370 
Reclaiming part of Forest of Delamere. 
I 
larch, the whole of which was planted under 
the following circumstances : — By the Act 
52 Geo. III., c. 136, passed in the year 
1812, at which date there was a general 
feeling of alarm at the prospect of the failure 
in the supply of timber for the navy, the 
Commissioners of Woods were required to 
keep this estate (exclusive of the Old and 
New Pale Farms before referred to) as a 
nursery for wood and timber only, and for 
no other purpose whatever. Nearly two- 
thirds of the estate were planted in pursu- 
ance of the directions contained in that Act, 
but a considerable portion of the young crop 
did not thrive, and the Commissioners of 
Woods, in charge of the Royal forests and 
plantations, came to the conclusion that 
much of the land might be profitably con- 
verted into farms ; and in 1856 an Act was 
obtained to empower the Commissioners to 
clear the land and to let it upon farming 
leases. 
The improvements already effected upon 
the Old and New Pale Farms, held from 
the Crown under lease, were a guide for 
future action, and the portions of the estate 
that were least fit for .the growth of timber 
and most suited for the application of marl 
were selected for clearing, and after careful 
inquiries had been made as to the best 
system to be adopted, the Commissioners 
directed Mr. Clutton to proceed with the 
reclamation. 
The accompanying map shows the extent 
and limits of the Crown property, both as 
woodland and in farms. 
I now proceed to describe separately the 
works executed on the three portions of the 
woodland recently cleared, and let for culti- 
vation. 
First. Honslour/h. — The northern part of 
an allotment of Castle Hill, called Hon- 
slough, containing 248 acres, and lying on 
the marl, was the first taken in hand : the 
whole was cleared, grubbed, trenched, and 
marled. This land, like the rest of the estate, 
