NORFOLK. 143 
power had the place acquired in the time of king John, 
that in the ninth year of his reign, 1207, he granted a 
charter, incorporating the town with many privileges; 
and the country round it gradually increafed in extent, 
cultivation, and confequence, to its prefent Hate. 
The agriculture of Norfolk is in a highly-refpe£lable 
Hate; and, when the nature of the foil, and the condition 
of the country about fifty years ago, are taken into a 
comparative account, the ability and induftry for which 
the hulbandmen of this diftrift have been fo long famed, 
will be jullly acknowledged. The firft thing that attracts 
the eye of the ftranger in Norfolk is the fine tilth of the 
foil, and the fuccelfion of crops. The mode of cultivating 
the arable lands is worthy of general imitation, wherever 
it can be adopted. The plough, which is of an admirable 
conftrufilion, is drawn by two horfes harnefled abreaft; 
and thefe are guided by the perfon who holds the plough. 
Inftead of working the animals feven or eight hours, 
without drawing the bit, as is the cuftom in fome coun¬ 
ties, they are here worked eight hours in winter, and ten 
in fummer, by two journeys, as they are termed, which 
enables them to do confiderably more than they would 
by one journey. The ploughings are repeated till the 
land is in high tilth, when it is completely pulverized 
with drags and harrows, which are violently drawn, by 
the horfes being kept on a trotting pace. The ridiculous 
cuftom of letting the land lie idle one year in every three, 
for the advantage of what is termed fallowing , is here 
very properly exploded. The neceftity of it is fuperfeded, 
and the reafons for it done away, by a judicious courfe of 
cropping; fo that one crop may fertilize, as another ex- 
haufts. The mode of cropping in general practice, is 
what is termed “a fix-courfe drift;” viz. firft year, wheat; 
fecond, barley, with or without clover; third, turnips; 
fourth, barley or oats, with or without clover; fifth, 
clover mown for hay; fixth, grazed and ploughed up for 
wheat again. The average crops of the whole county 
may be ftated at three quarters of wheat, and four of 
barley, and other articles in proportion, per acre. 
Butter is made here in conliderable quantities, and ex¬ 
ported under the name of Cambridge butter. The pre¬ 
vailing fyftem being arable, the grafs-lands of Norfolk 
have been too generally negledted : but, by the late prac¬ 
tice of marling, they are now greatly improved ; and, by 
the adoption of under-draining and irrigation, the grazing- 
land is experiencing very conliderable advantages. But 
the part of hulbandry in which Norfolk Hands pre-emi¬ 
nent, and which has led to eftablilhed excellence, is the 
management of its turnip-crops. This valuab'e winter- 
root was only cultivated in gardens in this country till 
the reign of George I. when vifcount Townlhend, who 
bad attended the king to Hanover as fecretary of ftate, 
obferving the profit and utility of the field-cultivation of 
turnips in that eleftorate, on his return brought with 
him the feed, and recommended it to his tenants in Nor¬ 
folk, who occupied land of a fimilar quality to that of 
Hanover. The experiment fucceeded equal to expecta¬ 
tion ; and the practice gradually fpread over the county, 
and made its way into feveral other parts of the kingdom. 
This important root has been progreflively rifing to its 
prefent ftate for upwards of feventy years. A good acre 
of turnips in Norfolk will produce between thirty and 
forty cart-loads, as heavy as three horfes can draw; and 
an acre will fatten a Scotch bullock from forty to fifty 
ftone, or eight Iheep. But the advantage of this crop 
ends not here; for it generally leaves the land fo clean, 
and in fuch fine condition, that it almoft infures a good 
crop of barley, and kind plant of clover; and the clover 
is a moft excellent preparative for wheat; fo that, in the 
fubfequent advantages, the value of the turnip can fcarcely 
be eftimated. 
No county has exhibited a greater variety and number 
of implements for facilitating the operations of hulbandry 
than Norfolk, nor evinced more readinefs in applying 
them to practice. Among wheel-carriages, the non-de- 
fcript one, called a wizzard, or hermaphrodite, is Curious. 
It is the common cart, to which, in harveft, or under 
prefling circumftances, a couple of temporary fore-wheels 
are plated under the fhafts, and two oblique ladders to 
the frame, by which it is made to anfwer the purpofe of a 
waggon : in fmall farms it is a real objeCt of utility ; and, 
in large ones, of great afliftance in a bufy feafon. Drills 
are of all kinds; but a drill-roller is perhaps peculiar-to 
this county. It is a large call-iron cylinder, with pro¬ 
jecting rings round it, at about ten inches diftance from 
each other. This being drawn over the ploughed land, 
makes indentations, and the feed fown broad-caft, chiefly 
falls into the drills, and is thus more regularly and better 
depofited than in the common mode of flowing. 
The powers of fteatn were fil’d applied to the purpofes 
of agriculture in this county, and tlie firft (team-engine 
was fet up by Col. Buller of Haydon. It pofl'effes the 
power of ten horfes; turns a large threlhing-machine, a 
corn-mill, a chaft'-cutter, and performs at the fame 
time feveral other labours of manual hulbandry. On 
Mr. Coke’s farm, an improvement on temporary fencing 
has been adopted, worthy of univerfal imitation. It 
is the application of movable gates and polls with hur¬ 
dles, for partially eating-off turnips, or depafturing graft- 
lands. Regaining land from the fea has, in feveral 
inltances, been fuccefsfully praCtifed. At Tichweil, 
300 acres were embanked in the year 1786: in 1790, 
868 acres were embanked and encloled in the parilhes of 
Terrington St. Clement, and Terrington St. John. But 
the chief improvement of this kind, which has hitherto 
been made, was performed in Marlhland by count Ben- 
tinck, who, in the profecution of his plan, loft his life. 
His flon has, however, continued to purfue it; and per- 
feverance has crowned him with ample fuccefs. Thd 
count’s embankment extends about four miles in length. 
The firft militia-battalion in England was raifed in 
this county. 
Anterior to the Roman colonization of Britain, the 
diftriCt now called Norfolk, with the contiguous country, 
was peopled by a tribe of Britons called Iceni, and 
another clafs denominated Ceiiomanni. According to 
Whitaker, (Hill, of Manchefter, vol. i.) the latter oc¬ 
cupied Caftor, near Norwich, as their vent a, or chief city. 
Thefe, as well as the Trinobantes, who were placed to the 
fouth of the former, were repeatedly affailed, and often fub- 
dued, by the Romans; and, the latter being ultimately 
conquered, the whole eltablilhed feveral military polls, 
or ftations, in this diftrift, as permanent habitations for 
themfelves, and to overawe the conquered natives. 
Five of thefe ftations were formed and garrifoned within 
the limits of this county, or in its immediate vicinity, viz. 
Branudonum, Garianonum, Venta-Icenorum, Sitomagus, 
and Ad-Tuam ; befides which, feveral fubordinate Caltra- 
JElliva and Stativa-Hiberna were alfo formed. Of the 
latter kind, according to fome writers, were Buxton, 
Caftor near Yarmouth, Buckenham, Caftle-Acre, and 
Elham. In addition to the five chief ftations already 
mentioned, fome writers have confidered Ichborough, 
north of Brandon, as a fixth; and have identified it as 
the Iciani of the Itinerary. Roman coins, and other 
veftiges, have been found in various parts of the county, 
particularly at Brompton, Buckenham, and at Thetford ; 
but thefe furnilh no decifive proof that fuch places have 
either been occupied by the Romans as ftationary or as 
exploratory camps. 
At South Creak, in the north part of the county, where 
a defperate battle was fought between the Anglo-Saxons 
and the Danes, are veftiges of a circular encampment, 
which Hill retains the name of Blood-gate. Near Weeting 
are the remains of another, confiding of a vallum and 
fofs, known by the name of the Fofs. Near it are places 
of fepulture, called “ Grimes Graves.” At Narborou°-h 
is a fmall circular fort, faid to have been occupied, if not 
thrown up, by the Danes, when they landed on this part 
of the coalt, A. D. 1003. 
Of 
