1799: ] 
not feem te produce weighty crops. The 
hills are many of them planted with hazel 
and other {mall forts of wood ; {mall farm- 
houfes and cottages appear ‘on the hill- 
fides, and the whole has very much the 
calt of fome of the weftern parts of Cum- 
berland, only in the latter place there are 
not thofe large orchards to be feen which 
here prefent themfelves at every turn,— 
In the other diftrict of this day’s journey 
the {fcene changes : tne furface is level, 
foil contains much clay, and is very 
tertile in the production of grain. Mon- 
mouththire feems to poflefs ‘plenty of fine 
tranfparent brooks; a good air; dry foil; 
and naturally produces fern.. Here are 
alfo much wood, and a great many fruit- 
trees: the face of the country is ex- 
tremely uneven, and in fome places moun- 
tainous: both parifhes and churches are 
fmall. Sheep are of various forts, but 
rather fmal] than otherwife; cattle large, 
and pretty well made. Corn feems the 
farmers’ principal dependence; they are 
now bufied in {owing wheat, the ridges 
for which are generally no more than four 
times about: turnips are alfo cultivated ; 
they are fown broad-caft, and never after- 
wards touched, and confequently the 
crops are very poor. Hereford ftands in 
a fine, level, fertile. country; is a clean, 
open, well-built, and pleafant town, con- 
taining about 7,500 inhabitants: the river 
Wye pailes clofe to it. This town car- 
ries on no manufacture of confequence, 
nor does it feem to have much trade: 
many of its ftreets are {pacious, and the 
houles well built. I fpent the Sunday 
afternoon in walking down the fide of the 
river Wye to Holm Lacey, five miles. 
Holm Lacey is a feat of the Duke of 
Norfolk, who has a very large e(tate here. 
The oat 3 is fmall, but beautif ally fitu- 
ated in a pleafant and lar ge park; and in 
the neighbourhood of feveral other fine 
feats and parks. Tohe vale tormed by the 
river is exquifitely beautiful, and very 
fertile. A great quantity of large timber 
grows in his Grace’s parks, and other 
grounds ; but this country, in general, is 
very woady, and contains an immente 
numbei-of fruit-trees. The Duke has 
pot two fine elks in one of his parks. 
Adi the country round Hereford, fo far 
as I have feen, is pleafant, the foil a fer- 
ile loam, and produces much wheat and 
other grain, ‘The river fometimes over- 
flows its banks, and does damage. 
November 11, went from Hereford to 
Prefteign, in Radnorfhire, 23 miles—A 
fruitful and pleafant country ; the foil a 
clayey loam, and produces much: wheat 
Montaty Mac. No. xt. 
Mr. Houfinan’s Tour continued in Herefordfbire, Se. 
33 
and other grain. This is about the mid- 
dle of the wheat feed-time, and the far- 
mers are bufily employed in that bufinels ; 
they plough with three or four hortfes; 
but I obferved two ploughs going in one 
ficld ina Singular manner; they were each 
drawn by three horfes, and had each one 
man only attending them. ‘This inge~ 
nious farmer, although he had no notion 
of yoking two horfes a-breaft, contrived 
to fix wheels to the plough in fuch a way 
that after being placed in the furrow at 
every turn, it ei go recularly of itfelf, 
and the ploughman has nothing more to 
do than guide the horfes. By that means 
the expence of a driver is faved ; however, 
the improvement can only be adopted 
where there are few ftones, and on level, 
loofe-ground. The furface is pretty 
level, till I come near Wales, where 3. 
hilly country again commences: moft of 
thofe hills are beautifully covered with 
wood. Farms along this diftrict appear 
pretty large, and the foil productive. 
The turnip culture, however, is moft 
wretched ; the cr ops are never canned nor 
hoed, and are bad in the extreme.—Here 
I faw feveral fmall felds of hops. The 
produce of the orchards is what many of 
the farmers chiefly depend on tor the pay- 
ment of their rents: in this day’s jour- 
ney I met with more fruit ground than I 
had feen in any other diftri€t; and: the 
crops of apples and pears feem to have 
been pretty good this year. ‘The people 
are now pulling them and making cyder 
and perry, which operation is very fin- 
ple. The fruit is firft laid in heaps a few 
days, then mafhed or bruifed with a larga 
ftone turned by a horfe; it is afterwards 
put into a hair prefs, which is fcrewed 
down with a long lever, and the liquor 
runs out into a fort of trough from which 
it is immediately taken in ‘that ftate and 
put into the hogfhead, where it remains 
til] it clears, and becomes fit for. ufe. 
Among feveral large heaps of apples there 
was one which I eftimated to centain 400 
bufhels. Buildings are rather old fafhion- 
ed, particularly ‘towards Wales, where 
they are generally of wood or lath and 
plafter: I paffed through one large vil- 
lage, or rather, I believe, a {mall market 
tewn, where I did not fee a fingle ftone or 
brick houfe. I fuppofe a want of free- 
ftone, and the great abundance of wood 
in thele parts in former times, has given 
rife to this fyftem of building. ‘This is 
even yet a very woody country, The 
eee fmall, want horns, and are! white- 
faced, Herefordfhire fecms, in general, 
to enjoy 4 falubrious and temperate air, 
E and 
