Agriculture of Berkshire. 
Fiom tlie very able Report by Mavor, in 1801), it will be seen 
that the I'arminf^ of Berkshire at that time was much more fully 
developed than that of many other counties, and that everything- 
was not left for this generation to do ; but when we compare its 
present state with the past, we find that many very extensi\ e 
improvements have taken place, and these for the most part 
within the last twenty years : indeed we may safely say that the 
whole system of farming since the date of that Report has been 
revolutionized, and what was then considered very far advanced 
would now be thought exti'emely antiquated. The talented 
author points out many of the obstacles which then stood in the 
way of improvement, the greater part of which are removed at 
the present day : among the most piominent was the want of 
enclosures, for much of the arable land at that jjeriod was in 
open or common fields ; the whole has since heen enclosed, with 
one exception, viz. Charlton, a hamlet in the parish of Wantage, 
where I am told, by a resident in the immediate neighbourhood, 
that the land would be increased thirty per cent, in value if 
enclosed. The system of taking tithes in kind is stated as an- 
other grand obstacle to agricultural improvement, one which the 
Tithe Commutation Act has removed for ever. The want of 
leases is said to be another drawback, although it appears from 
the author's statement that they had been more generally granted 
in Berkshire than in many other parts of England, for he says, 
" the progress which agriculture has made in the county above 
some others may in a great measure be ascribed to that per- 
manent security which a numerous and respectable yeomanry 
have in their possession. That security is the very soul of 
improvement ; and even unlimited capital in the hands of a 
prudent man will never be partially risked without the fair 
prospect of a return, not depending on the w ill of others, but on 
his own judgment and industry." There is no longer any reason 
why the want of leases should check improvement, there being 
]jut few landlords .who will not grant them on equitable terms to 
enterprising and respectable tenants. Poor-rates are spoken of 
as another and an increasing burden, varying, in 1809, from five 
to eight shillings in the pound, and in some cases rising even 
higher. The New Poor-Law Act of 1834 has placed the poor in 
a very different position ; and while it has made them more self- 
reliant and independent, has lessened the burden of poor-rates, 
which do not now exceed 2s. Ad. in the pound in some parts of 
the county and 3.s. in others ; the average of the whole county 
being 2s. lO^rZ. in the pound. 
I shall have occasion to refer to this Report elsewhere, and 
have only done so here to show, not so much the improvements 
that have taken place, as the facilities afforded for such improve- 
