and Carne, falling into the Fromc at Stafford. An- 
other has its rise at Gun\ilie, called the Tarrent, and runs through Tarrent 
llinton, Tarrent Lauuceston, Tari'cnt Monckton, Luton, llushton, Rawston, 
and Keynston, falling into the Stour at Spetisbury ; but this latter stream, 
which gives the prefix of Tarrent to ail the places in its course, is permanent, 
some two miles below Tarrent JNIonckton. 
" These winter bournes, which annually burst at the heads of valleys enclosed 
by chalk hills in this and the analogous tract of country extending over a 
great part of Wiltshire, commonly afford the prefix of winter bourne to the 
parishes where they occur. Thus in Wiltshire we have Winterbourne 
Gunner, Winterbourne ]3auntsey, Winterbourne Stoke, Winterbourne Earles, 
&c. &c., answering to our Winterbourne Stickland, Winterbourne Whitchurch, 
Winterbourne Abbas, &c. &c. A curious i'act in relation to the annual 
bursting of these springs is, that their ' breaking,' as it is termed, is always 
accompanied with strong gales of wind gcnerall}' from the S.W. with rain, 
but without a strong gale they never break, however wet the season. The 
water-works for irrigation are generally renewed and restored after any de- 
rangement of them in the preceding summer by tread of cattle, carting hay, 
&c., as early as possible after the latter harvest, by trenching up and cleaning 
the carriers and levelling the catch-work, so as to take advantage of the 
autuiim floods. For this jiurjjosc a trained hand, called a waterman, is kept 
for this particular occupation, as well as to regulate the supply and the draining 
after a period of sufficient saturation." 
Under this head, according to the order prescribed, we must 
rank the isles of Portland and Purbeck, both remarkable for 
their mineral features rather than for their agricultural produc- 
tions In Portland wheat is followed by winter tares, barley, 
clover. The wheat is hand-cut by women and bound by ir.en, 
and the produce is estimated at, wlicat, 18 bushels ; barley, 25 ; 
oitc-.. 30. Only half the number of horned catde is k-pt in the 
