ISLE of M A N. 
4. "f) 
Noxious reptiles are not to be found. Whether they 
would be able to live and multiply is not agreed. Giral- 
dus notes a difpute between the kings of England and of 
Ireland for this little domain, which was agreed to be 
amicably fettled by the introduction of venomous reptiles 
from England which would not live in Ireland. The 
reptiles lived, and the king of England confequentiy took 
pofTeffion. 
This .ifland, like the Hebrides, is deftitute of woods and 
of almoft ail trees not planted. The climate is rather 
milder in winter than that of the neighbouring fhores ; 
froft and fnow being of very lhort continuance. The heat 
of iummer, on the other hand, is not fo great; the har-. 
vefts are confequentiy late ; the grain does not arrive at its 
full iize ; and the. ft raw for fodder is lefs valuable. Frofts 
feldom make their appearance before Chriftmas, and lat¬ 
terly have be.en fo flight as little to impede vegetation. 
Gales of wind a'nd falls of rain are frequent, and of long 
duration. In the fpringof the year, they render the feed¬ 
ing difficult and lefs complete, and are very prejudicial 
to the tender flioots of corn. 
The land is chiefly divided in fmall farms from a hun¬ 
dred and fifty to two hundred acres each. A fpirit of 
improvement is more general than it ufed to be ; and much 
common land has lately been inclofed. 
Leafes are limited by law to twenty-one years, a great 
check to agricultural improvement. Till the year 1777, 
the law refpefling them was much more prejudicial, the 
leafe always expiring with the life of the leflbr. The ufual 
time of entering upon a farm is the 12th of November, 
and the rent is commonly paid half-yearly. The cove¬ 
nant of a leafe generally binds the tenant to keep the 
buildings and fences in repair. It frequently obliges him 
to fpend upon the farm, if not in the neighbourhood of 
a town, or near the Tea, the whole produce of the hay, 
ftraw, and manure ; and not to take from any part of the 
land more than three crops of grain in fucceffion. 
Land in the vicinity of towns is chiefly in the pofTeffion 
of their inhabitants, who, after referring wdiat is necef- 
fary for the life of their families, fend the remaining pro¬ 
duce to market. From 2I. to 3I. per acre is fometimes 
given, hut 30s. or 33s. is a more common price; and the 
lots are ufually very fmall. Farms are fometimes let for 
a guinea or even 25s; thofe at adiftance from 12s. to 20s. 
uplands 5s. and upwards ; but rents every where are evi¬ 
dently riling. The meafure of the Englifh ftatute-acre is 
univerfal. 
The common or uncultivated land is eftimated at ra¬ 
ther more than one-third of the ifland. It includes the 
whole of the mountain-chain, nearly to its bafe. Horfes, 
cattle, and flieep, are turned to graze upon it. They 
have, each, a fore and hind leg tied together with a 
llraw-band, to prevent their ftraying far, and to increafe 
the facility of catching them. An animal thus ferved is, 
in the appellation of the Manks, lanketted. The ever¬ 
green furze yields them the chief nourifhment in winter. 
Sheep can eat only the young fhoots, and keep the bufh.es 
fo round and even, that they appear to have been under 
the hands of the pruner. That neceflity is the mother of 
invention is a proverb, not applicable to mankind alone. 
Horfes, being accuftomed to take in larger mouthfuls and 
longer branches than the flieep, cannot eat the furze in its 
natural Ante, on account of the prickles. When con¬ 
fined to this kind of food, they trample upon the branches, 
and paw them with their fore-feet, till the prickles be¬ 
come mafhed together or rubbed off; and fo completely 
do they perform their work, that the food thus prepared 
might be fqueezed by the bare hand with impunity. In 
Anglefey, they are driven to the exercife of a firnilar fa- 
gacity. _ 
The inclofures are ufually from four to ten acres, with 
fences unaccountably crooked and irregular. The com¬ 
mon fence is compofed of fods of earth, reaching to the 
height of four or five feet. It requires frequent repairs. 
.Gorze or furze is often planted on the top, making the 
fence more fecure for the time ; but In the courfe of three 
or four years, if not cut down before'the expiration of 
that period, completely deftroying it. A wall of unce- 
mented ftones is another common fence, and more eafily 
repaired. The quickfet is little ufed, and is fuppofed 
not to flourifh in a vveflerly afpefl. The gate-pofts, com¬ 
pofed of ftone and mortar, are remarkably and unnecef- 
larily ftupendous, being often fquare or rhomboidal figures 
of three feet each way. Only the gate itfelf is made of 
wood. 
Houfes of the beft fort, both in town and country, are 
built of hewn ftone ; thofe of an inferior kind, and even 
very good ones, of ftone unhewn. Some of the latter 
kind, in Douglas, let as high as 4.0I. per annum. Safli- 
lines and weights, even to faftt-window ; s, are rarely to be 
feen, the people Hill continuing the barbarous method of 
fupporting the fafh at one Invariable height by an iron 
catch. The farm-houfes and offices of this ifland are ge¬ 
nerally fmall, irregular, and ill-conftruCted. Some mo¬ 
dern ones are upon a better plan ; and fome few eftates 
are well fupplied with offices and barns. A common cuf- 
tom, and one every way bad, is to have the barn over 
the cow-houfe. Open (tables are ftill too much in ufe. 
The farm-houfes, and indeed moft of the cottages, are 
built of unhewn ftone; the former with a mortar, the lat¬ 
ter with a mud, cement; the former with a roof of (late, 
the latter with one of ftraw. The meaner cottages are 
conftrutSted of fods of earth, and referable thofe of North 
Wales, confuting ufually of two rooms on the ground, 
fometimes with, fometimes without, a folitary window. 
The thatch is of ftraw,. and is kept in its proper place by 
bands of the fame material, twelve or eighteen inches 
apart, crofting each other at right angles, thereby divid¬ 
ing into fquares the fuperficies of the roof. Each end of 
every band is fixed to a pin, ftuck into the mud wall. 
The fmoke of a peat-fire is intended, to ifiue at a hole at 
one corner of the roof left for that purpofe; but the 
greater part ufually takes pofTeffion of the room, and 
emerges thence by the door-way. The walls of fuch a 
cottage are very durable; but the thatch will not Jail 
longer than two years;, whereas an Englifh thatch will laft 
fourteen. 
The roads have been for a long time in an improving 
fiate. Forty years ago they were dangerous for liorfetnen 
in winter, and for carriages even in fummer. At prefent, 
though very good in fummer, they are fometimes, in win¬ 
ter, impafiable for many days together. There are only 
three chief, or carriage, roads ; from Douglas to Caftie- 
town ; from Douglas to Peel ; and from Caftletown to 
Ramfay. The clay-flate with which they are made and 
repaired is loon ground into a fort of clay. About Bala- 
faila and Caftletown limeftone is ufed, and makes an ex¬ 
cellent road. By the ftatute of 1776, new high roads 
were ordered to be eight yards wide, to have ditches on 
each fide, and to be well gravelled at top. The term gra¬ 
vel muft be ufed in a very indefinite fenfe, fince there is 
neither gravel nor flint upon the ifland. 
Light ploughs are generally preferred to others; and 
almoft all are procured from England or Scotland. Thofe 
made by Mr. Small, of Ford in Scotland, are held in moft 
efteem. The horfes being fmall and not ftrong, four are 
required to turn a furrow four inches deep. Some har¬ 
rows are of a good conftruflion ; but many of them are 
too light, and confume in time more than they fave in la¬ 
bour. The roller, varying in weight five hundred to a 
thoufand pounds, is often ufed after a flowing of grafs- 
feed ; and, when followed by a brufir-harrow, is a valuable 
implement in fpreading manure. Drilling and hoeing 
machines are not very common. The proper conftruc- 
tion of wheel-carriages feems little underftood; cart¬ 
wheels are invariably very narrow, and general',y fmall. 
Sledges are very much uled. Crops of fmall fields are of¬ 
ten carried home upon men’s Ihoulders ; and this is the 
ufual way of collecting a tithe. 
For live ftock, farmers rely mere upon importation than 
4 * their 
