Oh the Farmiug of Essex. 
39 
half that amount ; and as the tithe commutation has now fixed the 
sum to be paid, it is presumed a large proportion will be grubbed 
in a short space of time. 
One great drawback to cultivation arises from the small enclo- 
sures, added to the great number of timber-trees and pollards 
in the hedgerows. In small enclosures, under 5 acres, the deteri- 
oration that ensues to the crop is very great ; the shelter afforded 
to birds and a ermin, and the injury caused by the trees excluding 
the sun and air, and the roots extracting the nutriment and 
moisture, in many cases depreciating the produce from 10 to 20 
per cent. 
The roads being well maintained, give facility to improvements 
not found in many other counties, which the navigation also further 
enhances. These advantages have been made avadable by the 
spirited manner in which cultivation is carried out ; and in many 
divisions it is not excelled, if equalled, by any other part of the 
kingdom ; and, considering that leases are not general, it exhibits 
a confidence between landlord and tenant highly commendable. 
The proportion of farms under lease is below a moiety. These 
are held, for the most part, on terms of fourteen years. 
The wages of labourers differ considerably in various districts, 
being fully one-third higher in those districts near London and 
towards the sea- coast. Those in the first described portion of 
the county vary from 8s. to 9s. per week ; in the last described, 
the prevailing amount paid is 10s, to l'2s., with wheat averaging 
50s. The workmen are expert, particularly the ploughmen, who 
may fairly challenge any other county in the kingdom. The 
ploughs used are nearly all swing-ploughs, with cast-iron breasts 
and shares, and of various shapes, adapted to the nature of the 
soil, and worked by two horses abreast. 
In conclusion, the soil of this county may be considered, for the 
most part, fertile, and with good cultivation yields excellent crops. 
The average of the wheat crop may be assumed at 28 bushels per 
acre, barley at 36, oats at 40, beans at 32, and peas at 28. It is 
impossible, where so much variety of soil exists, to state with 
precision, but the above may be taken as a fair criterion. 
Appendix. 
The system of farming in this county, as well as in others, is varied 
according to the opinion of the cultivators ; and without contending for 
the superiority of any system, I will state the course of cultivation pur- 
sued by Mr. King Viall upon several farms lying upon the borders of 
this and the neighbouring county of Suffolk. The land consists of three 
varieties of soil, being for the most part heavy land, as it is called in 
that district — a term, by the bye, that conveys no distinct idea of the 
