TOUR OF ENGLAND. 
(Continued from page 291.) 
Journal of a Tour through almoft every county 
in England, and partof Wales, by Mr.Joun 
Housman, of Corby, near Carlifle; who 
was engaged to make the Tour by a gentle- 
man of diftinétion, for the purpofe of col- 
leéting authentic information relative to 
the ftate of the poor. The Journal com- 
prifes an account of the general appearance 
of the country, of the foil, furface, build- 
ings, &c. with obiervations agricultural, 
commeicial, &c. 
YOVEMBER 26, Chetter, to the 
\ village of High Walton, in Che- 
fhire, eighteen miles.—A level country, 
and a {trong foil: roads very bad, parti- 
cularly in wet weather. I obferved no 
commons in this diftriét ; the inclofures 
feem old; farms and fields fmall; the 
average rent of land about 25s. per acre ; 
and the fize of farms, moftly between 201. 
and rool. a year. The land is almoft 
wholly in grafs, and applied to the pur- 
poles of dairying.—A few trees appear in 
hedges. I paffed fome rocky hills on the 
right; much red freeftone rock on the 
~yeoad; yet the buildings are moftiy of 
brick, and thatched ; but tolerably good. 
From this road I had a view of the river 
Merfey, which, towards Liverpool is very 
broad, and divides Chefhire and Lanca- 
fhire. The Duke of Bridgwater’s canal 
paffes clofe by the village of High Wal- 
ton; near which place an aqueduct 
conveys the water ard its contents, over 
the road. This canal] goes between Man- 
chefter and Liverpool, and is faid to be a 
very lucrative one.—Chefhire is much 
noted for its fine cheele, which is fent to 
all parts of the kingdom ; its paftures 
are very luxuriant and cattle good. I did 
mot fee many fheep in this county; and 
thofe I faw were of the {mall forts.---It 
is wholly a farming county ; and here that 
character, the farm monopolif?, fo much 
complained of in the fouth, 1s fcarcely to 
be heard of. : 
Nov. 27, went from High Walton to 
Liverpool in Lancafhire, by way of War- 
ringtcn, 21 miles.---The road very fine ; 
country low, and quite level ; fields fmall ; 
much grafs land; a few trees on hedges ; 
buildings pretty good, and population 
great. The farmers here make much 
cheefe.—Liverpool ftands low, and clofe 
to an arm of the fea, which comes up the 
Merfey, acrofs which one fees fome high 
ground on the weft corner of Chefhire. 
From this road a traveller has a good 
profpe&t of the town, at the diftance of 
about half a mile: the churches, and in- 
Hoafman’s Tour continued. 
ae 
[*May 
deed all the buildings, are quite modern 
in appearance: and the rigging of the 
veffels looks like a wood behind the town. 
~—Many of the fireets of this town are 
very narrow, which is.the more remark- ~ 
able, as they are moftly of a modern date. 
There likewife feems to have been very 
little regularity in the planning of the 
town.---Near the exehange, however, and 
in the higher parts of the town, there are 
fome pleafant and airy ftreets.---Moft of 
the buildings are very good: the ware- 
houfes near the water fide are fuppofed to 
be the higheft in England.---An account 
of the population, commerce, and fhip- 
ping, of Liverpool, would require almoft 
a volume, as well as a long refidence on 
the fpot. Suffice it is to fay, that it now 
ranks as the fecond commercial port in 
the kingdom, and it poflefles a large fhare 
of the Weft India, and almoft the whole 
of the African trade. 
November 30, 1 returned from Liver- 
pool to Warrington in Lancafhire, eigh- 
teen miles.---This is Warrington fair 
day, or rather the firft day of the fair, as 
it las feveral days, and draws here a 
great coneourle of people. The thew of 
cattle was great, and the animals very 
good ; they were of the Lancafhire breed, 
a fpecies of cattle, which I think is not 
exceeded, if equalled, in England, except 
in Leicefterfhire. Warrington is a great 
thoroughfare, and contains 8790 inhabi- 
tants. Sail cloth is much manufa@tured 
here. The town ftands on a level fertile 
plaia, by the fide of the Merfey, but mott 
of the ftreets are very narrow and dirty. 
December 1. « Warrington to Man- 
chefter, 18 miles.---A level country, and 
a pretty good foil: the fields fmall, and 
mott of the lands in pafturage for cows. 
I obferved a few fimall pieces of wood- 
land, chiefly oak: the road excellent. 
On the left hand fide a peat mofs was in 
view for 6 or 7 miles : it is now, I un- 
derftand, under the hands of the drainer, 
and is expected to be made very profitable 
ground, of the fuccefs of which I have 
no doubt. Peat mofs is fulceptible of 
greater improvements than any other {pe- 
cies of foil.---The cotton manufa&ture 
employs thoufands of people along this 
road: cottages and manutfaéturing vil- 
lages are numerous. 
on a little rifling ground, in a fine open. 
country: a few of the ftreets are narrow 
and dirty, but the town in general is open, 
airy, clean, and remarkably well built; 
it feems alfo to have been formed on a 
much more regular plan than Liverpool. 
The populaticn is increafing amazingly 
as 

Mancheiter ftands - 
