446 
calves, it affords great fupplies of fheep 
and oxen to the Smithfeld market—In 
this and the laft county or two I travelled 
through, I took -notice that the inhabi- 
tants are fo remarkably fond of title and 
apparent civility, and fo complaifant in 
giving and returning it, that even the 
paupers in a workhoule are generally call- 
ed mafter, mifter, or mifirefs fucb-a-one. 
This appeared the more extraordinary to 
me, as.in the northern: couniies fuch 
feeming marks of refpe& paid to a com- 
mon, or poor perfon, would be confidered 
by him-as ironical or farcaftic.  - 
The metropolis itfelf has been the 
fubjeét of fuch a variety of defcriptions 
and remarks, that I {hall fupprefs the 
obfervations I had noted down on the 
objeéts which principally ftruck me in my 
furvey of it; and proceed to my next 
country tour. 
July 15th, London to Epsom,- in 
Surrey, fixteen miles. The people bufy 
mowing and making hay, and much grais 
yet tocut, which I thought rather fingu- 
far at this time of the year, and fo near 
the metropolis. In this day’s journey I 
ercfled a common, occupied with furze 
and a few ill-looking theep; a fight I 
little thought to have met with in this 
enlightened part of the country;; and on 
travelling a little farther, I was ftill more 
convinced of my ill-founded ideas as to 
agricultural improvement in thefe fouthern 
climes: I paffed over a very extenfive 
common field, where the naturally fertile 
foil is exhaufted by conftant cropping.— 
‘The furface of this diftri& is pretty level, 
but not without fome eafy fwells. A 
great many elm-trees grow. on the 
hedges ; elm feems to be the principal 
fort of wood attended to, both in this 
county and Effex. It isa knotty,:and, in 
my opinion, far from being the mof 
ferviceable fpecies of timber, either. for. 
‘building or farming purpofes; the knots, 
however, feem to be produced by an in- 
judicious praétice, which prevails here, 
of lopping off the branches, Sheep are a 
long-horned white faced and iegged 
breed, and in fhape fomewhat refembling 
thofe of Norfolk. Buildings are generally 
made with. brick and tre, and almoft 
every cottage has a vine or two fpread 
along the walls, which produce grapes 
often in abundance. Great neatnefs feems 
to be obferved about the houfes and 
gardens: in and near the iatter, there 
appears to be a tafie for having piecesof 
water, overiooked by weeping willows,and 
occupied by various and curious forts of 
Sth, fwans, &c. Epfom is an extremely 
5 
| é - 
~ Tour—Epfom, Eber, Sc. 
covered with clufters of grapes. 
2 
pleafant. well-built town, furrounded 
with good land, pretty fields, and plenty 
of trees, without being an’incumbrance. 
Here I {pent two or three days in the mok 
agreeable manner, at the houfe of the 
rev. J. BOUCHER, recior of this place. 
The-eicgant houfe, gardens, and pieafure- 
grounds occupied by this gentleman, are 
his ewn property, and are planned with. 
a degree of tafte and neatnefs not ofte 
equalled: his colle€tion of plents is large, 
and curious; and befides all the common 
forts of fruit, there is fearcely a wall which 
does not fupport the fpreading vine, 
. Mr.. 
BovucHER is gentleman of . exrenfive 
landed eftate, his moral charaéier, and 
literary abilities are too well known to 
need any comment, and I am proud io. 
cail him my countryman, but whole ab- 
fence from his native foil, I have to lament 
in common with the reft of the inhabitants 
of Cumberiand. Cilofe to Epfom is a 
large common, on which the foil is 
naturally very good, but like all other 
commons in the kingdom in that fiate is 
not equally productive. aT dos 
July 18th, I reluctantly lef Epfom,... 
and went to EsxER, in Surrey, eigat 
miles. The road good, made with fine 
gravel, which indeed I found to be the 
cafe in all the neighbourhood of Lendon. 
I am again turning vorthwards, and pro- 
pofe making a circuit through the mid- 
land counties,. and afterwards mean to 
vifit the fouthern, weftern, and Welch 
diftriéts.. Between Epfom and Efher, 
a large common intervenes: the foul, in 
general, is a fine loam, and produces 
heavy crops of corn, particularly wheat - 
and barley, end the furface is level: upon 
the whoie, this is fine and beautiful 
diftrict. Efher is a fmall village, inha- 
bited chiefly by farmers. Here I had an 
_ opportunity of feeing the celebrated farmer 
Mr. Duckgt, and of viewing his farm 
and fingular improvements at Biher Park. 
That gentleman’s farm is in the beft 
ftate of cultivation I ever remember to 
have feen one; the furface is level, and 
the foil a fine loam, but in different parts; 
has. different proportions of fand and clay. 
Mr. Ducket’s utual fyftem.of agriculture. - 
is, firft, a green or fallow crop; fecond, 
barley with ciover; third, clover mowed 5 
fourth, wheat or oats: this fometimes 
finifhes the courfe, and fometimes, ffth, 
beans, fixth, wheat. Every one of thefe 
crops, even the clover, is: drilled: and 
hoed by implements chiefly of his own 
contrivance: he ufes a horie hoe, by . 
which the operation is performed very 
¥ expe- 
