Mr. Houfinan’s Tour through England, continued. 
is in fome places rather light, anda {mall 
part of the land is ploughed, but not 
much of it bove marks of the beft huf- 
bandry. The palace at Hampton Court 
is a magnificent ftruéture. ‘The gardens 
adjoin the Thames, which they overlook 
for fome diftance. In thefe gardens is a 
moft remarkably large vine, which is now 
loaden with the largeft crop of grapes I 
ever faw or heard of: the gardener told 
me 1550 bunches of grapes are now 
hanging upon it, and the whole weight 
of which is eftimated at 93 cwt. The 
furrounding country is beautiful, and thé 
adjacent park {till more fo. The lan- 
guage, the manners, the ideas, the opi- 
nions, &c. of people in this neighbour- 
hood, are thofe of London, 
September 28. Went from Hampton 
Court to Windfor, Berkthire, fourteen 
miles. A moft pleafant country, and 
excellent road. Pafs along the Thames 
fide for feveral miles. Cvois Runnemede, 
which is a fine extenfive meadow, and 
famed for being the place where King 
John laid the foundation of Enelifh li- 
berty by figning the Magna Charta. 
Windfor is a fmall and pretty town, and 
fuppofed to contain near 3000 inhabi- 
tants: it is connected with Eton by a 
bridge over the river, which feparates the 
town. Of thefe two noted places, viz. 
Windfor palace, the principal country 
refidence of his Majelty, and Eton college, 
the firft public {chool in the kingdom, 
it is unneceflary to fay any thing in ad- 
dition to what is contained in numberlefs 
printed accounts. 
September 30. Went from Windfor 
to Farnham, in Surry, through Bagthot, 
twenty-four miles. The road goes di- 
rectly acrofs Windfor foreft about fix’ 
miles. From Windfor I pafled along a 
fine avenue of about two miles in leneth, 
in a direct line to the Lodge, which is a 
large modern-looking building: it ftands 
ona rifing ground, in the middle of the 
park, and is the occafional refidence of 
the Duke of Gloucefter. Elm is the 
mott prevailing fort of wood in this fine 
park. About Bagfhot there is a mile 
or two of inclofed and arable land, and 
about the fame quantity towards Farn- 
ham; but all the reft of this extenfive 
diftrit, except Windfor park, is very 
barren common, producing little befides 
thort heath or ling; and in fome parts 
a little fern and rufhes. The foil of the 
inclofed ground is a deep loam, for the 
moft part; and that of the common, a 
thin ftratum of black moorifh earth, 
Bpon a gravelly yellow fand, A great 
23 
part of this tract is rather hilly, and the 
‘commons very extenfive on every fide; 
and is, upon the whole, a naked, barren 
diftrict; the road exceedingly good, and 
crofles a new canal not far from Farn. 
ham. The king is cultivating and im- 
proving feveral parts of Windfor park ; 
and I took notice, as I pafled his farm 
there, that in ploughing and carting, his 
majefty*s people make ufe of finall bul- 
locks: four or five of thefe animals ge- 
nerally draw a cart, and-as many a 
plough. This feems, however, not to 
be the general pratice in this country, 
About Bagfhot and Farnham a con- 
fiderable number of oak-trees are grow- 
ing; I obferved fome fir-trees planted 
year the road; they feemed te have been 
fet upon the furface, and {mall mounds 
of earth raifed about them, the foi] being 
there very poor ; but they make a bad pro-~ 
grefs: the reafon is obvious—thef trees 
are planted in fingle rows, and therefore 
want company, without which that fort 
of wood never anfwers any good pur- 
pofe. . Neither Scotch nor larch fir is 
much known here; indeed, I rarely faw 
either in the fouth: but am of opinion, 
that in thefe barren commons nothing 
would pay the proprietors fo well as 
plantations of thefe forts of trees, if 
planted clofe ; and, befides their intrinfic 
value, they would nurfe uy the oak, and 
other valuable timber. _ Approaching 
Farnham, I find my-felf entering one of 
the firft hop countries in England; and, 
as I had not before feen any hops culti- 
vated, the appearance of hop fields was 
novel. ‘The feafon for picking hops is 
almoft expired ; but there are yet feveral 
fields not finifhed. Hop grounds are let 
fot 41: -to''ro’ bi; 121. an acre: ‘about 
1400 {mall hillocks are raifed in one 
acre, on each of which two hop plants 
are fet: two, and fometimes three poles, 
of about four or five yards leng, are 
ftuck into each hillock annually for the 
plants to climb up. Of thefe poles they 
generally reckon 3000 to an acre, which: 
are purchated here at 30 fhillings per 
hundred. The hop ground is dug over 
with the fpade annually, and has a co- 
vering of dune once in two years, when 
it canbe had. When the hops are ready 
to pick, the poles are pulled down, or 
bended downwards, fo as the labourerg 
can reach every part of the plant; and as 
foon as the crop is gathered, the plants 
are cut clofe to the ground, {tripped off 
the poles, and carted home for the fire, 
while the-poles are piled up endways in 
the field till next fpring, The hop plant 
grows 
