







Coat te 
tility the firtt four miles. I then 
e king’s New Foreft, a few miles 
ch is interfperfed with little woods, 
mall fields, and farm-houfes ; the foil 
ye mt, but level, and all views fhut up, 
‘The road now leads me inte a deep gloomy 
wood of nearly twe miles in a direct line, 
with two or three fimall openings, where 
+ fe trees are a little thinner, and have 
~ efs underwood. This woed is oak and 
beech, but not very good. I next afcend 
ag little rifing ground, frgm whence I 
igre a diftant profpect on every fide; 
but, to my mortification, gan fee no ter- 
mination of this vaft foreft: it is now 
~ ‘compofed of here and there a little thicket 
of wood, and large tracts of barren land 
producing little befides very long heath 
or ling. I had not, however; travelled 
far, before I came in fight of a few farm- 
houfes, which I pafled, and again found 
myfelf entering another part of this wild 
foreft, to which, although my view was 
extended, I could fee no bounds. The 
face, of the country here is rather hilly, 
the furface covered with heath, and clumps 
of beech-wood: after travelling about 
four or five miles further through this 
lonely defart, I reached its confines near 
Ringwood, a fmall raarket-town, This 
forelt is computed to be thirty miles in 
circumference, and is very little of it cul- 
tivated: thofe large tracts which con- 
tinue in a ftate of nature are occupied 
with a few fheep, large red deer, and 
black game; the deer are fo favage and 
wild, that they are faid to be dangerous 
to travellers in the rutting {eafon.—Ring- 
wood ftands ina level vale, which has a 
good gravelly foil, and is cultivated a 
little on each fide; but I had hardly got 
half a mile from the town, when I again 
entered a very {pacious and barren watte, 
er heath, which continued till I was 
within a mile or two of Wimbourn. 
Thefe forefts are much frequented by 
_thieves and robbers: indeed, a place more 
fit for their purpofe cannot be imagined ; 
they may there commit their depredations 
in fafety, and elude the hands of juftice 
for along time. Arriving ag my inn at 
Wimbourn, I began to reflect on the 
fcenes of this day’s journey. Where 
have I been travelling to-day? thought 
J; through the unfrequented defarts of 
Africa, or through the wilds cf America, 
or through fome country where the inha- 
bitants are few, live by hunting, and 
have no occafion for bread? No, I have 
been traverfing a part of England at no 
great dutance from the capital, where the 
| Houfeman’s Tour in Dorferppire and Wiltpire. 
8 Bae 
ty, and the country extremely plea-_ 
275 
people are almoft ftarving for want of 
bread, and who are importing grain from 
foreign countries at a vaft expence, while 
millions of unproduétive acres in this 
kingdom only want the affiftance of the 
hufbandman to produce corn and cattle 
even in greater abundance than is wanted, 
and thoufands of poor people are out of 
employ! What is the legillature doing ?— 
Hampfhire, befides a number of forelts 
and parks, contains a great deal of com- 
mons and wafte grounds: it is adorned 
with feveral fine ieats, has fome very 
fertile land, and plenty of water, ‘The 
furface in general is rather unlevel, and 
the inclofed grounds have much wood, 
both in regular woods and in hedges. 
This county is remarkable for a fine 
breed of pigs, but not fo much fo for 
cattle, fheep, and pafturage. It produces 
a confiderable quantity of corn; farms 
feem rather large than otherwife, and 
rents neither very high nor very low: 
in agriculture I obferved nothing very 
commendable; and prejudice in favour 
of old fyftems, however ab{urd, is as pre- 
valent here as in moft other counties. 
Fuel is extremely dear here, the coal be- 
ing brought round from the north.— 
Wiimbourn is a very fmall, clean market- 
town, in which I noticed nothing re- 
markable: farms in the neighbourhood 
are large; fome as high as 1oool. a year: 
vaft tracts of common are alfo at no 
great diftance, on different fides of this 
town. Here, for the firft time, I enter 
the cfder country, a few hogfheads of 
which are made in this town. 
now at the fartheft fouthern point of my 
tour, and am about to incline a little 
northwards again. 
O&tober 14th, went from Wimbourn 
to Blandford, in Dorfetfhire, ten miles. 
The road fine; foil dry, and mixed with 
flint and chalk. The country quite open ; 
pafs over a great deal of downs; fome 
chalky hills near the road; the hedges are 
often bare, others are broad, and fenced 

with briars, floe-bufhes, and a few thorns, © 
which form good covers for the pheafants, 
of which there are a great number in this 
country. Here are feveral hazel or nut- 
woods of ereat extent, and confequently 
that fruit is extremely plentiful. This 
part of the county contains feveral fruit- 
ful vales, but the high greunds are not 
fo remarkable for fertility: a great deal 
of all forts of corn is produced. Sheep 
of this diftri& are horned, white faced, 
rather tall, and pretty well fhaped; their 
wool is alfo fine, and their fecundity isy 
perhaps, peculiar to this breed: thefe 
: “1 Sheep 
” ay li 
IT am/ 

