Univ.- Bib). Giessen} Y Oia ————_— Sea—__—_——-= P XSioun ik Mans Si as j L R E|| | AY} fr[ ee, Derham R 3 aa s LF\ s 24 O Se eee Ji d BE F wok ve CHIPPING“ as :>— AA ARN ET »~~ eesy Goi , 2°? Harrew . ge Weal. th bs Wn Comme% Edgujare 382 ee are ae Jal AOE INES VB) Farrow onthe Hill OF RN Naptioien Clapton Nipldacknev‘ea °)= een | 1 4, bed] j Wz thnal y :\~ tratrord le Kou Zs yee f COLNBROOR|)== OS\ ) feddington ~ r Scale EXPEAN ALTE OW: t faint‘W a z z< r Brown Arable ; Green Principally Meadow& Lastire i=, 2+>. i Yellow& Green Nursery Grounds& Gardens wy ae SSS a-t_ eae| ff << a aoe Pa= A OF THE Pee OR CREEULTURSE OF MIDDLESEX; OBSERVATIONS ON THE MEANS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT, AND SEVERAL ESSAYS ON AGRICULTURE IN GENERAL. DRAWN UP FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, BY JOHN MIDDLETON, ESQ. OF WEST-BARNS FARM; MERTON, AND OF LAMBETH, SURREY, LAND SURVEYOR} Member of the London Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, and Corresponding Member of the Board of Agriculture. ACCOMPANIED BY THE v REMARKS OF SEVERAL RESPECTABLE GENTLEMEN AND FARMERS,“py, [P83 cos ie Bar MOA Barr 4 LONDON: Wa hie ae PRINTED BY B. MACMILLAN, ba Gees Rae; oy! cm PRINTER TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES FOR G. NICOL, PALL-MALL, BOOKSELLER TO HIS MAJESTiy AND THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE; AND SOLD BY G. G. AND J. ROBINSON, PATERNOSTER-ROW; J. SEWELL, CORNHILL; CADELL AND DAVIES, STRAND 3 W. CREECH, EDINBURGH; AND JOHN ARCHER, DUBLINe oe 1798. Fe RT EL Y= we ADV THE orest Fee igth RXPTESSY(OF| vers of the S come[0 a appear On or observat printed, as ; ha perfec acknowlede mote th NB \, SUMERY] |} tea) Meadilly ADVERTISEMENT. THE great desire that has been very generally expressed for having the AGRICULTURAL SuR- veys of the K1ncpom reprinted, with the addi- tional communications which have been received since the Or1GINAL REportTs were circulated, has' induced the Boarp oF AcRICULTURE tO come to a resolution of reprinting such as may appear on the whole fit for publication. It is proper at the same time to add, that the Board does not consider itself responsible for any fact or observation contained in the Reports thus re- printed, as it is impossible to consider them yet in a perfect state; and that it will thankfully acknowledge any additional information which may still be communicated: An invitation, of which, it is hoped, many will avail themselves, as there is no circumstance from which any one can derive more real satisfaction, than that of contributing, by every possible means, to-pro- mote the improvement of his Country. N. B. Letters to the Board may be addressed to Lord SOMERVILLE, the President, No. 32, Sackville-street, Piccadilly, London. yr 4st URN fowar chee ¢ INTRODUCTION. IT cannot fail to excite a considerable degree of astonishment, that the noble and useful science of Agriculture, to which we owe not only many of the comforts and conveniences of life, but even the means of existence, should so lone have oO remained neglected, and almost despised; while every other art and science, from the liberal en- couragement and support they have received, seem to have gone on in a steady and rapid step towards perfection*. But the period of indiffer- ence and neglect 1s| at length to have arrived, in which we shall no xassed, and the time seems longer have occasion to lament the slow progress that has hitherto been made in this invaluable branch of science. Happily for the country in general, and for the agricultural part of the com- unity in particular, such a spirit for the im- provement and advancement of husbandry has *« The land constitutes by far the greatest, the most ‘* important, and the most durable, part of the wealth of ** every extensive country.‘The poor cannot be so much a * distressed by any rise in the price of poultry, fish, wild ‘** fowl, or venison, as they must be relieved by the fall of S* potatoes.”’—Smith’s Wealth of Nations. ee gone Vill INTRODUCTION. gone forth into the world, and diffused itself ae among all ranks of society, as will, undoubtedly,“tf under the auspices and assistance of the honour- ate able Board of Agriculture, and by the interesting fe‘ communications of its many intelligent corres- oy sondents, effect the most beneficial improvements a in the Agriculture of the country. The many um barren and uncultivated wastes, which have so oe long remained a mark of disgrace to the spirit_ and chara¢ter of Britain, will, probably, be cul- tivated, and thereby changed into a permanent I resource of wealth and prosperity to the nation, tke and an extraordinary degree of emulation and ae competition among the more enlightened class of seas husbandmen will be excited, whose example will Me no doubt speedily be followed by every farmer of aime common sense. This this When we reflect on the extraordinary, and af gn almost inconceivable exertions that have lately ane been made, even by individuals, towards the ge- the neral improvement of Agriculture, but more par- of ticularly in the important article of live stock, in some of the midland counties; what advantages may we not promise to ourselves from the waited vid efforts of almost all the agricultural abilities of the the kingdom, employed in collecting, and after- de wards in digesting into a regular system, all the the information that can possibly be procured from of every corner of the island, of the most improved[a manage-| tt INTRODUCTION. 1X management of every sort of soil and cattle; of the best implements now in use for every branch of husbandry; and, in short, of every thing that can at all be cither interesting or useful on this important subject. It is indeed impossible to appreciate the benefits of such a measure; they are, whether considered in a national or indivi- dual point of view, really incalculable! It will readily be admitted, on a moment's re- fiction, that the more highly any country 1s cultivated, and the nearer it approaches to per- fection in its rural concerns, the greater will be its increase of population, and of course, its strength and consequence in the scale of nations. This consideration points out to the goverument of this country, the sound policy, and true wiscom, of giving all possible encouragement and assist= ance to a spirit of industry and exertion, among the best part of its population, the healthy sons of agriculture. For the same reason it follows, that the indi- vidual who makes even the smallest effort towards the furtherance of this great national obje@, ren- ders essential service to his country, and may therefore justly lay claim to the candid attention of his‘ fellow-citizens, though he may perhaps (as in the present instance) be but a weak advo- cate in a noble cause. Under this impression it a 3 was, ~ 2, ¥¥ CLO Was.) Phat.| umeertook: thease writine the fol was, that| undertook the task of writing the fol- Nae ayen 1 Dl aos| Dass esas 1 i a Ee— lowing Report on the Agriculture of the County INGA Acar Galle camera ae Se ny re er araeel ica OL IVIVGCHESE XK, LUN sensible of the many disad- Eee i ae ree ae sem Fs et ge ne a en vantages I laboured under, as well from t 1e- -AcaRatr, FANE TS See+ ee. a{°\ e+ aE es srry cessary attention tO Otnél INGISPCNsi LC cu Cae? lea 5 iQ) (a) tions, as from my inability to do complete justi to the subject. The work, such as it is, 1 com- mit tothat candour and indulgence with which the public always receives every well-meant endeavour to advance national improvement. culd I be so happy as to have it thought that ig) eee ee ee ame eee ae Me I had, in the smallest degree, attained the object Thad in view; that 1 had furnished any useful nformation to the agricultural world, or that| had, in the least, contributed to promote the hone ae eee eee eee bee Tait ee c laudable designs of the honourable Board of Agriculture, I shall consider myself as most fo r the care and attention I have JOHN, MIDDLETON: TED ra Lambeth, OUuUrrey. pee ila a CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.—GEOGRAPHICAL STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES. : PAGE Sect. 1.—Situation and Extent--- I 2.— Divisions= e= x 2 3.—Climate*=*- S 14 4.—Soil and Surface-- és Seo we 5.— Minerals---= S 26 6:— W ater i os m= 27 CHAPTER iL.— STATE: OF PROPERLY: Srcr. 1.-—Estates, and their Manageinent= 34 2.— Lenures=-=<. 37 CHAPTER 11t.— BUILDINGS. Secr. 1.—Houses of Proprietors- ss- 38 2.—Farm-Houses, Offices, and Repairs- 39 3.—Cottages~-== S 42 CHAPTER IV.—MODE OF OCCUPATION, Sect. 1.—Size of Farms; Character of the Farm- ers, and Rural Artificers=} 48 2.—Kents-- Z=- 56 3.— Tithes-- 2= a8 58 4.—Poor, and the Rates for their Relief 63 5.—Leases-=“ ss ak 6,.—Expence and Profit< e. 82 acu CHAPTER *~ Lops Gis CONTENTS. een ie CHAPTER V.—IMPLEMENTS. PACE Ploughs and Harrows- 2&.- 86 Rollers and Carts e a.- 87 SECT§ Observations on Ploughs, and Ploughing= 88 on Harrowing and Rolling=- 93 on Carts-”-- 94 on[hrashing Mills-- 95 on a Scuffle, and a Hay-Sweep= 96 on an Implement. for cleansing the in- ee tervals between the rows of Hops i. CHAPTER VI.—COMMONS, INCLOSING, &e. Sect. SECT. 1.—Commons-==- 98 Inclosing===- 106 2.—Common-Fields=<- 114 3.—Enfield-Chase== 116 4.— Stanwell Inclosure-- 126 §.—Sheep Downs~-- 127 6.—Fences-~-- T22 Gates-=‘ 134‘ LU CHAPTER VII.—ARABLE LAND. DECT. 1—Tillage--- 138- 2.—TV allowing--~ 149‘ 3. Rotation of Crops=- Tiger 4.—Crops commonly cultivated~ 164. 1. Wheat>-- 166 PL 2. Rye==- 179 i 3. Barley==- 180 4. Oats=.~ 186' 5. Beans==- 188 6. Peas--- 193 7. Potatoes - 226 2. Sainfoin. 2 z 233 3. Laying Arable Land down to grass 234 3.—Hay-making 2=- 237 4. Feeding=“ 2s 251 CHAPTER IX.—GARDENS AND OR- CHARDS. SecT. 1.—Fruit-Gardens a= H 7 2c4 2.—Kitchen-Gardens= ie 259 3.—Nursery-Grounds=~ 269 CHAPTER X.—COPSES, WOODS, PLANTATIONS, HEDGE-ROWS,& OZIERS. -? z= 7 ee a CHAPTER XI.—WASTES. 5 s z‘3=== 282 CHAPTER ee es= a=———— es.——> -=: a I IE me SE XIV CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER XI.—IMPROVEMENTS. == be=== 283 a ja, és Cra ay SecT. 1.—Draining=-- 285 ee ; Secs ath ae y 2.—Paring and Burning-- 294; 3-—Manuring-~- 20! face J 4— Weeding-~= 315| CHA 5.— Watering=.- 316 3 4S C0) CHAPTER XHEL—LIVE STOCK. % ss iB 2 F Sn Soe| SEeT, SECT. 1.—Cattle.| Neat cattle“-= 327 Cows--. 328 Butter---- 338‘ Animals not natives of Great Britain 341 2.—5 i€ep---) BAble Spanish Sheep, and Experiments on\ i‘‘- 350 manufacturing their Wool- 23 fou S tc AI AT fouse Lambs--- 355 CHAI Grass Lambs-- 358 3.— Horses--“ 260 a ~ LN Breeding--- 361 A Feeding Farm Horses- See| Dray Horses--=+364 Observations on feeding Horses in q: re 366| London== i Horses compared with Oxen- 367 SECT 4.—Hogs:: See 1S 75 §-—Rabbits=== 277 »)-~~ 6.—|1 oultry= x= 378“ 7.—Pigeons== ib.| | 8.—-Bees-~- ot ees 1S: CHAPTER CONTENTS. AV PAGE CHAPTER XIV.—RURAL ECONOMY. ------ 380 Secr. 1.—Servants, Labourers, Hoursof Labour ib. 2.—Provisions and their Prices- 387 3.—Fuel>~~ a aso* CHAPTER XV.—POLITICAL ECONOMY, AS CONNECTED WITH, OR AFFECTING AGRI- CULTURE. Sect. 1.—Roads=~-- 303 2..—Rivers and Canals-- 401 3.—Fairs---- 408 4.—Markets-~- ib. §.—Cominerce--- 419 6.—Manufactures~~ St ed. 7.—Poor(see page 63)-~ 440 $.— Population--< ib. CHAPTER XVI—OBSTACLES TO IM- PROVEMENT, INCLUDING|.GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. ON” ass CHAPTER XVIIL—MISCELLANEOUS ORSER VATIONS. SECT.-7:— Societies~-~ 465 2.—Heriots-~- 470 3.—Weights and Measures- ib, 4.—Gleaning and Pilfering- 472 5.—Bullock-Hunting-- 1b. 6.—Dogs-: A 473 7.— V ictualling~Houses-- 475 SECT. O- VE CONTENTS. eae stil, en DECT. 8.—Vermin and Game= A oA: Sie para eae #i.—/i\n attempt to estunate the quant a Arable Land in South Britain CHARTER° XViL.AAVEE A N PROVEMENT. Conclusion~- PP EIND EX. ao — eS = OFLA Ity Of) No, 1.—Account of Implements of Husbandry,) by the Rev. James Cooke 2—QOn Thrashing Machines, by M‘Dougal ia ze z yr 3.—On the Cultivation of Waste Lands, by Eos.-D. Bucknall. Esa. 4 D 1 Henry VIII. for dividin Heath.= a 5 3*.—On ditto, by the Earl of Berkeley 4.—Copy of an Aé€ of Parliament , Vir Aye oO yr Hounslow- f + | 5.—On Enfield-Chase, and the Inclosure of- BJ; a is P,} Commons near London, by Reid, Esq.~= Andrew 6, 7, 8° 8=—On Enfield-Chase, and the su- periority of Paring and Burning over every other method of tilling it, by Dr. Wilkinson= 9.— Map of Enfield~Chase~ 10.—On Enfield-Chase, by J. Wizgstc po elf zd 4@ o-U~ AK 1O2 1 Rae oO AN “Vv | CONTENTS xVu PTAGS Wo.tt.-—Plan of an Orchard+~-$34 12.-On Newbury Peat Ashes, by Richard_| Crockford--- j 533 | 15:—Qn Soot, Malt Dust,&c. by James Tbucas:._. 3b. 4.—Mode of fattening of Cattle with Mo- Acs lasses, by L. Mullin a yn, Esq.= J$34 : Dutch Dairy, by t ie 28 Rey Jor fel:: 53 The method of making Butter in Holland,\ 544 by Mr. R. P. Carew 545 17.—A Paper on G@unale. received by the Au-\ 549 16.—Report of a Soma of the House 2 Y Commons, on the Jobbing of Cattle thor from the Board of Agriculture 73.—On the beneficial effeCts of steaming Grain 552 19.— The Parishes of Middlesex particularized 556 90.—Letter on Population, by the Rev. John {owlett-~ j oe 91.—Plan of an Experimental Farm, by Dr.]_, f 568 Home= io ws 22.—Ditto, by Robert Fraser, Esq.= 573 2.3.—Obsery ations on the yellow colour of the) ae a ens>£70 Fat of Mutton and Beet= J Jf 24,—Le tter from the Author to Sir John Sin- 1 f clair, Bart. a a a J ws i Gs. Sir John Sinclair’s Answer to ditto= 579 Lord Somerville’s Answer to ditto= c80 + The Author intended to have inserted a plan ofan orchard in thi glace; but as it turned out to be inconven sint of size, and being o small importance, the idea was given up, ¥- ERRATA. Page 3, line 8, for“(No. 1)? read“*(No. 19).”? 17, line 1,‘* even supposing it possible,’? shouid be within a parene thesis. x8, line 1, for“£ the,’’ read“‘ some.”? 41, lines 1£ and 12, for‘¢ principally,’’ read°° partly.”” 42, 76 and gs, for Threshing, read Thrashing. st, line 1¢ from the bottom, for““ the most part,’’ read** sometimes.?? 147, line 14, after“‘ by,’’ add,‘‘a trench plough, or by.’ 161, line 1, dele the comma after cole. line 18, dele** the owner.”’ 190, line 14, for“‘ black dolphin,’? read‘* collier.” 235, line 4, after“‘ itis,’’ add‘* supposed to be.”’ 245, line 4, for‘¢ the Appendix,’’ read‘‘ vol. xiv. Transactions of Soe ciety of Arts,&c.’’ 334, line 7, for“ hay,& truss, at 4-10ths per ditto,’? read,‘* hay, 1 truss and 4-1oths at Is. gd,’” 349, line 2, after‘‘of,’’ add‘* driving to and from.”” 389, line 3, in the first note, after‘‘ each,’’ add‘* person.” 391, line 3 from the bottom, dele‘‘ other.’’ 392, line 4, dele‘‘ other.”’ 436, line 3, for‘‘ Itivated,’’ read,‘‘ cultivated.°° 445, line g from the bottom, for“‘ 5,273,’ read,“‘ ee 39 453, line 21, for‘‘ Middlesex 648,000,”” read,‘* Middlesex 650,000." oo) vt AGRIGU IT UR AE sSaiRy Bey oF Mel) D:D: ib ES Bex. CHa A Bk. Ts GEOGRAPHICAL 5 1 Ah AND CIRCUMSTANCES. SECTION“1.-=SET UATION“AND? EXTENT? IDDLESEX isan inland county, situated towards the south-east part of the island. It is bounded on the south by Surrey, from which county it is divided by an imaginary line drawn down the middle of the river Thames; on the east by Essex, from which county it is divided by a similar line drawn along the middle of the river Lea; on the west by Buckinghamshire, from which county it is divided by a supposed line drawn down the middle of the river Coln; and on the north by Hertford- shire, from which county it is divided by an irregular line of parish boundaries. This county is of a very irregular shape; but if its figure was reduced to a regular parrallelogram, of equal superficies, the medium length and width would be about twenty miles by fourteen; and consequently, it contains A 280 4 DIVISIONS. “ z‘ worth, 280 square miles, or 179,200 acres: every part of which,‘a that is not occupied by buildings, roads, water,&c. is sus- be; ceptible of cultivation*. ist m It received its name from having‘* been inhabited by oe ‘¢ a party of Saxons, who, being situated in the midst of i « the three petty kingdoms of the East, West, and South 130) «© Saxons, called themselves, or were called by their county ‘¢ neighbours and brethren, Middle Saxons, which, in Appen “© common conversation, was soon abbreviated into Mid- Th «< dlesax, or Middlesex.”’—(Magna Britannia.)| HOS It possesses some very superior advantages over every an other county, ii its comprizing the Capital of the British| f Empire, the seat of Government and of Legislation, of| a V0 the Law, of Learning, and the Fine Arts; where all of P; the families of the first rank and wealth occasionally re-| TI side, which is generally during the sitting of Parliament, ards| and where the business of the richest merchants, bankers, Dar and citizens, is carried on, to an extent that is unequalled| Hich in any other part of the globet.| ail | Waly " the r SUC.[1.——D LV LSlONS- THIs county is, primarily, divided into six hundreds, named Ysulston, Edmonton, Goare, Elthorne, Isle- at Ur * Mr. Foot’s Survey says,‘ it is 23 miles by 14, and contains 240 square ber miles, or 217,600 acres;’? which is totally wrong, as 23 by 14 would give 322 square miles instead of 240, which(240) is equivalent to only 153,600 me acres. Even 322 square miles, only contain 206,080 acres; but, according to ~,..-\ Faden’s map, the extent of the county is as I have stated it in the text.— 7. M/.; / a: + London(says Mr. Colquhoun, in his admirable Treatise on Police) is t i not only“ the first commercial city that is known at present to exist, but is! ofl «¢ also one of the greatest and most extensive manufa¢turing towns, perhaps oa ‘¢ in the universe: combining in one spot every attribute that can occasion “¢ an assemblage of moving property, unparalleled in point of extent, magni- «© tude, and value, in the whole world.”? worth, DIVISIONS. 3 worth, and Spelthorne; and into two liberties, called Finsbury and Wenlaxbarn. These are subdivided into 208 parishes, whereof 108 are within the City of Lon- don; 10 in the City and Liberties of Westminster. These two cities, and 18 additional parishes(together 136) are within the bills of mortality; the rest of the county contains 62, all which are particularized in the Appendix,(No. 1.) The City of London is governed by a Lord Mayor, two Sheriffs, 26 Aldermen, 202 Common Council-men, and a Recorder. A freehold estate in this city does not entitle its owner to a vote at the county, or any other, election for members of Parliament. The City of Westminster is governed by a High Stew- ard, Deputy Steward, High Bailiff, Burgesses,&c. The Dean and Chapter of St. Peter’s Cathedral choose the High Steward, who is commonly one of the nobility, and holds that office for life; he chooses his Deputy(who is always some eminent lawyer), and the High Bailiff; the Burgesses are chosen by the several wards. This city hath properly but one parish, called St. Mar- garet’s; but there are nine others, which are called the Liberties of Westminster, from their enjoying the freedom of that city, and also St. Martin’s-le-grand, which, though circumscribed by the City of London, is part of the Li- berty of Westminster, and votes accordingly for parlia- ment men. The Cities of London and Westminster, and about 50 adjacent parishes, form one town, the Capitol of Great Britain, known by the general name of London. A? LONDON. 4 DIVISIONS. CO-N-D-O N-: of the {x may be expected, that in the Report of Middlesex, eis some account should be given of the state of the Capital. oe To enter much at length into so vast a subject, Is beyond Mes the bounds allotted for a work of this nature. It may a therefore be sufficient to lay before the reader the follow- va ing extraét from a paper written by that respectable phy-’“L sician, Dr. George Fordyce, which describes the climate, th and other circumstances connected with the general state, of London, with great force and brevity.“Ty «« London is situated in latitude 51° 31’ north, longi- uf « tude 5’ 347” west from Greenwich, 5° 16’ 23” east of#D «< the opening into the Mediterranean from the ocean.“iy «© The town is large, for an European town, being ina Hyg «« body about five miles in length, and three in breadth, uy << besides a number of rows of houses lining each side of« 3 « the roads going out from it: op AR smile sis 16914| rae «¢ lengths of a pendulum swinging seconds. The greatest| Wg ‘< part of the town is situated on the north side of a river| Wy « called the Thames. The ground on which this part| Wd ‘¢ stands, is an hill, which rises with a quick ascent from‘ << the bank of the river, and then gradually, although un-| « equally, to the north-west, which is the most elevated|‘ « part. The river on the south side is confined by an|( ‘¢ artificial bank, the ground on that side being flat; but «© the water does not stagnate”’ in such of the ditches as« are suffered to have the tide flow through them; wherever that is admitted, it scours them clean, and carries off much filth; but there are many ditches from which the tide is shut out, and they are always loaded with putrid matter.—* On this side stands a considerable part of the < town, called Southwark,” which, including the parish of Christ Church, and part of Lambeth and Newington, is Sac.“ Sn DIVISIONS. 5 - a bodv of near three miles by one. On the north side € the river,‘ London reaches along the river side to the west, until the river leaves the bottom of the hill, and turns to the south. Above this, the river is confined between artificial banks on both sides, and is lined with houses till it runs through two old towns, Westminster and Lambeth. «© London is surrounded, besides the houses which line the roads, with many large villages. «© The river Thames runs through a valley, upon a bed of the gravel of flints, and probably clay under it, for many miles above and below London.‘The valley is bounded on both sides by hills not exceeding 400 feet in height. Where the river runs in the middle of the valley, it is secured by artificial banks on both sides, which have lasted longer than the memory of history, extending in all more than thirty miles. These banks, when the river washes the bottom of the hills on either side, are only continued on the opposite side. When not increased by either rains or the tide, the river is about a quarter of a mile broad, not more than twelve feet deep, and now and then, in very dry seasons, it has been forded by horses. The tide in this river flows above fifteen miles higher than London. At London, it rises at spring tides from twelve to fourteen feet. The water is very pure some miles above the town; near the town it is mixed with mud, and contains a sufficient quantity of mucilagimous matter to putrefy.— When preserved in casks, it purifies itself by putrefac- tion, and remains afterwards more pure, but it never purifies sensibly in the river, nor in the cisterns mn which it is sometimes kept for a few days for use. At the lower part of the town it contains a little sea salt, when. the tide is at its height; but this does not reach A&* to “ 6 ‘ n A n 6 n a n a nw é n é na € n nw é DIVISIONS. fic gravity is the he inhabitants are to the middle of the town. Its speci same with that of distilled water. T supplied with, this water, which is pumped up. by se~ veral engines, principally worked by fire, into then houses. << The town is also supplied with water by an aque- duct, which is brought from’ near twenty‘ miles distance, from the north, through a canal of about 36 miles in length.‘The water of this aqueduct is also pure, and, unless when heavy rains bring down” mud, it is bright and clear, and does not putrefy on keeping. Its specific gravity is also the same with distilled water. This water, as well as the other, is carried in wooden pipes under the streets into the houses of the inhabi- tants. «© There are springs found on digging every where in the town, which might yield large quantities of water: these were formerly used, but are now little employed, because the supply from the Thames and New River is much cheaper. The waters of these springs contain a small portion of sea salt, and a larger quantity of magnesia vitriolata, so as to be sensible to the taste, and so as, in some places, to a€t as a purgative.“They also contain gas; sometimes in quantity sufficient to give them briskness, and render them agreeable to the taste. «¢ Rain water is never used*, being always very im- «¢ pure, from the dust’? which it washes from“ the tops < of the houses. “© The whole supply of water, from aqueducts and en- <¢ gines, 18 109,440 cubic feet in an hour. * Rain water is constantly used, both by the laundress and the house- maid.— 7% M, 6¢ 66 © « n DIVISIONS. 4 «¢ The valley through vhich the Thames runs, is gra- velly, generally dry, and not marshy till about a mile below the town, the water in the river being confined between its banks. ‘s The hills or risings, on which the principal part of the town stands, are mostly a mixture of clay and sand, the sand or gravel generally being in rather the largest proportion. In some places the soil is gravel. ‘© The winds from the south-west to north-west, and from south-east to north-east, are the most preva- lent®. The westerly winds blow over the great At- lantic Ocean, passing, before they reach London, over part. of Great Britain for about two hundred miles, and over Ireland when they veer to the north. They * This passage would correspond more with my own observations, if it stood thus: the winds from south-west to west, and from east to north-east, are the most usual; I think they prevail ten months in every year. Winds blowing from every point of the compass between the west, north- west and north, are so very dry, as not to produce a day’s rain in a year, th ough I have observed, as an uncommon circumstance, rain for an hour to- gether from the north-west. An east wind is always dry; generally with black clouds, and the same from the other points, till the wind gets about to, or near, the north-east, which, with a few points on either side of the north- east, most frequently brings the like dry black cloudy, but sometimes hazy; weather, or a continuance of gentle rain. When the wind veers from the north through the west, it continues dry till it passes the south-west, from which point to the south, it almost cer- tainly brings rain; but it seldom stops there a day, but it returns to the same point: and when it passes southward through the eastern points, all is per- ba’ 5 E? r fectly dry till it reaches about the south-east.‘The atmosphere then begins to give the appearance of rain. - The wind, however, seldom rests there, but veers to the south, and from that quarter, anda few points more westerly, we receive the greater rains. During the spring months, the wind frequently blows warm and steadily from the south-west for near a fortnight; ina few hours it changes to the -] opposite point, or the north-east, and blows a steady cold gale for about ano- ther fortnight. This is repeated very often in the course of the year. The for th +h) -mer winds induce people to leave off their winter clothing; the latter take em by surprize, thus thinly clothed, and is the cause that many diseases at P> J, vat time prevail._— 7. AZ. A 4= sake nw “ a “ a n ~~ “ ¢ n é n n wn a n a “ ray wn 66 6é ¢ . ww ¢ ce DIVISIONS. are generally moist, although much drier than when they arrive at the west coast of the island. The barometer is generally low when they blow. They are commonly most prevalent in February, September, November and December. The easterly winds blow over the large continent of Europe: they are always dry. The barometer is high when they blow. They are most prevalent in January, March, and the begin- ing of April. They are cold, except sometimes when they blow in July and August; while the westerly winds are almost always warm, except in November, if they verge to the north. «¢ The heat of the air is very variable, seldom remain- ing equal for many days; and every year differing en- tirely from the preceding ones, not only in heat, but also in moisture and rains. Sometimes the winter is severely cold, with frost from November till May, with little interruption. Sometimes the water is not frozen for more than ten or twelve days. Most commonly, there is a little frost in November and December, but otherwise these months are usually very foggy and moist.‘The principal frost generally is in January; February is commonly a mild open moist month. March is generally cold and dry. The summer months vary as much; sometimes there are three months very warm; sometimes not more than a week: the latter half of July is commonly the hottest. In August heavy rains often fall, especially in the last half of the month. The thermometer sometimes rises to above 80° of Fah- renheit’s scale, very rarely to 86°, but the most com- mon summer heat is from 65° to 75°; it sometimes falls ee in the winter to 15°; it has been known to fall below the point marked’ O, but very rarely.— The most com- mon winter heat when it freezes, is between 202 and €eé ICY a~ 3 a a wn wn DIVISIONS. F 20; the most frequent when it does not freeze, between 0 SAO 40° and 50°. *«‘The air when dry is always loaded with, and often » obscured by, dust, which consists of ashes and soot arising from pit coal, the fuel which is commonly burnt; horse-dung produced and ground to small pow- der, by the numerous carriages drawn by horses, with which the streets are aly ways crowded; powder of gra- nite and flints, which form the streets and roads, and are ground extremely fine by the wheels of the car- riages.— These powders, with various others, penetrate the houses every where, and undoubtedly enter the trachea, adhere to the surface of the lungs, and not un- commonly produce cough, with difficulty of breathing, in meet first coming from the country. The streets are generally wide, few of them so nar- Tow as to prevent two carriages from passing, and many of them wide enough to allow five or more to pass; especially in new parts of the town, which form more than half of it, they are from sixty to twenty feet wide; those of great communication seldom less than thirty in the old part of the town; in the new part, most of tl n several places there are squares of a considerable size, z. e. from about 100 to 1000 feet square. The streets are well paved and clean, notwithstandi: ing the immense quantity of zu dung co nstantly falling upon them. The houses, exce; pt most of those in the oldest part of the town, which are not more than a quarter of the whole, have a story sunk under the level of the street This contains the dicen and other offices. Below the level of the bottom of this story a covered canal js dug under the street, with which there is a communication from the houses, and by which putrescent matters suf. 6e ficiently Io DIVISIONS, « ficiently fluid are carr ied off. Ashes, bones,&c. are «© conveyed away in carts twice a week.‘The’ greatest ) Cc 4} res= D os: i:« the 9 «¢ part of the houses are of a uniform structure; 11 eacn y tne§ yd the The : eer SAIN ERE Fae Sir «< story a a large room im front; a smaller room and the « staircase occupy the back part; and there is frequently“ yery «© 4 smaller room added behind. There are commonly“ way « four stories, besides the one under the level of the« be ti “<< street.« prod «© The town is fully inhabited; there is hardly a house“4 ¢¢ ynoccupied*.& the The number of inhabitants is very little known:«th « calculations of various kinds have been made by many«we << authors, but t have been founded on elements en-“a << tirely conjectural, nd are therefore of no use. AAs fai“sy sas my own opinion goes, and nothing better than opi- a th d~ a: a © nion can be formed in this case, they are about a mil-«a i A“ n lion. They consist of classes living in very different“th é¢ manners. 6“ 40 AR e 44° clas 7H laid q}. livi+} ar narern:|= ie first class includes those living on their paternat; c 6 «< fortune, or riches suddenly ac quired, comprehending a; nN rott few merchants. Ihe women of this class live almost A n <¢ constantly in their nance s, which are very close, al-. «¢ though the rooms are spacious, and the whole house i « perfeétly clean and neat, or in carriages, with no labour: « and little exercise. This gives them a delicacy in their 4 ji <¢ appearance, hardly to be dbceribod: As a flower brought « forward by the cherishing heat of a conservatory, <¢ where it is defended from the nipping winds, exceeds a «¢ any thing produced by nature alone, like it, they too‘ Ci lo «¢ have a tenderness of constitution w! hich subjects them to << disease from the slight est exposure to any Cause. ¢ iT 0 :-:: Ws % The risk of being unoccupied, is not less than one in twenty-five, 03‘ four per cent.— F. /V. Wy re.(4 “ Then t a n cn a“ “ é DIVISIONS. LT s* Their situation, however, prevents them from being often exposed to infection or sudden cold, which are the great causes of violent diseases in this metropolis. Their complaints therefore are generally. slight, and very irregular; nor can they bear medicines in any way of a rough nature: their disorders must therefore be touched with the slightest hand. This has often produced an imbecillity of praCtice, not only in Lon- don, but throughout the kingdom, which first infects the medical people who are immediately employed in the disorders of this class.— Although there may some- times perhaps be found one or two among these who are not the most learned or judicious practitioners, yet they are the richest, which contributes not a little to the spreading of this infection. Notwithstanding the diseases of the women of this class are frequent, yet they are seldom fatal, so that they often live to a great age. <¢‘The men of the first class are much in the air in the morning, and use exercise. They live in the country part of the year, when they are often occupied in hunt- ing and shooting. With some exceptions, they are of constitutions sufficiently strong; are seldom diseased; their diseases are strong and marked, and they bear the operation of powerful remedies. «¢[he men who are menial servants of this class, like the domestic slaves of the antients, are idle, lazy; use little exercise; none when they can avoid it: they are thus rendered irritable; and being often exposed to all the inclemency of the weather in the winter season, often till three or four o’clock in the morning, they are exceedingly subjeét to disease, particularly of the tho- rax; and few of them attain to any great age, except those of the higher ranks. c¢ The ae t6 ¢ rN 66 4 n C4 " ¢€ n ¢ n ¢ a ¢ “ e ns " . DIVISIONS. The women-servants resemble, in their constitutions, their mistresses. iere than in almost any other country in Europe.‘They are very apt to be affected with hypochondriacal complaints; but being in general regular in their manner of living, they often attain to a great age The lawyers who are occupied in business, are often, from their great attention and labour of mind, weak, and disordered in their prime vie.‘Those who are not employed, may be considered as in the same state with the independent gentlemen. «« Physicians are so few, that it is hardly worth enu- merating them. There are not much above two hun- dred in all, and not near half that number are employed in practice. Except when they are cut off by infec- tious fevers, before they are habituated to infection, al- though often diseased, physiciat is generally attain a con- eo 4 I «¢ Attornies and apothecaries are to be considered, in their manner of life, and constitutions, in the order of tradesmen. Merchants and traders of consequence form the next Ege ee m4°:: LPS Vaid class."The women of this class live a regular life, sAING. P- spaeea tie! A erie ean Ppa oan be om a| soing to bed generally before midnight, and rising about oO oO o) Dd) oO nine in the morning. Most families have villas near town, where the women pass much of their time, espe- ee et rene er Hy Onairantean aan FE} ASS at rs y during the summer season. They are much more 1 mM the air, and consequen itly have neither the delice acy nor the irritability of the class we have first enumerated; health; their diseases are enjoy a much better state of more regular, and they bear the action of powerful re- medies. Of the men of this class, some lead a seden- tary life; their time is much employed in writing, ge- 7 4 f YY Qo toe nerally « rerS, ‘ eet + but to “ the W « and a n 6 n 6 6 a 6 ns é a“ a “a n My VY ~ < 4 — wm m io) & Q ° | ee) nerally leaning on their breasts: such are subject to complaints in their prime vie; others of them use ex- the ercise, especially on horseback, and often sleep in country: all of them, in point of eating, are luxurious. “ The lesser tradesmen, shopkeepers, and manufactu- rers, are also sober and regular in their manner of life but they are much confined to their houses, enn the women of this class, which renders them irritable, and subject to disease, often violent and fatal> Nioiis that part of the men whose bu siness calls them abroad, less subjeCt to morbid affection, so that they rarely at- tain to great old age. The last class consists of the working part of the manufaéturers, and labourers of all eenomnaONS who, with some exceptions, are the most disorderly, profligate, debauched set of human beings perhaps on the whole earth; working hard, and being dextrous in their occupations, and of course earning large sums of money, which they spend in drinking, exposing them- selves at the same time to the inclemency of the wea- ther; always idle while they have any money ae SO that their life is spent between labour and attention above their powers, and perfect idleness and ees Their women also, passing from affluence to distress almost every week, are forced, although soberly inclin- ed, to lead a very disorderly life. Pulmonary com- plaints are more particularly common and fatal in this class, as well as all other diseases. ‘© London is fatal to infants in general. Ona com- parison of charity children sent to be nursed in the en- virons, with those nursed in town, it appeared the loss in town, being 39, was only 29 in the same number and time in the country. But if this loss is great alto- gether, it is tremendous among the lowest class, the $4 CLIMAT! «< mothers being almost always obliged to labour for theif *¢ bread, and often even robbed by their husbands, have ** no time left to take the care necessary for the rearing of ‘¢ infants, so that they are often left to wallow in dirt’ ** notwithstanding the general disposition to cleanliness in “a n this country, and can never receive that exercise, or “ n purity of the air, which is requisite; nor can their food a . be at all attended to.—Add to this, a pernicious prac- tice of continuing to give them suck for even two or “< three years, by which they hope to prevent their hav- ** ing charge of many children.‘This pernicious prac- “¢ tice goes even to some mothers of the ranks above this; A n while mothers in the higher ranks refuse the natural *¢ sustenance to their infants, leaving them often to the “* care of strangers regardless of motherly affection. From s¢ all these causes, the loss of children in London is more ‘© than one half, before they attain the fifth year of their ce deen SE Gh pie UNE Aor THE temperature of the atmosphere, except perhaps so far as the influence of the London fires extend, is nearly the same through the whole county, there being no situa- tion so much elevated as to produce the cold and thin air that we find in mountainous countries. In general, it is healthy, owing to the greater part of the soil being zaturally dry; and the more moist situations being well drained, are consequently free from those un- healthy vapours which usually arise from stagnant waters. The fires of London, in which are consumed about 600,000 chaldron of coals annually, have a sensible effect on the climate in its neigh ones: by drying and warm- ing ————— SS gt———= ae a — ee eee CLIMATE. is ing the atmospherical air; which, being thus rarefied by heat, constantly passes upwards, and makes way fora fresh supply to come in from every side. The more stationary winds are from the south-west and the north-east: all others are variable and unsettled.‘Those from the south-west are supposed to blow nearly 6-1aths of the year, and those from the north-east about 5-12ths. The varying winds blow from all the other pceints of the compass about the other 1-r2th.“The winds seldom blow with so much force in this distri€t, as to shake the grain out of the ripe ears of the standing corn*. The greatest falls of rain generally come from the south, or perhaps from a point or two west of the south, and are most certain when the wind has passed through the east to the south. In the spring months, the damp on low ground is some- times congealed by cold, when there is no such appearance on the hills, and thereby some of the young shoots of the miore tender shrubs and plants are destroyed in the former situation, when no injury happens to those in the latter. So great has been the extremes of heat and cold, at some particular times, that on the 16th July 1793, the thermo- meter rose as high as 8392+, and on the 24th January 1795, it fell down to 6 degrees below O; though this, per- haps, is the greatest difference in respect of climate ever observed in this kingdom; happily, however, it never continues more than a day or two at such extremes. The salubrity of any district is certainly affected in a great degree by the state of the soil, and shape of the sur- * Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, that wind from various points at and near the south-west blow about 25; north-east 20; and from the rest of the circle, near 7 weeks in every year.— F. MV. + The thermometer rose to 83° on the 21st July 1797, at which height it continued for two or three hours, and on the 24th it was at 84° for near half an hour.— 7 M. face a e 7} 16 SOIL AND SURFACE. tyme, even face of such distriét; and hence it follows, that the na-| she count tural chmate of most or all countries, may unquestionably( A sarfe be considerably improved by using the means best ealcu- lated to procure an equable degree of shelter, dryness, The top and moisture; all which may be effected in bleak, dry, ee and comparatively barren situations, by dividing them into ore small inclosures with broad hedge-rows and plantations, in fiend belts of several yards wide; and in low flat situations, by cay =~@UL Vi draining off the stagnant water, by enlarging the inclo- Gund sures, thinning and clipping the hedge-rows; in some in- ene stances, by grubbing up not only these hedge-rows, but‘ oa round also copses, woods, and plantations, thus removing every a, ee= tbe ee; and a obstruction to a free circulation of air. This will neces- acunale aot sae: urface sarily absorb and carry off the redundant moisture, and; eae A dug. consequently render the climate salubrious and comfort- 4" < ie ? able.: 1=°34° ba CONSIST| Indeed too much attention cannot possibly be paid, in cases of inclosures, plantations,&c. to the grand articles i* The of drainage and shelter, and also to the nature and situation ic ae of the soil; as by a proper regard to these objects, not only h),m the healthiness of the climate, with respect to animals, ae will be promoted, but the fruitfulness of the soil will be we increased in a degree not otherwise to be expected. he = aoe A:== Wy For additional observations on climate, see Dr. Fordyce’s a th a ese- 4* cal account of London, under se€tion Divisions. vie *&o, " an it { WALC * deep SEC ie phys SOME AUN DiS UsReh AG hi.“inte 5 Ol L. “Th TueE following observations are offered in a very gene-“inthe ral way. To delineate the variety of soils, so as accurately 4 to draw the lines between them, would require much more time, ———— ee— SOIL. 17 time,€ven supposing it possible to investigate every part of the county, than can be expected in a work of this kind. A surface of perfect sand, clean gravel, or pure clay, is not now perhaps to be found in any part of the county. The top soil has every where been arneliorated or changed by the operation of the elements, by manure and culti- vation; these powerful agents have made the surface of al the lands in this county assume, more or less, the appear- ance of loam*. Sand and Gravel.—Hampstead-hill consists of eight. or ten feet of yellow iron-stained sand, with some loam and rounded flints, on a pure white sand of many more feet; and at the depth of about 150 feet are springs. The surface is covered with furze, except where the ground is dug. The summits of most of the highest hills in the county consist of sand and gravel, though frequently intermixed * The following account of the soil and fertility of Middlesex, extracted from Norden’s Speculum Britanie(written in the reign of Queen Eliza- beth), may amuse the reader, who wishes to compare antient with modern times. “* The soil of Middlesex is excellent fat and fertile, and full of profite: it ‘* yeeldeth corne and graine, not onlie in abundance, but most excellent good ‘* wheate, especiallie about Heston, which place may be called Graxarium “* tritici regalis, for the singularitie of the corne. The vaine of this espe-= ** ciall corn seemeth to extend from Heston to Harrow on the Hill, be-= ** tween which, as in the midway is Periva/e, more truely Purivale,&c. ““&c. Yet doth not this so fruitful soyle yeeld comfort to the wayfairing ** man in the winter time, by reason of the claiesh nature of the soyle: ** which, after it hath tasted the autumne showers, waxeth both dyrtie and ** deep: but unto the countrie swaine, it is a sweet and pleasant garden, ** in regard to his hope of future profite, for ““ The deep and dirtie loathsome soyle “© Yeelds golden gaine, to paneful toyle. “* The industrious and paineful husbandman will refuse a pallace to droyle *¢ in these golden puddles.” The wheat of Heston was so famous, that Queen Elizabeth, as is reported, had the most part of her provision from that place, for manchet for her Highness’s own diet. B with seePhadeeee 5 A a a wee:- Se ee Sd (o's| SOIL. with loam. I observed in the old inclosures, andon Ein- field-chase, in various places, that when the oravel 13 very near to the top, a full crop of yellow blossomed room covers the ground, if in a state of grass; and when ploughed, an equally full crop of sorrel. Loamy Sand*—Or dry turnip and barley land, will ine clude all that portion of the county lying between the road leading from Hounslow to Colnbrook on the north, and the river Thames on the south, containing in depth from one foot to three(though for the most part from eighteen inches to two feet), on a gravel of small flints, six, eight, or ten feet in thickness, with a subsoil of blue tile earth. On the east side of the county, the whole way from Tottenham to Enfield-wash, the superstratum is of the same light nature; of from six inches to two feet in depth, on a gravel of small flints, which can only be dug for the repairing of roads to the depth of from two feet to five, owing to its then putting on the appearance of a quick sand, so filled with water as to prevent all deeper digging.‘There is some poor land about the extreme west end of Hounslow-heath, and doubtless in a few other places. Sandy Loam+—— Will include all the land between the Colnbrook and Uxbridge roads, on the west side of Han- svell and Hounslow, of from eighteen inches to u»wards of g I five fect in depth, on six or eight feet of the gravel of flints on a subsoil of blue tile earth.— Of this description 1s the south side of the parish of Harefield, and the parishes of Twickenham, Isleworth, Ealing, Chiswick||, Ken- * The basis, or greater part of this soil, is suppose d to be sand.— 7. M. + This soil is supposed to contain a less proportion of sand than the last.— ¥. MZ. \|“ The soil of Chiswick, is from a strong to a tender or sandy loam; and 66 fyom a rich and fertile, to a white and sharp sand and gravel.”’— P. Foot. sing Ig ——————— SOTM Ig x+ Do ae NEA lana«~ Fulham*, Brompton, and Chelsea at the last aie Oris, HRD el Toe Tate piace, this soil has Deen most highly enrich ed by cuitiva- ) C DD eon IO-\I-an)ly- Strong Loam.—All the land from Riselip and Ickenham, Moe oo ef slp fate rent fies Ares tees ees 7a(Slovresae Se he On the west, to Greento Yd, KAT ee 1 pik east, and between Pj; ner on the north, and Northcote on a:; s 17 eatin a eRe. lana at ¢ tire south, 18 Composed of strong loam. ihe land about South Mims is ee of this kind. The level between[slington, Highgate and Hornsey, is a strong but very produéti Loamy Clay.—Such is the north aspect of a hill between Uxbrids ige-common and Harefield, the land north-west of Riselip, the greater part of Flanger-hill, a wood near the :| east end of Hiilendon-heath, and the lard between the river Brent and Hampstead, on the He endon road. The meadows on the north-west side of Hendon church, to- wards Pa age-street, are of nearly the like kind: much of this parish, indeed, is of a clayey nature, yet there are anne s of sand, and more of gravel. From N ightingale- all, by Colt ney-hatch, to W hetstone, the land is of a oamy clay, mixed with pebbles of fints- and from Pot- ter’s-bar, for about two miles towards South Mims, the soil is the same.. The north side of Highwood-hill has a thin skin of loamy clay on a subsoil of yellow clay; and in many of these places, the subsoil is a yellow clay, but all the varieties abound with rounded flints, [ have not met with any of this land on the borders of rivers, nor much on any level low ground, nor on the he highest, but generally on the tops of the lower tl ie sides of ally Alle hollows, bowls and hfe 3 are filled with gravel, as nuts may be contained ppesi strict of Fulham, consists of a] ight black and fertile so il, “ The lands round Harmonds worth, consist of a Light loam and gras ‘vel, LP, PF. B2 bet 6 Fe) ey Chee eg 20 Soil. in a bason. This 1s particularly visible in soils that have been but little or not at all cultivated, as Enfield-chase; and it is a most unpromising circumstance to the cultivator of such an obdurate and variable soil. Clay—The most tenacious, obdurate and ungrateful soil known; very different from marsh land; the deposit of water. This, like other upland soils, contributes some of its richest: particles towards the formation of marsh land in low situations. It is no wonder there should be such a diversity of opi- nion respecting the management of clayey soils, when opinions upon the nature of clay are so very discordant. Many of our best writers on agriculture, indeed, err so greatly, as to call the most highly enriched sediment, or de- posit of large rivers, by the name of clay. Others have de- nominated the half-dissolved chalky marl of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, by the same name, and hence they have attri- buted great fertility to clay, a quality which I have never yet found real clay to possess. How, indeed, can a soil that is naturally tough, gluey, wily, and sticking to every thing brought in contaét with it, while wet; and assuming a stony hardness when dry, possibly be deemed prolific Its pores seem to be shut up or closed in wet weather; and in dry summers, it appears to be equally ill calculated to permit the free and easy growth of vegetable roots. It is certain, that corn, grasses and herbs, root very little into it. The ploughing it up(where it lies so near the surface as to be accessible to the plough), 1s injurious to the surface soil and future crops. In Middlesex, it is called“ ploughing up poison.” I believe that tobacco-pipe clay, and the clay used in making the Staffordshire ware, are equally enemies to vegetation. Peat. here babh and: ascel SOIL. 2 ol Peat-—The moors near the river Coln, the whole distance from Rickmansworth to Staines, consist principally of peat, on a substrata of the gravel of fints, which every here and there shews itself even at the surface; and pro- bably peat may be found on the borders of the river Lea, and the Isle of Dogs;. but I have tad no opportunities of ascertaining this. Marsh Land—The deposit of still water, 1s a peculiarly rich loam; very different from the loam of uplands, and equally so from clay. It abounds with the richest parts of every soil, and of animal substances which have been dis- solved and washed from all the higher grounds, villages, towns and cities.“The Isle of Dogs, which contains near 1000 acres; most, or all, of the land on the flat borders or the rivers Lea and Coln; some inconsiderable quantity of land on the sides of the Brent; the small islands in the river Thames, and many pieces of land situate in the va- rious nooks and windings of that river, come under this description*. SURFACE. * One of the returned Reports has the following marginal observation:— ** The most fertile part of this county is within eight or ten miles of the *¢ metropolis, and that improved by the advantage of manure. Inthe west- ee ern part, the soil thin, and underneath is a cold gravelly clay: the east 6¢ ern part more fertile, there being a good staple, and underneath is a good “¢ loam, or loamy clay. The northern part varies much, some part of a *€ good loamy clay, that bears excellent wheat, and smutty wheat hardly “¢ known; in other parts, very little distance, a gravelly clay, and not very s® fertile. «¢ The land in this hundred(Edmonton) is chiefly employed in raising ¢ crops for market, no advantage being made in breeding cattle, as by the *¢ middle of November the Jand in general is so wet, that what remains on ** the land is but of very little use for heavy cattle, butis disposed of by €¢ three months walk for store sheep out of Hertfordshire. ‘¢ In these vicinities(Finchley, Highgate, Hornsey and Hampstead) the € dependance is hay for London markets, and the lattersmath for their suck- ¢¢ ling sheep, for house-lambs, which no county is equal to it for number 46 and quality, by which the farmer becomes wealthy. B 3 6 And ===~ rr ed 22 SURFACE. DLR FAC T'H1s county, from its gentle waving surface, is particu .}=] os S75 VES Jarly suited to the general purposes of agriculture: it be- ing sud ficient Y siOpIng, to SECUIE a proper, draina€, aliG at the Same time without those abrupt E1evations Wwicn mn i some places so much increase the labour and. expence of tillage; and from its being entirely free from large stones those powerful enemies to the free operations of the plough. It is true, it can no where make pretensions to what is called the picturesque: no rugged woody mountains, not craggy ivy-bound rocks, here present themselves to inter- cept the traveller on his way, or to captivate the fancy of the painter; but the more chaste, beautiful, and. orna- mented scenes of nature, are found in almost every part of the county. The inequalities of the surface which we meet with in this distri€t, contribute to health, ornament and beauty. Here are not many dingy heaths, nor sombre coloured woods, to offend the sight in the gay season of eee but shady groves, diversified plantations, and meandering rivers. Numerous villas, ornamented grounds, lawns, da medallions of beautifully flowering shrubs, almost every where present themselves to the view of the traveller; which, together with the great number of lofty spires, and gay carriages, cannot fail to remind him of being in the vicinity of a metropolis which may very justly be called the centre of commerce, wealth and fashion. s¢ And in these vicinities(Newington, Clapton, Hackney, Bethnal- ‘¢ green and Stepney) leading to Oldford through the marshes bordering on &¢ Hackney and Tottenham, the land, part arable and part meadow, is a ** yich, mellow, loamy soil, where agriculture may be. displayed to great ‘¢ advantage.?? Having == a Te ies———| PRS airy S=a+ an BEES) in the beds of most or all of the rivers; and under that for‘the most part, blue tile earth. Coals have not yet been discovered in the county, nor sufficient trials have been made to find out ere are any or nof. me person of landed property shall have so much t} i 2, spirit as to dig or bore three or four hundred fathoms or more in depth, we shall not know what treasures are hid beneath the surface: in more mountainous places, nature shews her stores, or at least the usual accompaniments thereof, to the eye of a naturalist, without the trouble of digging or boring: but under the smooth and level surface of Middlesex, they must search deep, who would obtain the prize of either coals or limestone. Ee 1 For mineral springs, vide sect. 6. water. eC Valea WA bane. 4 Hrs county 1s most excellently and abundantly supplied ith this very necessary and useful article. , 1 I The principal river is the Thames, which is divided, as before described, by this county and Surrey, for about forty-three miles, navigable the whole distance. With this river are connected inland na gations, which make a communication between it and the water of the Severn, the Mersey and the Ouse; and consequently a connection with the trade of Bristol, Liverpool and Hull. The largest ships in the service of the East India Company can safely come up this river, to the edge of the county, at Black- wall. 68 WATER. wall. The tide flows for about twenty-three miles the side of the county. To this noble and capacious river, the county of Mia dlesex, and indeed the kingdom in general, is much in- ~.(= Ay ee Ee debted for the assistance it affords; not only as an easy and cheap conveyance of the products of our island from one part of it to another, but also as being the means of bring- ing to our very doors, the various productions of the f- whole habitable globe: serving, at the reflux of the tide, as a useful drain to carry off all the superfluous water and filth of the capital, and surrounding country: then, by the wonderful operations EIS EXC el llent streams purified a1 i indispensible to the ease a * From the river Thames, by means of the extensive water-works at the Middlesex end of London-bridge, a part of London receives a never-failing supply of water, conveyed in pipes, laid under the streets, in almost innu- “cc merable ramifications Also the water-works at Shadwell, which were “* first established in 1669, serve a district contain 8000 houses, ** besides lic buildings, extending from the town to Limehouse-bridge, « and from Whitechapel to the river Thames. It is worked by one of “* Bolton and Watts’ improved engines, which has the power of raising: th« «* water at the rate of 2853 tons 152 gallons ina day of fourteen hours, the G6 usual time of working it.’’ Again at Hungerford, there are established the York Buildings water- 1 which is in their imme- ao o ° a works, which serve to supply that part of th diate vicinity. In addition to this liberal supply of water received by the inhabitants London and its neighbourhood, from is‘Thames, at these several places there are also some considerable water-works at Chelsea,** which were ** constructed about the year 4724: a canal was then dug from the Thames, “* near Ranelagh, to Pimlico; where there is a steam engine erected to “*-raise the water into pipes which convey it, in various dire¢tions, to the “¢ village of Chelsea, to Westminster, and various other places at that end ““ of the town. From these works the reservoirs in Hyde-park and the se eee n-park are also supplied. *<' Tn a calculation of the quantity of water supplied daily the severa *€ water-works in the neighbourhood of London, anno those last © mentioned(Chelsea) are said to yield 1740 tons it sans oe a Re: 2 ogra= amo. F eee gn WATER. 29 ft is beautifully and characteristically described by Sir John Denham, in the following lines: ““ Tho’ deep, yet clear; tho’ gentle, yet not dull; ** Strong, without rage; without o’erflowing, full.’? The fish that are chiefly found in the river Thames, } are tench, barbel, roach, dace, chub, bream, gudgeon, ruffe, bleak, cray fish, eels, smeits and flounders; whereof the three last are particularly ¢ good. The river Lea—which forms the eastern border of Middlesex, is also ee convenient to the inhabi- tants of that part of the county. Upon this river a very extensive trade is maintained, both by this county and Hertfordshire. The river Col2—on the west side of the county, is prin- cipally applied to the purpose of working the several mills that are erected over it The river Brent, which rises in Hertfordshire, enters Middlesex near Finchley; and, after t aking a circuitous course through the county, forms a junction with the Thames at Brentford(the county town) which derives its name from this river™. The New river, or Sir Hugh Middleton’s canal, is a very extensive aqueduct, which, after running a course of nearly twelve miles from its source in Hertfordshire, enters this county at Bull-cross, and in a very winding route of enty-four miles more, passes by Enfield to Islington, where it is received into a large bason: nineteen miles in a straight line from the spring. Thence, by means of the necessary engines and pipes, the water is conveyed to most parts of London and the northern environs; thereby furnishing the inhabitants of this part of the metropolis * Though this is called the county town, there is neither town- hall, nor any other building of that nature.— 7. 44, with \‘ 39 WATER ai 1d HOO r cnnnliv aft Wost ex lent aloas Net ane regular sSUppiy OF most e ACEHCHE Cieat eet faa 1 as ese 1 ry Beh BY he EP SN VE eT 3 -ipally drawn from the chalk hills of He ec the free th, es the foregoing, there which ta! its rise 1 and Harrow, and after it for pS if] h HETOSS Houns 1OW-hea ee wu AG Sie= 1 1 Aidd to this, another small rj iver, called Crane, which rises Porat = T i Sree! a3 Fie a: AV eo n on farrow-Weald common, and, passing by Apperton I is ay 3 rr 1 and Hanwell, falls into the 7 liames at the same place ihe: ‘here are also four branches from the river Coln. near various parts of the county, J it the New fiver. passes by Eeanwell and the INew river, passes by Hanwell and ¢. reey Deal + and busaey- Se / 0! hames at Ainother branch passes near Staines pet Ul “he ee Sse LT H=) fo|= 5 Lhe Serpentine river in riyde-park|| was made about he vear ae La ra fey ae R=)| a- the year 1730. The water is s ippsled Dy a small stream : 3 = On the borders of thi S river many beautiful situations pre to the view, vecul }}}. rr} re » peculiarly adapted for the reception of genteel\&e he\ great convenience of this canal, in Ee the inhabitants of this part«' the county, for about tw enty-one miles in length, math“4 oft water, 1s not its only recommendation; tor to this may be 1, the great pleasure ut affords to anglers and othe rs, in fishing in its Streams, or strolling on its banks; besides the additic nal beauty it imparts to the as its pure and gentle waters glide al ong.— 7. MW. + This stream is used here fo: the purpose of irrigation; and t! ad seneve, tne only place in the county where water 1s thus usefully appl =- % M ¢ yt Io=~£*: Se-}> |“© Hyde-parl» by an actual sury€y in 1652, contained about€ &c ee“4 1> ae eo);-; 7 acres, vaiued at 8941. 13s. 8d. per annum; the timber on ditto, valued ah, Codd<«the IEF At 9°<]&]:> na . 47791. 19s. 6d.; the deer at 3001.5 the materials of a lodge 1201.; and ‘6} AE Fone: Cc=f r © those of a building designed for a banquetting house at(2c ergs, ehe * park was divided into lots, and being sold to several purchasers, produced a ae: r> A s‘ A 3 p *¢ the sum of 17068]. Os. dd. including the timber and deer. The present: « Nt Of Livdesaeee See ay extent of Hyde“park, according toa Suryey taken in 1790, is 394a. 2r- * 38p."—Lyson’s Environs of London. i W L11¢ t i si Sees— a——— 35). SS-*=. ees WATER. Rt a8 o 7 re which rises near West find, Hampstead, passes by Kil- bourn-wells and Bayswater, and thence through Ken- sincton-gardens and Hyde-park, to the Thames at Ra- oO fo) J nelagh. There is likewise a navigable canal leading from Hert- fordshire, along the banks of the river Lea, with which it forms a ee in the neighbour! Hood of Bow*, from whence the united streams run to Bow Creek, and incor- porate themse}ves with the water of the Thames. oe Braunton, or Grand Junction canal+ also(for the making of which an act passed in 1793, and in which considerab bie progress has been made) enters this county near Uxbridge, passes by Drayton, runs near to Cran- Oo ford, at a little distance from Osterley-park, and after corporating itself with the Brent, forms a junction oi the river Thames at Brentford. These are the principal rivers and canals, which, to- gether with a considerable number of smaller streams and rivulets, add beauty and ornament to the county, furnish- ing at the same time a plentiful supply of water as well as the means of conveyance for the produce of the soil, and returning that necessary article manure. The ey serve also the valuable purpose of turning ae écc. and in many instances, might with great facility be still further applied to the useful purpose of irrigation. Spring water is to be obtained in many parts of the county, by sinking to a depth of no more than five feet; and in most parts, it is to be found at a depth of twenty feet below the surface; though in the low bottoms of strong loam there are some instances of di geing one hundred * There is a branch. belonging to the river Lea navigation between this place,and Limehouse, called the Limehouse cut.—¥. M, ora further account of this canal, vide the article canals,—% 7, and —— $2 WATER. | fon |“ At the| t i convene! 1«(al the Har and fifty feet deep, or more, for water*; and even on the very borders of the Thames, to a much greater depth+. 66 - 4 ae;- ee *€Tn the year 1791, the present vicar of Northall(Mr. Archdeacon Eaton}“ The * agreed with Mr. White of Putney, to sink a well in the court adjoining to *¢ the vicarage. The workmen first dug through a bed of solid blue clay © sixty feet indepth; under which was a stratum of rough porous stone“ tor tel *€ about a foot thick. To this succeeded a second stratum of clay(differing« Abo J\‘ AD }| * 4 little from the former in colour) twenty-nine feet in depth; then a stra €* tum of fine grey sand intermixed with extraneous fossils, as oyster shells, 4 sof TH *¢ bivalves,&c. This stratum continued for twenty-three feet; their ers are equally stupid, and unwilling to execute thei WOrK In any way to wihicn they are not accustomed. J J iia CHARACTER OF THE RURAL ARTIFICERS.$5 Hence, the difficulty of introducing any thing new in the implements or practice of husbandry is almost insurmount- able. Even the most trifling alteration, or deviation from the old system, 1s resisted, both by the artificers and la- bourers, and every possible obstruction thrown in the way of the farmer, to prevent what they deem an unjtstifiable innovation on the established customs of the place. It is absolutely impossible to get a plough, a threshing mill, a winnowing machine, or indeed any other implement of husbandry, made on the best principles, by the country artificers of Middlesex;‘and it is not much less difficult to induce the labourers to use them when they are brought from any other parts. hus the farmer is reduced to the disagreeable necessity of treading in the steps of his grand- father, though the practice may be, and in many points frequently is, at war with his own judgment and inclina- tion. It is true, we have a Bramah, a Winlaw, a Cook, and some others, the most ingenious and sensible among mechanics, residing too in this very county, and who are fully competent to execute any order for every kind of in- strument that can be useful or necessary to the purposes of acriculture. Yet their labours are less valuable than at _ first might be supposed, by reason of the necessary and unavoidable wear and tear that every implement used in the business of farming must undergo, the impossibility of getting them thoroughly repaired by the country work- men, and the great expence and delay that would be oc- casioned by sending them for that purpose to the original makers. Specious writers on agriculture, who have not them- selves experienced these difficulties, are too ready to con- demn the whole body of husbandmen, as obstinately re- sisting every improvement, when at the same fime they are D4 not ——=. ee coe—=. i ae cb RENTS. t 9x"r...~] Re A ey Linen calciocitmn tae- pe not aware how much they subject themse/ves to the ret 1 J Gan beiiee icdceoe ac laohe eee ie. sbi an 8) CIS GeemMmec. SUPEEIClal ODSEFVELS OL ne suDJeCt, 1Tk thus frequently bestowing unmerited censure. TE SECT. II.——RENT in this county, val om hil- -- 1+} beacKhe AVC OF 1}{t1ichn 18 + val‘rT 1~ CiS€, OCCA MEd VD a Varict} It a a5 a aa fete aI ier ie Sem OR oe EN ahaha Cc} LSS Sucn Ss the natural quality and aspect C ol the | 7a) es(ss Se Res- ie WWMeEroO}\£ sro} a4‘von ent 16 5 Ivy hy h and that 7 r HUMEFOUS,‘OF tS DE} loss UMCLENUY ISM, alla that very z 2 c gre Ine walits nrex reat mnequaluly at i J eas e€side -= Ap t * Mr. Foot says,** the average rent of land in the parishes of Heston, *¢ Redt if, Stanwel» and many otners vbourhood of Houns! 66} Ve+f 5‘=~ Be er. yndon ** heath, does not exceed twenty shillings peracre. E near London, { hain 1 ee: 3 Hing €£ some few who rent under old leases, do no pay ak ty shulings pet ‘acre. Inthe common sar Fulham the rent 1s in- *¢ closed land pays four» to " eight pounds 5 and it is said, in; “© singtor .°° 7 c and, are particularized in the subsequent pages of RENTS. 57 ides the rent, the tenant has tithes, taxes and assess- ments to pay; which vary even more than the rent, and amount from five shillings to twenty shillings in the pound; so that considering rent, tithes, taxes, the very great ex- pence of the necessary supplies of manure, together with 1 price and astonishing degree of labour required, it is obvious, that it must demand a great deal of attention, industry and skill, to derive a living profit by the cultiva- tion of land so circumstanced. The rents are, without exception, all paid in money; and that generally twice a year, namely, Lady-day and Michaelmas; with some few instances of supplying the landlord’s family in town, with fresh butter at eight pence or nine pence per pound, and with cream at 6d. per pint. The method practised by some gentlemen, of estimat- ing the produce of land by trebling the rent, is very falla- cious: three times the rent is not by any means equal to the value of the produce of the land under the best systems of husbandry now in use; though under the old exploded course of fallow, wheat, oats in the scanty produce of common fields, and when taxes, and the expences of liv- ing, were at one half of the present amount, it was not very distant from the truth. But under the more improved courses of husbandry on land at, and under, twenty shil- lings an acre, the produce is now more generally worth from five to seven times the rent. The rental of the whole county is about four million and an half, whereof 2,900,0001.. was assessed to the ‘¢ sington, even ten pounds; but the rent in that case is regulated by the «¢ quantity of walls and fruit trees thereon, and not by the bare value of the , P eC landahere + There is much land within five miles of London, the rent of which does not exceed forty or fifty shillings per acre. Nursery ground and grass land contiguous to gentlemen’s houses, let at five and six pounds per acre.— Dy, Wilkinson. eounty= 4 ° 7 e q TIEN CEA EL iin} ae AS, sc AR PA county-rate to raise 12,000]. during the fast year: the rate = ry}€. x i a t>?+h f is at about two-thirds of the value, therefore the unassessed Y 1 1s.1,450,0001.© Cottages‘not‘assessed 34,000; vat al.’ is ‘>= 140,0001.; total, 4,490,000. we TOE= Ss Cree teh tie-in oe Ve Ae hes shits pete A ona a teehee tere iN many paris SHES this county, the tithes are taken : ae:. kind; and which is Amt the same, in others they are annually valued, and compounded for. In several parishes, a reasonable composition is taken; in some it has been a - ere 5 a mi] Es ape, Bee=: very little advanced during the last twenty years; happily there are farms which pay a modus, and others that are entirely tithe-free. I doubt not but that I shall stand excused for relating the following oppressive cases of tithes. It is in order to shew more clearly than I could otherwise do, that tithes operate against the improvement of the soil, and conse quently against the interest of the nation, I met with an instance near Lon gford, in this county, of a farme Bane with great pains, and ay al Sqn culture, raised large crops. He offered a guinea* an acre § Xe wre é + 4 as a composition for the tithe of his wheat; but it was refused, and was spitefully and malic iously taken in kind. UL A late rector of Kensington, in this county, after having for same time harassed his parishioners in the court of Ex- chequer, obtained-a decree that pine apples,&c. which aaare Sih] ae See:: oper EA es Cons}= are well known to be raised at the expence oF not-nouses, < 1 eases| S Seeger 1 oon and other‘considerable expences, should yield their tithe in cot ees eats Fes Ware Le 1:' kind. I have not heard how many hot-houses were pulled 40wn on that occasion, but a very exorbitant composition Yr 1 YT= # Which was exactly the r h ei 7. M W . 006== ee=_—— a TITHES. 59 was demanded and received from the inhabitants, in lieu of paying their tithes in kind. Jonathan Tyers, Esq. was at the expence of ae ing a hop-plantation at Denbys(Surrey). The vicar refused to compound on any reasonable terms, and oe on taking the tithes in kind, and also of having them picked. A suit in the court of Exchequer was litigated, and the decree going against Mr. T’yers, he grubbed up his hops, sowed orass-seeds, and made a pasture of the land.‘Thus was a produce of upwards of thirty pounds an acre reduced to three. The parish of Hutton, in Essex, was much occupied by the suckling of calves.“The clergyman insisted on taking the tithes in kind. The inhabitants were willing to set out one-tenth of every meal’s milk, and it was the only means they had of continuing the suckling business. This, however, would not content the parson—no: he insisted on having a// the milk of every tenth day, though he must know that it would ruin their suckling system.‘They of course resisted; the parties were several years at law, and at last an unreasonable composition was cbtained from the farmers*. The success of these, and like cases, stimulated a vicar of Battersea to draw the tithes of that parish in kind, which was continued for two or three years, during ‘ which time nothing was more common than to meet his carts in the streets, retailing his tithes, with a person in each, vociterating,‘* come buy my asparagus|—oh rare «¢ cauliflowers!”’&c.&c. A few’ instances equally oppressive with these, have happened in every county in England; and the necessary * Tithes are not only oppressive in their own nature, but the method of taking vicarial tithes in kind, is ruinous to the occupier.— 7. MM, con- \ fee tea 2 ee| A| Sot) Rd ae Seem Naam pees on ee tet on Meg? Leb ee pe ve == 3==u a=+= i = 2 aa ame Oos --— y=< a————~~ i I j 5 ».:. as Pm elo) Oy : Sie ay we oe of } om he. te ery a S 4s) OP tye 4| ( rt ci bos ma Ay ib 8d“d)‘ VY bad_* oes i t™~| cas] a ef Ses > eH} ony| f fy Yes ee 6s a. A ry= (303 ct= a>~(ae QO mw eG: esy Coo© 3~ Si ee i"A FS=\ i Sic eay ys A = wa! 22S)| i— J) oe i} i r=” | a Seas | V/ cg et ; fc cS. oe« VY| ib)| a) PO meet| : Gy ie| iy oO| ie©, Wl s| j S 6 a=| (H ne ra) D ee ee 4 | U ct| y“dR eS| cs be, O oe ae oO rast(et os i Oo© f S j SY ged iS —EEE I 62 TITHES, fare. Yet will the tithe-laws not fail to sacle such miserable, but valuable beings, to pay a sixth, a fifth, or even a fourth, of the rental value of their land; and in some cases, more than the rent. Thus the poor farmer pays to the clergyman from 10]. to upwards of 100]. a year, while his wealthy neighbour does not pay so many shillings*. Every possible argument in favour of tithes upon land, in exclusion of houses and other property, is insupportable. Why tax the land to build churches? Does the land go to them? Is it benefited by them? There is not, nor can there be, any connexion whatever between the land an the church. Religion, in a word, is a mere personal con- cern, and of course, every possible expence relative to it, ought to be defrayed by a personal tax, without refer- ence to any particular species of property. $6 nN rs Scr eas) byes 2 aes a, eS a he=- purposes, inciudinge vagrants, muii-} ) } ‘“ tia, constables’ expences, prosecu-> 8,746 18 | I } WwW ** t10N Of Teions, County bridges, gaois, “¢ houses of correction,&c.= s* Medium of expences for repairing) ;! « churehes, roads:* clocks, stocks,|— ne ae sat ep£0,020© Orit “¢ pounds, salaries to ministers, parish-|=e Z ‘ K. wa ales) ee Se Qe A “¢ clerks, sextons, watchmen,&c. J ar+ e ”~ Medium of net money annually paid i (=°TOC,£26 T ‘¢ for the poor,-= dite Bhs eden ares + The poor-rates at Effield are about 2s. in the pound,—Dr. Wilkinson. .“ Net ee =a) 2 a8 A: a -, er+ c+ t 2tr IV NT>} at ¢¢ WViedium of money expended in set-] a :: eo dingyene: : 3 f i s¢ ting the poor to work 4 g 5 Fen] a t U SF v Vs~> OBSERVATIO!? : ulltuTE OCCEasiol very lew poor; on the | 1 T° iwi provides them almost constant ETS. 1 os= s| VEY\ ung NiaGren, ane in a parish purely agrict i é »-1S more likely to supy “rom the parisn, at twei i + E“:: 1 linos a week, than 1s a journeyman in any targe fo= CY]} jas~=o a} Say Sere eer ie factory, thougn Nis earnings snouwld be a guine: 5 ia Kx ms yx ava+ 44 Y‘he JN€t Expences ror tne poor in 17706, ¢¢ taken from the returns then made to$174,2¢ ‘¢ parliament,- HEADS OF PARTI CULAR EXPENCES ¢ r y Medium expences of overseers, in «© journeys and attendances on magis-$ 1,43 . 1 ‘© at meetings relative to “ee oars Jae Kose guinea ana an Nail.”. oc} se mM Ea Ba} Se VOC= Nall LLOTIC iCal patt ETS) CoG. ear Nalt r wees; but are their familie coming chargeable tc =Ane hk: much, as always to prevent persons ne POor, , and other pro- r 5,13 { 1 1:: seals RE Leaan of that description irom ile over ¢ 1¢€ parisn, prevalis over( [+ ) U > 6 4 O< ty bs /$ My“oe tT? Xt Ltj? the Rin 1d Se 1 mrt e shil- aud chy QU & POOR. 65 Large manufaCtories, like crowded work-houses, destroy g) ere ee fy ee every virtuous principle. Such situations are the very es= ls=> sinks of vice; the old and the young, the healthy, and those afflicted with loathsome diseases, the necessitous and ois the abandoned, are all mixed in one house, or perhaps in one room. Here the young, the unfortunate, and a sons of weak yet honest minds, every minute have the ears assailed with infamous oaths, and descriptions of every species of vice, deception, and theft. The scene is in the highest degree horrid, and infinitely surpasses any powers of description. The idea of supporting a large family at a less expence per head than a small one, has led us into sad extremes He supporters of such a system, neglected to estimate the effect of that general contamination of morals which always takes place, in situations crowded with paupers of y description; as well asthe i: mpossibility of preventing ever ae and of effecting the most prudent management, in large work-houses, or houses of in dustry, such, in short, as in the end to have the effect of more than doubling the expence; and which is calculated to be per- petually increasing, in something like the proportion of compound interest. The difference in favour of small, or thinly inhabited parishes, when put in comparison with such as are large and populous, as to the expence and orderly behaviour of their poor, is astonishingly great. Hence the latter should divide and subdivide their poor, in order to put them on the advantageous terms of the former. ally necessitous, and who only want a part of } i upport, s 1ould be assisted in their own houses, where five shillings w ill fi a. ly go as taueas twenty w ould do The *“© Tt is much more wise and benevolent ta suecour the distresses, and E 66 2id 66 POOR. The Rev. John Howlett, speaking of the means used for lowering the poor-rates in his parish of Dunmow, at- tributes it to two causes: first, a determination in the pa- rish officers to spare their money to the utmost; and, secondly, by admitting as few as possible into the work- house, where experience had taught them, that the main- tenance of the poor is much more expensive than out of it. The consequence was a very large decrease in the rates. For distressed objects, who of necessity must have the whole of their support from the parish, there should be a sufficient number of small cottages built, in heu of a work-house, not all close together, but perhaps in pairs, or at least so much a-part, as to admit of each cottage having a piece of ground, for the production of potatoes, turnips,&c. If widely dispersed over several parts of the same parish, so much the better; they should be made to hold two persons, and one or two children, or in lieu of the children, one or two of those paupers who should be found the most infirm. They should be obliged to as- sist each other, and to do something towards their own sup- port. Alms-houses are a case in pomt, where poor per- sons live, on an average, for half the expence that supports others in a work-house, which incontrovertibly shews the more cheap and superior comforts which cottages afford over work-houses, and likewise the wisdom of erecting them in lieu of work-houses, for the reception of the poor*. S¢ aid the industry of the poor, in their own dwellings, than to crowd them S¢ together in work-houses.?’—Sir William Young, Bart. on the subje& of work-houses. se 6C- ks 5 *© Tn the year 1783, some alms-houses were built on the Uxbridge road, 8 for the residence of poor families, with a sum of money given to the pa- ** rish, as a compensation for the inclosure of a piece of waste. This seems a very proper application of the money, and deserving of imitation.’’—Ly- son’s Environs. ‘They G6 ———— POOR. 67 They who are able to work, but who are idle and in- corrigible, should be let out to persons who are in the habits of employing and supporting such chara¢ters: there are several such in and near London; or they might be committed to the house of correction. There are paupers in every parish within this county, who might be employed in scraping the turnpike roads and highways.‘The overseers should undertake the work by contract, which would be a benefit to the parish, and a convenience to the public. Institutions for the relief of the poor of this county, are proportionate to the wealth of its inhabitants. Worl houses, alms-houses*, and weekly donations in bread, are provided in almost every parish, for the constant support of the indigent: and the money raised by voluntary con- tributions, for particularly unprovided cases of distress, amounts, one year with another, to a very large sum, probably in this instance to more than all the rest of Bri- tain. The funds raised for supp tting the idle poor of this county are so numerous, efficient and comfortable, as to operate against the general industry of the labouring poor. Lodging and diet in the work-houses, in every instance, are superior to what the industrious labourer can provide for his family. It is obvious that this must have an in- fluence over their minds, and become most injurious to the interests of society. It holds out encouragement to prefer the work-house to labour; and, by filling the poor-houses with improper inhabitants, it reduces the amount of ins dustry. In those parishes with which I am acquainted, the an- nual expence of each pauper is about fifteen guineas; a * To these might be added, avery long list of hospitals, infirmaries, asy~ ‘ums, dispensaries,&c.&c.— ¥, MV. E 2 stout 68 POOR. stout healthy labourer in husbandry, with a wife and three children, earns only thirty for the support of five persons. The earnings of the inhabitants of work-houses, on an average of the whole of this county, does not amount to aS eight shillings per head per annum; which tak cen from the former sum, leaves fifteen pounds seven shillings, or near SIX walbae a week, as the expence of supporting each pauper.‘’his is a profuse expenditure of parish money, as two-thirds of the whole number of persons would sup-~ port themselves out of the house, on being allowed De two shillings a week each*. Nor ought they in any case to be allowed so much as one-fifth of the earnings of a la- bourer, otherwise their situation is made as good, or better: than his. The want of prudence is increased, and general indus- try lessened, on the part of the poor, by the facility with which voluntary contributions are raised during every temporary inconvenience; such as a few weeks frost, or Cc an extraordinary advance in the price of provisions. And also by the constantly clothing upwards of ch ten thousand ildren of the labouring poor in this county. Among the numerous establishments in the county, charity schools certainly make a very dis tinguished figure. And I think that the great number of children which are now educated by means of the voluntary subscriptions and benefactions of the well-disposed, shews very clearly, ae a law for the purpose of raising an annual fund, in ord mo pane that every child should be taught to read and write, Seu be well received, and chearfully acquiesced in. The a sent method of clothing, as well as educating, the ¢ placed in these schools, more than doubles ae expence BA tne 5 * Tf it be true, that two-thirds of the number can be supported for two shillings a week, in their own houses, the whole might, in that case, be .. e- 7, A maintained for half the expence incurred under the present system.— 7. M. per Pa POOR. 69 per head, and therefore necessarily restricts the benefits of education to less than half the number that it might other- wise be extended to, with the same funds. This system has also another bad effect attending it, as it, in many instances, induces a false dependance in the. parent, and either makes him relax in his exertions of industry, or increases his means of frequenting the public-houses. It may be further observed, that the nearly general adoption of Sunday schools, points out the sense that people, for the most part, entertain of the necessity of some such measure as is here recommended. Every institution which tends to make the poor depend on any other support than their own industry, does them great disservice, and is highly injurious to society, by diminishing the quantity of labour which annually pro- oO 1 J 2 1 duces consumable goods, the only wealth of a nation*, ‘The number of the poor is increased in a great variety of ways. I shall only mention a few of them: namely, 115,000 sharpers and thieves+ committing depredations in and near London, must be ruinous to many, by contami- nating the minds of some, and reducing the properties of others.‘The extravagance of the poorer clergy, place- men, pensioners, clerks in public and private offices, and others, is great.“Uheir income generally depends on their faculties, and they frequently expend the whole of it. Ofcourse, when such men die, many of their fa- milies are reduced to want. Not less than 1500 persons are annually left a prey to poverty in this manner. The enormous expence in money, and the equally expensive waste of time, in endeavouring to obtain justice by the * Even“living on the borders of a common, induces a false dependance, ‘* increases their misery, and renders them more burdensome.*»—Mr, East, who lives on the side of Hounslow-heath, and has long observed the effects of that common on the habits of the poor, made the foregoing sensible obser= vation.— 7. M t+ Colquhoun’s Police. te oS) IT EA AAS AIA ne NS 5O POOR. g laws of England, is also the ruin of about two hundred fami- lies, or of one thousand inhabitants, every year; while many are reduced from the class iminediately above po- verty, by the excessive multiplying of taxes and assess~ ments. I have known two families, consisting together of thirteen persons, brought to the work-house, and main- tained by the parish at an expence of two hundred pounds a year, owing to an imprudent collector of taxes having distrained about twenty shillings on each family. But a still greater number of poor arises from various classes just above want, who are able to support them- selves so long as their several concerns go on with success. The least reverse is ruinous; a bad debt of a few pounds, a law-suit, the long sickness or death of the man or his wife, pressing for sailors, kidnapping for soldiers, and a thousand other causes, are the ruin of numbers. Every war™ is ruinous to thousands in an hundred dif- ferent ways. The present war, for instance, had not existed six months, before it had ruined many inhabitants of this island. I shall not dwell on this unpleasant part of my task any longer than to observe, that it would be sur- prizing if the number and expence of the poor did not increase, while these things are permitted, and under such disastrous circumstances. Every tenth or fifteenth house is licensed to promote idleness, and all the bad consequences of drunkenness. Fifty thousand women+t * The high price of provisions makes few or no poor. It is a question with me, by no means decided, whether the high price of wheat has really made one within the last thirty years. The average price of wheat was high in the years 1773, 4, and 5; but they were years of peace, when pro-~ ductive industry was at the highest, consequently the expence of the poor was low. In the years 1783, 4, and 5, immediately after the American war, though the price of wheat was much lawer than at the former period, he expence of the poor increased a fourh part; which arose from the war = j f ty 1}} J 1°£‘9 5 having added fifty thousand distressed objeéts to the former number of persons supported by the parishes. Avsimilar, but greate: I 3 increase of misery, will be one of the consequences of the present war.— 7 + Colquhoun’s Police. Are Giv LEASES. 71 are suffered to live in and near London by public prostitu- tion; dogs are licensed, many of which only serve to hunt the flesh off the flocks of sheep; while horsemen break the farmer’s gates, and gallop down his growing crops of wheat. Gunners+ destroy his hedges, and let the cattle go astray, to the loss of stock, to the great damage of particular soils and crops, and the unnecessarily increasing the farmer’s labour. The industry, care and attention, of the middling and lower classes, generally made with the praise-worthy motive of bettering their condition, are insufficient to bear them up against sucha combination of evils; which necessa- rily have a tendency to depress them into classes much lower than they would otherwise hold in society, and finally, into poverty and distress. For further observations, see labourers, dogs, and public- houses. SECT, V.-—-LEASES. Ir is, without doubt, a most unreasonable prejudice which many proprietors entertain against granting leases of their estates; for the with-holding them certainly ope- rates as a powerful bar against every improvement, and is as injurious to the interests of the landlord as to those of the tenant and the community. For the same reason, it is perhaps equally bad policy to restrain the tenant from sell- ing or assigning his lease. If the proprietors of landed estates could be prevailed on to grant leases(even long leases) of their farms, they + I have known a gunner, with threatening expressions, level his piece ata farmer, for énly cautioning him not to break the hedges, eyen while the harvest was in the field—F. MZ. E 4 would, ed 73 LEASES, would, by means of the improvements the granting such eases is sure to effect, considerably increase the produce, and consequently the rental, of Great Britain. It would also better the condition of the farmers; more, perhaps, than any other single means that can possibly be devised. Leases are calculated to rouse the utmost spirit, vigour, and energy, of industrious farmers, by means of the confidence they feel, that they shall certainly reap the pro- fit of their labour, skill and capital, in consequence of their having a permanent, and not(as is too generally the case) a precarious interest in the soil they cultivate. Leases, in short, may very properly be said to be the only means for effeCtually securing both the landlord and tenant against the possibility of injuring or distressing each other. It is well known, that the many valuable and extensive improvements which have been made upon the estates in and about London, and many other great towns, have been effe€ted in consequence of building leases, from sixty to one hundred years, being granted to individuals un- dertaking such improvements.‘This has operated as a sufficient inducement for carrying into effect many very considerable schemes of advantage, which could not other- wise have been perfected. It plainly points out to the landholders in the country, the policy of pursuing the same line of conduct, and the propriety of encouraging a spirit of speculative improvement among the occupiers of their estates; by making it known to them that they are ready to rant leases of their farms for any number of years(per- Log o haps not exceeding one hundre 1), only proportioning the oOo length of the term, and the rent, to the nature and extent 1=| 7 of the improvements which the taker may purpose, or be required to make; estimating that the lessee should be repaid his principal, and at least six per cent. interest, within the term. I have no doubt that if this measure were ——4 BE — Sa LEASES» 73 were adopted by the proprietors of landed estates, in every part of Britain, it would not fail to excite and encou- among the occupiers, throughout the country, a Ree rage, of emulation proportionate to that which has, of late, bee so conspicuous in the metropolis. In order more fully to evince the justice and propriety of granting leases, 1 shall instance three or ae circum- stances under which, it appears to me, that it would be highly proper, and very much to the interest of the land- Jord, to grant them from twenty to even one hundred years. ist, In the case of a farm having been exhausted by the avarice or knavery of an out-going tenant, who hae es advantage of the neglect of his landlord, or the smanagement of his steward; it being requined of the person coming into possession to restore the land, by a proper, spirited and improved course of husbandry, and to deliver the farm up, at the end of the term, in a high state of cultivation; supposing him to pay a fair rent for such a farm: in such a case, I say, he ought to have at least a twenty years lease of it. adly, If, in addition to these expences, he should un- dertake to inclose and cultivate a quantity of waste land; or engage to convert suxable parts of the farm into water meadows; in this case, the lease ought in justice to be ex- tended to thirty years. adly, Should any person undertake to drain completely an extensive bog, morass, lake, or large piece of stag- nant water, he ought to have of such recovered ground, a lease from sixty to eigl ity, or one hundred years. And 4thly, In the case of a tenant’s building farm-houses, barns, mills,&c. or of his gaining land from the sea, it would be right and proper to grant him a lease from sixty to one hundred years: in. every case, proportioning the term ve LEASES. term to the different circumstances, the expence, difficulty, and ingenuity, of the undertaking. Se= f must further observe, that it will sometimes happen, 1] at fT e mucl rer in that in fairness, the rent t to be much lower during > ee fed eee peeks. ee a emo EAE ARN eee rena eee the first two, three, or tour years oi the term, than after- wards; as the cause which occasions the propriety of the rent being set low at first, will probably, by due skill and industry, be removed in a few years: for instance, when farms are unfavourably circumstanced, as in the first and second class before mentioned, the rent should rise pro- gressively; suppose the first year at one-fourth; the second year at one-half; the third year at three-fourths; and for the remainder of the lease, at the whole of the intended rent. Again, with respect to the third class, the tenant ye required to pay more for the first three or four years of the lease, than the original value of such eround, in its unimproved state: and for a few years more, the rent may rise progressively, and in proportion to the advancement of the projected improvements, until they may be completed,— when the ultimate rent, previ- ously agreed on between the parties, may become pay- able without inconvenience to the tenant. And let it be remembered, that the amount of such rent should be so moderate as to be a sufficient inducement for persons to undertake such improvements. On the most mature consideration of the subject, I am decidedly of opinion, that the community at least, would in every instance derive much advantage from the proprietors of farms granting rather long* leases, as they are certainly the * Heffleton farm, about four miles west from Wareham, in Dorsetshire, was lett(most likely at a very advanced rent, though I have not discovered what the previous rent had been, nor the state of the upper land), on lease for sixty years, at 140]. per annum.‘The lessee, encouraged by so long an 1 interest in the estate, converted one hundred and forty acres of low boggy ground, = ne Li very ot if vel I LEASES. 73 the most effectual means that can be used to promote any very considerable improvements in agriculture. Indeed tiene are few cases in which it would not be for the zzd7- vidual interest of the BiCPiess s themselves to grant leases of their estates, except where the property may be intended for immediate sale, or perhaps as to a small portion of the estate in the vicinity of the mansic ee and which, it is probable, may be wanted at some future period, to attach to the lands in hand. Except as to these sane cir- cumstances, I can see no reason whatever, that should prevent the landlord of a farm from granting a proper, or, in other words, and as| have before observed, a rather long lease of it. The letting of farms to tenants at will(or from year to year) is a most unwise practice, and should by all means be avoided by the proprietors of estates. Such tenants thdy C ba par p er ae prac ap 7 from the very nature of their tenure, are Pp)‘ecluded from // the possibility of making any improvements; but they genes rally have it in their power to ruin the land they oc- ih oe ase as. ine hes csauthy ef cupy. or instance; suppose(as in the south o England), the term should commence at Michaelmas: the tenant must crop the land in such a manner, that ground, adjoining the river Froome, into water meadow, which has been flooded at pleasure for about fifty years of the time; he also permanently improved other parts of the farm so much, that on the expiration of the said lease, which happens to be at or near this time, the farm is thought to be worth five or six hundred pounds per annum. Another instance also occurs to my recolle&tion, which happened about se-= ven years ago, on the letting a twenty-one years lease, of the manor farm at Longney, in Gloucestershire. On that occasion, the tenant discoveted the means of regularly flooding, from the river Severn, a large and very coarse meadow, which meadow would certainly have remained in its native pover- ty and ill condition, had not the said lease been granted. I could also produce some instances of land being now lett at two shil llings and six--pence per acre, that would have been worth twenty shillings during the last twenty years, had the owners granted it on lease, even for so short a term as twelye spaenl M, the .- EL eI eT i M4 “6 LEASES. 4 ae ee Ne“iy: Bas geet ee Cee, the whole can be reaped within the year; and as he wid have no right after Michaelmas, to thresh his corn and consume his hay and straw, he rightft d of necessi SULNC‘ ay Ald silaw, He Piguet OY NECESSI—- ete|“ 1g Bz| Fee A Rey es=| a] ty, carries the crops off the premises. Chis he may do She) i I J VGal- altel Veal,(10k CVELlyY VYEak, With SUGD a ltE€Nant, 18a -ech aoreement) wntil the land 7 Bo fee Seno| ay=‘ fresh apreeme nt) unmtii tne land IS nearly rained. He may ro) J then quit the larm, and leave if ror the landlord either to restore it to 1ts former condition, or se a ae ak ata’ 1“PACH h- en Ss Ha ¢ HEME Besides, it cannot in reason be expected, that a t>~ be deemec reater expence, and requires more skil i er Tie 1 aoe] ention, than most peopie t than any farmer ought to attempt, and indeed more t "y any sensible man wi// attempt, without the security af a lease+. * For the danger of yearly tenants, see charaéter of farmers, page 52. 5 + Rapacious landlords, unskilful stewards, and yearly tenantcy, destroy the tenant’s. confidence, smother his thoughts of improvement, and, in short, make a bad tenant, by setting him to contrive some mode of occupy- half a year’s notice, with ,+“: 5 the least possible loss to 1 only be done, by keeping the soil continually poor, t loss of the landlord, no less so of the tenant, but the still greater loss to the community. TPhava fe ese pret} 1: l|} ne rmmense quan and ina state the most exhausted and poor in Engiana, has bee 1 from a respectable degree of fertility, by the occupiers of the soil being permitted to follow their own system; and ort d, es sTet every farm, if not every acre of in the nation, would be broug similar wretched condition in less than twenty years, if the renters were al- towed to crop iteach man after his own manner. Every week’s exper EAS oopsce Y AT ness of this remark.— 7. M7. is gives me additional proof of the truth and j re aving aVing vl 7 ER Oe ea b=] Sanantsr-) Having said thus much, in endeavour § proprietors ot landed estates ti P LiCyY Ot L shal] Pinta ole cle in ON ne yen Ce Br ert) Ere toe(ees C spall now ofter a few remarks on the insumeciency of some, and the absurdity of many more, of the leases which ‘he leases of farms now in use, are generally a com- aes c SS as: Sa cteae raat as position of obsolete, ee or unintelligible. cove- nants, which tend not only to shackle the tenant, but con- | manner against the interests stantly operate in a poweriu £ the landlor yh SB AS ee ee el| ee(Caras EVRA© QI the landlord, which they particuially proress lO-SECUTE 5 Sit Healy a be Se~ Sige pe Sy oe7CA es gentleman of the law to make the lease, who does not, nor indeed can he, from the nature of his education and practice, be expected to possess a suficient knowledge of t; I ro) rural concerns, to arrange the covenants and conditions of the lease, so as that the farm shall be delivered up at the ] mel A a~=. ho Re SR AG- xr lle end of the term in a proper state, or, as it is usually called, + oe) pe‘+} ee pa ee de en RACE in good heart. On the contrary, if the tenant possesses ] ee ee 1 jas and hedoec capital, spirit and skill, he restores the buildings and hedges, ) 1 ep| i i manures the land. By that and other 1 drains, cleans means, he gets it into a high state of cultivation within the first Seven years of his lease, and keeps it so till within the > Bay otc wet Lateceorg HIRD PR ire ay en rte rg Lea paces ee eee Bee teeter last five; he then exhausts the land as much as possible, ) area ls= sae Atay bP Eee es ES FA PD Cee BS Re We re by repeated corn crops, and by the neglect of cleansing it. J pi a« Oo oO 9 Fees erlang eatin) lap ey posers Heme tion Capel SM peer Ae pe ieee ery a and, Wlth the iand 1n tol jOuUl ana 11th} verishe ed Stal, Py Se ney Ren ee| rp etre| amet ear treats witn nis iand! 1 a new tease, OF quitS the tarm. <,* From this Imstance, 1n-comir lants are not un- I ng S ) fe crops Wd by G Ul CIODS$07 4 OULLY, lie CLUS yi ay. any 4 ~ idual, depend in a great measure, if not entirely, upon the number of ae une‘lie d of his lease; and it is not uncommon for a lease that has four or five years to run, to sell for as many years rents, on the Dae of what the buyer can draw from the land by deterioratio and depredation. This is also the routine of farms. Surrey, and many other parts, and is only to be attributed to the vague and undefined manner of drawing the lea of such farms, and which, no doubt, has in some measure strengthened the dislike that many proprietors had already imbibed against granting leases. The leases of a very considerable proportion of the arable farms in England, have a covenant inserted in them, 1 i the tenants to follow a three years course of, O requirlt ng first, fallow; second, wheat; third, oats; and to sj spread uantity of lime every third, or in Sy) a SpeCHic qu Ppa A Ba pee Vek iN ear, without any regard being had to t ality of the soil, and to other circumstances. Under se this ere ion, only two miserable crops are obtained in three years.‘This is a very old course, and to be met with in various parts of England. It probably originated in common field husbandry, but it is a remnant of gothic barbarism, and the sooner it not only ruins the land, but at the same time impoverishes the tenant. This covenant, however, having unfortunately + found its way into most or all of our attornies’ precedents it still continues, in strict conformity with those gent men’s prejudice for precedent, to occupy a place. in all leases drawn by them, though the absurdity, in an agri- cultural point of view, is so very glaring. I have heard many sensible husbandmen in various parts of the oe dom, speak of this with lamentation, and at the same tin declare, that they durst not vat‘y this re tation by the pro- duction of green crops, or by introducing any better SYStCl d LEASES. 70 caus 11 system of management, as it would infallibly induce the weg of the estate to give them notice to quit thei farms. From this, and many other instances o which I have met with in the course of an exténsive busj- ness, I am induced to think that one of the many obstacles to perfection in agriculture, arises from the total i1 Incapacity of the stewards of many landed estates*, who certainly have it in their power, by encour- rent and support, to intro- duce most kind of improveinents, or by neglect and mis- management, to perpetuate the most absurd and ignors practices.“he difference to the landlord ma y be ere at 50 per cent.; to the tenant at more, and to the com- munity at upwards of 100 per cent. I have not any doubt, but that it is in a great measure owing to this want of skill-and information in the ma- nagers of many estates, that the most improved methods of husbandry, and the most valuable breeds of live stock, are still confined to two or three corners of the island+, while all the rest are still pane under the grossest ignorance with respect to this valuable science. Such men may pos- sibly be fit to colle he rents= the estate, by much the least important branch of their Sia, but Heys are not suffici- 9 aioli ently acquainted with acricultural c neerns, to arrange and 194 LU é c * This censure will not, I hope, be supposed to apply to /and steqvards in general, many of whom have not only ¢ given J petency to, and fitness for, such a situation, but have also been the first t ta countenance and promote improvements upon the seve e several estates under the management. But landed estates are not unfrec juently under the superir tendance of gentlemen of the law, some favourite servant, n sufficient proof of their com. or other person without experience ina griculture, and of course totally unfit for such an em- ployment.— 7. MZ, + Namely, the south east, and south west corners, a part of Leicester. on the borders of the Tweed, where there are est anc tates under the dire&tion o gents, who, by their skill and ability in their profession, have added cent, Ee cent, to the value of them; and have even rendered some districts pare ticularly famous for superior excellence in agriculture,—¥% AZ, 80 EAS dispose lands into the most suitable and convenient fafmss and to point out and describe the very best mode of cul- tivating every acre of such farms. It is really astonishins “o 1 a aie igor| perty should pay so little concerns, as to permit crops in succession{as is \ oO Anglesea, and many ot! 1}: well known, that the richest frequently have been, so exhausted, as to be rendered 11 |; SES a+ y a ae y& t ata~ io b €apaodic OL proaucl i oe COL abDie CYror or any L Se~=, Syn fe ee een Se(ie 8 BA yea ncm rie Ah HS rapacious tenants holding 1elr Jarms as tenants at wilt, } Z|+ c} my ata er, which is as bad, or perhaps nprope: - Lapa ree pay Be mers ey AWE leases. Every county in England and Wales abounc with instances of this kind; to remedy which, the tenant i IT hep recite niviey eye 7 4p A bin 7) sould be restrained, the severest penalty that at os Ae iz We etal W/2. Lier aie Gr any 0} w land, without the actual consent of fis landlord. perty, principally, and almost entirely, consists in having -~/ c EXCItEed“a CONNGENCE-1n thei-tenants by means of the ~ Bee eee ae if yee a ee pp Ree on KE a Se ye ere periodical renewal of their leases. But in all those nume- TON relate a) ere he cE EXC+e} tt ee~} seont rous cases, where the owners have, from the powertul » come to a determination not to 1eir leases, by the addition of 3 ae SA|:== Seo lives as the old ones become extinct, the insecurity and miserable felt _y LEASES, Si felt by the lord of the manor, at the expiration of them, in every species of dilapidation: the timber is usually mu- tilated or destroyed, the arable land rendered foul and ex- hausted, by a too constant repetition of corn crops, the buildings deteriorated, or perhaps suffered to fall intoruins*, the hedges neglected or destroyed, the ditches filled up, and the grass land poached into sterile mortar.‘These, and such like cases, strongly point out the total incapacity of the persons who draw such leases, and also the ab- solute necessity of a thorough reformation as to the leases of landed estates in general. In order that the lease or agreement for a farm should be drawn with judgment and propriety, it appears to be indispensibly necessary, that a land valuer, or other person of competent knowledge in these matters, should examine both the surface soil and the substrata, the drainage, and different aspects of the several tields, attending at the same time to the distance of the neighbouring markets, the state of the roads, and other local circumstances that vill naturally present themselves to men of understanding and experience. He might then determine the rent, and, after arranging his ideas for the best and most perfect management of the whole farm, draw up a few specific and determinate covenants, such as, under all the circum- stances of the case, would be well calculated to secure the interest of the landlord, and at the same time promote the success of the tenant. As it is not to be expected that much improvement will take place during the last seven years, under any lease, not even under the best drawn lease, the farmer will, very naturally, grow rather sparing of his manure, his clean cultivation, and generally good management, towards * See this statement confirmed in the Norfolk, Berks, and Dorset Re-= ports.— F, AZ, F the \ | | 82 EXPENCE AND PROFIT. the end of his term: it will not shew itself to so much ad- vantage in the last year, as it probably may have done five years anterior to that period: for this reason, it is not ad- visable to delay the renewal til the last year, but rather to make it five or six years before the expiration of the lease, at which time every part of the farm will be more highly conditioned, and consequently lett for more money than when it is, by a relaxation in the exertions of the tenant, become more exhausted."The mind of the tenant would also be made easy, by being thus either secured in the continuance of his farm, or knowing that he is to quit 1t*. Leases appear to me to be of so much importance, as being perhaps the most powerful and rational means of promoting improvements in‘agriculture, that I hope| shall stand excused for having entered so fully on this branch of the Report. SECT. VI.—EXPENCE AND PROFIT. Tue Expences of entering ona farm, are much greater 1m the counties near the metropolis than in more distant places This is principally occasioned by the ingenuity of the re- ferees who make the appraisement which then takes place be- tween the out-going and the in-coming tenant. This includes every thing in which the way-going tenant is supposed to have any interest, from the growing crops; downwards to the dressings and half dressings, the live stock, poultry in the vards, fish in the ponds, the fallows, dunghills and mixens, the implements serviceable and unserviceable, the heads of pollards, the side branches of trees, and the live bushes in the hedge-rows. These, and a hundred other articles, are enu- * Vide, a most excellent paper on exhausting crops, and ill-drawn leases, in the Appendix to the Worcester Report, 4to. edit. page 13.-7. M. meratea EXPENCE AND PROFIT.$ Ve merated and valued, which swells the account to an in- 1 dible sum, for which the in-coming tenant 1s debited. cre One would think, that in fairness, a similar valuation should be made of the dilapidations or depredations com- mitted in the buildings and the soil, the hedges, ditches and drains, and that this sum should be taken from the former, and the balance only be paid. But this is never done. The whole has very much the appearance of being oe hears| t! conducted as if the out-going tenant were the only person whose interest should be'consulted. The other is ordered to pay, without dedu€tion, the amount of the debt, before he can have possession, and it not unfrequently so much exceeds his expectation and reckoning, as to be a consi- derable step towards his ruin. The Profits of farming, under the old rotation of two crops of corn and a fallow, have seldom afforded more than a mere subsistence to the farmer, and the means of establishing his children ts run the same course. But even this 1s no proof against the profits of farming at per cent. on the capital employed, which is generally so small a sum, that the foregoing produce may be a large per centage, and with sedulous attention this has been the fact, as the accounts of particular families, produced to me, have demonstrated a profit of 32 per cent. per ann. on the sum employed, for thirty-five years in succession. Indeed it seems to be evident, that a man who employs oe 5ool. and with it brings up a large family, and places them in a situation equal to his own, while himself retires with an easy fortune, could not have done it with a less return. The great improvements which have for some time past been taking place in agriculture, aided by high prices for the produce of the soil, are occasioning such a rapid rise in rents; the taxes also, and every expenditure, are so greatly on the increase, as must, at the lowering of the price of corn and F2 cattle, ——— es ~————-.— eeeeeeeEeeEE—EeEeEeEee oS | 4. EXPENCE AND PROFIT. tg 6 cattle, put farmers of the old school to considerable diffi- culties, and become one of the means of inducing them to adopt the new and better practice. I have stated most of the expences, produce and profit, in the different chapters and sections to wi hich they imme- diately relate, and beg leave to refer the reader to them for particulars. This account shall be c closed with the fol- lowing statement of the produce and expence of 150 acres of good grass land, at eight miles distance from St. James’s hay-market. Hedge-rows, and waste of the farm are 20> fe acres; the mowing ground is 130, which ae at one cutting 260 loads of hay, and\ 1300 which have been sold for five or six years| to average sl. is J The after feed sold fot eT eth 65 ‘Total produce per annum-£.1305 The expences have been: For 4 horses, 351. each, iS Vie LTAO fe) Three men all the year, at 12s. per week, 18 93 O The extra labour of mowing and hay- making, stacking, straw, thatching, 97 19 and pulling, at 155. 1 Taxes, assessments, and tithe--+- 130 0 Marketing 260 loads of hay, at 4s. is- 52 O Paid for 300 loads of manure, at 2s. 6dic4137 IG ‘Tenants repairs of buildings---= 10 O Insurance of stock, and tax thereon feb yh 2@ Pilfering servants, supposed--=- IO O Frauds of hay salesmen, supposed-- 10 O Mole-catcher one guinea, butsay=- I O Interest of ool. for one year=++ 35 0 Beaute ot Total expences a oe oS 620 Remains, for rent, and attention= 7s which a 2 eT 2=.= wey EXPENCE AND PROFIT. 85 which is nearly equivalent to 51. an acre. Suppose the party to pay 3l. an acre rent, it will leave 2]. which, on TsO acres, is 300]. a year profit, or 40 per cent, upon the capital employed.: 2 CHAPTER: $6 IMPLEMENTS. CRAP IE Ry IMPLEMENTS. THE Plough in general use throughout this county, is a swing one of the most clumsy construction. Its weight is more than one horse can draw in constant work, and its shape is very ill calculated for the ploughing of any soil, as it tears its way through the ground, instead of cutting it: amassive beam, with an horizontal bend(to give the plough land which sets the share in a direétion contrary to the line of draught, and consequently increases the resistance), a barbarous shape, which, united to an aukward copps, makes it impossible to use it with horses drawing double. Its useless weight, and worthless shape, is a disadvantage of the draught of two horses. The Hertfordshire wheel plough is used on part of the north border of the county, drawn by four horses, yoked in pairs, or sometimes by three horses; two yoked together next the plough, and the other before. Harrows of four bulls each(not straight, but bent bulls). Three of them generally are chained together, and dragged by three horses abreast, with a man to lead or drive the horses, and frequently another to attend the harrow, going at a pace as slow as the animals can possibly move. In some in- stances, I have seen two horses at length, led by two young men; sometimes drove by one, and the harrows attended by the other. But in cases where the land is too wet to bear treading without injury, three or four harrows are chained together(no other coupling being used) to cover one ridge at atime, each attached to a pole, whose length Is Wi ——_—S=,———= rr—C—— IMPLEMENTS. 67 » 1 ha 5 ae se 2 z Lg Plea aN ee x is equal to the w idth of one ridge.“Iwo horses are then hea yoked to each end of the pole, and walk inthe furrows. By this col 1triVv WMICEs 1e land is harrowed, and the horses kept from tre: ading on the ridges. | Two d‘ons of rollers are in use. The barley roll } 1S cee ae of oak, about twelve inches diameter, ge- nerally drawn by shafts, and by two horses at length. With this roll, all the land sown with spring corn is gone ever a day or two after sowing, by some farmers, and by others, after the blade of the corn is out of the ground. The grass roller is also generally made of oak, about 30 inches diameter, and always with a pair of stout shafts, T drawn by three or four horses at ength. In some gentle- men’s grounds, zroz rollers are used.in the same manner, and in those of others wooden rollers, made of four or five feet diameter, by nailing stout oak plank round the rims of three carriage wheels. Over this latter roller is some- times placed a box, resembling a cart, for the purpose of o Joading the roller with stones, to add to the weight. There are but few waggons employed. Szx inch wheeled S55 shooting carts, with wooden axletrees and iron arms, are in aes use, which hold, in the body of the cart, < bead, 1 50 to 60 cubical feet; with the side boards on, about 15 feet more, and when heaped with dung, about 20 feet in the heap. Thus heaped, they carry about 90 feet of dung, with four horses, or from 70 to 75 with three horses. These carts, with the addition of movable head, tail, and side ladders or copps, carry hay, corn, and straw; and, when thus enlarged, are much more convenient than wag- gons.‘They are also less expensive at first, and occupy less space when out of use. ea 88 IMPLEMENTS. OBSERVATIONS Ploughing, like every other operation in tillage, will always be various, as no plough has yet been, nor ever will be constructed, superior to all others — — (a) =| (a) pa Se ety= GP Ee. at ee. season, and on every variety of soil and shape of surface. A thin skinned turnip and barley soil, may be well WW tilled by almost any plough.‘The principal excellence in a plough for this soil, consists in its being of light weight and easy draught, and also in its being competent to leaving the surface in any required shape, from a ridge of less than thirty inches, to one of upwards of thirty feet. The light swing plough now in general use throughout the north of England and south of Scotland, and likewise some of the neatest of those in Suffolk, as much exceed the ploughs now made in this county, as coachmakers’ work does that of a common wheelwright. They ought to be considered as working models of their kind, for th plough-makers of the rest of England. There is not an arable close in this county, but what might be tilled by either of these ploughs, with two horses*, without a driver; a very few flinty loamy clays excepted, and which are bordering on Hertfordshire. Wheels seem to have been added, for the purpose of as- sisting bad ploughmen in free soils, and of all sorts of ploughmen in stony, stubborn soils. They are, in gene- ral, expensive, cumbersome and unsightly, and are re- sorted to where the ploughmen cannot otherwise be de- pended on for regularity of depth and neatness of work. Bad ploughmen very gene rally rest a part of their weigl upon the handles of the nies which must ay * Even the two worst horses in most of the teams in this county, might be made to plough six acres in six days,.with ease.—‘¥. JZ have a IMPLEMENTS. 8g . cv have a counter balance, obtained by giving the point of ey the share too great a in and in a direction contrary to the line of draught: thus the weight which the man rests on the plough, is more than doubled, which in- creases very considerably the labour of the horses. In order to remove this inconvenience, the Suffolk and Nor- folk farmers cause their ploughs to be made with one handle only, shacks soon tires the hand of the man, who presses on it, and obliges him to walk upright, and carry his own weight. In every county there are some superior ploughmen, who can regulate the coulter and share so correctly for exe- cuting of good work, that with any plough the ey Car- ry their own weight. It is a fact, that the swing plough 1 4 of every distri¢t, when held by a good ploughman, is drawn by less power than would be requisite to draw a plough of the same construction with wheels*.‘The disadvant tage which the latter labours under, is occasioned by the weight of the carriage and wheels, and also by the share ha ning too much declination. Wheel ploughs happen to do their work with less trouble to unskilful men than the swing ploughs, for which reason * Farmer Lemon, of Loddon, near Norwich, uses both the whee/ plough and the sw pied the former for a bad ploughman, and the latter for a good one. is brother occupied a sandy land farm several years, and excel]- ed in ace 1g with the Norfolk two wheel plough. He removed to a farm of strong loam in Suffolk, where he found that his horses did not support themselves in such high condition asbefore. He tried swing ploughs and wheel ploughs against each other, till he was fully convinced that wheel i 5 y ploughs fatigue the horses more than swing ploughs. His new ploughs were, 1] in consequence, all of the swing kind, and Re has not used a wheel plough tor several years; nor would he(says his brother) on light land, should he €ver again occupy a farm of that description. Mr. Davis also, in his Report of Wilts, observes, that‘* the farmers are very sensible, that a much lighter and simple well if e plough would answer as » or better, provided it was always used by an experienced ploughman; and the increase of good ploughmen has occasioned the two wheeled plough to be thrown by, as expensive and cumbersome,?’—/? ilts, page 68. €¢ € € they 2= aS eae 90 IMPLEMENTS. they discourage the use of every other sort, by putting on a sour ill-conditioned temper, when any attempt is made to introduce swing ploughs w tomed to use those with vio On a comparative view of the whole of any two ex sive districts, whereof one is‘ifed with wheel and the other by swint € against Middlesex se Surrey. including every description wee: oO y ry= of ploughmen usually met with in those counties, it has to me on many occasions, that for neatness 0} eel ploughs have ae advantage.‘This circum- stance, and keeping the men in good temper, is probably of more consequence than a little disparagement in point of draught The light swing plough 1 ly ti l of by M1- ley of Northumbe: l,: many cases i vention, it has its de 3, and 3s who! j petent to the ploughing any tenacious soil that abounds with stone He 1: Sian) 1 ee| [here'1is much str nd in most districts, Doth wi areas| 7a te a z af syn a] 3~=|= sad without stones, which becomes so very hard m sum- 1etrable to such a plough, and incapable Bee J© 11 aa| G, Sens.,. Fe of being well and neatly tilled by any swing plough. When a tenacious stony soil is baked by the sun in a ae aA=—+}$ 3 f hot summer, and its moisture evaporated and carried off ] ave winds, it can only be tilled by a powerful wheel t which purpose the Her#/ JIM oa eS at ae sllre wheel piougn Fe) ( As ace- coe tT:'== (I believe principally from the circumstance of its having nea ae niece a picked share) is superior to any other plough with v hich Pas an} i=f 2 1 f Sy J 7 acquainted. Next to that, the Kentish turn-wrest ey a a chissel-pointed share, 1s justly este med a , good implement; and for very deep ploughing pro sik bly may be entitled to the preference. IMPLEMENTS. gt There are cases successively happening on every arable farm, which create a wish in the farmer to turn a few furrows moje in one direction than the contrary—fre- quently near a road or foot-path, but more generally near hedge-rows; so as to turn the soil from them, and to plough head-lands wholly from the hedge. Every man who is attentive to his concerns, would, under such cir- cumstances, discover the superior utility of a turn-wrest*. There is also a wheel plough, though rather of a heavy construction, in general use near Reading and Newbury, in Berkshire, with which the men of that county work neatly and well. The double plough now coming into use in Somerset- shire, is liable to the objections which I have stated against the light swing plough, together with the additional objec- tion, that if it were to be constructed for a strong soil in a dry and stony state, it would require eight or ten horses to draw it; but in the moist climate of the west of England, or in Ireland, these inconveniences will not be so often ex- perienced as they would be in other places. Probably, for the purpose of ploughing a level close of a sandy soil into wide ridges, it may be either a first, or second best. It is, however, evidently more confined ¢ in its operations than any single plough; but as it saves the expence of one person, in respect to attendance, there are many occasions when it would be an acquisition. Deep soils of every texture are peculiarly adapted to the use of the trench plough, or of being ploughed two or * A swing turn-wrest plough may be seen at work at Mr. Thomas May- nard’s, Chartham farm, near East Grinstead, Sussex; in which the wrest is moved in half the usual time. It performs excellently. This farmer calls them snap ploughs, and says they are getting much into use.— 7%. M. + It will frequently be necessary to have a single plough to finish the fure rows between one ridge and another, after the double plough.—% AZ. more ha 92 IMPLEMENTS. more* slices deep. The first cuts off the weeds, and de- posits them at the greatest depth; the next raises a slice of clean mould from below the soil which produced the last crop, fresh and full of heart, which it lays upon the vege- table rubbish turned down by the former, in such a thick- ess as to smother the weeds, and decompose them into nurture for the next crop.. This operation will in every soil require a dae team, but one such ploughing is all that any land ought it to receive, and it is sufficient for al- L most any Crop. Che slices being laiad one Over anotiner, the land will generally harrow well; and when it 1s con- sidered how many ploughings are now given, preparatory none Cae Seeer 4 iy Lena bones Ree| Es Sere Pees 1 i Oe to a crop of turnips or barley, and, by the fallowists, for i i bh) J j Dees:|: wheat; and also how much labour in the latter case 1s bestowed, in the raking, pickis nd‘burnine of‘weeds: yestowed, IN MMe Yaxing, eae anc uUTDING or weeds; and aisoO Whlal a great expel NES CRESE operauions occasion to the farmer, it will seein occur, that if these Ewes eres ocd pee ua Been ET) een agg ee oe RGR disadvantages can be removed by one trench ploughing, the result must be very greatly in favour of that methc d. Another advantage of high importance is, that under the system of trench ploughing, the staple of the soil is in- creased in depth, its parts are divided and loosened, which Cy} L 2} ives the roots of the crop room. for the utmost rans their feeding powers, and consequently cannot fail of pro- ducing crops that will be proportionably greater by this i 5) < t t’ re) J == eed res| 4 1 oy FS than any other method of ploughihg. A greater number of coulters than one, in any plough, o harm, by saline the slices narrow, and in a perpendi- yd)? i t cular dire€tion, so as to occasion their being laid on theit dges. Trench ploughing, on the contrary, turns them o~ 4 5? 4? etely upside down. The former method places the .. 4° a 2 IE 1 weeds within the influence of the atmosphere, where they + The greater number of horizontal slices it is cut into, the better.— 7. 4 will =+s TATPLE TOONS: as IMPLEMENTS. 03 will certainly flourish; the latter smothers and destroys them. in this county, Zarrowing is a tedious business. The pace of the horses is disgusting; the harrows so often hitch one on to the other, that the man is obliged to stop a fourth part of his time to set them to rights.“This might be prevented by placing a board, of six or more inches arrow, =) wide, edgeways upon the right hand bull of each| or what Seibel is better, by coupling them together Ye with hooks and eyes, and by driving the horses with whip- reins of sufficient length to admit the man to walk after 1 the harrows(as is the case on the borders of England and Scotland, and in Norfolk and oe\, bisucel would, as a necessary ae harrow four times as much land in a given time, as by the present method, and it would be done much a than it now is The rollers being usually drawn by horses at length, treading after each other, must necessarily make a track. This is very‘citron to the ensuing crops: the earth which is occasionally scraped off the rollers, smo- thers every thing where it happens to fall, and there is a Mah 3 Re ee ee sm7eNncC. ye All these inconveniences loss of time in such scraping h ai are remedied in a roller which I have used for some years, with double shafts and a scraper. As to an open box; ot art, being placed over the roller, it 1s a useless appendage, ce by the wheelwright on g entlemen, for the pur= pose of increasing his bil f‘Those persons also are mis- taken, who have their heavy rollers made of very large diameter, as that very circumstance diminishes its pressure, by reason of its bearing upon too much surface at once. It is evident that merit rollers, loaded to the same weight, inust have a greater effect, and this is as well attained, and at a cheaper rate, by laying on the frame of the roller so many pieces of wood(each of them as heavy as a man can lift) as will produce the desired effect. : ry [I 94 IMPLEMENTS. The carts now in general use in this county, are more clumsy and heavy in their construction, made more faultily, and of worse materials, than any I have observed in any other part of Engiand. Even when empty, they are con- siderably heavier than one horse can draw in constant work, which difficulty is greatly increased by the breadth of the wheels*, as they must necessarily pass over every thing that lies in their way; whereas narrow wheels pass by every small obstruction, and more easily divide the dust in summer and the mud in winter. This is one of the great advantages that all light carriages possess. The single-horse carts that are in use in various parts of England, appear to be the best calculated for the pur- pose of carrying all kinds of goods, except indeed in single trees, blocks of stone, or any other article whose weight may be too much for the strength of such carts, and which cannot easily, and without loss, be divided into se- parate loads. In all, or most places, where the roads are particularly bad, either arising from soft mud and clay, or large stones, and where there are deep ruts, especially in hilly countries, and where the people are poor, and con- sequently particularly studious to keep their expences un- der as much as possible—these are the places, and the people, with whom single-horse carts are in common use, nd is a proof of the economy of the plan. It is equally certain, that where the country is level, the roads free from ruts, and the people rich, they indulge in expensive horses, and in teams of.parade and shew. Such, for in- stance, as those used by the brewers and distillers of this * This inconvenience is occasioned by the at of parliament which pre- vents a load of hay passing over a weighing engine, unless the wheels of the cart are six inches broad.—F. MM. + Viz. in the mountainous distri€ts of Derbyshire, Wales, Cumberland, Dumfries, Dumbarton, and various other parts.— 7. 47, county ALY IMPLEMENTS, 95 unty and Surrey. The economy, of single-horse carts is so clearly made out in the Cumberland Report, that I Cb : a a alarge on their utility to a Middlesex farmer, need not en c.= ate BSS| a Ae further than to request his attention to what is said on that === R~: Rave. fanr oat th ms 1e¢ subject in the said Report. I have four of them in use 1£ t pore gas Laat Apa A) Aaa ae PN ae TAXTO myself. In loading the gravel of flints, they are always filled to carry twenty-five cubical feet, and for manure, from thirty to forty. It is becoming daily more and more necessary for every arable farm to have a threshing mill. It is the only me- thod left for having the corn cleanly and properly thresh- ed. The men in the southern counties are too lazy to thresh clean, and too much given to pilfering to be trust- ed alone among the corn when threshed. This may seem severe, but I speak from experience at home, as well as from observation, and the complaint of farmers else- where. a No farmer can make an agricultural tour from Sussex ag to Northumberland, without observing an astonishing difference in the exertions of threshers, in favour of the north country men. For, in Middlesex, employ them by the day, and they will not do haif a day’s work, nei- ther will it be done clean; and set them to work by the quarter, or the truss, and they will thresh the freest corn, and leave the rest in the ear. Mills are very desirable, as they not only thresh clean, but may be made to winnow at the same time; and are so quick in the work, that it may all be done under the eye of the master, and the corn secured in the granary with- out the least pilfering. The saving by this means of thresh- fo): J IO 4 THE CREF OUTIEEE. OLR ETRE REOCE EL dn2, tH tHe Extre{uUaniily Of COT 7 CA, Ghd iflé S€curity Oo- JS 4~ iy}; 194 Shae at| 5), Lae! fh< aZainst AGUVINg the corn stolen in the chajf, an Z it advantage in favour of the mills, of about ten per cent. on the corn crops; im Some cases, to one shilli> Q OUSHEL ON Ly BEST, an y Al . 2- Pa sib 3 96 IMPLEMENTS, ce;: part( and very generally to twenty shillings an acre on ine wheat= 4 crops*.| a Every farme r of arable land should possess himself of a YY scuffle.“They are of various constructions, but all of them nN have a number of plates or feet, the ec lges of which are= steeled, and they are fixed at the bottom of as many Iron Ly bars, somewhat similar to the legs and feet of a.duck. I have one which works with two wheels, but would pro- Bs bably do as well in the manner of a harrow with very stout bulls. The side of the triangular feet should measure about six or eight inches. This implement is used in the same manner as a harrow: its feét cut up the weeds, and,| altogether, it pulverizes the soil. Barley and turnip land, after being once ploughed, may be made both clean and fine by means 0 this instrument, and the harrowing and subséquent ploughings thereby rena lered unnecessary. A sweep is of importance to every hay-farmer who makes his stacks in the fields, as it saves the labour of loading carts, and can be managed by two boys. All the hands may be employed at hay-making till five o’clock, and then the men may be sent to the stack, and as much done during two hours only in the evening, as hath been wsual during the whole afternoon f. I shall close this account, by rei ferring the hop-growers to Mr. Maynard, whom I have mentioned in the former ® The expence of threshing wheat, in this county, by the ftail, is full four shilings per quarter, supposing the land to produce twenty-four bushels. The threshing is twelve shillings per acre: to this add eight shillings for thin wheat left in the straw. Two bushels per acre, worth four shillings each, makes labour and waste amount to twenty shillings per acre, which, on twenty-four bushels, is ten-pence each on the saleable grain, and allowance being made for pilfering, will make the ten-pence a shilling.—F. MM. + Fora more particular account and drawings of this machine, see my letter published in the fourteenth volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts.— 7. MM. | part ge. IMPLEMENTS, 97 part of this section, for a plain and cheap implement: in its shape, and mode of being used, resembling a snow plough. Drawing it once in a place in the intervals between the rows, renders them perfectly clean, and a smooth as the well rolled walk of a pleasure ground; while it earths up the rows by the same operation, which, about ten days afterwards, are easily made into hills with spades*, * This machine is an equilateral triangle, whose sides are four feet q Sey> drawn by one corner; the front sides are shod by old scythes: the whole is strongly framed and loaded.—H~ MM, Pose COMMONS. 4. CHAPTER VI. COMMONS, INCLOSING,&c. SECT. I.—COMMONS: THE commons of Middlesex are situate in the more remote parts of the county, and bear a much smaller pro- portion to the whole quantity of land, than those of most other distri€ts in the kingdom. ‘The names and computed quantities, are as follows, viz Acres. 1. Hounslow-heath, which 1s said to con- 7 6,300* tain about-. 2. Sunbury-common,-- 1,400 3. Finchley-common,-=~ 1,240" 4. Harrow-weald, and part of Bushv_ ; 1,500 heath, commons,-= 5 Riselip-commons,== 1,500 6. Uxbridge-common,-- 350 7 Harefield-common,- 2.00 8. Hillendon-heath,-- 160 el % According to Rocque’s map of Middlesex, Hounslow-heath contained, iv 1764, about 6,658, and Finchley-common about I,243 acres. 5 agos-and in 1789, such part ell Some part of Hounslow-heath was inclosed about 50 yeat of this heath(viz. about 350 acres) as belonged to the parish of Stanv was inclosed by act of parliament.(Vide Stanwell, in this work).— 7.#1. lle&ted from a map, and are of course€X- 2 + The foregoing quantities are co tremely erroneous; but they will serve at least to g extent of the commons.— 7. JZ, TI 1¢ Dy “: aed—— 2. 5 n:= nr ee cs tT cre ee SS oe=.= sa give a general idea of the: COMMONS 99 Brought forward 12,650 acres. rmrts+ is r=) Lhe remains of Enfield-chase, still uncul- tivated, from actual mensuration, are, The allotment to Enfield parish, dmonton ae Part of the allotment to the crown, Ditto 2 to Hadley parish, Making together, to which add, several smaller ones, under 100 acres each, such as Hampstead-heath, Pinner-common, Sudbury- common, Pinner-marsh, Roxhill-green, Apperton-green, Wembley-green, eye aa Greenhull-green, Ux- bridge-moor, Memsey-mo, Goulds-green, Peils-heath, Hanwell-common, and we af shrubs, which pos- sibly may contain altogether 1,350 acres: then deduct for 1535 roa ds, ponds, and gravel-pits 1000 acres, and it will shew that the uncultivated soil of this county, capabie of receiv- ing improvement, is about 17,000 acres, or rather under one-tenth of the whole quantit yo. *“Exclusive of Hx aonsioe»-heath, Finchley-common, and Enfield-chase, *¢ there are a great variety of commons; the whole quantity of acres which «ec they contain, in this county alone, I dare say, is not less than 15,000. “¢ These lands, if inclosed and divided, supposing them to produce such ad- ‘© ditional crops as would be equal to three quarters of wheat per acre, “¢(which is surely a very moderate estimate, when we refleét, that in all «« probability much of this land will be converted into garden-grounds, which “¢ are cropped all the year round), would furnish the metropolis with an ad- “ ditional quantity of food equal to the daily sustenance of 237,26c men, at “f the rate of one pound of bread per day: to say nothing of the additional “€ quantity of pigs and poultry, raised from the offals of the farm, or the ac}>? 1e aftermath or eddis} cattle fed upon t ‘ That improvement of waste lands, sometimes costs more than the land, “ when improved, may be worth, will happen to improvident and unskilful ‘* farmers; but the public, however, have the same benefit from the land “© being made productive.[he quantity of labour which must be demanded, *€ will increase the population of the country, and the reyenue, and decrease So the poor-rates.’——-G. Franklyn, 2d Aug. 1793. G 2 Hlounslow- 100 COMMONS. Founslow-heath.—Such parts of this tract of land as he within the parishes of Twickenham, Teddington, and Han- worth, in case they were inclosed, would lett for very high rents. The rest of Hounslow-heath is land of such good quality, that it is disgraceful to the county, and insulting to the inhabitants of the metropolis, that it should remain in its present unproductive state; when most or all of it might, with perfect ease, be subjected to the fructifying influence of irrigation: and in consequence, be brought to yield a produce of upwards of 101. per acre, pet ann.—(For a further account of this heath, vide 37 Henry 8, oP ie pete in the Appendix). Sunbury-common—and the green field on the north side of Laleham, would also, on being inclosed, produce very handsome rents. Finchley-common.—TVhe soil of two-thirds of this com- a mon is a strong loam, of ten or more feet in depth, very wet, and much poached by cattle. The east side, con- taining about one-third of the whole, is dry land, and nearly covered- with furze.‘The wet part requires only surface-draining, to render it good sound pasture. On this common there are several thousand pollards, of hornbeam and oak, which never can produce a shilling to the lord of the manor, so long as they are permitted to occupy their present situation.‘Their numbers must annually de- crease, as no new ones are permitted to rise, and I obs served that several had lately been grubbed up. By taking the whole down at once, the proprietor might unques- tionably put several hundred pounds into his pocket. This common carries a large stock, principally of sheep, through the spring, until the hay is made on the adjoin- ing farms, when they are received into the inclosures. This Soa———— eet eens: ais a a ee COMMONS. Io] This is of great utility to the neighbouring farmers. There are appearances of marl in various places; and from Muswell-hill, the south-east corner of this common, there is a most enchanting prospect over Hornsey, Clap- ton, London, and the beautiful river Thames.‘here are many points in this situation, that as much.deserve to be adorned with elegant villas as any other spot in this, in many respects highly favoured county. The moors between Staines and Long ford—are, for the most part, on a gravelly bottom, but so often flooded and chilled by water, and so much injured by the poaching of cattle during the winter, that they produce but little herbage till the latter end of May.‘The greatest improvement that could be made on these pastures, would be effected by inclosure, embankment, and the use of fen-mills. The commons in Middlesex, as in most other places, are three fourths of them covered with heath and furze*, from which a little of the worst sort of firing is obtainec by the poor.‘The trifling quantity which cattle consume a| from these shrubs, does not, and indeed cannot, improve them, as it is barely sufficient to keep them from starving. Much of the remainder is occupied by roads, gravel-pits and ponds, yielding nothing. After the most mature con- sideration,| am inclined to think that about 5,500 acres of the commons in this county, are employed in the pro- * There is a large quantity of land in Great Britain, producing heath, farze, and bents, allin adwarf state, which would be very much improved by~ the proper application of lime alone, as it would gradually destroy those worth- less plants, and in lieu thereof; produce a fine sheep pasture, without plough- ing, or any other expence. In all situations, where the superstratum is thin, on a subsoil of gravel or coarse sand, and usually denominated burning, the same good effects would result from the use of marl, without ploughing.— x M. G3 duction TO? COMMONS. duction of grass for the feeding Oo ro) indeed but a miserable pasture, as the greater| der water during winter; and, from being poached and trodden down by cattle Srna wet, is rendered hard lumpy, full of holes, and partakes of the sterility of mor- tar during summer.““he 2 grasses are mostly of the dwarf kind, and of scanty produce, with a larger of the carnation, and other grasses, which are known to be rather more dangerous than nourishing; so much so, IOSCYVYULNE JaYMErS IN various & sing extensive cOMmon-rignts 4 QS CZ 2 Pi 7 ie Sie 1 a Genes Pi Dn Aa Pay Pape after a fair trial, to resjrain altogether irom turning wei 1 7 7° we UT ye cattle on such commons. Ox such authority 1t may well be c é tl quesi1oned, wh tf her COMMONS AYE Of any more use£0 1 COM~ nutty tha boy aynytd he were they A fete Datta munity than Tiley Would De Were T/1€y CON: THea to the bottom J Y: of the deep. But without attempting Ae solution of such a question at present, I may be allowed to observe, that the value of commons, considered solely as to their power of increasing animal food, and as totally unconnected with the adjoining inclosures, is exceedingly small indeed. But when considered as aff fete an opportunity to the neigh- bouring farmer to turn his stock out, at certain seasons of the year, they become an object of some importance. For in- stance, in the. spring quarter of the year, by receiving the stock during those months, the growth of hay is encouraged, they answer the purpose of pasture, and the farmer is thereby enabled to mow all his inclosed grass land; which must sensibly increase the quantity of hay to be sent to market, as at Finchley, and Harrow-weald, in this county; or being applied, during the winter months, to the support of a greater quantity of live stock, in places more distant from a good hay-market; and in others, for tha TenAGce At a dae s++} al] d, tne purpose Of foluing on the ai‘able lan On 4 = nn COMMONS! 103 On estimating the value of the commons in this county, including every advantage that can be derived from them, in pasturage, locality of situation, and the barbarous custom CG f turbary, it appears that they go not produce to the COMMiU- nity, in their present state, more than four shillings per acre! On the other hand, they are, in many instances, of real injury to the public; by holding out a lure to the poor man—I mean of materials wherewith to-build his cottage, and ground to erect it upon; together with firing, and the run of his poultry and pigs for nothing. This is, of course, temptation sufficient to induce a great number of poor persons to settle upon the borders of such commons. But the mischief does not end here; for having gained these trifling advantages, through the neglect or connivance of the lord of the manor, it unfortunately gives their minds an improper bias, and inculcates a desire to live, from that time forward, without labour, or at least with as little as possible.“The animals kept by this description of persons, it is soon discovered by their owners, are not likely to af= ord them much revenue, without better feed than the scanty herbage of a common; hence they are tempted to pilfer corn,&c. towards their support; and as they are still dependant on such a deceptious supply, to answer the demands of their consumption, they are in some measure constrained to resort to various dishonest means, so as to make up the deficiency. Another very serious evil which the public suffers from these commons, is, that they are the constant rendezvous of gypseys, strollers, and other loose persons, living under tents which they carry with them from place to place, according to their conveniency. Most of these persons have asses, many of them horses, nay, some of them have even covered carts, which answer the double purpose of G4 a Cara= i a Pp st AE Ce=:“ 4 ey ene Se 104 COMMONS, a caravan for concealing and carrying off the property they have stolen, and also of a house for sleeping in at night. They usually stay a week or two at a place; and the cattle which they keep, serve to transport their few articles of furniture from one common to another.‘These, during the stay of their owners, are turned adrift to pro- ‘cure what food they can find in the neighbourhood of 4 g their tents, and the deficiency is made up from the adja- cent hay-stacks, barns and granaries.“They are known never to buy any hay or corn, and yet their cattle are supplied with these articles, of good quality. The women and children beg and pilfer, and the men commit greater acts of dishonesty: 27 short, the commons of this county are well known to be the constant resort of footpads and highway- men, and are literally and proverbally a public nutsance*. And that they are so in the more distant counties, see the Gloucester Report, page 50, and that of Hereford, page 28. Additional injuries which commons render to society, are noticed in several other parts of this work. That the commons of Middlesex are capable of being improved, so as to produce large crops of all the vegetables usually cultivated, and to rear and support a very highly improved breed of cattle, there can be no sort of doubt t. Indeed, it is truly lamentable to see, in every part of these king- *© In the neighbourhood of London, the improvement’ of the commons *¢ is particularly desirable, in order to prevent their affording shelter to ‘* highwaymen: this, and honest‘turnpike men, would soon annihilate S¢ those pests of society.”°—Sir Richard Sutton. +‘* While in a state of common, every one turns on what he pleases, and be, con- © there is generally double the quantity of stock that there ought to *¢ sequently they barely exist. Should an enlightened breeder wish to ima «* prove his sheep, he cannot do it, owing to his ewes mixing with his neigh ** bour’s flocks. If he had the best tup in the kingdom, can he be sure that *° one of his ewes were tupped by him, while there are probably a score of ois —_— a a a aaa a ET TT COMMONS. 105 kingdoms, such extensive traéts of: land lying waste on uncultivated; producing no revenue to the owners of such property, and extremely doubtful if any, the smallest, benefit to the community. But it is particularly disgraceful to this, the first and principal county, which, so far from raising a sufficient supply of bread for its inhabitants, is under the necessity of importing corn from every quarter of the world(Europe, Asia, Africa and America), while, at the same time, it has so many acres of good land lying ioc ial waste, and. locked up from the operation of the plough. By the single means of inclosure, an abundant quantity of corz might be produced, and 150,000l.@ year added to the wealth of the county, which is now absolutely lost to society, with as careless an indifference as if the proprietors of the soil were afraid of becoming too rich; or, as if, like the dog in the manger, they would not permit the community to share in a blessing of which they themselves are not in- cape ECLA ENCED ap PLEO DE AGES: clined to partake. But as it is very unreasonable that the ; nation should suffer from the obstinacy of persons of this 1 cast, or disposition, who will neither cultivate the soil § themselves, nor suffer others to do it, at a fair rent, a ; very popular, and I think effectual, remedy might be \ found, which is, to tax all the waste land in the kingdom,| q ‘ his neighbour’s to contest the female with him?2—On the other hand, if ‘the common were inclosed, every one would stint with that species of “ stock for which his allotment was best adapted, and in such numbers as €€ would ensure profit. When he can confine his ewes within hisown in- closures, he can make whatever experiment he pleases, by putting a few, or many, ewes to any particular tup, without any fear or apprehension of having a spurious breed, by the interference of his neighbour’s. He is also ena- bled to keep his flock from many disorders. Few commons but what have some traéts of land liable to the rot: how are they to be prevented from de- pasturing upon it? or if the scab, or other infectious disorders, have taken é place amongst any flock upon the common, how is he to avoid it 2??’—Cum- berland, page 33. with 106 INCLOSING. with a view to enforce a general inclosure.“The amount ee:: Soa, Mae wel 1 of the tax, and the manner of levying it upon the inclosed Wat i: Sees ee Hand which has a right of common attached to it, might be easily adjusted*.(Vide Aér. Reia’s lettex, in the Ap- pendix). Inclosing.—The benefits and advantages that would be derived from a general inclosure of commons, are so ieweae. ae fae G xceed mv powers of description or HAuUMETOUS, aS lar tO EXCeEG my powers Of description oF ores Sealey BND by AoA ENTS TICRI Race oe Pat FF A Sf computation. Ane opportunity i would atford, o1 sepa- RS OE ay foresee a perepe mp pod tapos. ie Tea cr alerts Fatlng ary ground trom wet, of well di ining tne latter, and 1iiming the rotren parts, S OF Infinite cons CGUENCE 5 aS 1 Se eel oY A ee ah gsr CN| ema CNG J ery ROE Tene nae vee. Such an arrar reEMCNe woud, WH the aid cf LCE DE nit breeders, be the means of raising a breed of she neat cattle, far superior to the present race of wretched Phat L rane; 45 ye Se rey Fe es, fae~ t m iA half starved animals now seen in such situations. It would add have the etect of supporting a more numerous stock, up- on the same quantity of food, by restraining the cattle and sheep within due bounds. Their restiess and rambling disposition, not only treads the grass off the ground, but also takes the flesh off their bones. This renders the at- tendance of a shepherd necessary, and requires likewise that they be driven to and from the fold+. Further, the live stock would by this means be rendered many hundreds per cent. more valuable to individuals and the community, than it has hitherto been, or can possibly be, without in- ie i abc: closure; and, what is of the last, the greatest importance, zt would tend to preserve such improved breed from that *“The inclosing and cultivating of waste grounds, isa matter of the first ** consequence for the attention of the Board, in every part of the nation; A 3 i oe S* but more especially near the metropolis, where manures are so plentiful, Gé and every thing that land produces so valuable.’?— From one of the returne ed Reports. +“ Sheep feed more readily by being freed from the whimis of the shep- *s herd, and the teazing of his dog.’"—Northumberland, page 51. destruclive I INCLOSING, 1O7 destructive malady, the rot, which makes such terrible havock among our flocks. Add to this, that the markets would be more plentifully supplied with beef and mutton, and the price of these articles considerably reduced. Tt does not appear to be necessary to state with precisi~ on(nor indeed is it capable of being so stated) what would be the increase in value, of the commons of this county, on their being inclosed, and well and properly cultivated. It may, however, with safety be stated at upwards of fifteen ’ times their present value to the proprietors™, and forty times their present value to the public t. But increasing the rental of such land to fifteen, or perhaps twenty times its present amount, is by no means the greatest advantage that may , be expected to result from an inclosure of commons. Lhe general salubrity and healthiness of the country would ne- Sik rt iE Salta cessarily be improved||; while industry would be largely i= les 13 esos By 3 Sead i creased, among the most useful classes of society; veggary and ( robbery much lessened; and the general stock of corn and cattle * The present produce being only four shillings an acre, the rent cannot be stated at more than two shillings; and fifteen times that sum is but thir- ty shillings an acre; which is certainly less than they would lett for after being inclosed.— 7. M.: + The present produce, as before stated, being four shillings an acre; forty times that sum is only eight pounds, which, there can be no doubt, is less than this land, after being inclosed, and cultivated, would produce. od(Vide course of crops, and their produce).—F. M. |“¢ I have to observe(says Mr. Billingsley, speaking of inclosure), with “ heartfelt satisfa@tion, its happy effects on the health and comfort of the in- “ habitants of the adjacent villages. Agues and low fevers, from the humidity <¢ of the air, impregnated with exhalations from the stagnant contents of the <¢ marshes, prevailed very generally during the vernal and autumnal seasons. “© And these, for the most part, were obstinate, and more frequently subdued by the drought and heat of summer, and frosts of winter, than by the most ‘* judicious medical treatment. Inclosing and draining have rendered these diseases as scarce in the low as inthe uplands.‘To the prevention where- of, advance of wages(frorn four to six-pence per day) with constant employ, ‘ arising from the same cause, have nota little contributed, by enabling the “ poor to live better, which is generally accompanied by a growing taste for ‘© cleanliness,’’—Billings/ey’s Report of Somerset, 7 almost 103. INCLOSING. almost inconceivably augmented. And wherever inclosures are made with due attention to the interests of the poor(as they ought always to be), they will be found to ameliorate their condition, as much as they increase the property, and the comforts of the rich*. ~‘The commons of this kingdom being, with very few exceptions, without ridges, furrows, or drains, have not the means of discharging that superfluous water from the surface of them, which is well known to be of great de- triment to vegetation in general. Many commons in low situations, and where the soil happens to be of a retentive quality, hold water like a sponge, which being always stagnant, as well as excessive in quantity, renders the soil of such commons much too wet for the pasturage of sheep; and is, no doubt, the cause of many of the disorders which that animal is subject to, particularly that fatal malady the such commons must be particularly unfriendly to the health and longevity of man. Only let us reverse the scene, and for a moment suppose these commons to be inclosed, the necessary ditches and drains sunk, and the land brought into tillage, and we shall see all the superabundant moisture sot rid of; and the water, being kept in constant motion, by trickling down the side of t } if he ridges into the furrows, and from thence, into the ditches and rivulets, will be rtize the very soil which, in its present stag- * Here Jam again happy to have my assertions corroborated by Mr. Billings- ley, in his valuable Report of Somersetshire. He says,** I can truly de- ** clare, that in all cases which have fallen within my observation, inclosures ** have ameliorated their(the poor) condition, exciting a spirit of activity and ** industry, whereby habits of sloth have been, by degrees, overcome; and “¢ supineness and ina¢tivity have been exchanged for vigour and exertion. No ** stronger proof can be given of this, than the general redution of the poor- ee rates in all those parishes wherein such inclosure has taken place.’’—Vide Rely c/e4p? arp ory Pre Saye: P; e. in thic work Billingsley’s Somerset, p. 35, and sect, 3, chap. 3, on cottagés, in this work. nant rot. From the same causes also, the neighbourhood of INCLOSINGs 109 nant state, it serves O 7yure. while, by leaving the land t dry, it will be rendered more healthy both for men and ? tle. The effets of such a measure would soon shew d, which, at pre- ibe att ae le in many districts of this islanc sent, are very inpropitious to the health of man, in the much greater longevity of the inhabitants. It may farther be observed, that commons are entirely defe€tive in the great article of labour; but no sooner does an inclosure take place, than the scene is a changed from a dreary waste, to the more pleasing one, of the same spot appearing all a animation, activity and bustle. Every man, capable of performing such operations, is fur- i 1° IS nished with plenty of employment, in sinking ditches and drains, in making banks and hedges, and in planting quicks and trees. Nor are the wheeiwright, carpenter, smith, and other rural artificers, under the necessity of being idle spectators of the scene, since abundance of work will be found for them, in the erection of farm-houses, and the necessary appendages thereto; and in the formin; making roads, bridges, gates, stiles, implements of hus- bandry,&c. Even after a few years, when these kind of temporary exertions are over, by the whole being brought into a regular system of husbandry, it will still continue to provide both food and employment for a very increased population. It is highly probable, that if the legislature should pass an act for the general inclosure of waste land, it would increase the quantity of rural labour so much, as to ad- vance its price considerably, and thereby have the good effect of drawing a vast number of hands out of the un- wholesome confinement of manufactories; where, in ad- dition to the life-shortening effects of such confinement, the morals of the people are exposed to certain contami nation, SITs RI ess. Fg sabe!. oa*$ en ee eee a nl a PN me TIO INCLOSING. Ww‘ed respect to the effect produced by inclosures on the population of the country, it may be observed, that the inclosing of 1000 acres in any one parish, would probably require 100 different labourers, manv of whom would un- doubtedly be drawn from such of the adjoini ng parishes as had less work than workmen. Thus it must follow, that the neighbouring towns and villages would diminish, just as much as the parish in which the inclosure is going forward would increase, its numbers; yet the amount of the community will evidently be the same. But although the inclosing of waste land certainly does not immediately either increase or decrease population, as some writers seem to have supposed, yet that inclosures w/timately affect population(and that as to its increase), inasmuch as the district is thereby made more conducive to health, is suf- ficiently evident. Every thing that has a tendency to make a nation more healthy, and Afodeclive: must of necessity operate as a stimulus to population.‘The certainty of a man’s being able, with ease and comfort, to provide for himself and family, by the increase of rural labour, is at once an in- ducement to marriage, and a consequent increase of po- th ‘ee Nn tas aes If an increase of population is our strengt 1 if i no doubt it js), it follows, that not only inclosures should be encouraged, as having that effect, but also that every other means should be resorted to, for the purpose of pre- pe the lives of the people, particularly a cultivating 2 arts of peace, and by a general adoption of inoculation fe that dreadful disorder the small-pox: the latter, alone, - Is preserves many thousar 1i¢ J (perhaps 20,000), which num- ber annually perished by the disorder in the natural way, previous to that inyalanble discovery being brought into practice. INCLOSING. Tis i] The inhabitants wholly supported by agriculture in England and Wales, appear to be nearly, or perhaps quite, six millions*(while it supplies provisions for near two millions more), or one to every six acres and a half of cultivated soil. Not but that the éxtremes vary much, as there are some few grazing farms, with only one soul to fifty, and arable farms that are peopled in the proportion of one person to three acres of land. In point of produce, the commons, in their present state, apparently, though I think not really, afford entire support to human beings in the proportion of one to an hundred acres. But by being inclosed, and brought into the present ordinary cultivation of the country, every six acres and a half might do the same. Should agriculture experience a rapid advance to- wards perfection, as there is reason to imagine it will, both from the exertions of the Board, and intelligent individuals, every three or four acres would, in a few years, be capable of supporting its inhabitant; and as, from its nature, it might certainly be carried on from one degree of perfec- * Cultivators of farms, six persons to every 100 acres, is 2,340,000 Ditto of gardens, hop-grounds, nurseries,&c.----= 300,000 Smiths, wheelwrights, bricklayers, masons, carpenters,) painters, plumbers, glaziers, various manufacturers of fur- niture, woollen cloths, and making it up, linen and making at up, leather, and making it into shoes, boots,&c. hose, fee..>» 2,800,000 Marness, and saddlery: as many of each of these description of persons as are wholly employed by the cultivators of the soil, men, women, and children, about seven persons to each farm of roo acres, is--- a The like of millers, bakers, maltsters, brewers, distillers, starch-makers, dedlers in corn, and persons employed in 500,000 the commerce of corn----- The landlords of farms----- 40,000 Persons supported by taxes on the produce of lands=- 120,009 Total me 2 oe~ 6, 100,000 Fig pte s tion ee a re ears Le ERGO en o = a SS=- yI2 INCLOSING. tion to another, it may even arrive at.such a pitch of ex~ cellence, as that every acre of land shall support its man. In the spring of 1795, proposals were circulated in {.ondon, for the formation of a company, for the purpose ae of cultivating the waste lands. Such a scheme, I should think not likely to succeed; as individuals can carry on any enterprize more economically than a society. The profits of agriculture, after the subtraction of rent, tithes\: and taxes, are by no meanssuch as would make it a pro-| fitable concern to a company.—(See Appendix, No. 35 3*, and 4}.(\ NODES“UPON DAIS SUBJECT. WREE LEN EN CAE F AIAN~ op- Net OF 5) ee MARGIN OF DHE FORMER REPORTS, CEC; u “ “© As to the plan of improving Wimbledon, and other commons, I am kK 8 afraid it would occasion great discontent, and be a hardship to many|“i *S Those who at present make use of the common, would expett either to ii “ enjoy it as at present, or have a piece of land in-severalty instead of it.\ ee The small portion of rent which they would receive, would be no object ‘tothem. I apprehend, the right of common to an industrious ative per- son, is very valuable; to an indolent one, it is nothing. Under the act of 1773, the improvement of Barnes-common is one-twelfth lett for four years, which is all employed in garden ground. Perhaps, if by a special act, a fourth part of such common was allowed to be lett for seven years, “©(I would have this and every case a large consent), it might go down| pretty well, and the success of the improvement might bring ona gene~ ** ral division. “* By the bye, as to the article of fuel forthe poor, if instead of furze *“ bushes being allowed to grow promiscuously, and to be cut up for their use, *¢ 4 certain part was fenced off, sown with French gorse, and cut by regular *¢ cuttings in rotation, it would be agreat imprevement.’’—Sir Rich. Sutton. I cannot help remarking upon this observation of Sir Richard’s, that small cornmons, in the vicinity of London, might be advantageously inclosed on a parochial plan, namely, by an allotment to the lord of the manor, another in lieu of tithe, and the rest to the parish, who should apply the rents, one half towards the land-tax, and the other half in aid of the poor-rates. A plan something like this was adopted, a few years ago, at Walworth, in the county of Surrey, and answered completely.—7. AZ. «© A general INCLOSING. 1132 ~ “* A general inclosure and division of a common, in a country so populous ““ as this, upon which so many parishes have aright of common, may be “ said to be a means of cutting it into very small pieces, upon which, indi- sf beneficial system of h ry could on such small vs but this supposed ey ll work its own cure, ina ee e metropolis. Sales and exchanges will be a means S ight use: leases upon covenants, “* enforcing improvements, and either at a certain rent for a certain time, or ll best suit the temper and circumstances of the contracting parties, will be a sure means of workin py rents ’ S ** upon increas ee a? proyement.’’—A note in the margin of one of the retu ““ The dividing these lands, when inclosed, into small farms, of not more “ than fifty acres, would be attended with the most salutary effeéts(though **T find it difficult to convince a number of people of thé dangerous conse- ““ quences of the monopoly): it would increase the number of buildings, of ** inhabitants, and every necessary attendant of the wants of man. And e, to prevent too great an ine ** though war is urged as a necessary me “* crease of inhabitants, it isa reason no man of common feeling or sense ** would suffer to enter his head. I am thoroughly convinced, that if every ** acre of land in the nation was cultivated, it would p. ovide very sufficiently “* for five times the number of inhabitants there is in it; and would, at ““ the same time, enable them to live cheaper, to live happier, and, bya ** proper distribution of the gifts of nature, enjoy those rights which nature ** originally intended of partaking of her common gifts: it would increase ** the wealth of every land-holder, to an amount that perhaps he has not an ** idea of.”—IJn the margin of a returned Report. ** Commons are certainly best inclosed, as they afford no real benefit to ** the poor who live on, or near them; for, although a cow turned on the *“ common may get her own living for three months, which is as much as ee she will be able to do, without some assistance from the garden, bran, **&c. the cottager, not having a bit of inclosed ground to grow hay, is sure, *° if he can have it at all, to pay very dear for it to the neighbouring farmers; “* and such cows, being obliged to be on foot all the day, and perhaps at ee night too, give but a very scanty meal when milked.”—P, F——On which a correspondent observes, that the poor cottager neither has the means of buying a cow, nor the right of keeping her on the commons. ** Must the lands of England lie waste, and the people be starved? or ce must something effectual be done to prevent the avarice and power of ine *“ dividuals from taking advantage of what they call their parliamentary “sé aterests, to defeat law and common justice? I am much pleased with § inclosure bill, and mind not by what means they may, by ine closure, be rendered useful to the community, provided that absolutely ecessary work be done,’—/¥, P, 6 necec Tid COMMON FIELDS. SECT. II.—COMMON FIELDS. THE common arable fields of this county contain about 20,000 acres. Common fields are divided into too many small proper- ties. I have known thirty landlords in a field of 200 acres, and the property of each so divided, as to lie in ten o1 twenty places, c ontainin 1g, from an acre or two, down- wards, to fifteen perches; andina field of 300 acres, I have met with Sees of arable land, containing eight perches each. In this instance, the average size of all the pieces in the field was under an acre. In all cases, they lie in long, narrow, winding, or worm- like slips. Land so distributed, occasions great loss of time to the farmer, in removing his teams and labourers, and, what is of equal See Ae as ee oa PCC INO: 710i AIO!‘7 Ln ayy importance, he can neither cro. S-plougny nor Aavrow and clear Velewtieess ike manner Wis tiice cam be cnc SUCH Lana, tH Aa Wor hme in-l Re Manner. LN either can he SOW any sreen or meliorating crops, Vary the usual 1mMpot EY ISHING J Oo oO f~, oO SUCCESSION, OY EVEN destroy tine Vermin. tn short, the CUullle= Rama kl cra A Cie Pare! WAV EN a Laie‘ vator of these lands finds his expences double, and his crops only half of what they might be, if the land were laid toge- Common meadows are subject to many of the same in- J J CONVENIENCES. Nearly half the foregoing q juantity consists of a good turnip and barley soil; the other half of a bean soil. The latter lies westward from Harrow, and seems to be pre- served in a state of aration, in consequence of its being * The following note is copied from the mar gin of one of the returned and iS, the ‘© farmer cannot crop with that as best suits his soil, but is confi‘ined to sow Reports:—‘* One great inconveniency attending common- field| “© such grain as must be cut with his neighbours’. An act to inclose common-« “ field land, would be advantageous to the farmer, and make the estate ‘© compact, and of more yalue to the owners.’? common- ee>- itil I ry ei ee— set 9g Spee a cc ca TE I COMMON FIELDS. IIs -:: common-field. Ifthe commonage were destroyed, and every nan’s land united, it would be mostly laid down for the pro- duction of hay, in which state it would double the present rent on a twenty-one years lease, and at the end of that time; would most probably be found in such a state of rich Tce grass, as to be of three times its pia va- lue. Inclosure is the greatest improvement for the land- owners, that can be made on this strong soz/. Oak and elm seem to grow with nearly equal health on the whole of this distri€t, though two or three places, of a few acres each, tend more to the oak. On the rest,-the elm has rather the preference, 4a stands so close in the hedge-rows, that I have numbered eight trees in twenty feet. The oak is most infamously pollarded; the elm not quite so much. An inclosure of the commons and common fields in this county, would considerably lower the price of hay i in the London markets. Inclosing the common fields, which consist of a turnip and barley soil, frees both the landlord and the farmer from the shackles of an exhausti ing and obsolete rotation of crops, and places them at liberty to stipulate for culti- vating the soil in the most improved manner, keeping it clean, in better heart, raising such roots and green crops as’ are in the greatest demand at market, and only o growing a crop of corn for the sake of renewing the green and root crops. In this manner, intelli- gent men, after inclosure, can double the produce-of ® their land. For further observations on this es see course of CEOAAS- alen con tt Toaratarr 19 R- crops; also see the Hereford quarto Report, page 70. 2, SECE 116 ENFIELD CHASE. SECT. F1i.-—-ENELELD(CHASE. « Tre parish of Enfield, in its extent, its value, and <* its resources, is as follows: « rst, The contents of the parish of Enfield, in statute CACHES< ACiEL ys aver. value. rental of parish. © Inclosed pasture,--- 1646324— at3os. peracre,—£2469 ** Ditto, arable and pasture, 1245 1 13— at 2os.— 1245 §* Common-field land,-- 2746 3 29— at 15s.— 2059 the vz inclu i 86 Marsh land(acommon)- 7940—§ the value included in ¢ the foregoing prices. 5— Total rental of land£.5773* Rent of houses- 3227. ** Total quantity- 64330 Ww Together--£.9000 ASth td hy ¢* Amount of the above,- af eo le 6433 0 35 ** Uninclosed parish allotment subject to tithes, 1532 2 6 © Inclosed by the late aét, part of the chase, dis- 2, charged from the payment of tithes, es ea “© Total in the parish of Enfield,- 816s; o I er ae «¢ The king’s allotment is not specified in the above ac- «© count; nor that part of the chase which is set apart in lieu of predial and vicarial tithes. «© The rental of the parish being, according to the é¢ above statement, 90001.+ a year, a privilege of turn- * This account is extra€ted from Mr. Foot’s survey, and it might have been advanced to goool. a year, without being over-valued.—‘7, JZ. + This might be put at upwards of 12,200]. The 200 acres discharged of tithes, the King’s allotment, and the land set out in lieu of tithes, would probably make the rental of the parish, upon a fair valuation, amount to 17,000]. a year, as stated by Dr, Wilkinson, in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xvii, page 352.—7. M. ‘* Ing o ‘“a= ea——— a := Se=— I ee cen— ENELEE DD CRASES 117 <¢ ing stock upon the commons, or uninclosed pasture, will “ “ attach to every person possessing premises to the value “* of six pounds a year. “« This privilege, however, not being restrained to any “¢ definitive number or description of cattle, there are, ** upon an average, not less than sixteen hundred and ¢¢ fourteen head of cattle, branded and turned on every ** year; by which the common is so destructively over- ** charged*, that the end which the privilege was design- ‘* ed to attain, is in a great measure lost+.‘These disad- ** vantages, which are occasioned by the inclination which «¢ each individual has to monopolize the whole, are con- ‘* siderably increased by the fraudulent use which the ** more indigent householders make of the privilege, by ‘* turning on the cattle of strangers to agist, at a low &S. price: “*‘To secure a certain profit, and to avoid the disadvan- tay n tage which the avarice of each occasions to the whole, 6 “~ the following plan of stint might be adopted. “ Every cottager to be allowed the pasturage of one “* cow and calf; or two heifers; or one horse; or one rN nw mare and colt. * The more any common or pasture is stocked by sheep and neat cattle, provided they leave all their dung there, the better it is for the land, though in most cases the worse for the cattle. The land will keep increasing its ca+ pability of supporting such cattle; though the small advantage which the commons derive, by being overstocked, is not to be put in competition with the loss which the community suffers by perpetuating the commons, and cone sequently a worthless breed of stock. It is supposed that any dry pasture, which can now summer one hundred sheep, would bear the addition of one sheep to the number annually.— F, AZ, The appropriating 1532 acres of land in this parish to perpetual com. monage, was a measure both impolitic and unwise in the extreme; it was, in fact, preferring a shilling toa guinea. The whole produc’ is now under ten shillings an acre, when, by division and cultivation, it might be advanced, to eight guineas. The difference is upwards of 12,0001, a year.— 7. MM, H3«“ The Ilo ENFIELD CHASE. 24 POE eee are’ «© The occupiers of land and ‘* catile gait, or béast gait, for every six pounds a year qan it mig it otherwise have been. — ed t This tract of land, in its original state, abounded with y > seat ye ee- Salles 4> trees and bushes, which seemed to make it necessary for deserving any attention in this case, Is, The only plan, in my opinion, g to divide the land in severalty among the parties interested therein 1.— 7. M. Besides the exclusive use of 1532 acres of land, which, lying so near the metropolis, ought to produce nearly 13,0001. a year.— JF. AZ, ENFIELD CHASE. 119 ~ re cultivator to dig up the soil, and stock out the roots, before any of the ordinary operations of husbandry could take place. These were works wh ich not only req uired much labour to effect, but also a very large Slee of money, for which there was no zmmediate prospect of eturn. Oak was the only article which found a ready sa. The very unusual and extraordinary supply of stack- wood and ene so far exceeded the demands for those articles, that the price fell far below the woodman’s la- bour. Inexperienced farmers became alarmed at these circumstances, and, in consequence, set themselves about trying confined, partial, and penurious experiments, certain- ly very ill calculated to succeed ona raw, crude soil, which had from the earliest ages been shut up by a thick foliage, in an excess of damp, excluded from the benign influence of the solar rays, and every other power of evaporation. The wood, i the first instance, being only cleared away from small patches of land at a time, such cleared ground a| was, necessarily, oe left Seeanass on all sides by woods, | which, by the redundancy of damp oy occasioned, con- | tinued the disorder under which the soil naturally laboured. ‘ ; Again, the stocking up the roots, and digging the soil, before mentioned, would unavoidably bury great part of the surface mould, which was by much the best, and in its stead turn up a worthless clay, a perfect enemy to the whole vegetable world: or at least, it would mix so much bad sojl with the small portion of good, as to pro- duce together a new surface, certainly much inferior to the one destroyed by this operation. It ought not there- he fore to excite surprize, that, under all these disadvantages 3 | the soil should, as it were, sullenly and reluctantly yield back again even so much as the seed sown. In fact, it | could not otherwise happen, till such time as the woods, being more generally cleared, the superabundant water H 4 drained izO ENFIELD CHASE. drained off, and the excessive damps evaporated, the soil should obtain a proper degree of dryness. Nor even then could great returns be expected, without the application % some stimulating ingredient(as turf-ashes, lime, marl, é&c.) to correct the natural acic lity and crudeness of the soil. But in order to make it permanently productive, manure should have been dealt with a liberal hand. At length, however, the fire-wood being grubbed and marketed in less quantities, increased its price; and by the < 7 money it produced, opened the way for a more extended clearing of the soil.‘«* Thehalf-yard wood, which was ori- J “ ginally given as a recompense to the labourer for clear- <¢ ing the ground, now yielded to the eae seven «¢ shillings a stack; the spikes twenty-four shillings; the ‘ bavins, when drawn to town, from sixteen to twenty- «+ four shillings per hundred; and the spray, being made << up into what they called“ pimps,” several shill «* profit: RGB By eee Bie ed Ree Pp penton AS ene «¢‘The account between the proprietor and the labourer ** therefore now stood thus, viz. Labourer. Sold by the proprietor ior «¢"To one stack of half-yard wood, AEs cae dr eg feet long, 3 fect high, and 3 feet to 4 eo 16°@ wide, «¢ Ditto, yard wood, ditto, 020© 16°6 *¢‘To: 100 spikes,-~= SOE LD O° 6:6 ¢¢“To 100 bavins,--=) ONO=O©2670 cs © Roots, and collier’s ware, per stack, 7} the same measuré as the half-yard| wood,| «© Ditto, rou: « Pimps, perhundred,=--© 10 e 6°90 O © Oo Oo EGS(©) ENFIELD CHASE, 12% This rise in the value of the above articles, plainly evinced, that though, under a parsimonious management, the soil refused to repay the toils and expence of husband- ry, in the produce of grain, it w ould, at least for a short time, yield, inthe value of fire wood, sufficient to answer the demands of the crown for rent.“This circumstance, no doubt, was the means of its being cleared from wood. But unfortunately, the occupiers not knowing how to cultivate this kind of soil to advantage, and withal, being apprehensive of incurring a considerable loss, by any mis- take in the management of it, let it lie in a state of waste a or several years; and it would probably have continued so till this time, had not the more spirited, and well-di- rected exertions of a few enterprizing and intelligent in- dividuals, shewn the way to success. The improvements that have been made on the chase by George Byng, Esq. the present worthy member of this county, together r with those of Francis Russell, Esq. and Dr. Wilkinson*, are very considerable, and reflect the highest credit on those gentlemen. It is a matter of some doubt, whether the best mode of improving such a soil as that of Enfield-chase, was then known in this part of England; but it is certain that it was not practised. It is also clear to demonstration, that unless a well-digested system be pursued, the profit must be precarious, and the success of the undertaking uncer- tain. But now that so much additional light has been thrown upon this subject, by the observations and experi- ments of practical men, it is scarcely an that any person, desirous of entering on the cultivation and im. * in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xv, page 341, vol. xvii, page 352, and vol. xx, page 451, Dr. Wilkinson has given much safeenation respecting Enfield-chase; and has alsomade some important observations respecting the best mode of cultivating waste lands.— 7, M/, provement us—~ ee— 522 ENFIELD CHASE. provement of waste land, can find any difficulty in pro- curing information as to the best and most approved methods of doing it; especially if he 2 willing to recom- pense men of skill and integrity for their advice and assist- ance in the ee As to Enfield-chase, if the parties concerned in the cultivation of it had set out upon a liberal and judicious 1 cn Pe POR re ae plan, in the first instance, and began os »y felling the timber a°- ar aS Coes- tha se¢ in the proper season, and dis of it at the best ) 1 A pny eee ee S| A AS i seed pat ae a| on==}|= ABSA A be market: next pared the old sward, and stocked out all the Xr they were dry, burnt the roots, = 1=)~ res; the nh pious ghed the sé ashes row(in aides to avoid bring- the wretched subsoil); after this, ‘owing it in; I say, had this m of the chase, l think I may venture t hould not now have against the soil, or that it would be called sullen and u eadeeti 7 TES and 1 ie, ethich cho ild have heen eaten Wy tares, and perhaps col which should Nave been eaten DY ls Beh fe oe et eg in| esp A erie ere ae stock, on the land which produced them. Tohis should 1 en apa repeated, and the land plentifully sup- plied with manure, brought trom town and the farm-yard, until the soil had eee a sufficient degree of richness to be laid down to permanent grass. = 2 Para oO eee oe Doe St ne Se+ Rhnarn The land of the chase is, in its nature, too stubborn -, 5 ¢.“ey, Pde to answer In a course OF VAS 16 ASEsO 1 Es t}}=) wr> Q roe near\ tne metropolis, ana where the expences of horse- } aro| sen?e lIahour are~n hict} hey Tcl KEEp, and mens lapour, are so Nien, tnat they VOuUId é - 1 Aus T; consume all the produce of such land. Jt should therefore be ony pared, burnt, piougheda, arained, limed, and manured, and t then laid aown clean quad in good heart, to permanent ~ 1” 1 af(oes 3“} crass. Indeed, wherever there is a clean skin of good ¢ . Lee 7 oS= ars) BS ea| plants already, it will be sufficient that it be weil drained ang a—— ae= rs a= ENFIZELD CHASE 123 3] y= Sey: ae Sys all he xare ths and manured; in wach Case tie orasses Wiil be sure to im- prove, and inafew years become goot dmeadow. In short, } 1}‘ tes) BERSS OS Say te ra bee se Bes the whole doe’ not differ so much from the land at Hendon, valitv, but that successive manuring for the en{ enya epays. s. as the latter has experienced space of one hundred years, as the latter has experienced, 1on et ihe may rel the chase as famous for the produc prime hay, as that place now is. infield allotment, on the chase, is in part stocked with thriving young oa much of it with hornbeam; and still more with thorn bushes: so that from a tenth to a i quarter of t 1e groune is left in grass{mixed with carna- he) for the pasturage of cattle. Three-fourths of Edmonton allotment is covered with has about one solitary, unthrifty, and un- Ses her ee See Mahia ask ech eG enias sightly tree, to an acre. And as these are deficient in side branches, they look like may-poles encumbered with ivy. The live stock, of course, 1s proportioned to the scantiness and poverty of the pasture. Indeed the whole }+: e shar ce scene has too much the appearance of a wilderness, to please me; but, however, it only wants cultivation, to bring its beauties into notice.‘his land appears to be very thin skinned, yet, so long as it may be.doomed to continue in common, to the disgrace of the nation, a cer- tain, cheap, and easy method of improving it would be, z oer ae ibs ze ks yest Be]= a by apy to grub up all the bushes; plough surface drains suffi- } cient in number to lay the whole dry; spread the soil 3 j 2 t ae SS j; ee ao turned up by t h; and, at all times afterwards, to grub the yearl ots, and keep the drains open: the 44} 2’ whole would sc covered with grass, become a den, 4 ites ee| cue ts Bie- LO ough poor pasture*, and at the same time capable of doing better by the present stock, or of supporting an in- creased one. In short, its capacity for supporting stock would increase yearly, as all pasture land does, till it ar- * Vide Dr, Wilkinson’s letter, in the Appendix. rived 124 ENFIELD CHASE. rived at a degree of perfection and fertility sufficient to bear both the scythe and the plough. The new inclosures near Beech-hill are not half wated. The turf has been ploughed, without being burnt, and has been laid down again without being properly re- duced.‘The bushes, indeed, are mostly destroyed, but the coarse wiry bent is still left The west side of the chase has a subsoil of marl, which s indicated by the spontaneous production of beech ‘Though it is frequently interrupted by, and mixed with, yellow clay; and in ales ee marl is so loaded with clay, as to prevent even the best of it from very strongly effervescing with acids. The whole surface soil is of a poor complexion, and consists of alternate jambs of flinty gravel and yellowish clay, which is a most unfortunate circumstance to the cultivator, owing to their requiring a different treatment; and the change is so sudden and frequent, as to produce the necessity of cultivating them in the same manner. Mr. Byng’s new inclosures are conspicuously managed : eee oe eA as- in a superior stile, producing a succession of ¢ares and wheat, equal to any in the county. The clover near Potter’s-bar(1796) looked well, but was smothering in oats, the produce of those lost by terns them stand too long on the ground the preceding harvest. There is much wheat geowing: in various new inclosures on the chase, oa the best crops are invariably on the nar- rowest ridges, rdapiteiyis those of about thirty inches wide. The entrance to Enfield from the windmill, is charm- ing; it abounds with smart boxes of from 30 to 6ol. a year. And, onthe borders of the New river, they are embellished with clean shaven turf, and medallions of or- namental shrubs.—(See Appendix, No.> 6, 7? 8, Q> and 79\ LU]. / NOTES. PIED D CHASE: rey Ne ety NSO ES. £5 South Mims inclosure is also part of Enfield-chase, and consists of near Iooo acres. Inits uninclosed state, it is supposed not to have yielded the parish at large more than 2s. an acre per annum. But since its inclosure, itis worth, on an average, Iss. an acre perannum. It is at present in tillage; but in a few years it may be converted into grass, which will still farther increase its value.”’—P. F. A gentleman remarks, in the margin of one of the first Reports, that those persons who are for ploughing and sowing the land, without considering the state it isin, are most likely to lose their crops; and being disap= pointed, they begin to try experiments. I have seen this particularly on Enfield-chase, where the roots of furze and thorns have been grubbed. up, and the soil ploughed deep, which set their furrows nearly on their edges. The grain was harrowed in, with the soil in this hollow state, and the greater part of the seed was lost. And that which had the good fortune to vegetate, came up very weak, and smothering with weeds, which were growing between the layers of the plough} and of course the crops were lean and unproductive. This could be attributed only to the ** defect in point of husbandry.’? It is observed by Mr. Selby, in the course of some observations he made on this paper, as originally written,“ that it isin a great measure owing to the high price and scarcity of that valuable stimulus to vegetation(lime), that large quantities of land lie dormant and uncultivated, in many parts of this kingdom, particularly in the northern counties; where there is an abun ofboth limestone and coal. dance But these articles are frequently so far separated from each other, that it is impossible to convey the stone into lime, but by shipping. coal to burn the lime« In this case, the duty at present laid upon all coals shipped and sent by sea, is so high, that it operate es as a direct pro hibition against the establishment of lime-kilns.‘Lo supply the demand at a noderate price, as it is an astonishing preparer of the food of plants, the easy attainment of lime is an object of the firs t importance: it would be a matter worthy of parliament, under the recommendation of the Board of Agriculture, to take off the duty on small, and all inferior sorts of coals, shipped for the purpose of being consumed in the burning of limestone into lime. None of these sorts of coals are shipped at presen neral, they are wasted, It would increase the re venue, by augmenting the quantity of barley to make into malt, as well for beer as for and allowed to lie near the pit in heaps. = Bode taeyeneo Ss BS Hag) We La RAS eae Ve: the distillery: it would be an additional nursery for seamen; and it would employ a great number of men and boys, in gaining an honest livelihood, by labour and industry, which ought to be encouraged as much as possible, in this, and every other kingdom.”? See also Mr. Reid’s letter in the Appendix—And Dr. Wilkinson’s letter ~ wa and map, in ditto—And Mr, John Wigstone’s letter in Appendix. A th oO -] 126 STANWELL INCLOSURE. THE waste land of the parish of Stanwell, previous to the inclosure, consisted of somewhat more than 500 acres, of which about 250 were part of Hounslow-h In their former state, they were worth litle or x othing, put such was the effect of inclosing them, that they were lett % ea iy al A bee Ao ra fn OFC 74) PrP yd nH” immediately aiterwards trom 1658S. f0 25S.@n acre, ana on 1 an average U1. Se On ee A ee he ere eee ea The common fields were, on being inclosed, almost throuchout the whole parish improved in rent from about 1rOuUg TIC ut Te WilOle parisa Improved ih FENt TORY avou E 14s. to 11. an acre, and much of the best of them, neat Staines turnpike-road, to 25s. or 30S. I am informed that 20 acres were set apart, and lett or 20]. per ann. and that all the cottagers in the parish, ee aS alma an cr-anTr< Eee AI NS tln- who do not receive alms, and rent a cottage of more than > }] 1} io oe 4 ae SATA= 1,: Sepa SAAS Gil. aA ViGal re uly fo Nave SuCcN Tene G1VIC l among 7 J/ Qo thet al on ACidig INI AU0iL. 1= 1 a)° By a ciause 1 tne act,| OWwer WaS Given tot J= sioners named in it, to sell by auction such part of the aw oles Ae NEC Telok inte= em 1B Je} 7> ie} Ha they now favour under very creat disadvanta ve S On thagt J daar 2 fe account. Lhey find that the dwarf-heath is. of an im- perishable nature, and that zt, together with the remains of the furze and ee is exceedingly troublesome to plough ; g etlars ian d:tao hallow and-conney and harrow; it also keeps the land too hollow and spongy, so that even rolling is no security, as immediately after the passing of the roll, the elasticity of the heath raises it to its former height. The crops come up well, and con- tinue so till 1 ae. half grown, at which time> they di away, and_ ce not half acrop. On the contrary, Mr. East( aa ce some others) pared and burnt his 1] 2 5]=-~“3| a GTN NR PAN ae- allotment, and finds no such inconvenience.] have to blame him for taking a crop of corn in the first instance: the wiser way would have been, 1st, tu‘hips; 2d, tares; 3d, turnips; 4th, barley; then clover. SECT. V.—SHEEP DOWNS ~ aA ee<= z A= owners and occupiers of such eed a very Consideral Bnet a re pS Ye eS ees- oe oF Ry rw=i 1C drawback on the agricultural charaG€ nation itself; since they may unquestionably be applied to a much bet JEtter Pao Gt then ich? have Ps ate here are but few of them which have not depth of ; a fa teh) pe ae ae Bees BS sir f: pee ey gi topsou suficient for the production of corn, pulse,&c. { as mere pasturage for oO sheep, which are not allowed to dung on them, they can be considered as very little better than common 449 2 though in their present application, * Indeed these lands may be considered as in a worse if worse state than if they were in common, and the sheep continued on them day and night—}% A. Sheep- 128 SHEEP DOWNS. Sheep-walks and downs are unnecessary; rather let the farmers double, or treble the quantity of their green and root crops: thus would they keep as great a number of sheep on less than half the land, and would by these means render it rich as a kitchen-garden, which would of course increase its produce to a very great degree. Most of the land called down, has a subsoil of chalk, than which it is well known there cannot possibly be a better for the produétion of sainfoin, or more congenial to the growth of that valuable plant, which, either green or in hay, is allowed to be the best food that can be given to sheep, horses,&c. The south and west country downs are naturally similar to the isle of Thanet*, which has lately acquired the name of one of the best gardens in the kingdom, although with- in the memory of men now living, the greater part of some of the farms in the upper part of that island was poor barren sheep-walks. Now these very lands are covered with crops, zearly equal to what the best land produced for- merly. It has heen the constant and invariable practice, from time immemorial, for the whale produce of sheep-downs to be barbarously carried off them by sheep kept, for the sole J I %“© A dry loose chalky mould, from four to six inches deep, mixed with flints on a subsoil of dry hard chalk, a great part of it naturally as poor land as any in the kingdom, but which, by dint of cultivation and manure, is made to produce most excellent crops of corn of the first quality.’’—Boys? Kent, pages 15, 16, 17, 34, 35, and particularly 37, where Number 8 is a most excellent course of crops for such kind of Jand; and also see page 77. Also Surrey has its downs of a similar quality, nine-tenths of which are in aration. Also see Mr. Gilbert’s practice on the hills near Eastbourne, in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xxii, page 233, which he improved from half-a-crown to fifteen shillings an acre. No man capable of judging on these matters, can ride over the South-down, without daily meeting with instances of the wisdom and profit of cultivating them.— 7. AZ. purpose SHEEP DOWNS, 129 purpose of bringing away the dung procured by their feeding upon these downs, to the arable land on which ihey are folded at night. As there is no return of manure made to these lands, they are entirely indebted to nature for their scanty produce: it is evident the Jest land in England would not be in much better plight after suffering in a similar manner. The pasture of all the sheep-downs in the south and west of England, has undergone the severest depredation time out of mind; and their present poverty is the natural consequence of such a degree of exhaustion as no other land has ever suffered. Summer and winter, the whole of its produce has uniformly been carried off and deposited on the arable land, in order te fill the farmers barn by the trifling labour of cultivating only a corner of his land. Perhaps one quarter of it is, by sheep and the fold, kept very rich, and the other three quarters are nearly ruined, to the proportional loss of the landlord and the community. So far as my observations have extended, sheep-downs are rather on the wane, by the much wiser appropriation of them to the free use of the plough, and to the growth of sainfoin. I hope to see them still more on the de- cline, which I think cannot fail to take place, as it is incontrovertibly true, that they may be occupied under another, and a much‘better, system. It may be observed, that it is the more sheltered situa- tions on these downs that are first chosen for the purpose of being reclaimed from their present state of poverty, and of being brought under the dominion of the plough. This circumstance suggests the propriety of planting and raising a sufficient number of broad hedge-rows, in order to divide the downs into distinét closes, the size of which should be proportioned to the requisite quantity of moisture, I and f= Sh i e) SHEEP DOWN I’ 5 and othet circumstances of situation,&c. as judgment may direét. Such trees and shrubs as are best calculated to succeed on a calcarious soil, should be raised on the higher and more exposed situations*, as plantations and hedges are the only means of procuring that shelter and warmth which are necessary to produce rich pasturage, large green crops, and perfect animals. Till this is done, it is in vain for the farmers of wastes, downs and sheep-walks, to attempt the breeding, rearing, and keeping of the best stock; but a division, of these lands, and the raising of live hedges and plantations with judgment, would be the means of acquiring that equable temperature which is so essential to the perfection of ve- getable and animal health. This temperate climate being procured, the improve- rient of animals might next take place; it would almost be the necessary consequence of superior feed, shelter, shade, and more equal warmth. By doing these things, not only the proper proportion of moisture, shelter and shade, might be obtained, but at the same time the plantation would afford a considerable profit in due season. It is ee that the South-downs support a sheep and an acre+, and that the county of Dorset supports half pe one| cs per acre||, including their richest bottom land; and it is possible, that, exclusive of all cultivated land, the sheep-downs of the south and west of England, taken together, may maintain nearly one sheep on every acre of land: thus yielding a scanty miserabie produce of not more than 10s. per acre.‘The farmer would not obtain * That plantations would succeéd on these hills, see Wiltshire Report, quarto, page 12, and Dorsetshire Repert, quarto, page 33- + Young’s Annals\| Claridge’s Report of Dorsetshire. much SHEEP. DOWNS. T21 much credit, in my opinion, who could not make the same district produce him more than eight times the sum. >. 1 PR IS I an yee!. it cannot in reason be expected, that land which has } 7 oh Ye Repay ita been depredated and injured in the manner. before men- At tioned, without intermission, during some centuries, BREE Ts ete eM e Kelis| Den ear e eee Pe. i. snouid De found HNMecdi avery ab]€ to DdDeara succes sion O 1b 3 a KT Pega bs SR Sey- a three or more corn crops*. No; onthe contrar y, such land should, during a few years, be successively sown with 2) 1] ee our} 1 at 1 green crops only, all of which ought to be eaten on the spot where they grew; or, if carried off to be eaten in the } farm-yard. or elsewhere, the dung thus produced should be feturned to the same land. This syst em, strictly fol- lowed, and then laying it down with sainfoin in one thin crop of spring corn, would furnish a source of plenty for near twenty vears; and provided justice be done in the fement of it during that time, it would then be{ management of it during that time, it would then be fit for all the purposes of alternate tillage and pasture in per- petuity.: To improve these downs, a total stop should be put to dung , Oo carrying by sheep, EXCEP pling o only in the cases of water meadow, which may be fed by sheep, as usual, during the spring; but t they should be folded at night on the downs, or on land recently ploughed from the old sward of the downs. Also, pare, burn, ma inure, do any thing, to get tares, turnips, cole, and repeat the cr ops of fares, turnips, cole then barley, clover, tares, turnips, cole, barley, sainfoin to con- tinue. Divide and shelter the whole by hedges and planta- tions, and feed all these crops(except the barley) upon the * As is too generally practised on the breaking up of down land. It is a fun- damental error in cropping in the first instance, together with the cry of iy terest in some farmers, and the prejudice of o/d Aadits in others(who have been long used to large sheep-walks), which have been the powerful means of delaying the general cultivation of the downs, and also most unjustly brought the beneficial praé@tice of paring and burning any very rough ald turf, into disrepute with some correspondents of the Board,—7F. M. 12 very 132 FENCES. very soil they grew in by sheep, and no one will hereafter say that the downs are beyond the power of being improved. Tn short, it is a proper selection of such green crops as are suitable to any given soil, a judicious arrangement of the rotation of them when seleCted, and feeding them off with sheep, that are the most likely means to improve the soil, as well as greatly to increase the number, and enhance the value of that most useful animal*. Carrying these ideas completely into execution, would not only Joad our tables with mutton, but would also give additional extension and support to the woollen manufactory, and diffuse plenty and chearfulness among numerous ranks of the community. SECT. VI.—-FENCES. Tue hedges are generally full of live wood, consisting mostly of hawthorn, elm, and maple, with some black thorns, crabs, bryers and damsons: the last frequently very fruitful, which is the cause of its being destroyed. All these are made anew once in ten or twelve years; at which time the whole is cut down to within a few inches of the bank.‘The scouring of the ditch is thrown up, a very thin stake and edder hedge is formed, and all the rest of the wood is made into bavins, and sold principally ta bakers, at about a guinea a hundred delivered. In about two years, the live wood is grown so thick again, as hardly to be seen through. This method is found to answer very well. The mould thrown out of the ditch may be considered as earthing up * For the more dry Jamis of the down kind, I submit the following course of crops to the consideration of the Board, viz. pare and burn for Ist, ture nips; 2d, tares; 3d, turnips; 4th, a thin cropof barley; 5th, clover; 6th, tares; 7th, turnips; 8th, barley, thin, to produce about half a crop; then laid down with sainfoin.— 7, MM. the FENCES. 133 the plants, and it is always done loosely.‘The plants thus grow with vigour on the sides of the bank as well as on the top, thereby preserving the bank from destruction by cattle. It is far superior to the methods practised in some other counties, of making a solid wall-like face to the bank, in some cases of stone, which smothers all the shoots that would otherwise grow from the sides of the said bank, and of course exposes it to be pulled down by the horns of neat cattle, at the same time that it greatly res duces the produce of the hedge. In planting new quick hedges, it would probably be a great improvement on the old practice, to put two rows of thorns in at about two feet apart. When grown up, they should be cut alternately, one every five or six years. Thus the cut wood would be ten or twelve years old, and the other, left for a fence, would be five or six, which would be sufficient both for a fence and to protect the young shoots from the bite of cattle on one side; should there be any on the other, a few loose thorns in the ditch will secure the quicks from their depredation.‘This re- gulation would make the hedges a source of constant profit. Quicks ought to be bought of the nurserymen; those are best, on account of their greater number of roots, which have been transplanted twice, and that are about five years growth from the haw. If quick-sets are bought after they are taken up, beware they are not those drawn up by the roots on the commons(2. e. wild quicks),.as they are stunted plants, canker, and never grow well. It is a custom with people who live near, and on the com- mons, where there is an inclosure, to colleét the wild guick, cut the top off within only two or three inches of the stem, and sell the roots. They sell them at a k3 lower 134. PENCES. e) lower price than the nurserymen do, but they never make (Qe+ YE== ¥ WO Old gna int water is ver yY injurious ] J whic h Visser Peenewer chovidt| Tee hererore never snouid ode’ planted containing such water. In these si be used instead of thorns, and in the same manner they would become a hedge in less time, and be even more pro- fitable than thorns. The usual method of planting quick on the edge of the ditch next to the bank, is almost the worst possible. Let the soil be what it may, the operation of the elements AV will make it crumble away from the roots, and leav © sets without sufficient mould to support‘them.= T— wa particularly the case at Stanwell, in this county. If the parties make choice of planting young quicks, I would recommenda bank of sufficient width(not less than four feet wide at top) to allow of planting two rows, at two feet or more asunder, on the flat surface of the bank; taking care that the roots penetrate the best mould, and that the sides are so sloped as to leave no fear of their mouldering down, with a ditch on each side; to which I would add, ditches, to keep cattle aos the laying a few loose thorns in the ff, According to this method, post rails and dead hedges are unnecessary, as no cattle can stand nearer than six feet to the stems of the quicks: of course, there is sufficient security against the bite of cattle, both while the plantations are young, and at every subsequent cutting. But the method above all others the best, if it should be found to succeed, as it probably may on a moist soil, ina moist climate, is the grubbing of thorns five or: six feet high, in copses,&c. trimming the roots, and planting them closely on one spit of the best mould laid on the turf. This should be taken from where the ditches are intended tQ FENCES. 135 to be made, and chopped well to pieces. Then raise a bank on their roots round their stems, at least three feet high, and cut their tops level, two feet above the bank. They will form a perfect hedge as soon as this is done*. For fences to stand the sea breeze—see Somerset Report, quarto, pages 171 and 179, So far as the mere purpose of a fence is intended or de- sired, stone walls are the best of all, as they occasion the least waste of ground, do no injury to the corn crops, do not harbour vermin, and are free from the weeds and rubbish that invariably accompany live hedges. Nor be it forgotten, that they nearly exclude the greatest of all vermin, toa cultivated country, Aunters+.® In all newly-inclosed land, the landlord can scarcely take sufficient care to secure the farmer’s attentive pro- tection of the quicks and young fences. So much indeed depends on it, that if the farmer shews the least negleé& in the matter, it should be in the power of the landlord to take the fences into his own management, and to charge the tenant with every expence att ending it, in order that they may be perfectly protected from every species of in- jury or damage|], terbage succeeds better in close situations than corn, which is successful in places more exposed. Hence,. in the making of hedge-rows on new inclosures, particular attention should be paid to the climate, and to the nature, elevation and aspect of the soil, and also to the manner in * See the Welch Reports; and Somerset quarto, page 66. + Those lovers of a savage life are as unfit for a cultivated country, as are the stinking objects(foxes) of their pursuit. || It is essentially the business of the landlord, or his agent, to see that the tenant complies with this covenant in every particular, at all times, but more especially during the first eight or ten years, by which time the fences will be matured; and that the quicks should be entirely secured from the bite of cattle, by nets, hurdles, post and rails, or ditches containing thorns. —7 M. 14 which B 130 FENCES, which its owner intends it should be cropped. Equal care likewise should be taken, to guard against the extremes of too much exposure, and that of creating a thick damp atmosphere, as the health, thrift and beauty of animals, are greatly promoted by proper shelter, and a due circula- tion of air. For instance, a low, flat, and naturally damp situation, divided into small inclosures by high hedges and broad shaws, especially if they abound with trees, is to- tally unfit for the production of corn crops, and stil] more, if it be exposed to.a northern aspeét and inclosed with wood. In that case, the sun is too much excluded, and the damp cannot be sufficiently drained and evaporated, to yrevent the redundancy of moisture from chilling the better feet plants, leaving an herbage that will be of no value to a farmer. On the contrary, if it be free from adjoining woods, be drained, and the ditches kept well cleansed, it would make good perfwanent pasture, or meadow. If, in addition to these, the hedges should be kept closely cut, or clipt, the fields large, the trees trimmed to the height of twelve or fifteen feet, and every possible method taken to promote the free admission of the sun’s rays, with a perfeét drainage and evaporation, it would be fit for many of the purposes of aration. Also light sandy land on a subsoil of gravel, and all land that is too dry, should be divided into small fields (proportioned to the degree of drought, and the intended crops) of three, five, seven, or ten acres each. Planting timber in the hedge-rows, and raising large growing hedges and shaws, would greatly increase moisture, and prevent the ill effects of drought. Stagnant air does not evaporate redundant damp suffici- ently; like stagnant water, it may become injurious to health, shortening the duration of life, as it certainly does in all flat moist situations, with small inclosures, where the ‘ oon YT ae jer" NO ae Viti FENCES. 137 he hedge-rows are broad, thick and full grown, especially as such situations usually abound with timber, copses and woods(as in the wealds of Sussex,&c.). This greatly increases the redundancy of damp, and renders it unfriendly to corn crops. Air also may pass too freely or rapidly over a country, for the fattening of animals, and for vi- gorous vegetation; as in the cases of mountains, high hills, and the south and west country downs, which circum- stance every moment removes the warmth of the animal’s own atmosphere, and introduces a continual succession of cold air, equally injurious to animal and vegetable life. Itis as well for the purpose of shelter, shade, and equable warmth, as also of occasional fresh supplies of grass, that the Leicestershire graziers have founded their opinion of fifty acres in five inclosures being equal to sixty in one. I apprehend that the more equable this island can be made, in point of shelter, shade and warmth, being well drained, and preserving a due circulation of air, the better will be the health of its inhabitants. In order to promote so valuable a purpose, the sides of downs and hills should be inclosed, and live hedges raised, increasing their thickness, and reducing the size of the fields, in proportion to the height of the situation, and dryness of the soil. Gates.—The gates are mostly of oak, five bars, such as in general use in most parts of England: Ornamented gates are every where to be met witli on the private roads to genteel! houses. In some places, the stealing of gate-hooks and iron fast- enings is so common, as to compel the farmer to both i hang and fasten his gates with wood, which is easily done, ‘ pak and equally secure with iron. CHAPTER 128 TILLAGE. CREVP Te. Vit. AOR OACD EAN DD. SECn. 1. TIlE LAGE. THE arable land of this county is, for the most part; confined to common fields. The rest consists of such parts of the said fields, as have lately been inclosed, under separate acts of parliament, as at Stanwell and Enfield- chase; and of a field or two here and there, seldom of more than ten or twenty acres together, in other parts of the county. be under= 4-= T have before stated the quantity of com- All the inclosed arable land is supposed t an }eo O00 acres mon-field arable land at about= making together 23,000 acres ounty, or about one-eighth 4] +} of land in aration within this c ce of the whole; not producing wheat sufficient ta sup- ply one-fiftieth part of the inhabitants with bread. In the operation of ploughing, the ridges are usually cleft every time, in the common--field land(and in the in- closures too, except the second ploughing of fallaws and bastard fallows, which is generally done by crossing the former ridges), proportioning the depth of the furrow to that of the topsoil. But in general, the ploug! 1ing is deep, and with a wide furrow, which, of course, very much increases the weight or draught, and necessarily requires a strong team, which, moving with a very slow pace, as } all TILLAGE. 139 all heavy teams do, performs but little work ina day. It is not one time in fifty that they go to plough with so few s three horses; but mostly for the lighter work using SS] four; on rather stronger land, five, and sometimes even S1x: in every instance, drawing at length, or onc before the other. In May 1796, I saw, in one day, two teams, with six horses in each, and three. men to attend each team, namely, one to hold the plough, and two to drive the horses, ploughing with a wide furrow, about three quarters of an acre per day. Indeed these long heavy teams of horses do not, on an average, plough more than four or five acres in six days; at an expence, to the owners of such teams, of about twenty-seven shil- lings an acre for one bad ploughing. I have seen a barley soil receive the last ploughing previous to sow- ing turnips, with a team of five horses, and two men to attend them; and at the same time, a team of six horses in length, with three men attending, were giving the first ploughing to a fallow. A field of mine, of a si- milar soil, divided from the last only by a hedge, was ploughed by two ponies; while Mr. Logan was ploughing land, even more strong, with two oxen*, The ridges vary from two feet six inches, to twenty yards, in width+; the former very round; the latter flat. In the common fields they, are frequently of a serpen- tine shape; but in the inclosures they are more straight, and are always laid in the most suitable direction for carrying off the surface water, for which purpose also, * These expensive teams are encouraged by a too general fondness for fine shewy fat horses, with sleek skins; particularly on the part of the plough- man, who will rob his master’s barn and granary for every sort of corn > g 7 8 over and above the regular allowance, to feed the horses with, in order to f.,*) keep up this useless appearance of parade and shew.— 7. M, + The driest soils haying the widest ridges, and the wet soils the nare SES; rowest.~ 7. JW, water Tr ee ee cS ens Ser a ee (= as aeatgrsenn(eee é = Na TE a ee E40 TILLAGE. water furrows, 7. ¢. cross furrows, or what in some plac are called grips, are opened by the spade, in order to~ the ridges dry during winter. OBSERVATIONS Ploughing.—Ploughing the soil before winter, enables it to retain an increased quantity of moisture during the following summer; as, on the other hand, every plough- ing in the spring and summer, produces a waste of mois- ture, both by filteration and evaporation. Thus, land that has lain in stubble during the winter, will, when broken up the next summer, plough more dry and crum- bly than if it had been ploughed before the winter. In the latter case, it has a simular effet with ploughing it while wet, which of course increases its adhesion, ee prevents itscrumbling. Hence it follows, that, by a pro- per attention to the effects of ploughing at different seasons, the husbandman may, in a great measure, be enabled to provide remedies against some of the natural defects of his soil, and render it more suitable to the seed. For exam- iven soil should naturally be too dry, and not sufficiently adhesive, for the growth of any particular plant which requires to be put into the ground in the spring, by completely preparing the soil in the autumn for the reception of the seed, and by putting the seed without spring ploughing, he will probably cure both these natural defects in his soil; except in extreme cases, when it would be advisable to select a more suitable seed. Again, if the seed to be sown should require the soil to be dry and well pulverized at the time of sowing, the plough- ings should be deferred till after winter, and performed as late in the spring, and with the land in as dry a state, as c ircum- TILLAGE. i41 circumstances will admit. As these are considerations that apply to every plant, and every soil, they should not be fost sight of in the planning of any particular operations. Steeping.—I am rather inclined to think that most, if not every kind of seed, should be steeped, and that in somé poisonous solution, just before it is sowed.‘This, by cloathing it with the noxious particles, will either pre- serve it entirely from the attacks of vermin, or destroy such as may taste of it. There can be no doubt, that in every particular dry seed time, seed of every kind ought to be steeped just enough to promote a quick vegetation. This method would, at all times, prevent great destruCtion by vermin, secure 2 more uniform growth, and greatly improve both the quantity and quality of barley and oats; and sometimes, indeed, procure a crop of clover, which svould, without such precaution, have been lost. Seed.— The choice of every kind of seed should, as of- ten as possible, be made in the field while it is growing, a a short time before it is gathered in. This would in a great degree prevent the imposition sometimes practised, of passing a spurious and bad sort of seed for that of good quality and genuine kind. WVater-furrows.——Immediately after the sowing of every kind of grain, it is proper to open as many water-furrows as may be requisite to keep the land dry, by carrying off the superfluous water. And then to clear all the grassy borders from weeds and rubbish, and to make all the hedges, gates and bars secure. It is impossible to lay down general rules, that will ap- ply with equal propriety to the minutiz of cultivating every variety of soil in the most perfeét manner; on the con- trary, —_—= — Sg————— £42 TILLAGE trary, the modes of culture must be as different as the soils are yaricus. Absolute clay, and clean sand, will of neces- sity require opposite management: And although there may not perhaps be either of these in a pure unmixed state, yet there is land in every county, and on most ex- tensive estates, which approaches so near to each of these extremes, as to obtain the names of clay and sand; the cultivators of which experience the great inconveniencies attending land of these qualities. In order to till them with any degree of profit and comfort, it 1s clear that one rule must be adopted for clayey soils, another for sandy land; and it is equally obvious, that a third must be ob- served with respect to loam, or land equally between these two extremes. Should agriculture ever be brought to such pel rfectio as the complete cultivation of ees three kinds of soil 1 quire, it would then be an easy task to form rules for the best and most perfect management of all the intermediate gradations.- order to contribute my mite to so desirable a work, I shall request the reader’s attention tothe follow- ing remarks on the nature ck management of several va- rieties of soil. Loam.—And first, of a tenacious, cold loam, of from eight to eighteen inches, ona on of yellow clay.‘This= from its ween: nature, holds water, even to four time etation, until the joint in- nalesit. A northern aspect the quantity* most useful =8, fluence of the sun and wind ex is particularly hurtful to this kind of soil, as likewise its being inclosed or surrounded by woods. Low flat situa- tions, small inclosures, and high and broad hedge-rows, bound with trees, are, separately taken, * Two and an half times its own weight.—-Bergwan. uni fay 7our~ eee= TILLAGE 143 unfavourable circumstances, but any two or more of these united, greatly increase the evil. Insuch cases, the nearer the topsoil approaches to absolute clay, the a productive it will be. When this kind of land happens to be so situ- ated, the water and damps cannot be either sufficiently drained or ey to prevent the redundancy of moisture from chilling and destroying every species of cultivated crop, and substituting a worthless herbage of moss,&c. Under such circumstances, wood seems to be its proper appropriation*. But when this kind of soil is situated in a more open country, greatly or entirely ex- posed to the influence of the sun and wind, and on a southern aspéct, it'assunres a different appéarance, and is of a medium productiveness. Every intermediate situation 1s more or less valuable, just in proportion as one or othet of these circumstances ot With respect to the disposition and management of this soil, it is necessary to observe, that the ditches and drains should be kept open, the hedges closely clipped, and the fields large. Few trees should stand in the hedve-rows, and 5 ro) 3 those should be trimmed to the height of ten or fifteen feet above the surface, while every possible method must be taken to give free access to the.rays of the sun, and current of the wind, thereby promoting a perfeat drainage and evaporation. Thus circumstanced, it would make good permanent pasture or meadow; and, provided it is in aration, it would be advisable to lay it down to grass with as much dispatch as is consistent with doing it clean and in good heart. This should not be done in one flat surface, as is too frequently seen, but in * There are a few fields of aclayey ae having a north aspect, and encir- ect, cled with wood, in the parish of Cliff, a tew miles from Rochester(Kent) that are not worth six-pence each, paki any other purpose than the growth of wood.— F%, MW Amen they & syvissll y Qo 4 =— a Phin ee 7 Sree ea a zs estat = aga _ ee spit— eng —— eee 144 TILLAGE. a gently waving ridge and furrow, the ridges being about x (= twelve feet wide. So long as this kind of land is continued in arationy, the most suitable crops for it are beans, wheat, eabbages, oats, clover and tares. All the several opera- tions of ploughing, harrowing, hoeing, manuring,&c. should be done, if possible, indry weather, when the soil is rather disposed to crumble. It should also be ploughed, as. much as can be done with convenience to the crops, into ridges of not more than three feet in width*. Neither clayey-marl, nor some of the more strongly cementing-stone limes, should be applied as manures to this soil. Sandy Land.—The principal defeét in sandy land, is that of permitting the moisture to filter through it too easily; anditis consequently very apt to be too dry. The dressings hereafter mentioned, as applicable to this kind of soil, are, I conceive, the best calculated to remedy this evil. Very light sands will grow tares, turnips, buck-wheat, rye,&c. Medium sands will grow, in addition to these, barley, clover, what, pease, oats, potatoes, carrots, parsnips,&c. On very dry light sands, it is advisable that the plough- ing, harrowing, manuring, éc. should be carried on in damp weather, or even in rain, particularly the- last ploughing, and the sowing and harrowing in of the seed|. * Ridges of this size are general in the wet soils of Essex and Herts; to which I can add, from my ownexperience, that their superiority over ridges of greater breadth, for the purpose of draining the water off without washing the land, is incontrovertible.—F.. 17, + When saturated, it will only hold one fourth of its own weight, or one- tenth of the quantity which a clayey soil will retain.—Bergwaz. || This praétice has always succeeded on a farm of dry burning land, called Dunkirk, adjoining the town of Hertford. The Gloucester Report, page 15, contirms my experience in this particular.— 7. 17. TILLAGE. 145 This kind of land should not be disturbed in hot seasons, more than is necessary for the purpose of destroying the weeds, and should always be ploughed level, without ridge and furrow. The dressings and manures most proper to be used, are clayey marl, mud, loam, neat’s dung, hog’s dung, &c. Previous to the application of either chalk, lime or gypsum, particular attention should be paid to the nature of the sand. If it should appear to owe its origin to limestone, marble, shells, or other substances that admit of being burnt into lime, the addition of calcarious matter would in most cases be useless. At all events, the application of these substances should be first made on a small scale, in order to ascertain the effedts they would produce. The occupiers of light, sandy soils, possess considerable advantages over the cultivators of clayey land, for all the purposes of aration, both in being able to do their work at much less expence, and in enjoying superior health and comfort, arising from cleanliness and good roads, and from being seldom put to any particular inconvenience by continued wet weather, which is a great hindrance ta the operations of a clay ey farm. T shall only further observe, as to sandy land, that as trees and thick hedge-rows greatly increase the moisture of the atmosphere, and tend to counteraét the ill effe@ of drought, all lands that are naturally too dry, should be di- vided into small fields of three, five, seven, or ten acres each, proportioning the size of such inclosures, the height A OAS} ) ges, and the figure and quantity of the plantations, to the degree of dryness. Medium Loam—Or that kind of land which is equal}, between a tenacious loam and sandy land, K In 146 TILLAGE. Tn cases where the soil in question approaches rath more towards a sandy soil than the above title sets eet it would be right to conneét the observations on sandy larid with the following; and where it approximates more td- wards a tenacious loam, to conneét the observations on elayey land with the following. Ploughing and harrowing this land, should, as much possible, be avoided in wet weather, unless the crop iti~ tended to be raised should be of such a nature as to require an increase of the degree of adhesion and moisture. ff this be not the case, these operations, together with hoe- ing, would be best performed at. such time as the soil is most disposed to crumble. Tn tedne land of this description, attention should be paid to the breadth of the ridges: as it tends towards sand, the flatness and width of the ridges should be in- sreased, 1n order to retain the moisture; and, on the other oats as it approaches towards clay, they should be nar- ower and rounder, in order to promote a quick and cer- a drainage; observing, that as sandy land should be quite flat, and clayey land, on the contrary, in ridges of two and an half or three feet wide, so loam should partake of the one or other of these shapes, somewhat in the pro- portion as it advances towards either extreme. This soil, even when in an exhausted state, will grow winter tares; and provided they are consumed in the field where they grow, it will then produce a crop of turnips. In case the turnips are eaten on the land, it will then be both cleaned and manured in one year, and there- by rendered fit for barley, clover, wheat,&c. In cases where this land is highly conditioned, that is to say, full of manure and clean, it is calculated for the production of every species of crop, and that in abundance, c ry es MB he- a a) ¥= o"V7 Tr With the except 10n, perhaps, Of Parsnips carrots. Every a TILLAGE. 147 Every possible variety of manure, except clayey marl, may be applied with advantage. Marsh Land—Consisting of either river or sea sedi- ment, T aug he Orne j pet Tien As Land of this description should be entirely undisturbed during wet weather; and may be worked in every season wh it 1s ary»s should b BEA eco ae ee mee when it 1s dry. es shouid be made narrow, as ud, Wi herever circum- —_ 7) — i fo 7 =) pw = Ro before described. But tl stances will permit, be in a state of grass. Old pastures and meadows should su be bro course of aration, at such time as t bly impaired, makes such an operation necessary for the 1 purpose of restoring it. It should then be ploug r once, which will be best performed by two ploughs, one following the other; the first barely paring off the old sward, and the other turning up the mould, being careful not to go so deep as to ae up any soil of an inferior quality. When this is done, it will, without further trouble, be in a proper state for the reception of grass Peat Earith.—It often ha this soil is to be met with on loam, clay,&c. case, the best method is to pare and burn the topsoil then plough sufficiently deep to get as many| loam, or half as many of clay, and the land will be very ? J J | Ps 1 productive, after here limec It is also frequently found from one foot to three in depth; and may then be repeatedly plougne’ dried, + L a~]+n a od and burnt to ashes, until it be reduced to such a degree of thinness, as to admit of the plough turning upafew inches )| 4 oO oO erat c eg ttar. ntAF| rey| See Teer Ain cvalay aT of the subsoil: after being limed, it will be astonishingly fertile K 2 Again, Tyla==e. SS TLRBET aie ay oerwy a sac=“- S. ee ae ‘4. te 148 TILLAGE. Again, in case the peat should be particularly thick, it may, after being drained dry, be reduced to ashes; ge- nerally by only putting fire to it, without the trouble of paring, ploughing, or digging; after which, if ploughed up with some of the subsoil, it will become of the first de gree of richness. I would by no means advise a total destruction of all the peat. On the contrary, it would be prudent to reserve two or three acres on every farm that may happen to be so fortunate as to possess such a fund, for the purpose of keep- ing up a supply of ashes to dress the adjoining lands. In situations where the difficulty to reduce all the peat into ashes, as before observed, would be considerable, suppos- ing it to be dry, the surface might be pared, ploughed or dug, and then burnt into ashes. After this, it should be limed pretty plentifully, but with discretion, which lime, and the ashes, should both lie on the surface till they and the land have been soaked once or twice with rain. It will then, very often, be advisable to sow white clover, and other grasses, without any ploughing at all.(See Dr. Anderson’s Report of Aberdeenshire, page 105; and also an experiment of the Rev. Mr. Cook’s, in the se€tion on paring and burning, in this work). That this soil may be ploughed, and improved by lime and ashes, so as to change the land into a kind of black loam, producing immense crops of potatoes, turnips, clover, &c.—see the Report of Merionethshire, pages 10, 12, and 13. As to a method of cultivating this land, by planting it with potatoes in the lazy bed manner; sowing oats after the potatoes, with grass seeds for meadow; and after the first crop of hay, liming the land—see East Lothian, page 81; Dumbarton, 52; and Perth, 98. In a i| | TILLAGE. 149 In cases where, from the situation of this land, it is capable of being flooded and laid dry at pleasure, it should be properly disposed as to shape, carriers and drains, pre- vious to the spreading of ashes and lime; after which grasses and clover should be harrowed in as aforesaid. (See Merioneth, p. 10). SEGi.. ft.—— PAL LOW ENG. Iw the parish of Heston, where the best wheat in the county is said to have been long grown, fallowing is not In the strong land distri€t, westward of Harrow, where the old course, which had been established from time imme- morial, included a fallow every third year, the farmers have copied the much better practice of their neighbours at Hes- ton, and in 1796 there was only one field in Riselip, and another in Alscot, which were in fallow. Indeed there were a few acres of land in one of the other parishes, belonging to a pupil of the old school, in what he called a fallow, which had more than half a crop of weeds growing on it, and formed a very striking contrast to the lands of his neighbours, who had crops of peas, perfedtly clean, grow- ing upon theirs, allowing is totally excluded from the land south of the Colnbrook road, and hoeing crops are generally sub- stituted. On the east side’ of the county, as at Edmonton,&c. the old course included a fallow, as before mentioned, which, however, is now very properly beginning to make way for crops of turnips and potatoes. On the whole, I have good reason to think, that the idea of giving rest to land, is now K 3 exploded —— ee gee eee 150 TILLAGE, cr eye]; j exploded in ie part of the county, except in Riselip nd at Alscot; anél even there, I have no dou ere the een 1 crops, and evidently higher profit of their ne ighbours, will soon convince them that the raising of clean See 1g, green crops, and feeding stock with them on the land, 10t only much more pro aie able, as far as relates to the va- Iue of the crop substituted in lieu of a fallow, but is also A LAM VW» the most effectual method of procuring large crops of y ie ated| wheat, or any other coin, WhICn may succees | DA eA} naire a bake eye eern a Heer eae Acer Before tne introduction of green and root crops fallow- ps, ing was universal, and was in a great measure indispensi- ble, for the purpose of cleaning the land. All the young farmers of that time were brot ught up in the constant habit of seeing the weeds ae stroyed, and the land recruited, by means of fallowing, and they could not suppose it possible to accomplish that object in any other way. This, hows ever, was the certain means of keeping themselves poor, and consequently their offspring ignorant, as it put it out of their power to bestow on their children a p: oper and useful education. Great part of the arable. land of this kingdom lying in common fields, the mode of cultivating which zs marked out by the law, it was of no use whatever for the farmer to attempt to vary from it. Thus imperiously controuled, he had no obje& to exercise his thoughts, and the system of his her from the influence of habit, be- ame a part of his nature. It is therefore not a matter of ee surprize, W ae seriously SOIC that farmers should have been found so peculiarly tenacious of old prace | t 1 Ges; or that there should have Beca so much difficul Ity to et ntroduce among them new plants(as clover, turnips,&c.) new implements of husbandry(as two-horse ploug 7 or new courses of crops, but more especially to do away J fallowing. Farmers in general have now survived the re) mediocrity * ROTATION OF CROPS, i5t mediocrity of their former situations, and their children, in consequence, are better instructed.“The shackles and re- straints of old courses, and obsolete systems, are in a great measure destroyed; and refleGtion and exertion substituted for supineness and confidence. Thus every new and Dy pres mising matter on the subject of agriculture, u ill now probably receive due attention and regard, and be fully experimented in most parts of the kingdom. SECT. III.—ROTATION OF CROPS, Tue old rotation on the east side of the county, is wheat, barley, fallow; the last, indeed, is now giving place to clean crops of potatoes,&c. In the neighbour- hood of Heston and Norwood, the course is, wheat, beans, peas; the two latter twice hoed, and earthed up at the last hoeing. This is certainly a very excellent rotation*. On the strong land district, between Harrow and Ux- bridge, the former rotation was, wheat, beans broad- cast, then fallow. But of late years it has been the prac- tice to dibble the beans in rows of about fifteen inches apart, and to hoe them twice.‘The fallow is very praperly su perseded in all the parishes, except Riselip and Alscot, *© The land about Heston consists chiefly of a strong loam, and is ce- 6s Jebrated for producing the finest wheat in the county; the skin is thin, €* the corn full and bold, and the fiour white, or, as the millers term it, “ fair.7—P. F. Of which place Mr. Camden tells us,‘‘ that the wheat bred there made * such delicate flour, that our kings in ancient times made choice of it, par § ticularly far their own bread, and the use of their own tables.”—Magna productive loam, possessing that happy medium of texture which fits it alike for the production of every kind of corn, pulse and root, and its staple is five er six feet indepth, ona bed of gravel.— 7. M, f K 4. by a er y Ea. fr T19¢ among the first of these, will stand the avolition of fallows,s and the introduction of grecn crops to supply their -an exte 0 Dent fp Spee Bn eos Per A) aD ae!( Ovetran Extent c of abe out three miLl: S OF Cres OF aYaole land which have hitherto, under the fallow system, produced 3 2 oi noting useful aurings WM ye SO Tar aS tares and turnips, or potatoes; or peas and turnips, or potatoes; or any two ood crops, can be raised in one year, in plate of a fallow, the produce will be doud/e in quantity, what it has been under the former system*. The farmers of Heston and Norwood have much merit, in setting an example to their brethren, of good farming, in taking iwo green and hoemg crops to one crop of eo c< cern. It is from such close attention to the clean cultiva- tion of their land, and from their preserving its vigour, Le oO by growing only one corn crop in three years, that the eorn produced in that district is so much superior to that of others. It is not only of the first quality, and fetches the highest price, but, what is of some importancé, it has gained a name, and is therefore more in esteem than any other.in the county. This is now no longer the yrackice of a farm or two, but of a district, that ee with- 8 taped m the last seven years, extended itself over most of the land between Uxbridge and Harrow(an extent of about six thousand acres), I do not know of a better ro- tation for strong land in common fields; though for inclosed * There are about nine miliions of acres in England and Wales, in the cowrse Qi two crops and a fallow; 7.€. six in crop and three in fallow. Hence S hat by nr as~ es rt;> tf Je vS, that by procuring ove crop in lieu of the fallow, fifty per cent. is aiced to the former produce. But so far as /wo crops can be obtained, in place of a fallow, it adds foo per cent. or double the former number of acres ee rt at 4 land of the same texture, I can recommend a more pro- fitable one from my own practice, viz. the first year winter tares(the land previously manured); then bastard fallow for oats in the second year; the third year clover; the fourth year wheat*. Perhaps, indeed, a combination of the two courses would be better than either of them — as for instance, the first year winter tares(the land, fore, previously ee. second year oats on a bastard faliow; third year clover; fourth year peas; fifth year beans; sixth year wheat. In this course there are four green crops to two of corn; and as the same crop is only repeated every sixth year, and the course evidently calculated to keep the Land perfeé?ly clean, there can be no doubt but that the crops would all be abundant. It may be observed, that the pea and bean crops would bring the least money. But as they should both be invariably hoed twice, the land would there- by become so clean, and well prepared for the wheat crop, that I cannot too much recommend this course for such kind of land f. The course of crops which I have already stated as the practice of the Zight land distriéts in this county, are doubly exhausting; first, fromthe order in which they are placed {as barley after wheat); and, secondly, from the encow ragement which they afford to weeds. Here it is both just and necessary to observe, that a, perfec? system of hus= handry is not possible in common fields, from the circumstance of the almost total exclusion of turnips and: thver. The pre- sent imperfect system of crops are very evidently to be * Or it would be an exceeding good rotation, if the corn crops were ree versed: it would then stand, Ist, tares; 2d, wheat; 3d, clover; 4th, oats.— Sele + The London Society of Arts,&c. in the winter 1794-5, honoured me with a Medal, as a mark of their approbation, for my letter on the cultiva- tion of clayey land, which is published in the 13th yol. of their Transac~ tions; to which I beg leave to refer.— 7, 7, attributed TS Se irene ate 156 ROTATION OF CROPS. | attributed to these fields being ¢ in common, and an effecfual 7 / SUE B REE ake a Bee Ve es eee tig Ps EN| een, ar ea) remedy can only be found in‘thie inclosure of all such field oe see i: Z | y10+; 7 hK es 4 o TE To Pill this is effected, it would be an improvement to pursue the f l x TYE WO melyv} 7 f i-]. walala) J, oliowinge method, name V5 27 7 a LEY 5 Ona 4 eh casaar a 0 Aort ls ons H45 €L10VEF,, Ai lee Sf On GS ea t 1 poerilon oF Lan L GQ Sup it Aad Sopp Pee sad Fn OR(Chae EA i thie Alan tro CGH De£0t La Spréaad over tt, So as to pre Ve t/l Lan1 0193 ao££/ eine tp AA iccag pt pt sae eee: Spee eae; ie. the vite oj sheep; tite rest peas; in arills twice hoed, and enh eee Pri) eg po en) Ao eae Bs ene) Perey earthea up at the latter hoeig; third year wheat: Jourthy, Z Ps) potatoes or spring tares.‘Vhe potatoes should, in this case be planted sufficiently arly to“latte of being soon after the time of‘airiitih ig cattle into the fields. This land being near the Landon dun ghills, with the ad- vantage of water carriage, there is no doubt but that, with a liberal supply from tiem, it would bear these crops well. Corn unquestionably exhausts the fertility of land ina wery great degree; of course an unremitting continuance : se, of corn crops would necessarily destroy the fertilizing principles of the best land; and hence it follows, that the t te ae CAT=)|| caact ¢==& paverty of any sou will be just in the proportion of the wimber of corn crons jt hae. aE hy ren 171 h mumber of corn crops it has produced. The great€vlk SC that f: arix mm vene are na aN-ly ay al eto I” ES, that aers in gene ral are particularly anxious to Nave, e—M—e pT ee Sl aes| Tels Arn of 3.0) rR Gent Ary as much as possible, their land in corn®. Many of them sow wheat, even durin so long a time as the land wul return a a equal to the seed sown: then barley; oats, in constant succession, trl the lanc Rae SPE ier PS ESS NTS Oks pe pale, BS FSS Out and exnausted Dy sucn tre atinent, etuses to grow any thing but weeds. It is then suffered &) ¢ Sey::: Sere to rest, and when it has in some measure recovered itself +\£ 4 I 4,+ wUY 4 jig Dy the mituence of the atmosphere, and by the dung OL mine ctac! whichiite wrorrt lace Hernan e parcels k<£5-7) pS ES slLOCK, WNICILIES WOrtnless hert aQe Darei1y qa p fvom NEV ING it 1< tO’ 7 d he neo} 1= y c th ir le: ase. 7021n Stat Wills it 5, COwalGs the, conciusion oF their iea SES, aga is subjected to the scou irge of corn growing, without mercy J Foy Fen) Pp A Pho. ok.: = This observation applies more prope: wis sy] p) e + 1 4 5 ROTATION OF CROPS; 159 The printed Reports of the several counties, evidently 1 } ii point out the poverty and wretchedness consequent on an t exhausting course of crops; which must arise from the . 5 3 es* am| 7 Senco. re) rapacity of the tenants, on the one hand, and the negle& 7 j- as Fi On he 4 Or T= or want of skill of the landlord, on the other. Indeed, snost of the ley. land of this island exhibits a picture of star« S yi yep 1 a hactinge been cro af atigth. crayon wation, in consequence of its having been cropped with corn so long as it would bear any. } ax asoan Ty 4 1 ‘Mhuuenout the west and north of England; the farm- ers are too ee: negligent in arranging their course o J Oyo Oo of crops, with the exception of a few solitat ry instance css fact Ae one of which is the northern manage ement of turnips and potatoes, which may be commended. A landlord giving his consent that a farmer shall plough up any particular field of grass land, may very gene rally be considered signing its death-warrant previous to delivering it o to the hands of the executioner™*. In corroboration of my own experience as to these facts, [ shall quote a passage or two from the aaa of the Welsh counties: «© The Anglesea method of cropping land, naturally ex- ay ‘ tremely fertile, with wheat and ae alternately, ~ ‘ brought on the necessity of giving He wheat:. barley and « oats were next grown alternately, whi a in a short time « sickened the land of barley. T os as a last resource, This county «< has in general been thus left to keep some young cattle «6 oats after oats, till it would not bear them. he tom starving; and the inhabitants, 2 their turns, are as «© impoverished as the land. Indeed it was to be expe@ Xx] COLE, * 6 Noris the land sown with artificial grasses till it is no longer able to €* hear corn.’’—Sowerset, p- 7 6* Ten successive corn crops.’’—MWi/ts, p. 65. See also Worcester, Appendix, p. 13. Carmarthen, p.12. Cardigan, p. 103; and Radnor, p. 13.—7. AZ, = ase + ae ome a= ph ERNE. 7 ee ioe ae ee, rE 158 ROTATION OF CROPS. * and they have literally exchanged or given the wheater ** loaf for the barley or oaten cake.’ Mr. Hassell also; in his eee of Carmarthen, says, ¢¢ that the people have ithpoverished the soil; and the soul, ‘¢ in its turn, has impoverished therm, and amply revenged <4 the wrongs it suffered by the farmers: Put a sloven <¢ upon ever so rich a ae ii ever so good condition, let ‘* him impoverish his farm, and I will answer for it, the “farm will pay him back in his own coin, and «¢ poverish him, unless he runs away from it. “¢ Leaving farmers at liberty to crop the lands, every d é¢ farmer after his own manner, would most rapidly reduce s¢ all the lands in Great Britain to a similar state of «© wretched poverty.”—Carnarvon, p. 12 A few instances of good farmers acting in opposition to a general spirit of deterioration, would have very little 5 3 J 2e effect. Land under common circumstances, will not even bear, without injury, acorn crop every two years. All the ac- counts of Norfolk are uniform, in saying that their turnip crops are Jess certain, and much eee than they used to be. The same observation applies to clover, and probabl; to the corn crops. oe s falling Be in the produce, proves [ 1 that their favourite(and valual rotation of eee bar- ley, clover, WEA-IS-latner- more tiznan t] re land can SUuS= tain, which Is g1 8 LLY suifering under tele) gi‘€ata d of exhaustion®. Even with the assistance of extensive * The writers on rural economy have, very Sie perly, extolled the ge. ; neral husbandry of Norfolk, from the single circt ance of a few persons in Ate i: that county having adopted the rotation of turnips, barley, clover, wheat 3 | rs n rr o7 y Sa seis and have therefore presuined to call itthe Norfolk hu oandry, Which Is Cone y trary to the fact, a tation is not the prevailing one of the county, though many intellige riduals certainly do follow it in Norfolk, as men of the same description do in other counties: but I have never me thing like a proof, that this valuable rotation was first practised i dis ROTATION OF CROPS. 139 sheép-walks, the soil is not able to bear up against the weight of its present course of crops; more especially when a fivé years course is erroneously adopted, by introducing barley after wheat. On this subject Mr. Kent is quite mistaken.(See his Norfolk). The interests of the community, and of the landlord, may be said to be permanent and similar; while those of the te- nant are temporary, and consequently in opposition to the former. The very nature of the tenant’s precarious interest in the soil, is powerfully calculated to impel him to draw the most he can from the land during his lease; and which can only be done, by cropping it in a way that it cannot pos- sibly sustain in perpe tuity. To this source we may undoubtedly trace the cause of the poor and exhausted state of many farms, at the expira- tion of the leases, in every part of the When the commons, downs, and sheep-walks are in- closed and cultivated(as in a few years they must be), the old inclosed lands will, in consequence, be deprived of the manure deposited in the sheep-folds, which they now de- rive from those wastes. It will then very soon he found, that ke wiser way, if not absolutely necessary, will be to grow two green crops for one of corn, as is now practised 1° 1 over six thousand acres in this county, with complete SUCCESS. With these ideas impressed on my mind, J venture to f ra>;/ ft“TY he aig! yecommend for the best land, alternate green and white crops. For land of a full medium quality, three sreen crops for two of white; for ordinary land, two green crops for one of 7 F 7 pi 7 corn; and for the worst, or most exhausted, land, downs and sheep-walks, three green crops to one of white. A Cropping land in the foregoing ratio or proportion, would keep it free from weeds, and in a high state of cul- tivation; i..™= OG eg ea EI Ma ns 160 ROTATION OF CROPS. tivation; and under such management, might be continued in perpetual aration, with@ constant succession of large products. The farmer, by adopting this system, would not be vainly flattered by@ promising seed time, and miserably disappointed by a@ scanty harvest, as is now frequently the ease: on the contrary, he might be sure(at least so far as depends on human means) of reaping a plentiful return for all his labour and expence. The following order of crops will evince, that it is per- fetly easy to arrange several rotations, from two to five, of green crops, to one of corn, viz. x. Iwo green crops to one of corn. Corn, Clover, Peas; Or, Peas, Beans, Corn. 2. Three green crops to one of corn. Corn, Clover, Tares, Turnips, which is four crops in three years; Or, Corn, Clover, Peas, Beans. 3. Four green crops to one of corn. Tares, Potatoes, — ee ROTATION OF CROPS. 261 Potatoes, or cole, for sheep-feed, ‘Turnips, Corn, Clover, making five crops in four years. 4. Five green crops to one of corn. Peas, Beans, Corn, Clover, Tares, Turnips, making six crops in five years. Irregular Crops.—When seeds fail, the farmer should sow tares or turnips, or both, or any root or green crop, but not corn. I shall now take the liberty of offering to the attention and consideration of farmers(especially the owners of barley soils), the following crops, nearly in the order in which I have placed them, and as cakculated to supply a continued succession of green food, of the best quality, in abundance all the year round, namely, Water-meadows, Rye-grass, Rye, cut green, W inter tares, Clover, the first crop, Spring tares, Clover, the second crop. After-grass of meadows; cloyers, and seeds of all sorts. Turnips, I, Cabbages, 162 ROTATION OF CROPS. Cabbages, Potatoes, Cole, Swedish turnips, Turnip-rooted cabbage*. As auxiliaries may be added, bran, pollard, oil-cake, linseed,&c. Whoever will attend to the raising of the foregoing crops, on a scale proportioned to the size of his farm, and the number of his /ve stock, need not be straitened from want of food for them, at any time or season of the year. It is evident on a bare inspeétion of the list, that, considering the properties of the different plants, and the seasons when each of them are the most fit for use, they complete the circle of the year. It may perhaps be started as an objection, that many farms are without water-meadow—very true; but then cole, Swe- dish turnip, and turnip-rooted cabbage, might be produced in such quantity as to be sufficient for consumption in March and April, during which months, and part of May, they are in the highest state of perfection.‘These might be assisted, or even superseded, by turnips, potatoes, car- rots, parsnips, and even cabbages, all of which being ga- thered while in the greatest perfection, might be laid up in store pies, both with or without frost or snow, for spring use. Water-meadows afford a vast deal of food from the middle of March||; rye-grass from the first of April; rye from the beginning of May; winter tares soon 3:? * Report of Kent, page 104; Report of Gloucester, page 28; and Trans- actions of Society of Arts,&c. vols. i, ii, ill, iv, vi, vil. + It is presumed that these roots,&c. might be preserved in pies, among ice and snow, until late in the spring, and then used.—%. AZ. || See Report of Wilts, by Mr. Davis. follow; ROTATION OF CROPS. 163 follow; then comes clover, the first crop; spring tares; clover, the second crop; and the after-grass of natural meadows, clover,&c.; which will continue in perfeCtion for heavy cattle till early sown turnips are ready. Later sown turnips and cabbages will be sufficient till the end of February, without storing; about which time the cole, Swedish turnip, and turnip-rooted cabbage, will come in, and continue good through March and April, and even May, if needful. All these, more than complete the circle of the year*. There are several farmers of this county, who have a field or two near their houses, of a few acres each, crop- ped one year with winter tares, then turnips, and the next year wheat; thus obtaining three valuable crops every two years, averaging a produce of fifteen guineas per acre per annum. If this system could be extended to a whole farm, and thence over the nation, what a wonderful scene of fertility would this island exhibit!‘The entire kingdom, undoubt- edly, could not be so cropped, but most of the light, dry soils, are perfectly adapted to this mode of culture, even in places the most distant from dunghills. Provided the tares and turnips were one or both of them eaten on the land, a continual productiveness might be ensured. The cold clayey loams are exceedingly well calculated for the alternate growth of tares and wheat, or, which is still bet- ter, of wheat, clover, tares. The former rotation would, in this county, average eleven guineas, and the latter twelve guineas per acre. If it were either necessary or_ advisable, clover, tares, turnips, Sc. might be grown and consumed on the land, until Oo * The foregoing system entirely removes the time of scarcity with impro- vident farmers, or Mr. Keni’s interregnum between winter and summer.— % M. Ey 2 at lif r64 CROPS COMMONLY CULTIVATED. it became too rich for wheat, in which case it might be laid down to grazing pasture, or again depreciated by the growing of oats. I have dwelt rather long on this subject. I trust that the reporters of other counties will handle it much more ably. In my opinion, it is the sou/ of good husbandry, and the most effectual means of supporting, and making fat, an increased number of cattle and sheep. SECT. 1V.-—-CROPS COMMONLY CULTIVATED. THE corn cultivated in this county, is nearly confined to wheat and barley; rye and oats are grown only in very small quantities. The green and root crops commonly cultivated by the farmers in Middlesex, consist of a very considerable va- riety, viz. beans, peas, turnips, cabbages, yellow clover, white clover, red clover, cow-grass, red honey-suckle clover, rye-grass, rye cut green, tares, barley and oats mixed with tares, for the use of cattle: turnips, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, green-peas, and beans, for the use of man. Lucern and buck-wheat are occasionally grown, though on a very small scale. No instances of the culti- vation of hemp, flax, rape, turnip-rooted cabbage, sain- foin, chicory, burnet, meadow soft grass, ribwort, timo- thy,&c. within this county, have come to my knowledge. An extensive cultivation of the foregoing crops for the use of cattle, is the most powerful of all means that can be de- wised, for the support of an increased quantity of live stock; the cheapest and readiest way of raising mountains of manure; 7 ana, CROPS COMMONLY CULTIVATED. 165 td and, of course, the most certain means of enriching the land, which generally makes wealthy farmers. The vicinity of the London markets certainly render potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, too valuable in this county to be profitably employed in the feeding of catde; but in places more distant from the metropolis, where these roots sell but for little money, they might be very advantage- ously cultivated for the use of cattle. Being added to the foregoing list of green crops, stated to be grown in this county for that purpose, would make four green crops to one of corn; that is, if they were grown in such a man- ner as to include the whole, which would advance the fertility of land to such a height as to exceed all former precedent. I think, therefore, I cannot too strongly re- commend this practice to farmers in general, Changing the seed of corn every two or three years, isa practice which prevails almost generally. It is done at an extra expence of from six-pence to one shilling a bushel on wheat, and half those sums on other grain.‘This practice is as little founded on propriety, as a change of live stock once in every two years would be, and never will be the means of advancing corn to a high pitch of excellence. On the contrary, when corn farmers become wise enough to apply Bakewell’s method of improving cattle, to the raising of seed grain, the advance will be rapid indeed, and its improve- ment will go on towards the mark of perfection, ina degree which, in the present state of things, can scarcely be conceived. The method I wish to recommend to those cultivators who desire to excel in the article of grain, is the fol- lowing, namely, a few days before harvest, to walk through their fields of corn, to select and gather the prime samples of every species of seed, and ever afterwards to continue the same practice, by repeating the operation of i 2 collecting -— ee eS a ae SS ae ae 166 WHEAT. a hhps i Y 3 i’ S y oe aay y couecting tie most perfec? fran from the crops pi oaucea Eres Fy ap Son te af ht Om SUCA selected Seta. I'he same observations apply to every variety of culti- vated crop, da AE AE. THERE are about 7000 acres of Jand annually cropped with wheat inthis county. 1. Preparation. When this crop succeeds beans, peas, or tares, the land is ploughed(which should be done as shallow as possible), the roots and weeds harrowed out, raked together, and burnt in heaps. The Jand is then re-ploughed a few inches deeper, intc proper ridges, for the reception of the seed. In some instances, it is harrow. f) ed after the second ploughing, and ploughed a third time; and the seed is frequently ploughed in with a very shallow furrow, on such third ploughing. It is rather a general practice, for half the seed of wheat to be turned in by the second or third ploughing; and for the other to be after- wards harrowed in. There are some few persons who plough only once*. * A gentleman remarks, in one of the returned Reports—** That the “* farmers in the neighbourhood of Riselip and Pinner, seldom if ever plough “* their land over-athwart, and for want of so doing, they rarely obtain a ** good sweet tilth to sow their wheat in. And that they do not cut water- ** furrows sufficient across their heav y clay lands, to take the water quite off the wheat,&¢.”? This is the; ae.° ecessary consequence of the land lying in itis well known the farmer tannot cross plough his land ver hi common fields without drawing s neighbour’s land, which he is not entitled to do; and the same obstacle prevents the water-furrowing from being properly ex- ecuted, as the farmer cannot extend it beyond his own land. In the inclo- sures, ploughing and wate) ter-lurrowing are, for the most part, well manag~ ee €t.— 7. LV. 2 7 J}++ When A ay—, no —— aaa A Satie retin er ln 5 aE WHEAT. i6y When wheat comes after clover, the ground is ploughed only once, i doing which, some farmers make use of what is called a skim coulter*, which, putting the grass and weeds to the bottom of the furrow, where many of them are smothered, makes the land harrow better, and look. cleaner than it really is; though, in point of good husbandry, when the clover crop leaves land foul, wheat should not be sown(owing to its remaining so long on the ground as to allow the weeds time to mature their seeds), but some hoeing crop instead of it. The old doctrine of fallowing and manuring for a wheat crop, which almost universally prevailed at one time, is now very justly exploded; and the much better practice of sowing wheat on breaking up a clover ley, or after a clean crop of beans, peas, tares, rape, hemp, flax, po- tatoes+, or turnips, now prevails with every man of su- perior skill in agriculture. Wheat should never be sown after rye, barley, or oats; nor should the land be manured for it, but for the preced- Ing crop, 2. Sort-—Generally, new grain recently thrashed, is preferred for seed, Thin skinned grain is suppased to ¥* That is, a common coulter, witha fin and turnplate rivetted or screwed to the off side of it, about four or five inches above its point. Thus equipped, the coulter skims off the remains of the clover and grass, and turns it into the bottom of the furrow, and the plough instantly follows, and covers it in. The field being ploughed in this manner, looks cleaner, and harrows much better, than it does when ploughed in the usual way. An adequate idea of this operation may be formed, by comparing it with two ploughs following each other in exaétly the same tract, as the effect would be thesame. In every case of this kind, when the plough turns up a sufficient quantity of mould, it will smother the weeds, and leave the land clean.— 7. Ad. + Jn acold climate, and onalight soil(says Mr. Billingsley very pro- <¢ perly), I should not by choice sow wheat after potatoes; but should plough ‘¢ the land into seed ridges, and leave it through the winter; and in the ‘© spring sow barley and clover.’’—Somerset Report, pages Io and 19. L4. yield Be rm Fn SS es— er—= Cg ng NTN A ay Re 168 WHEAT, yield the most meal, and therefore wheat possessing that quality, and weighing the greatest number of pounds to the bushel, is in the most esteem, and will sell for the highest price, whether red or white. 3. Steeping—Both brine and urine mixed with lime, are used for this purpose. I have prevented the smut in wheat, by putting lime, recently burnt, into a copper of boiling water, and pouring this mixture, boiling hot, on the wheat, previously spread on a stone floor, immediately turning the wheat and the mixture well together with Shovels. This is always done over night, and the seed sown the next day; though, in the case of wet weather, I have known seed thus prepared remain a week before it Was sown, without injury. The heat of the water, aided by the suffocating smell of the fixed air discharged from the lime, seems to be sufficient to destroy the animalcule, to which some ascribe the smut, and also to coat the wheat so as to become a preservative from vermin. For further reasons in favour of steeping seed grain, sce chapter vii, section 1, tillage. 4. Seed.—The quantity generally sown on an acre, is nearly three bushels, The quantity of seed, however, should vary somewhat with the quality of the land and the time of sowing; a poor soil requiring more seed than a rich one, and a late season requiring more seed than early sowing. On every kind of land, the broadcast method requires a larger quantity of seed than if it were drilled. At Michaelmas, two bushels and an half of seed is the most advantageous quantity for sowing broadcast on a medium soul, and to this add a galion of seed for every fortnight later. a en cece WHEAT. 169 crew 5. Time of Sowing.—It is usually sown during the months of October, November and December, in the order in which the land is got ready; though the greatest breadth is sown in the month of October. In the case of sowing it after turnips,&c. it is sometimes sown so late as January and February; but October is thought to be the most promising season: of course, all the land that is then ready ought to be sown*+., 6. Culture while growing.—In the spring, much of it is hoed, the thistles cut out by hooks, and when black grass abounds, it is sometimes drawn up by hand. When a dry spring succeeds a wet winter, it makes the surface of strong land so very hard as to prevent the new, and uppermost roots. of the carn from freely penetrating inte the soul.“Vhis is discovered by the corn turning of a sickly yellow, and may, and ought to be, prevented by harrowing ence or twice in a place, and perhaps immediately rolling all such land as shews itself to be too hard. The same operation is generally advisable, on the sow- ing clover or grasses among wheat, to ensure their vege- tating. In case it be suspected that the land is nor sufficiently rich to bring a full crop to perfection, sow top dressings, or shower it with the drainings of dunghills, and immediately after harrow and roll. Let this be done as early in the *“ Twenty acres sown the middle of March, 1796, after turnips were carried off, turned out a good crop—sort, the red chaff, with white grain.”’—Mr. Fenkins. C¢ ée +“ Seven acres sown the last week in February, 1796, after turnips and * peas the preceding year, yielded twenty bushels per acre.’*—Mr. Head. ‘* Every barberry plant should be destroyed, whether they stand in hedges or not, or they will blight wheat in the direétion of the wind, toa cone * siderable distance."’—Aznals of Agriculture, ac spring 176 VHEAT. spring as the land is sufficiently dry to bear the treading of horses without poaching. In 1794 I top-dressed twenty acres of a clayey soil, great part of it with soot, and the rest with New vbery peat ashes, and sowed clover with these dressings, spose aie before the operations of harrowing and rolling. The crop did not receive any perceivable benefit from those dressings, 1¢ summer turned out remarkably dry, which was certainly against such manure. However, the harrowing which produced two plentiful crops in 1795- When worms or slugs are perceived to attack wheat, it i is usual to turn a flock of sheep into the close, and some persons send a boy with a dog to drive them about, in order to tread many of the vermin to death, and to fix many more of them in the ground to perish. After a frosty winter, the crowus of the roots of wheat I are sometimes exposed for two or three inches in length above the mould; in that case, turning sheep in after a moderate shower, and driving them about, will tread the wheat into the moist ground, where it will abide, and produce fresh roots. Future experiments, I believe, will determine the com- parative merits of the drill and broadcast methods of growing wheat, on light soils that are clean, in favour of the drill, owing to the single circumstance of earthing up the plants ee perce the shooting forth of the last set of roots, which arises from a knot inthe stem of the intended straw, above a it the other roots; generally above the sur- face af the ground, which they frequently find a difficulty in penetrating. By raising the mould against the stems, more than one knot may throw out roots(as probably } 1 cid te 1 a 1- all would do, if the mould should be raised to cover them), ora emesis Sk WHEAT. 171 which will succeed, and of course afford a plentiful supply of nourishment to the crop; perfecting the otherwise veakly stems, and filling the ears with grain*, On strong loams and clayey soils, however, if they are ever so clean, and on all lands that are foul with root- weeds, it does not admit of any argument to support the superiority of the broadcast over the drill. In the latter case, the drills cannot work; and in the former, the horse- hoes must be equally at a stand. The harrowing and roll- ing of strong land, aided by the usual operation of weeding, and, if needful, with top-dressings, will be found to pro- mote the growth of the corn; whereas the horse-hoes in such a soil, in a dry season, would have so unsteady a motion, as to cut up part of the rows without being able to raise any mould towards earthing up the plants. A wet summer, especially when there is much rain during the time wheat zs in blossom, produces a deficient crop, and occasions high prices: on the contrary, a dry summer, particularly when it is without any rain while the wheat 3s in blossom, brings plentiful crops, and at low prices. 4. Flarvest—Commences about the first week in Au- gust, and becomes general all over the county in the se- * The advantage of earthing up wheat, where it can be done, was fully exemplified during the summer of 1796, ina piece of springy loose gravelly soil belonging to Mr. Robinson, of Wyck-house, which had been ploughed into one bout ridges, each ridge and furrow about two feet in width. On these he dibbled three rows of wheat, and had them repeatedly cleansed and earthed up: the effect on the crop was what might be expected—straw like reeds; and, when compared with some other rows adjoining the former, drilled and cultivated in a different manner, they were visibly three or four times more bulky; but in the latter case too much seed had been sown, which every farmer knows, has the certain effect of producing thin straw, gmall ears, and altogether plants of a dwarf size.—F. WM, cond nT I72 WHEAT. cond or third. Rye is the first; oats generally the second; wheat the third, and closes with barley in about a month. Reaping is nearly all done with a toothless hook of about twice the weight of a common sickle. It is sharpened as often as occasion requires, in the same manner as a scythe and the operation of reaping is performed by cutting t he crop down by a succession of blows, made within two or three inches of the ground. This the farmers call bagging: the reaper collects enough for one sheaf at a time; binds, and sets it up in tens, called a shock. The bagging is, to all intents and purposes, mowing with one hand against the standing corn. The scythe is never applied, though repeatedly tried: the workmen have never seen wheat mown against the standing corn, as practised on the bor ders of the Tees, neither are they desirous of abridging la- bour. However, by bagging, the straw is cut atiek closer to the ground than is possible to be done by hand reaping; it is equally expeditious, and secures an increased quantity of straw, which is worth perhaps 7s. an acre in this county. The reaping(or bagging) is generally begun as early as possible; that is, two or three days before the corn be quite ready, in order to secure labourers, and to gain an exten- sion of time. It is observable, that the first reaped makes the fairest sample.“The whole, indeed, comes forward so rapidly, as frequently to be too ripe before the harvest is over. It sheds in harvesting, from two to five bushels per acre, when thus over-ripe. If it be clear of weeds and clover, it 1s fre equently carried to the barns on the same day. In common cases, and promising fair weather, it is suffered to stand in the field from five to seven, or more days, which is said to promote its thrashing more freely and clean On WHEAT. 73 On sandy and rich land, the wheat, as soon as it is cut and bound, may be moved to every third, fifth, or seventh ridge. The land may then be ploughed once, and sown with turnips or with winter tares. In some cases, it is O beg ta a 2. ' advisable to sow turnips among the wheat soon aft summer, or rape may be sown in September. I have known red clover seed harrowed into the wheat stubble after harvest, on strong land, but it did not succeed. In some cases of very rich and light land, it may, however, be worth trying. To the westward of the city of Bath, the excessive moisture of their climate has necessarily induced the occu- piers of arable land to secure their corn in the field(im- mediately after it is bound) in round ricks, containing about a cart-load each, placing the sheaves in such a mane ner as to secure the ears equally against the rain, and damp arising from the ground. Every sheaf, from the eves up- wards, is placed sloping ina thatch-like manner, and in the form of a cone. One sheaf is inverted, and spread over this cone-like point; this method secures the whole, until it suits the farmer’s convenience to carry it to his barns or stack-yard. When these ricks are well made, they are secure against every possible quantity of rain, and for any reasonable length of time; even for a whole win- ter, if it were necessary to keep them out so long. The foregoing practice deserves imitation in all wet climates, and indeed in all others, in the case of a wet harvest. 8. Thrashing—Is all done by the flail, and generally by the quarter; at the price of 4s. and 1s. a load for binding the straw. Sometimes wheat is thrashed, and the straw bound at two-pence a truss: a little is done by the day. By all these methods, the men leayea quantity of lean corm Fo OR T== pe eae~ 174 WHEAT. €orn in the straw; more when paid by the truss than when paid by the day. Thrashers near London strike with an irregular blow: their rule is; to strike two or three blows rather smartly, and one or two so slightly as to be of little use: thus re- Reving themselves from the necessary fatigue which the men of other places undergo in thrashing clean. This shifting, or desisting from labour, with the necessary per- pendicular blows for preserving the wheat straw straight, for the sake of sending it to market in handsome trusses; is the reason of their not thrashing clean. I think it very difficult, nearly impossible, to thrash straight trusses clean. In places more distant from London, they likewise strike perpendicularly, but incessantly without changing hands, or reducing the force of the blows, till the principal part of the corn be thrashed out on one side; they then turn the sheaf, and repeat the operation on the other side—they next change hands, and strike in an oblique direction, which draws the straw from the sheaf an inch or two at every such blow, till the whole is completed. This gives them an opportunity of seeing and hitting every ear, till it be cleared of the grain. I have observed them often, and I think there is no other method of thrashing clean by the flail. This practice, it is true, tosses the straw into every direc- tion, as much as is usually done by the mills now coming into use, and it is, therefore, nearly as much bruised; consequently it could not be sent in quite such handsome trusses to market. For the use of farmers stock, how- ever, the more it is bruised the Detter; and prob bably if the whole were cut into chaff, it might, by a mixture with roots, be all eaten by cattle. I hope that those gentlemen who draw up the Reports of the western counties, will favour the world with parti- culars eo| WHEAT. img culars respecting the process of cutting the ears of wheat from the straw; the expence per quarter on the corn; the time employed; the manner of getting the corn out of the ears,&c. The markets of London have been long supplied with straw drawn straight in handsome trusses.‘his makes it supposed, that straw thrashed by the mills will be less saleable, on account of being more bruised, and less si in the truss. It will very probably be the case for a short time, till either gentlemen or their grooms discover the value of a softer bed for horses; or till most or all the straw be thrashed by mills, which I hope it will be in a short time. 9. Produce—V aries, from under ten to upwards of forty bushels per acre. The elements have great influence on the produce of wheat; one year the yield is under twenty, and another upwards of thirty, bushels per acre; soil and cultivation being the same. I have no information from any gentlernan of the county on the subject; but as it may be expected that I should A)? 4, give my opinion of it,| beg leave to repeat, that the arable land is mostly in common fields; of course the husbandry is imperfect, and the crops not very abundant. Padiaps three quarters may average the county; but it certainly does not exceed three and a half.—( Mr. Foot’s Re three and a half*) * The following may be reckoned among the causes of the failure in the produce of wheat, namely, its being injured by maggots of a small size and yellow colour, which were observed in immense numbers in the wheat fields on the adjoining borders of Yorkshire and Durham, where many farmers sustained considerable loss. Some a great part, and others nearly the whole of their wheat crops, eaten up. It was not at all uncommon, to see a dozen or more of these voracious vermin on a single ear of corn. Wery few ears were free from them. I observed the same, in a much less degree, in his county and Surrey.— 7, WW. Lame| L Ee 276 WHEAT. - The proportion which corn bears to the straw, is nears ly as follows, namely, bushels of wheat to a load of straw. The yield of 1793 was 17% of 1794. SE ditto of 1795 rr ditto of 1796 gi ditto The medium of four years 114 ditto. Straw sold during the same period from 25s. to 40s. per load*, Perhaps at an average of 30s.(it has lately been as high as 3l. 12s.) which is on the corn, equal per bushel, to==-- ao ile as Short straw and chaff= o oor or ‘Wheat, at an average price for many years O-.'5>6 The entire produce of wheat per bushel, isfullf.o 8 2 The weight of the wheat grown in the strong land dis- trict, is usually 61 or 62 lbs. per bushel. The greatest crop of wheat of which I have any ac- count, is sixty-eight bushels per acre: the least is about twelve. The medium between these extremes is forty, which I think would be the average of land highly condi- tioned. The average produce of Britain does not exceed one half of this quantity, and yet wheat is as certain a crop ’ *“ The price of straw, as might naturally be expected, is dearer in the 6° neighbourhood of London+ than in any part of England. It is at present s as high as from jos. to 32s. aload. The load consists of 36 trusses, at ‘© 26]bs. per truss. I'wo loads of wheat straw per acre, is reckoned a tolerable $© crop, which may be averaged at eight-pence a truss, or 24s, a load, or “6 21. 8s. peracre. In other parts of the kingdom, the value of the straw S€ is supposed equal to nearly the expence of reaping.’’—P. Foot. +‘© Bath perhaps excepted, where, during the winters of 1791 and 1792, “¢ wheat-straw was sold as dear as hay, and many innkeepers, through a “© principle of economy, used hay of a tolerable quality as litter. Straw, “¢ though somewhat reduced, still bears a very high price, a considerable “© quantity being consumed in making of bricks.”’"—A note ix the piargin of Foot’s Report. Wy Se) ———— since 28 nee “a Wii En SO ee 3 ES oS a a A—— Fo = aaa WHEAT. 1977 as any that is cultivated. Can greater proof be required, that the lands of England are reduced considerably below par? This can only have happened by ¢@ too frequent repetition of corn crops, and general bad management, which has of course lessened the quantity of live stock, and with that, the best means of raising manure. In future, let the farmers be in- duced to sow crops to be eaten on the land by cattle, so that they may there leave their dung and urine. The corn will then grow in double quantity; and the live stock, supported by such green crops, will be clear gain to the community*. 10. Manufacture into Bread—The farmers sell their wheat to mealmen, who manufacture it, and sell the flour to the bakers, and the pollard to the farmers and others, for the food of horses, hogs,&c. Very little of the best flour is sold alone. Most of the bakers are indebted to the mealmen more than they can conveniently pay, con- sequently it is not in their power to buy the best flour, but are under the necessity of being content with seconds, and, in many cases, with such a mixture as the mealman may choose to supply them with.‘There are persons, who suppose that the adulteration by mixture of various kinds of meal, even bean meal, forms the greater part of the mealman’s profit, as it is notorious that the mealmen buy grain of various kinds, and that a large proportion of the bread sold at the price of the best wheaten bread in Lon- don, is at least one assize, or two-pence in the peck loaf, under bread of that quality. * Well has one of the Reporters expressed himself-—‘* Keep the land 6 clean, well drained, and rich,’”’—F. MM, M CORN SS 173 MANUFACTURE. OF WHEAT, CORN AND FLOUR COMMITTEE IN THE CITY oF LONDON, 17965. “ Upon this very interesting subje@t, an abstra& of the evidence laid before the committee, which tends to develope the real causes of the present dearth, may be useful and instructive: “ Mr. Samuel Wyatt gave a very accurate description of the operation of the Albion-mills, by various cal- culations of the prices of wheat and flour for sixteen years, viz. from 1774 to 1790, the latter five years of which period, when the mills continued to work, the a€tual saving to the inhabitants of the metropolis was 866,663 1. The consumption, he stated to be 20,000 sacks per week, Z.€. 120,000 bushels of wheat!!! He said, the port of London was now(12th O@ober last) overloaded with wheat:‘The proprietors, at the time the mill was de- stroyed, were about to ere&t a third steam engine. The a mills improved the quality of the flour, and prevented a combination amongst the millers, which reduced the price. They“‘ would have been perfectly satisfied with the pro- fit of one halfpenny per sack.” The land carriage from Reading is 4s. 6d. per sack, and so in proportion for other manufactures in the country; and if it was sent in barges, by the Thames, those vessels were liable to be delayed in summer for want of water, and in winter from the navi- gation being stopped by the ice; neither of which in« conveniences attended the operation of the Albion-rnills, ** because no alteration of the weather could affect them.” He was perfectly convinced, that“ flour might be sold “© 8s. per sack lower than the average quarter of wheat; “* and if ground upon the spot, the difference might be «* still greater.- Even in the great frost, in 19789, the “¢ Albion-mills furnished flour at 4s. 8d. per sack below s¢ the RYE. 179 ** the average quarter of wheat.” Mr. Wyatt was clearly of opinion, that a number of mills ereCted near the me- : ae' oe a Pc nttt ba. Huet tropolis, with one steam engine each, would be beneficial. 4“Mr. Titus Woolhead, late a flour-factor, in answer toa number of questions, informed the committee, that he did not remember an instance in the five years that the Albion-mills worked, that the price of a sack of flour was above that of a quarter of wheat, but the sack was at va- i rious times, during that period, considerably below the ‘ quarter.(Now comes a very material part). d«2. Are you ready to state why the price of wheat at 2 is lower at this time than that of flour?— the corn-market 4. A few opulent individuals have the entire guidance of the market, and return to the meal-weighers what price they please for the flour; which price is generally regu- lated by sales to the mecessitous baker, who is obliged to come with a part of the money in his hand, by way of advance, when he wants flour, and is told it is such a price, being frequently an extortion; and this is the price given to the meal-weighers as the bona fide sale; by which means the assize of bread is often times advanced, accord- ing to the flour table lately established by the court of al- dermen. ‘oO WW rat remedy have you for this evil?—4 A fair and candid return of wheat and flour sold at the corn- market.’? IT. RY ers THERE are a few acres of rye grown on many farms of the more sandy nature in this county, for spring green feed. It comes very early, and holds in perfection three or four weeks; the rest(being then superseded by winter Z M 2 tares} cot eee me eI ee—~ rel" a 180 BARLEY. tares) is permitted to ripen its seed, which it does about the middle of July, at which time the straw alone some- times sells at four or five pounds an acre. The seed is sown from the middle of August till the middle of Septem- ber: it is also sown mixed with winter tares; but it is not a very convenient grain for that purpose, owing to its being fit to cut as green food a fortnight before the tares, and ripening much too early to accompany them. How- ever, it should not be quite disregarded, as it is one of the links of a chain of green food that may support cattle on an arable farm all the year round. Mi BAR© Egy. TieRé are about 3800 acres of land annually sown qvith barley in this county, the greater part of which is sown after wheat. The tender nature of this plant in its infant state, unfits st for cold and compact soils. It thrives best ina soil that is moderately dry and light(as a loamy sand), and is esteemed rather a clean crop*. From the nature of corn crops, it ought not, on any account, to be sown after either wheat, rye, or oats: the much better practice being, to sow it after turnips, potatoes, carrots, tares, é&c.; and, in some cases, after hemp, flax, and rape. The land. should not receive any further manure than what was laid on for the preceding crop, together with the dung and urine deposited by cattle during the time they are eating the green crop off. # For this crop, the soil is generally well tilled late in the spring, which yeduces the weeds very much; and as it occupies the ground only four months, they have not time to recover themselves, and perfect their seed,— % M, fr até I. Prepas BARLEY. igi 1. Preparation.—The soil should invariably be well pulverized, and rendered open, by a thin ploughing, and then by harrowing; which should be followed, at as great a distance as the season will allow, by a more deep cross- ploughing, harrowing and rolling. The seed should then be ploughed in with a very small furrow, and immediately afterwards clover seed harrowed in with short tined har- sows, which leaves the land as light as possible,‘The next thing to be done is, with one horse to draw a very light roll over the land, in order to press the mould gently on the seeds. These operations promote a more certain, speedy, and equal vegetation, than can be procured by harrowing in the seed*. Many farmers postpone the last rolling until the first leaves of the seeds are up, but it is believed, more from the hurry of the season than from choice.‘This perfeé tillage seldom fails to secure a good crop of barley, and a plant of clover. In case of land springs, or excessive rain, it is advisable not to plough the land flat, but into ridgelets of about eighteen inches wide.‘These will drain themselves dry in any weather, at least so much so, that two or three dry days will prepare the soil for harrowing previous to the second ploughing; and, if the season should still con- tinue unfavourable, the land, on such second ploughing, might be laid up in a similar manner till sowing time; when two or three more days of fine weather, would render it fit to be harrowed or scuffed down, and for ploughing in the seed; otherwise, a third ploughing may be given, and the seed harrowed in, which last is esteemed the better practice, when the soil is not quite so dry as could be wished. Scuffling the land, instead of the second ploughing, would in every fine season dispatch the work, # Harrowing in the seed is the more usual method, and is the cause of much grain being lost, and also of the crop being of two or three growths. —7. M. M 3 and a a 182 BARLEY, and be a saving of expence. Scuffling the cleanest soil would be equal to cross-ploughing; and in soils not quite free from root-weeds, it would be much better, by bringing them' within reach of the harrows. It will perform upwards of double the quantity of work with the same number of men and horses, and leave the land equally ready for the harrow and roll previous to the sowi ng. e» 2. Sort.—Only one, namely, the common long flat eared, containing two rows of grain: 3. Stecp.—The seed is never steeped, and yet the farmers are continually complaining of its coming up at different periods; thus producing two crops, which do not become ripe at the same time, and are injurious to the sample. Steeping the seed a proper number of hours(which might be ascertained by experiment), seems to be as well calculated to secure a uniform vegetation, and prevent this complaint, as poisoning the seed appears to be to keep it from vermin. 4. Seed—(quantity sown).—The quantity of seed varies much with the quality of the land, and also with the season of the year; it being advisable to sow much less seed on land in high condition, than on an exhausted soil: Early sowing requires less seed than late; but on a medium soil, in proper condition, sown broadcast, in March three and an half; in April four, and in May four and an half bushels per acre. A rich soil makes such great difference, that it can hardly be sown too thin; even one bushel and an half early sown, have produced asmuch as could stand; whereas had three of four bushels been sown, the crop would have been lodged, and of a very reduced value. . Time of Sowing.—Barley is usually sown during the . é& 5 vl 5 months of March, April, and May, and it has succeeded when *) a Se a BARLEY, 183 when sown the first week in June; though it ought to be sown as early as the soil is sufficiently dry and in con- dition to receive it, and the prior attention which is due to the oat, tare, and other crops, will permit. Let it al- ways be kept in mind, that barley will bear late sowing much better than those crops. 6. Culture while growing.—None. 4. fHarvest—Commences about the middle of August, and generally after the oats and wheat are reaped. It is nearly all mown with scythes, previously furnished with a bow or cradle, to colleét the corn together, and keep it from scattering. Some of the heaviest crops are then bound into sheaves, and set up in shocks; but in general, it lies in the swaths till it is in a proper state to be carried. It is then raked into heaps, in rows, placed at such a moderate distance from each other, that, when the cart goes between two rows, a man on each side may pitch to the load without over-reaching. It is then carted home, and put into a stack, or barn, in the same manner as hay. Barley is less in danger of shaking out of the ear, from being too ripe, than any other corn; which is one reason for its being the last reaped, 8. Thrashing.—All done by the flail: but the straw in general is not bound into trusses. Some of it, however, js, and sold for the purpose of packing, g. Produce—Varies from fifteen to seventy-five bushels per acre. The average produce of the county is about four quarters of corn and two loads of straw per acre. he straw usually sells at about a guinea a load, deli- vered in, which, with chaff and thin grain, is equal to M 4 one 184, BARLEY. one shilling and six-pence per bushel on the corn; and, as the corn has averaged three shillings, together they produce four shillings and six-pence per bushel, or seven pounds four shillings per acre. The ultimate destination of barley, to be converted into beer and spirits, raises the value of this crop to more money per acre than that of any other grain. Foy atter the farmer has disposed of it, the maltster, brewer, distiller, rectifier, and victualler, successively draw the wages of labour and profit from it, before it comes to the consumer.~ Includ- ing a revenue of five and one quarter millions a years which it nets to government, but which costs the subject between six and seven millions, its entire expence to the con~ sumer at this time, is not less than thirty pounds anacre™. 10. Manufaéure—Much of the most ordinary barley is given to poultry: the rest is sold to the maltsters, except so much as is reserved for seed. Pearl Barley—A mill to manufaCture pearl barley costs about twenty pounds. A ton, or 160 stone, of pearl barley, sells for twenty-three pounds, which is rather un- der three shillings a stone, or thirteen shillings and four- pence a bushel.“['wenty-three stone and an half of com- mon barley produces five stone and an half of pearl barley, by the common method of manufacturing it; but by an addition to the mill, which would only cost two pounds, the barley corn could be split, and then the same quantity would yield ine stone of pearl barley.(Minute of evi- dence before a committee of the London Society of Arts, &c.) * T understand that porter is now brewed in the ratio of 162 gallons from one quarter of malt; and is sold by the retailer after the rate of one shilling and two-pence per gallon, which produces nine pounds nine shillings. Dee duct the value of the hops, and there remains upwards of a guinea a bushel for the malt, or full thirty pounds an acre, In the article of spirits, it must necessarily yield much more.—}. /7. ry y r J< The * * “a © aA “ “a n a “ ee a ” a n a rs “~ n w~ “ wa rN = e ~ a && BARLEY. 38¢ «‘The barley(says Mr. Foot) which grows in the parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, and Chiswick, has been for Many years distinguished for its good quality, and has been much sought after for seed. When the farm- er, from a multiplicity of business, cannot get his land into a fine tilth time enough, or has not got his turnips eaten or drawn off the land, or is retarded through the inclemency of the weather, then barley is the most pro- per seed to sow, even so late in the season as the month of May. For though it is late sown, it grows quicker than any other sort, andis frequently ripe so early as the month of August. Experience has proved it to be the best barley for malting, after having been once sown in loamy or stiff lands, which makes the skin thinner, and increases the quantity of meal in the grain. «© This barley has a great advantage over every other kind of barley; for being, by its quick growth, less time abroad, it is less exposed to heavy rains, which always prove unfriendly to the culture of this grain. This is the reason why the farmers of these parishes have the wztest, most thin skinned, and mellowest bar- ley in England; and which always fetches the greatest price, when sold for seed or for malt. I understand, however, that beneficial as the cultivation of this species of grain has been, it has of late years decreased consi- derably, and been supplanted by the superior profit pro- duced from the growth of vegetables for the London markets. A bushel, Winchester measure, of this barley, weighed under my own inspection 52!b.; but I am informed that, taken on an average of years, it will at, weigh 561b.” {V. OATS. — SS a ne OS en a ee eee—_— 186 OATS.. ald v after IVs© ACT s: a bas as th Oats are but little grown in this county, nor would into recommend them as a fit crop for a Middlesex farmer, in cast his common-field land; but on inclosed clayey loams they ble tc might be introduced, once in six years, in a very valuable ait rotation of crops, as all argillaceous soils are much better i| calculated for the production of oats than of barley. I Wi shall offer a few general observations on this grain. In the vj first place, oats will grow on almost any land, though with them, as with most other crops, the richer the soil the greater will be the produce; even up to an hundred bushels t per acre. Next, they always sell for less money per FP bushel than barley; but then they are a more certain crop, dt which circumstance, added to the superior quality of the Ap oat straw for the support of cattle, and to their yielding a more in quantity, places them on an equality with barley| for medium loams. For stronger soils, and fen, they are|: much more suitable than barley, though they are a crop es which leaves the soil rather more foul and dense.|. The soil ought not to be manured for oats in any greater: degree than as| have described for barley, nor ought they: ever to follow wheat, rye, or barley*. They may be‘ sown in tenacious, cold, fenny, and wet soils, or in others‘ that are not in condition for barley; and they will succeed E very well after any green or root crop. i Ai : tar 1. Preparation.— After tares, cole, early peas, or any other crop that comes off not later than the first week in ln July, a clean bastard fallow should be made, and the land " * There are some instances of oats having been sown after other corn, on bag land exhausted and foul, as the last resource of knayish poverty.— 7. MW. laid ——: a, i oni OATS, 187 faid up before winter, into ridges fit for a*. Or ter any clean crop, that comes off too late for making a bastarc: fallow, plough only once, and| let that be as early = oD as the cther works to be done on the fat rm, will permit, into ridges fit for sowing. In both these cases, sow broad- cast, with clover, and cover the seeds with harrows suita~ ble to the state of the land; and if it be dry and crumbly, as it ought to be, immediately draw a very light roll over y oO ed it, thereby pressing the mould gently on the seeds; other- *7} Wise‘postpone the rolli g till a dry time after the seeds are up. 4. Seed—(quantity sown).—The quantity of seed ought to be varied, in the same proportion as| have stated in my account of barley; but on a medium soil, in proper con- dition, sow broadcast early in March four bushels, or in April five, and so in proportion to the lateness of the sea~ son. 5. Lime of Sowing.—The first dry season in the spring, from the middle of F ebruary till the end of April; remem- A- at Bed AC a 148 Hd bp PP Pd Prey Ap‘- bering that€a Ly SOWL 1g pi OAUCES AH€Q) Ly hai Vest, So:fz, good ;:: ae a See ** sample, and Senerally the best crop.” When the inten- tion of the farmer is to put oats into a soil that is naturally too dry or burning, he should by all means sow very early; though they will not stand an extreme frosty winter, such as 1794-5, otherwise the better vay would be, to sow them in autumn, as I did a few acres in ree among tares, which, in the following year, were by much the Jargest I ever saw, * This is only meant of land that is seldom sufficiently dry to admit of being ploughed in the winter.— FM, 6. Culture, 1883 BEANS. 6. Culture-—The thistles are cut out by hooks, and the other weeds drawn by hand. Should a crop of oats be soa luxuriant as to fall, or lodge, it will receive less damage than any other grain, therefore the farmer need not be under any apprehension of its being too rank, only that the young clover w ould in some measure be injured by the crop being too heavy. 4, Harvesting—Oats are harvested in this county in the same manner as barley. They Fe ould be cut as fast as they become ripe, or rather two or be ree days before they are ripe, OF ey will shed very freely, either with the wind or in harvesting. Care should at the same time be taken, not to cut ee many ¢ before they are ripe, lays as it is dificult to thrash the unr ipe gt rains out of the straw. 8. Thrashing~The same as I have before described for barley. 9. Produce—ts from four quarters to twelve; perhaps five would average the county. 10. Appropriation—All given to horses; nor is there 2 gill in the county that can make oatmeal, grits, occ. V. uw ° March, ploughed up with a thin furrow, and soon after- wards re-ploughed a full depth. The water-furrows are kept open, and the land remains in this state till seed-time. The peas grown with the intent of being gathered green, and sent in their pods to market, succeed clover, corn, or any other crop. he land appropriated to this use, is generally a dry loamy sand; and manure Is usu- ally ploughed in during January and February; after which it is harrowed, and is then fit for the reception of the seed, which is put into drills, fifteen inches apart, mostly made across, but, occasionally, along the ridges; and the seed is covered in with hoes. Some persons bush harrow the whole, which gives the land a more neat and compact appearance. 2. Sort.—White peas are the only sort raised for pod- ding; of these, there are several varieties, as the hotspur, early Charlton, marrowfat, é&c. Grey peas of several varieties, are nearly the only sort af grown on the afore-mentioned 2000 acres. 2. Steep.—Not any in use. 4. Seed.—The quantity sown is generally about three bushels an acre. Time of Sowing.—Such as are intended for poddin 5: me 0, 0W1 22 o——- UCIY as are intenaea 10r po aIng, or to besent green to mai ket, are put into the g round every week or fortnight during the months of January, February, and March, for the purpose of producing a regular suc- cession of crops, to Bes p up the daily supply at market. 7 The grey peas are sown duri ng the whole of March, begin- ning as soon inthe month as the soil can be got into proper ondition after the bean seed-iime is finished. CA Ne ]

OTATOES. 197 POTATOES 49] yg Be as Sh| For further observations on green-peas for the London markets, see the Se on kitchen-gardens; and Mr. ct: Vancouver’s Essex, p. 89. VIE=P Oc ear OrES: Most of the farmers in this county, and such of the cottagers who have gardens, grow potatoes for their own use, but few or none for sale. The management of a potatoe crop, in one bout ridges, Tuke’s Report of the North Riding of Yorkshire; and by Sir James Kirkpatrick, in the Appendix to the Dumfries Report. is accurately, and fully, described in Mr. It is, indeed, the only mode in use to any extent, in the northern counties of England, and the adjoining ones in Scotland; where they excel in the cultivation of this root in drills about thirty inches es They will do well to continue this practice, as there is no better known. Potatoes intended for sets, should be grown without dung on rich soils, and on poor soils with less than usual, and with less earthing up, in order to which is now, I believe, known to be occasioned by the sets being grown under a system too rich and forcing. (See two or three of the last volumes of the London So- ciety of Arts, dcc.). For strong land, potatoes are an improper crop*; and on light land, or loamy-sands, regard should be had to the * A rich sandy Joam is the best; but they may be grown on all soils of a loose texture.—(See Mr. Billingsley’s paper in the Transactions of the Bath Society). Potatoes are suitable for a dry soil in a moist climate.—(See the Report of Cornwall, 4to. p.= depth aro N 3 dea Ear ae 193 TARES, depth of the topsoil, the nature of the subsoil, the climate of the distriCt, and the general dryness of the land. On all very dry sands, in a dry climate, the land should be kept quite flat, and the plants should be hoed by hand, as. the only means of preserving the ground sufficiently moist| to promote the growth of the crop. But in every situa-| Ne tioh, where there is no danger of the land being too dry,. an: and on all thin soils, one bout ridges have the advantage| i over every other method, This way of laying up the land ft doubles the depth of the staple, concentrates the manure; a and admits of the soil being kept more clean, and in| garden-like culture, than any other which has yet been»| used. his mode too, it should be observed, is particularly applicable to all moist climates. The foregoing observations have been established with i me, after being fully experimented. And as they apply i with equal force to the culture of turnips, it in some mea- fi sure accounts for the two opposite methods of cultivating] these crops, in the south-east and north-west distriCts of| England. In each of these distri€ts, the farmers are, very properly; tenacious of the superiority of their own method. —(See section tillage, gandy and clayey soils). 4 A considerable proportion of the potatoes sold in the markets of London, are brought from the Humber.' Willc FAR ES: Many of the farmers in this county grow a few actes I of tares, and the culture of then: is extended every year, from the circumstance of their importance becoming better understood. It is a considerable degree of gratification to me, to have been the first who sowed them ona large, the scale, od vw Lane TARES. 199 scale, and publicly recommended them to the notice of farmers, as highly deserving to be introduced into a regu- lar rotation of crops*. After several years more experi- ence of their utility, it is impossible for me to say so much in their favour as they deserve. They may be made the principal means of enabling the arable farmer to support as much live stock as the grazer, or during the time they occupy the ground, they produce more green food of the best quality, per acre, than Romney-marsh or Pevensey-level; and the ground may be cleared of them in the month of Fune, in such good time as to admit of loamy sands producing a crop of clean turnips in the same year, and of clayey loams being prepared and sown with wheat. They support cattle; will make both sheep and bullooks of every size and breed fat; they suit every situation, and will flourish on all the variety of soils in this country, from the gravel-hills near Dartford; in Kent, to the stiff yellow clays in the wealds of Sussex+. They do not depend on any particular market; and, above all, they manure the land fit for the immediate reception of turs nips; whereby a succession of green crops can be kept up, that would fat a very increased quantity of live stock, and be the means of raising, in situations the most distant from towns, an abundance of those great sources of fertility, dung and urine. judicious combination of tares with turnips, clover and sainfoin, may be the means of rendering our poor sheep-walks, downs, and wastes, of from ten to thirty times their present value to the community. 1. Preparation.—lf the land be poor, or at least not rich, manure it, otherwise not; plough it thinly into * Vide my letter to the Society of Arts,&c. in the 13th vol. of their Transactions, for which communication I was honoured with a medal by that respectable hody. And the Board of Agriculture unanimously yoted me their thanks, for my letterto them on the same subjett.— F. AZ, + Ste Boys’ Kent, p. 77. N 4‘idges N 4. ridges =e— eS mM aes TE : 200 TARES. 4 ridges well calculated to keep it dry; sow broadcast, and ms harrow in the seed. ge bey 2. Sort.—There are two sorts; the winter tare and the a spring tare.“The former is the most sown, and is suffici- wa ently hardy to stand all the changes of weather, even the o severest degrees of frost ever experienced in England, or;~ T believe, in Great Britain*.|- Eg. 3. Steep—None used. Though, for sowing in any| very dry season, it would be advisable to steep the seed.:| { 4. Seed—(quantity sown).—In the middle of the season: about two bushels and a half, on soils moderately rich but early sowing and rich soils require less seed than poor soils and late sowing. d Many persons sow a little rye among winter tares; and a some intelligent men sow a small quantity of barley among I spring tares, t 5. Lime of Sowirg.—From the middle of August to the middle of October. If the land be poor, or the situation| exposed, by all means sow early; even in August; and i in all cases, it is advisable to sow at different periods— early, medium and late, in order to have a succession of i them for feed the ensuing spring.| 6. Culture—A light roller should be drawn over them during the first dry time in March, to prepare the ground for the scythe; and the most rank weeds should be drawn by hand in April. * Those sown in August 1794, stood the long and severe frost of the fol- lowing winter perfectly well, in Surrey.— 7. MM, A 7° Harvest a on a as—————= Toe eee ET, Pia ——" a Re ATT a eee NS ANT TIER TT Se TARES: 201 ». Harvesting—They begin to blossom in May, and from that time, I am of opinion, the farmer’s stock should be wholly supported on them till the blossoms begin to fall off, and the formation of pods to take place; at which time, all that are left should be made into hay, unless pods should appear in large quantities, and supposing them to be of the true winter sort. The farmer should in that ease reserve seed enough for his own use; otherwise he should make them all into hay. If the land has been dunged, and the seed good, there will probably be a crop of twelve tons of green tares, or three tons of hay; and, provided they are well cured, it will be the best hay on the farm. But tares require a considerable degree of sun. Rain is wery injurious to them. In case a continuance of wet weather should happen after they are cut, it would be difficult to make them into hay at all, at least of a good and salutary quality. On account of this risk, 1 would recommend that all the stock of a farm should be soiled on them green; and in doing so, it will necessarily have the good effect of taking the stock off the grass land long enough to allow of its being mown for hay. By this 1 means the farmer’s meadow hay will be much increase in quantity; he will not have occasion for pasture(the tares abundantly supplying the place of the richest pastur- age), and by the time that the cattle return from green tares, the grass land in the mean time having been mown, will be ready to receive them. I conceive that I may justly be allowed to estimate the value of tares, as if they were all made into hay, as this will be the case with a great part of them.‘The rest will preserve an additional quantity of meadow hay, perhaps equal to their own weight. Spring tares produce rather a lighter crop, and are subject to much risk from a dry summer.‘There is no difference in their application, or value per ton; but 7 Ya) C Ade 252 TARES: the spring sort coming a fortnight later, it seems to be convenient and advisable to grow some of each sort, and to have a succession of them for green food all the summer. As to the manner of giving them to cattle, it would be wasteful in the extreme to turn live stock into a field of tares, as their treading and lying down would do great mischief to the crop, even by eeding it in small pate! hurdled off. The most advisable method would be, to mow thetares off the first half acre, and to carry the produce into the stables, cow-houses and fold-yards, or on to poor land, to. be consumed by stock.‘Then to hurdle the growing tares from such cleared ground, into which put the stock, and feed them all with the tares, kiven to them in racks, removing the hurdles and the racks forward daily to the edge of the growing tares; which will manure the land uniformly, and deposit all the urine in the soil. Or a very“ good n aor is to ** feed them through rack hurdles, which are n ~ 9) fe) oO ee ** same as the common five-railed ones, only| aie the *¢ middle rail out, and nailing upright pieces across, at * proper distances, to admit the sheep to put their heads * through. A swath of vetches being mown’’ in the di- rection you wish to plough the land,“ a sufficient num- ‘¢ ber of these hurdles, allowing one to five sheep, are ** set close to it: at noon the shepherd mows another ‘¢ swath, and throws it to the hurdles, and the same at *“< night: next morning, a swath being first mown, the ** hurdles are again set; thus moving them once in the ** twentv-four hours, by this trifling additional trouble, ‘¢ the vetches are eaten clean off, aa the land equally ** benefited.”—(Gloucester Report, ato. p. 17). 8. Thrashing.—The seed thrashes out very readily by the flail. 9. Produce —— LAKRLSe 2\2 4 pe) —“,; 5‘* es a 7 load Ed Ave Se ts c Q. Produce.—l have w eigned a suincient quantity ox Z/ green tares to know, that the produce was twelve tons per acre; and when made into hay, it was three tons; which = ra i een+} Cr r+ lw f f+ee oo?»¥ in this county is worth irom twelve to nmiteen guineas per ) s to three pounds per a the tares will be worth from seven pounds ten shillings to nine pounds per.acre.‘The seed will sell from five shill ings to twenty- one shillings per bushel. A neighbour of mine, who gtew tares on my recommendatiot 1, permitted one field to stand for seed: it produced upwards of forty bushels per acre. 10. Appropt 1Qt10 n.—Pige ons prefer tares to all other food, NOTES. * By one crop of vétches succeeding another, he(Mr. Halstead, of Lavant, Zp) ussex), ensures a crop the whole summer, of the best food that can be given to cattle: after this he sow he then wiicat. t not one tenth of his(Mra —_ i) o# los) . DQ. S be maintained without them ¢* horses, cows, she I Hogs are soiled upom them, without any other food. This)plant maintains more stock than any other plant whatsoever. Upon one acre of tares Mr. Davis can maintain four horses in much better condition than uvon five acres of grass. Upon eight acres he has kept tw horses and five cows for three months(June, July and August), and n food given them.’? 6° No artificial food whatever, is equal to excellent plant, at Easte bourne.’’—Aynals of Agriculture, vol. Xx 6é mn) Nhs ae 1 Ue pias j saves z i a They find this crop to be a hearty and most nourishing food for all sorts of ca Cows give more| when fed with# than with any other food whatsoever.’? IX. TURNIPS. cil=, ee hee oR NODES: Turnips are undoubtedly the basis of the best hus bandry, and, in every part of this island, they will always be a principal crop in the most improved methods of cul- tivating loamy sands*, T hey support and make fat a very increased quantity of animal food, and, by the dung and urine of fat cattle, the land becomes more highly enriched than by any other means. It is an ad vantage of great im- portance, that they require such late sowing, as to give the farmer an opportunity of reaping two green crops om the same land in one year, both of which may be fed by cattle. 4 succession of these crops(tares and turnipst) may be raised and consumed on dry land, till it a st any desired degree of richness; and will feed more bullocks and sheep than the best grass land in the kingdom||. bid whe as of great INTE EE it will be perfectly clean, and fit a every sort of corn during the whole time. But they are crops that are perfectly incompatible with common fields, and for that reason, more than any other, they are so little grown, in England. Inclose the common fields, and the. tare and turnip husbandry will become general; which will be the a ete he ey tela);: sy A}) 49 most effectual means of loading our shambles with meat, and FIILLNS OUY Granaries With corn. v4 fo) oO ' growing turnips is the only one o fo) L J PET my: Ala) weswrtenateacaa eee; xP made use of m this county. They are invariably twice d<~ * They also grow very well on well drained ae peat earth; andasa first crop on the breaking up of strong loams.— 7. 4 + Turnips grow very well after eat ly peas, or being sown among hemp or flax.— JF MV. eeds fj || Romney-ma re or six sheep, per acre per annum. An acre of loamy sand, only mode: ately rich, cropped with tares in the spring, and tur- nips in the autumn, will fatten twenty of the same sheep.— 7. JZ, ) ee| Moca —* OE——— ee i———— wa TURNI#S. 205 hoed by hand, and are mostly consumed by cows*, whose owners buy them growing in the fields, at ev ery distance short of twelve or thirteen miles from Lon- don, at prices varying from five to ten guineas per acre, according to the lengtl 1 of carriage and quantity of a >) the crop. The cow- keepers are at the expence of pull- ing them up, loa ding and carting them home, which iS generally done in waggons drawn by six stout horses, in loads, that, for their largeness, surprize every beholder f. In the south of England, the broadcast method of erowing turnips is the only one known; but in several counties in the north of England, and south of Scotland, the more intelligent farmers grow them on one bout ridges}, he two aes are certainly widely different, but there are particular soils, and climates, which make them both perfe€ily proper.—{ Vide the tillage of wet land, and the cultivation of potatoes). The broadcast method of growing them, among the gardening farmers within four or five miles of London, y ee both on account of the richness and depth of their cultivated soil; and it is so o1 ail highly enric hed soils of a foot or more in depth, which have a subsoil of dry gravel; also on light land in every climate that is too dry and burning. The west side of this island, however, is sufficiently moist, even to two-thirds, or at least to more than half, of its width; and for that reason, is most admirably calcul: ated for the production of |} root crops in one bout ridges.“The greater part of the * Gardeners, and some of the poorest farmers, send their turnips to Co- vent-garden al ae other markets, for the use of the inhabitants of the metro. pelt is. hae M. To the manifest destruction of the roads.— 7%./ = They are thus grown in Northumberland, aoe. Durham, the North Riding of Yorkshire, the Lothians, Dumfries-shire, Annandale, and some other places in Scotland.— 7. AZ. i@)) ct \ / 206 TURNIPS east coast is so very thin skinned, as to be ill calculated for Fyrt the production of the largest tap-rooted plants; conse- byt quently, with the foregoing exceptions, the methad of grow id D5 RE a i mug ing turnips on one bout ridges* is eminently superior to every| shel other practice, a as to the cultivation of this invaluable root. ynd Turnips, it is well known, have a tap-root of J foot or T more in length, and many of the soils in this ki ingdom, whel pa] laid level for a ci rop, are anly six or seven inches dee Rr 1 11... cp A\ke to the subsoil. Of course, the supers tratum being only hal ya fo the depth which the roots rc quire, the growth of the plants\ must be stunted. In order to remedy this defect of the ih we must have recourse to art: the land should be laid up in one bout ridges, and the seed should be covered in on the highest part of such ridges. his operation rather more| than doubles the natural depth of the soil and quantity oj| s pasture, where the turnips have to feed ana grew.? Another great advantage to the success of the crop, 1s|| =| bl obtained by one bout ridges, namely, confining the manure ss Peers| apes}= S Pe Hees Lake: to less than one half of the space necessarily occupied by| od f = Eee tn Pee ae Tove SOOT ae J,|: it in the broadcast. method. This concentration of the . Z: s; 4 manure to the spot powers| f y Sy ef the plants, canno é turnips . d Se mk. fa a Size much La fur~ ther, and which is of dé importance. the hoei#o ana wick, and Which Or SOME- Importance, the Nocing ang } a cham Pete oe Wj aise aaa, weedine of the rows of all turnips so grown, can be per-| © "eet als Braeroes| feu pees=: Age gee te. feCtly well done by women and children, and a hight swing J| ES ees meee emploved' in the intervale: af plough can be occasional y employed in the intervals; at «== ne des Bae 1+t earthance 17 th 5] te 4- Ace destroyin g the weeds and earthit ng up the plants 7. 1 The * One bout ridges are particularly applicable to every soil and climate that zs too moist for the broadcast method; for, let the season be everso wet,| the crops on these ridges are sure to be of a proper degree ef dryness.—| s% Ne ae LVL,{ + Turnips have a long tap-root(sometimes two feet thre inches long} j which shoots below the cultivated soil. and n ust greatly depend on the sub — a— TURNIPS. 20% nh The danger likewise of sheep casting themselves in the Pon furrows of a close, seems to be lessened, or totally removed, Sh oy the drill method of growing turnips; for on one bout ry ridges sheep cannot lie down on their sides, or roll on Ml, their backs, as they sometimes do on ridges and furrows OF under the broadcast system. mn, This method of growing turnips I earnestly recom- ep mend to the farmers of these kingdoms, as more garden- a like, and indeed preferable to every other, except in some few situations, as aforesaid. It is equally applicable to ai) beans, cabbages, potatoes, and perhaps carrots, parsnipsy peas, and tares. tie ,, 1. Preparation.—In this county, there is no such thing as turnip-fallow: the land invariably ees a crop in the spring, before the preparation for turnips*. Assoon as the preceding crop is off, the land is ploughed very thin, then harrowed, and the weeds, stubble,&c. raked into heaps and burnt. It is then cross-ploughed a full th, harrowed, and the weeds raked and burnt as before: Relea eneonerea Sah a pope eat ies 2 eee NE SBR and lastly, it is ploughed into ridges of four or five yards wide, harrowed, then sown broadcast, and the seed covered by another harrowing. stratum for its nourishment. Very often, the roots getting through the cultivated soil, are obliged to crawl about for food on the hard surface of the substratum, where nothing but starvation, and all her train of ills, is to be re The first object therefore, is to give a much greater depth of cul tivated soil to the roots of the plants, which is most effectually done in one aes ridges, after the land is prepared, and the dung spread as usual. Mr, Mure’s drill plough, with two mould boards at once going, forms the ridge Sane the dung in the centre of it, makes a drill, sows the oy and covers it. The plants being reduced to proper distances with a short hoe, a man and an old horse with the same plough may hoe four acres a day, pare the sides and bottoms of the OS mix the soil, lay it up to the plants, and leave not a weed to be seen. Turnips so grown, exceed in weight per acre the broadcast method 50 per cent.—(See a plate, and description, in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. ix, p. 432 to 443). enerally of tares, early peas, or rye.— J M, SS NE I ne EE a Se Q 20 TURNIPS. hy “e For the method o es . (see the note in ees 207, and the Northumberland and Cumberland Reports). VD L sowing turnips on one bout ridge o ¥-- ibe SA ro: a“ 2. Sort.? Those sorts that root deep, and grow the 3. Steep. most under ground, or are moulded up, 4. Seed. J are the more secure against frost. Vhe straw- coloured turnip is much sweeter tasted, and the red more bitter, than any of the other colours; of which there are varieties in every field. The quantity of seed is rather under two pounds per acre, sown without steeping; but it would be better in a dry season to steep the seed, espe- cially on late sowing. Time of Sowing.—They are sown as early, during the months of July and August, as the ground can be got ready. The first sown produces the largest crops, and should be first eaten: the Jast sown will stand the frost better. 6. Culture and Sale.—Answered as above, as far as this county is concerned; but for more distant places, it may be useful to note, that when eaten by cattle in stalls, they produce about one shilling a ton more than when con- sumed by them in the open field.(In the field they pay from 2s. Gd. to 4s. 6d. a ton, z. e. a crop of twenty tons will produce, in beef and mutton, from 5os. to 41. 10s. lesan eB 5 hic SS ae- St exclusive of the dung and urine, which is worth about Fcc more*) Rut this ly‘e'is mi 50s. more*). But this advantage'is much more tha 1 SNe, Wee(eaten Peastt ras When Coes ae ave Sn hoon ee Mtn fe. pee SC NR Pe ye drawn back, by the loss of the cattle’s urine, and by the <7 eh an eea cers’ endange a} e- tha nns EXPENCE ¢ if Cal Licks, all ndance, alia eturnit Liic dus x 5?+ i c< on.to the land, when greatly reauced potn m is quantity See ire: x TURNIPS. 209 In the operation of pulling up turnips within this county, the labourers always break the tap-root off. It is supposed not to be worth carriage, and the roots ought in every case to be broken off, for the sake of leaving the manure and mould which hangs about them, in the field. When they are wanted for spring feed, should Mr. Cal- verley’s(of Hillingly, Sussex) method be found completely to preserve them through the months of March and April, and without a considerable diminution of their capacity for the feeding of cattle, it would be the highest folly in all turnip farmers not to avail themselves of it. I must own, that of its success I have much doubt. However, it de- serves to be fully experimented. The method is, to stack and thatch the bulbs before they are frosted(in the same manner as potatoes are preserved in what are called pies) after having cut off and used the tops for winter feed. If this should not be found to answer, I would recommend a trial to be made of carting them during a hard frost, into one or more large heaps, laid on a bottom of ice; and mixed throughout with ice and snow, in sufficient quantity to preserve them in a frozen state as long as they may be wanted, and which would seldom be longer than the end of April. In this case they should be either put into a building, or covered with Straw, heath, or fern; and such coat of thatch should be covered with earth, in the same manner as heaps(usually called pies) of potatoes are, In many places, preserved from frost. These frozen heaps would certainly preserve the turnip crops from being destroyed by the thaw which takes place at the break- ing up of every severe frost, and an that account thjs me- thod of saving them may be immensely valuable to the community. When it might become necessary to make use of this frozen heap of turnips, they should be given to caitle, oO after ee—= -‘ a= ne = a aa eg nm oer B16 TURNIPS. after the frost had been extracted, by putting them in cold water. The land may, in the foregoing manner, be cleared of turnips by the end of February, which w ill give the hus- bandmen more time to till their ground. It will save the land from being exhausted in the spring by turnips; will keep them sound, and capable of giving the utmost degree of nutrition to cattle, while greater crops of barley may be raised by being more early sown, and upon land in better heart. The turnip has three powerful enemies, namely, the fly, the slug, and the black canker. The attack of the first spots, occasioned by the fly having eaten the fleshy and green part of the leaf, down to the fibres—these usually increase in number and size, till the plants are destroy- ed. I believe the slug is even more destructive than the fly; the ravages of which are distinétly marked, by its feeding on the edges of the seed leaves, eating one piece after another, till the leaf is wholly consumed. On the view ofa field of young turnips attacked by slugs, some of the leaves have lost a quarter, others an half, three-fourths, or the whole; so that the stalk only has been left. A flock of sheep kept in motion by a boy and a dog, and also night rolling, have been used as_palliatives*. The black caterpillar makes its attack on the rough leaf after the turnip-tops are considerably advanced; in which % For the effect of train oil, in pushing turnips forward, tainting the seed leaf, and securing them from the fly and slug—see the fifth vol. ofthe Trans- aétions of the Society of Arts, page 38; ninth vol. of Annals of Agriculture, page 389.—Water in which tobacco leaves have been steeped, might be showered over the land from the tail of a cart, to render the plants nauseous. Soot has heen sovin with the same intention—7- Ms TURNIPS. 258 case ducks have proved effetual for destroying them, in the proportion of not fewer than four to an acre*,: Query— Whether any, or all, of these vermin, feed on 1€ seeds of plants; and whether they might be destroyed by poisoning and sowing such seed? The fly which produces the caterpillar, might be kept off by any thick offensive smoke being made to pass over the turnip field; but to discover the coming of the fly, would require more watchful attention than‘can be given in large concerns; nor would the wind be always favour- able for the purpose. Perhaps the best method would be, for the farmer always to have in readiness a stock of barley aff, sufficient in quantity to sow the whole of his turnip fand, on the first appearance of eithe: the caterpillar or the slug: it would be effe@tual against the slu eae after being sown, and against the other, by sh aking them from the plants to the ground by a light bush harrow f. * For much information as to this caterpillar, see Marshall’s Norfolk, vol. ii, page 291,&c. +“ce “Cat the distance of even sixteen miles from the metropolis. The price Turnips are cultivated chiefly for the cow-keepers, who buy them “* varies from three guineas and an half to eight guineas per acre, according a a to the distance, and goodness of the crop. Six guineas is a common price for a good crop at the distance of ten miles from London. Two * years ago I had a field of five acres, for which I refused e} ght guineas per. * acre from a cow-keeper. The turnips grew on a part of Enfield-chase, is a” age I had myself reclaimed from its natural v ildness and sterility. The sale of the turnip crop to the cow-Keepers, and the general practice “© of mowing meadow land for a second crop, will prevent the sheep hus- “* bandry from prevailing much in this distri€&t. The clover too is frequently é * sown to be cut green, instead of being grazed. A good crop will bring “* six guineas per acre.”’— Dr. Wilkinson. The largest crops have sold as high as ten guineas, during each of the last eae or four years; and other crops in proportion to their goodness. Ten s at this time(November 1796)|. 7. MM, ¢ = eso ala twenty acres in the winter 1795-6 for two hundred ¢ guineas; and ce t] aA au 1=‘s c 7 ran P= tumn(1796), have sold my turnips at twelve guineas per acre. ** Distance twelve miles from London."—Mr, Fenkins. 5 Py C, eo For further observations on the effec of climate and soil, as to the broad- and drill method of growinz turnips—see potatoes and til] age.— 7. MW. O02 SECT, ZY2 CROPS NOT COMMONLY CULTIVATED. SEET.V.—CROPS NOT COMMONLY CULTIVATED- i. g y tacked by slugs,&c. which are too frequently as fatal and destructive to clover, while in this tender state, as they are ** When clover is sown on wheat in strong Jand, it is particularly “© nceessary to harrow and roll.’—Northumberland Report. With this observation my own experience perfeétly accords. It is too fre i quently sown, and only rolled down: this is a bad practice, and can only Hh succeed on strong lands in wet summers.—_j%*. 17, ana B25 to ==—————= Re 228 RED CLOVER: to turnips; and the same means of prevention should bé adopted*. If it is grown on commion-field land, it should, so soon as the cotn is off, be covered with long litter from the stable, but not hot, in order to preserve it from the bite of sheep. In all cases where the soil is not in good heart, the whole should be manured, or at least as much of it as pos- sible. Some sandy lands may be dry enough to bear its being done in the spring; but on all loams that are, from their adhesion, subjeét to poach or mortar, it should be done in the autumn, while the land is so dry as to bear the drawing of loaded carts over it without receiving any injury. Whoever dungs his clover in autumn, will find that it will not die away in winter, as it often does under a more parsimonious, but less politic management f. 6. Harvesting. when the greatest number of heads are in blossom; but Every where near London, it is mown rather sooner than later, as the error of mowing the first crop too early, would be fully compensated by the increase of the second. The proper time for mowing it, may be known by observing the bottom of the plants; and care * T once lost eleven acres of ycung clover, in three or four nights, by slugs.— 7. M/Z. +“ T have spread long litter, hot and smoaking from the stable dung- S¢ hill, on my young clovers, soon after the corn was off, which thinned the “¢ plants, by killing some of them, but the rest grew the stronger, and pro- *€ duced an extraordinary great crop. I still am an advocate for manuring “© young clover in autumn, but shall doit with dung previously well rotted.” ~—Mr. Fenkins. This appears to me to have been owing more to the dung being hot and putrid, and not being well and equally spread, than to any thing else. It is the common praétice in my neighbourhood, to manure the clovers in autumn, and its good effects are so evident as to render the utility of the practice incontrovertible.—% should 10) RED CLOVER. 229 should be taken to mow it when the lowest leaves begin to shew symptoms of decay, by dropping off; for if the crop is suffered to stand longer, the consequence will be, that it will lose more at bottom than it would gain at top, This takes place near, or soon after, the middle of June. When it is mown, the swaths should not be spread, as is the practice with meadow hay, but suffered to lie as the scythe leaves them, until they are dried about two-thirds through, which, if the weather proves favourable, will be in about three days. If the weather should then look promising, the swaths may be turned with rakes imme- diately after the dew is off; and, if no rain falls, it will be fit to cock the next morning(the fourth day) as soon as the dew is gone; and may be carried in diredtly. If this is done as soon as the dew is off, the leaves wil] be just sufficiently tough to preserve them, but when this operation is omitted in the morning, and performed in the heat of the day, the leaves will be too dry, reduced to dust, and lost in the business of heaping and loading. If, however, it is heaped in good time, the loading and stacking may go on all the dav. When part of it is be- come rather too dry, there is an art in putting the rows into heaps, to avoid rubbing the leaves off. This is only familiar to some of the best work-people, and is rathey dificult to describe, but it is done by very lightly rolling the swaths over with rather larger forks than usual, keep- ing it whole or together, laying it lightly into the cock, and being careful to avoid breaking and tossing it about, shoving it on the ground, or beating it down. The cattle should be kept out of the field, and the second crop will be in full blossom, and ready for the scythe, so as to be mown the last week in August. This crop must be harvested as the first, and should not be longer delayed, both on account of its losing in weight, as E3 aforesaid, 230 RED CLOVER. aforesaid, and of getting it into stack before the equinoctial rains set in. After this, there will be a little sheep-feed previous to ploughing the land up*. 4. Produce.—A showery summer produces great crops, and every dry one stunts them to one half. The natural quality of the soil has a considerable effect, and its being in an high or low state of cultivation, has still more; but on the general average of years and soils in this county, the two cuttings produce about three loads of marketable hay; which, for the last fifteen or twenty years, may have yielded twelve guineas per acrey. 8. How disposed of.—Most of it is sold and delivered in London for the support of draught horses; and it is the general opinion, that it is more nourishing than any other hay, except sainfoin, and sells at about fifteen shil- lings a ton higher than meadow hay. Clover is the most profitable plant grown on any farm, and in every Case, when it is destroyed by vermin, such as the fly, slug,&c. the corn stubble should be ploughed down soon after the corn 1s reaped, and the land sown with tares. This plant grows a full crop in all the arable lands of this country, from the sands of Norfolk to the clays of Cleveland and Sussex. Various soils that have been ex- hausted by corn, and not much accustomed to clover, * Mr. Lemon, of Loddon(Norfolk) in 1793, fed a thick plant of clover down by his stock of cows, sheep and horses, during the month of May. He then let it grow for a crop of seed, and it produced him four bushels per acre,which he sold at thirty-six shillings per bushel, or seven pounds four shillings per acre. The seed was of the best quality, and in 1795 would have produced five guineas a bushel. His father once had eight bushels per acre.— JF. M. + T have had clover hay that produced me twenty pounds an acre.— 7. MV. have ——— ~~ aii e= Se— a SS ee= 53 RED CLOVER. 231 chial have been so much restored by it, as to produce a good feed crop of wheat; but to do this, every means should be used to secure a full crop, as that is an excellent preparation for corn, and seldom fails of ensuring a considerable pro-~ : duce, arising from shade, smother, and putrefaction, the ps, 9 5D) b)> tis.~ ml natural and constant attendants of full grown clover. In ah some poor cases, it may be advisable to permit both the 1} 4 5 ms<“ Bt) first and second crops of clover to be eaten green upon the ra land, by sheep and bullocks; being mown, and given LY, alla: a them to feed, in the same manner as I have recommended ab 1G‘ a to be done with tares. It sometimes may be advisable to ALla P) ; make hay of the first crop, and soil the second, or vice versa. ** Clover is sometimes emploved in fattening sheep, ;‘* from the beginning of April till the end of May(by In et sae‘ ae }‘¢ which time, or sooner, they may be sold to the butcher), 1€: eas:: ** then kept uneaten till July, and mown for hay: in ny Zp>:; aa ‘* about two or three weeks after the said hay is off, shee :? P a** intended to be fattened with turnips, should be turned ;‘© in, and kept there till they go to turnips. With the ) ‘¢ exception of uncommon rich marshes, there is no pas- ture that will support so much stock as clover and rve- Pi y grass.”—(Messrs. Culley), Wh FXPENCES. is of 1 c 1 c e E 15 lb. of red clover, and sib. of white, at 6d. La V5 0: eee ay, at Se a a| | is 10s. sowing the seed and repairing hedge- bo 130 a rows and gates 3s. together-= ner, Mowing, making, team, stacking, straw and la- 1 ee the(ots. bour, to thatching the stack-- J Ler 86 Dung, or top dressing, or showering with liquid E1020 = manure, when used= z= ule pet. Catry forward~-—- See foe 16-0 M. BR 4 Brought ave Saiates=:——:— a=— ee ee 232 RED CLOVER. Brought forward-- Dia ae sae| Cutting, tying, and marketing, 4s. per load, t., gra but say per acre~--- J Total expences of the first crop peracre-£.3 60 The 2d crop.—Mowing and making as es, said, 15s. cutting, binding, and marketing, as$0 19 0 aforesaid, 4s. together=“- J Total expences of the year-= fA Eo THE PRODUCE AND PROFIT OF A CROP OF CLOVER. The first crop varies from one load(of 18 cwt.) to three. E( The second crop from half a load to two loads. Together, from one load and an half to five loads. About three loads, I think, would average the county. The price in the London markets would average about fifteen shillings a load higher than meadow hay; and for the last three or four years it has produced about sl. 1s. but suppose it only at sl. 10s. per load, and the hay would produce 151. ros. per acre. After the second crop is off the land, therey f. 5s. d. is usually a little sheep-feed, worth about 6 s Se~ I ee oO five shillings an acre, which makes the en- 5 tire produce of an acre of clover- Deduct the expences of the whole crop, as . I lee, - 4 before stated== a 2 Remainspct cre= ee, L220 Q SAINFOINs SS LTS Shab NEES TON, Is not grown in any. part of this county; but the su- perior value of its hay is well known in the London markets: it produces at least a guinea a ton more than meadow hay equally well cured. It is brought from the chalk-hills of Surrey and Kent, and cannot be too much recommended to the owners and occupiers of all thin skinned, limestone, and chalk soils in the kingdom. This is a valuable plant, and requires a dry and strongly calcarious scil:.such as have a subsoil of chalk, of lime- stone, or perhaps of shell marl, are the most suitable for its cultivation*. 1 do not know of any land in Middlesex that 1s particularly proper for it. With all the improvers of chalky downs and thin limestone soils, this should be the principal plant. Tares, turnips, clover, should all be fed green, and in the field, to prepare the soil with rich substances jor being laid down with sain- Join. It would amply repay to the end of a twenty-one >] | years’ lease, by:an annual prcduce of two tons of hay per e acre, of the highest quality for the feeding of-cattle, and * Sainfoin should be the principal crop on all lands that have depth of dry calcarious soil.—/f Norfolk Report). Two hundred and sixty-five waggon loads of hay cut from one hundred acres, at Holkham(Norfolk) in 1793, worth five guineaseach, some in the neighbourhood being sold at that price.—/ Annals of Agriculture, vol. xxig page 125). Sainfoin(says Mr. Claridge) would afford a great supply of hay, if ** sown on the poorest and most hilly parts of the county of Dorset Sean he advises the landlords to** allow the tenants the cost of the seed, which “is as high as thirty shillings an acre, and too expensive for the tenants to ** pay.’’—~As well might he recommend to the landlords to plough, manure, and sow the farms, and let the tenants reap the produce; He must be very short-sighted, who could say ofthe open and uninclosed poor downs,‘* he ** does not see that any improvement can be made.’’— F. the 234 LAYING ARABLE LAND DOWN TO GRAS: the raising mountains of the richest dung. What anc upier should always remember is, that rich land make cupier snould aiways remember 1s, that rich land makes W ealtl ly far Mers Ill. LAYING ARABLE LAND DOWN GRAS THE most usual method in this county, Is to manure well, and to cleanse the soil thoroughly with hoeing crops, one year previous to sowing hay-seeds with bar lege or oats. In cases where the soil is so rich that there might be some risk in sowing a full crop of corn, by which the grass would be smothered, less corn is sown, even below one half the usual quantity of seed, in order that it may serve the double purpose of a nurse to rear up the young plants, and a shade against the r rays of too hot a sun.. When the oO corn is carried off, the young g crop of grass is but ee tle fed during autumn; but it is hour rolled in— 1e following o Oo spring, in order to press the soil home to the roots; nd i 1s then treated as permanent grass. The foregoing method is perfeétly wnexceptionable, as to all land that has been well supplied with manure. Where it 1s known that the land is not so hi ighly condition- ed, the operation would be equally successful by cleansing the Sie well after a crop of winter tares had been fed ¢ upon it; then laying on manure, ploughing it in with a ery thin furrow, and in August or September sowing grass-seeds without corn. The produce will be a most abundant crop of hay(though rather coarse) the next summer*# *] have changed much land from arable to grass, by both these methods, with equal success, except in a single instance, which convinced me that the trefoils will not stand a severe winter, when sown Jate in September.—‘F. 7. To fo") LAYING ARABLE LAND DOWN TO GRASS. 235 To procure proper seeds for the purpose, Is a very dif- ficult part of the business. Large quantities are sold at ten-pence per bushel, at the royal mews, Charing-cross; here the dest hay. is consumed, consequently it is the most likely place to procure the best seeds; and certainly, upon examination, they look particularly bright and well; but this appearance Is prin cipally owing to the greater part consisting of blossoms, imstead of seeds; the reason of which must be, that the hay was made while the grass was in blossom, before the bulk of the seeds were per- fe€ted; so that, probably among twenty. bushels of these pretended seeds, there is not really contained more than two pecks ina good and perfect state. But then they a of the earliest kind, and will generally consist of the mea- dow fox-tail. This grass 1s of great value, and its seeds may be collected with ease, and in plenty, from the swaths, during mowing time, by children. But for a renera} assemblage of meadow grasses, the best wav is to save for seed a piece of fine old meadow, that is known to abound with the best sort of grasses, by letting it stand about three or four weeks longer than usual, or until it be ripe. Then mow the grass, and thrash it, without suf- fering it to heat in the stack; and during the autumn of the same year, sow the land you intend to lay down with the seeds thus procured.“Lo which add for every acre, rolb. of white clover, 3|b. of yellow clover, 2lb. of red honey-suckle, slb. of timothy, ilb. of ribwort, and 2 or 2|b. of burnet; together with soft-grass, fox-tail, rye- grass(and, in some Cases, sainfoin), or any other meadow erasses that may be obtainable*. * Plants with fibrous roots, should be accompanied by such as have a tap- root, in order that, growing at different depths, they may find their respec- tive nourishment with the least injury to each other.—F. MZ. Farms iat a 226 LAYING ARABLE LAND DOWN To GRASS. Farms on the western coast should, I think, after being well drained, be laid pretty generally down with grass- seeds. The humidity of the climate in that distri of the island, is certainly unfavourable to the general growth of corn; though the drier lands in this situation are excellent for root crops. Grass should undoubtedly be the staple; roots might be grown to clean and renovate the land, and one crop of corn to lay down with. This would keep all the west in a constant high state of fertility. Mr. Marshall very justly observes,« that grasses im- prove the land, and those who wisely adhere to having ** a large proportion of their farm in them, may boast of a constant plenty of crops. It is the subterfuge of ig- € ras norance or knaves, to say that grasses do not thrive in their lands; but the true reason is, because they do not lay the lands in proper condition, nor with proper grasses and good seeds; for certain it is, that where corn ** grows, there grasses may grow also; and that they are, when properly managed, very profitable to the farmer, let his land be whatever it will, as they keep the land constantly in good heart, and so afford the most constant *¢ and rich produce to the cultivator.” I am sorry to say, it is the practice of some farmers, in most other counties, to continue sowing corn so long as the land will produce any, and then to apply to the land- lord or his steward, saying that they are ready to lay such 2 field(thus shamefully exhausted!) down to grass, pro- vided he will give them permission to plough up an equal quantity of old grass land. In this application they tuo often succeed; and thus they go on ruining one field aft SECH. oa HAY-MAKING., A| SECT. L11;——HAY-MAKING. Tuts branch of the rural art has, by the farmers of Middlesex, been brought to a degree of perfection altoge- ther unequalled by any other part of the kingdom. The neat husbandry, and superior skill and management, that are so much, and justly, admired in the arable farmers of the best cultivated distriéts, may, with equal justice and propriety, be said to belong, ina very eminent degree, to the hay farmers of Middlesex: for by them, may very fairly be claimed the merit of having reduced the art of making good hay to a regular system; which, after having stood the test of long practice and experience, is found to be attended with the most desirable success. Even in the most unfavourable weather, the hay made according to the Middlesex manner, is superior to that made by any other method, under similar circumstances. It is to be regretted, that this very excellent practice has not vet; except ina very few instances, travelled beyond the borders of the county. But as it most justly deserves the attention and imitation of farmers in other distriéts, I shall, for their information, endeavour minutely to describe the method in which the Middlesex farmers make their hay. In order that the subject may be more clearly under- stood, I shall relate the particular operations of each day, during the whole process, from the moment in which the mower first applies his scythe, to that in which the hay is secured either in the barn or in the stack. Before I enter more immediately on this task, I would just premise a few observations, viz. when the grass is nearly fit for mowing, the Middlesex farmer endeavours to select the best mowers, in number proportioned to the quantity of his grass, and :: ty ee a ee ae the leneth of time it would be advisable to have it in i TUT i Oana ae HAY-MAKING. 1 hand—which having done, he letts it out; as piece-work, or to be mown by the acre*: About the same time he provides five hay-makers(men and women+) to each mower. These last are paid by the day—the men atte nding from six till six; but the wo- nen only from Eien till i=:—for an extra hour or so in the evening, when the business requires dispatch, they re- ceive a proportionate al ieee ce. The mowers usually begin their work at three, four, ® or five o’clock in the morning, and continue to labour till seven or eight at night; resting an hour or two in the middle of the day. Every hay-maker is expected to come provided with a fork and a rake of his own; but when the grass is ready, and labourers scarce, the farmer is ean obliged to provide both; but for the most part only the rake. Every part of the operation is carried on with forks, except clearing the ground,“which is done with rakes; and loading the carts, which is done by hand. Having premised so much, I now come to the descrip- tion of the business of the First Day.—Al\ the grass mown defore nine o’clock in the morning, is tedded(or spread), and great care taken to shake it out of every lump, and to strew it evenly over all the ground. Soon afterwards it is turned, with the same degree of care and attention; and if, from the num- ber of hands, they are able to turn the whole again, they do so, or at least as much of it as they can, till twelve or one o’clock, at which time they dine. he first thing to * Each man mows from an acre and an half to an acre and three quarters per day; some there are, who do two acres per day, during the whole sea- son.— 7. M. + Including loaders, pitchers and stackers, and all others.— 7. J. t a Oo peer: a == bee fie Senewane": 3 3— i ena~-=< ¥ Samet Se SiS an. SED SSS nee gg HAY-MAKING. 239 be done after dinner, is to rake it into what are called siugle windrows*; and the last operation of this day is to put it into grass-cocks. Second Day.—The business of this day commences with tedding all the grass that was mown the first day after nine o’clock, and all that was mown this day J4efore nine o'clock. Next, the grass-cocks are to be well shaken out anto staddles(or separate plats) of five or six yards diameter. If the crop should be so thin and light as to leave the spaces between these staddles rather large, such spaces must be immediately raked clean, and the rakings mixed with the other hay, in order to its all drying of a uniform colour. The next business is to turn the staddles, and after that to turn the grass that was tedded in the first part of the morning, once or twice, in the manner described for the first day.‘his should all be done before twelve or one o’clock, so that the whole may hie to dry, while the work-people are at dinner. After dinner, the first thing to be done is, to rake the staddles into double win- drows t+; next, to rake the grass into simgle windrows; then the double windrows are put into bastard-cocks; and lastly, the single windrows are put into grass-cocks. This completes the work of the second day. Third Day.—The grass mown and not spread on the second day, and also that mown in the early part of this day, is first to be tedded in the morning; and then the grass-cocks are to be spread into staddles, as before, * That is, they all rake in such a manner, as that each person makes a row, which rows are three or four feet apart.—_‘F MM. + In doing which, every two persons rake the hay in opposite directions, or towards each other, and by that means form a row between them of double the size of a single windrow. Each of these double windrows are about six or eight feet distant from each other.—7%. 1, and 240 HRAY-MAKING. and the bastard-cocks into staddles of less extent. These lesser staddles, though last spread, are first turned, then those which were in grass-cocks; and next the grass is turned once or twice before twelve or one o’clock, when the people go to dinner as usual. If the weather has proved sunny and fine, the hay which was last night in bastard- cocks, will this afternoon be in a proper state to be car- ried*; but if the weather should, on the contrary, have been cool and cloudy, no part of it probably will be fit to carry. In that case, the first thing set about after dinner, is to rake that which was in grass-cocks last night into double windrows; then the grass which was this morning spread from the swaths, into single windrows. After this, the hay which was last night in bastard-cocks is made up into full sized cocks, and care taken to rake the hay up clean, and also to put the rakings upon the top of each cock. Next, the double windrows are put into bastard-cocks, and the sinele windrows into grass-cocks, as onthe preceding davs. g od P o P} Fourth Day—On this day the great cocks, just men- tioned, are usually carried before dinner. The other operations of the day ate such, and in the same order, as before described, and are continued daily until the hay harvest is completed. In the course of hay-making, the grass should, as much as possible, be protected both day and night, against rain and dew, by cocking. Care should also be taken to proportion the number of hay-makers to that of the mowers, so that there may not be more grass in hand, at any one time, than can be managed according to the fore- going process. This progortion is. about twenty hay- makers(of which number twelve may be women) to four * It seldom happens in dry weather, but that it may be carried on the third day.—F. MM, MOWETIS:- Sea ae —~e.. he rS? P) HAY-MAKING. 241 mowers: the latter are sometimes taken half a day to assist the former. But in hot, windy, or very drying see a greater proportion of hay-makers will be required, than when the weather is cloudy and cool. It is particularly necessary to guard against spreading more hay than the number of hands can get into cock the same day, or before rain. In showery and uncertain weather, the grass may sometimes be suffered to lie three, four, or even five days in swath. But before it has lain long enough for the under side of the swath to become yellow(which, if suffered to lie long, would be the case), particular care should be taken to turn the swaths with the Lae BPS ee EOE a sera hu esa)| Peale deme te pee OnE heads of the rakes. In this state it will cure so mucl ih, about two days, as only to require being tedded a few hours, when the weather is fine, previous to its pene put together, and carried. In this manner, hay may be made j 1] j c 7 and stacked at a small expence, and of a good colour; but the tops and bottoms of ihe grass are insufhciently separated Dy it. There are no hay-stacks more neatly formed, nor better : J those of Middlecer A eee ST ee, secured, than those of Middlesex. At every vacant time, “Tale Alle Sa vanracee Pay ey ane ae 1 while the stack is carrying up, the men are employed in < ay| pea a) bend Yayo Nie yt) Ba Rees 1 NE With the1 hands, imtoa A prope Cl r shape 3 and, about iy(Gans Pht ey ed ues Lear 1, Bea Be US Sse eee(ors ray tnce ene D e a week after it is finished, the whole roof is properly thatched, and then secured from re elving any damage from the wind, by means of (raw TOpe,& xtended along the eves, up the ends, and near the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut evenly below the eves of the k, just of sufhcient length for the rain-water to drip quite clear of the hay. When the stack happens to be placed in a situation which may y be suspected of being too damp in the winter, a trench, of about se or eight inches deep, is dug round, and nearly close to it, which serves to convey all the water from the spot, and renders it per- l Q. Ip Se en= ee 242 HAY-MAKING. In the neighbourhood of Harrow, Hendon, and Finchley, there are many hay-barns capable of holding from 30 to 50, and some even 100, loads of hay. They are found to be extremely useful and convenient during a catching and unsettled hay-harvest*, and also at other seasons of the year. In wet and windy weather, they afford an opportu- nity of cutting, weighing, and binding hay; none of which operations could, at such a time, be performed out of docrs. The farmers whom I have consulted on this subject, agree that hay may be put together earlier, even by a day, ina barn, than it would be safe to doin a stack.“They advise, how- ————————————___ oo ever, that the sides of the mow should be raked or pulled clear of the quartering of the barn; and, when thus WOES SE. they are of opinion that the hay will be as good y g 1 1 he barn as in the stack Vir. Marsh; of Berea. observes, that hay put into barns is apt to be dusty on the sides next the boards; and, that Aon the smallness of the quantity put together, it has too much outside, and consequently subject to be over dry In this case, he says, it should be sold before Lady-day. These objections,| cannot but think, are, in a great mea- sure unfounded. The second can certainly only happen where the barns ate too small; and as to the others, I can answer, that I have had three barns at a time full of hay: the boards and quartering were swept clean immediately * In the very coéntmon case of approaching rain wlten the hay is fit to be carried, every nerve is exerted to secure as much of it as possible; and that is certainly best done by getting all the carts loaded and drawn into the barns, and the hay quickly pitched on tothe mows, and there left in the lump to be spread at atime of less bustle, at least from so many of the carts as the time and weather will admit of being re-loaded, and again drawn into the barns When rain falls, no apprehension need be entertained, for, by only shutting the doors, the hay is effeCtually secured against even the dews. In case the weather should continue unfavourable, the full carts that are in the barn can be unloaded, and the mow may be pulled, trodden down, and put to rights.—F J, before HAY-MAKING. 2.43 before depositing it; they were filled completely; and I had the hay trodden down as much as possible. The sides of the mows were neither raked nor pulled, as I was of opinion that 2a a measure would be an unnecessary loss of room. When this hay came to be bound out, the whole was found to a perfetly free from dust, of good smell and colour*, and solid at as high a price as the best hay from the stack-yard. It was all made without receiving any rain, and that which was /east prepared was put into the daras. The Middlesex farmers are desirous of preserving the green colour of their hay as much as possible; though a lightish brown is of no dis-service to it. Hay of a deep brown colour, occasioned by its having heated too much in the stack, is said to weaken the horses that eat it, by promoting an excess of urine, and consequently it sells at a ie ae The after-grass is lett by the farmers, at about 10s. an acre, to be a off by heavy cattle, till such time as the land would receive injury by their poaching, were they continued in it; and after that, by sheep till Candlemas: or the latter ate at 3s. per score per week. In the making of a some aitention should be paid to the sabes of Fic soil, and the kind of herbage growing on it. Lhe hard, benty, hay, of a poor soil, is in little or no danger of firing. in the stack; and should, therefore, be put * Except only the smell of such of the hay as lay against weatherboard- ing, on the shady sides of the barn; but even this was confined to the sur- face. It was without dust, and no way injured in its colour. + On this subje&t, the following valuable observation was made in the margin of one of the returned Reports:—‘* If you would make your hay “* come out of the stack of a fine colour, and the beauty of the flowers to appear, the hay you have shaken out of bastard cocks to prepare for “* carting, should be cocked in the heat, and remain till the next morning; ** then turn and open the cocks, for the air to take away the damp that is ** collected, which otherwise would heat in the stack, and of course the *“ beauty of the colour would be done away.’? Q 2 Mery 244 HAY-MAKING. very early together, in order to promote a considerable per- spiration, as the only means of imparting a flavour to such hay, which will make it agreeable to horses and lean-eattle: it will be nearly unfit for every other sort of stock. It is the succulent herbage of rich land, or land highly ma- generate heat sufficient to burst into flame, as it has sometimes done; of course, the grass nured, that 1s more Itkely to from such land must have more time allowed in making it into hay.‘This the Middlesex farmers are perfectly aware of; and, when the weather proves moderately dry- ing, they make most excellent hay. But when very hot or scorching, they, as well as most other farmers under similar circumstances, are sometimes mistaken. In such weather the grass becomes crisp, rustles, and handles like hay, before the sap is sufficiently dissipated for it to be in astate fit to be put into large stacks. But if that be done when it is thus insufficiently made, it generally heats too much; sometimes becomes mow-burnt, and, in some cases, though very rarely, has taken fire*. The great quantity they have in hand at the same time, makes it extremely difficult to carry the whole gust at the moment it is sufficiently made; although it is certainly of considerable consequence that it should be so, 7 order to its yielding the greatest possible weight, and preserving its best quality; as, every minute after that precise time, if continues to lose, both in weight and in its nutritious pro- perties, by evaporation+. Even the difference of an hour, in a very hot drying day, is supposed to occasion a loss of 15 or 20 per cent. on the hay, by its being carricd beyond the point of perfection; and frequently even a greater loss is * Hay stacked in a barnin the same state, would not heat too much; and as to firing, no such thing was ever known.— 7. + Every thing we smell affords proof positive, that more than watry particles evaporate.—F. J, 2 sustained. HAY-MAKING. 246 sustained. Hence the importance, to a hay-farmer, of having a machine calculated to put the hay together with great dispatch, and just at the right time.(See my descrip- tion of a sweep, in the Appendix). It is very truly remarked, that there are more hay-stacks fired in a fine dry summer than a wet one; and various are the methods* used in different places to prevent hay from taking fire in the stack, by drawing off the hot vapour or steam; but the misfortune is, that all of them are sure to produce mouldy and bad hay on every side of such opens ings or vents, and of course they are justly reprobated by every good hay-maker, and should only be resorted to in cases of necessity f. The expences are, per acre, as under, viz. is Mowing 3s. beer 6d.---- O35 6 Making and stacking--- i) 0108-6 Pulling the stack, and laying the hay pulled 1g G out, upon the stack~ 2“ Horses, harness and carts-=: Qn2 0 Straw for thatch 3s. thatcher and labourer 6d. 0 3 6 Total expence per acre in the stack-yard, is 19 or 20s. If the hay be put into barns, the last charge of 3s. 6d, will not, of course, be incurred; most of the third, and part of the second, will also be saved; so that the whole expence in this case will not exceed 15s. per acre, * Such as square troughs, bored full of holes; or two opposite boards, see cured about nine inches apart by short laths nailed on them; or by drawing up the middle of the stack, a basket, filled with straw or hay. Some persons, on discovering that the stack heats too much, cut a square hole from the top to the bottom of it.—F. M7. + The bands for binding trusses are made of the most dusty, coarse and ordinary hay. A stack of forty loads will require two loads of binders; therefore two loads of dusty,&¢c. hay, in such a stack, is not any loss to the farmer.— 7. M. Q 3 Having 245 HAY-MAKING. Having thus stated the general practice of the hay- farmers of this county, together with my own observa- tions and experience thereon; I shall now subjoin the several remarks, opinions, and observations, transmitted to the Board by various persons, through the medium of the first Reports circulated for the purpose of obtaining in- formation on this, as weil as many other branches of the rural art. In the margin of one of these Reports, a gentleman ex- presses himself thus:“ It is certain, there cannot be 2 ‘< more desirable obje& in the whole line of agriculture, ila, ‘S ‘* than'to discover a method of making hay to advantage “ in wet weather; and it seems not a little strange, that <¢ among all the improvements carrying on in this improv- ‘‘ ing age, no attention has been paid to this necessary ‘* business till within these two years, when the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,&c. offered a premium ‘«¢ for such a discovery. It is not to be expected, that “‘ under the present system of hay-making, any thing 66 advantageous can be done; but let the ingenious turn ‘¢ their thoughts to the object, and it is to be hoped that «¢ some means may be found out, by which this desirable ‘¢ end may be obtained. And we may be the more san- ¢ suine in our expectations, when it is considered how «¢ many things, formerly judged impossible, have of late ‘* been found practicable.‘T’o instance one among many <¢ others, the spinning above two hundred threads by one ‘¢ person 1s now common, which, within our memory, ‘¢ was treated as a chimera, and declared totally imprac- ee cticanle:|| A second gentleman makes the following just remark: “A a The art of hay-making in Middlesex is well known 6 n to be the most advantageous that can be contrived, in so s¢ variable a climate; and the best not only in Britain, “ but HAY-MAKING., 247 «© but in Europe. The skill of the Middlesex farmer in «¢ this article, deserves to be disseminated.” Mr. Baird, in the first Report of this county, says, ~ nx In a very fine dry summer, such as that of 1793, it is n ¢ n a common and just remark, that more hay is spoiled by a « heating, in consequence of the farmer being in too ‘« oreat haste to get it stacked, or put into a rick, than in < wet seasons. The reason of which is, that although « the grass appears to be dead and dry, yet it often hap- pens, that the sap of it is not sufficiently evaporated « before it is stacked. This it is which causes it to heat «¢ so as frequently to take fire.” Upon the foregoing opinion Dr. Walker has written the following observation, viz.“ On the subject of hay- «© making, the author advances here a very fallacious ¢ and 4 ” hazardous doctrine, founded on a vague remark, which «« is contradicted by general experience concerning the « state of hay in dry and wet summers. It is the moisture « yecetved from the atmosphere, and not the sap of the ‘¢ orass, that is the general cause of the heating of hay. s« If the grass is dead, which it soon is in dry weather; “ and has not been wetted by rain, it may be early stacked ‘s with safety. But though it were never so dead and dis- “© coloured, if it has been drenched with rain, and stacked «6 without being skin dry, it will most certainly heat.” Mr. Baird also, in the above-mentioned Report, writes as follows:“* Others recommend hay-barns, covered in «« with tiles; and chimneys, with holes in the shafts, to «© Jet out the foul air, and a communication below, «© between the shafts and the open air, made with brick «© in the manner of adrain. By improving the quality of ‘ the hay, and saving it from accidents, any expence ‘ attending their construction will, it is said, be amply ‘* repaid in the space of two or three years, and conse-~ A 6+ Q 4** quenily $¢ 248 HAY-MAKING. *¢ quently the first cost is the only objet of considera- «© tion.” Dr. Walker combats these observations of Mr. Baird in the following words:“ That hay-barns can compen- &¢ 15 sate their expence, in two or three years, by the quality *‘ of the hay; or that they ever can compensate thei? expence at all; are delusions against which both farm- ** ers and proprietors ought to be on their guard.” On this last observation of the worthy Doétor I must beg leave to remark, that it is, I believe, in dire& oppo- sition to the opinions of the best hay-farmers in the county, and contrary to my own experience. For, in the dries: 7 ¢ seasons, barns are a saving of four or five shillings an acre; AB Fed kane a} eee enc ae=“Ro] alt and, in wet seasons, the ready assistance which they anord, in speedily securing the hay, has been known to make: difference in price of twenty shillings per load on asmal] num- ber of loads. Besides, are not the Doétor’s two remarks at variance with each other? In the former he says,« ie ‘* is the moisture received from the atmosphere, and not ** the sap of the grass, that is the general cause of the “* heating of hay.”’—If this be true, then darns must be useful and proper, since they are the only means yet de- vised, for preserving the hay from atmospherical moisture; in addition to which, they exclude the current of external air, which 1s the immediate cause of the ignition of the hot vapour at the instant of its escape from the hay-stack. In the barn, this hot vapour, or steam, is confined in the empty space between the hay-mow and the roof, until it has parted with so much heat, as to be incapable of taking fire when it comes in contact with the external air, in its escape from the barn. It is further absolutely determined by general experi- ence, that ay which has not been exposed to rain at all, is much more liable to fire in the stack than that which has eS HAY-MAKING. 249 has been drenched with it. Indeed the latter seldom heats so much as the farmers wish it to do, since a moderate degree of heat would improve its flavour; but that is srevented by its becoming too much made during every process yet known for drying it. On the contrary, all such hay as is put into the stack without being skin dry, universally becomes coated with a stinking mould; or, as the Middlesex farmers call it, dust. The following observations respeCting the custom of mowing meadow-land twice, or oftener, were transmitted to the Board without a name. “« No good farmer thinks of mowing his meadow-lands ¢* more than once a year, unless he has, or can easily pro- «* cure, dung sufficient to cover the ground immediately A ‘ after the second mowing.” oe The farmers used to mow the whole of their ground as often as possible, but experience has taught them, that a better method is, to mow only once a year, and feed all the after-grass, with the intention of increasing the principal crop of the following year. Another gentleman has written the succeeding account in the margin of one of the first Reports, viz. ‘¢ A valuable experiment was made in South-mims ‘* parish a few years back, on some meadow-lands that «« had, for many years, been poached or trod by heavy ** cattle.‘Phe land being naturally a cold clay soil, it ** produced a sharp, coarse, complicated grass: in the ¢* month of March the land was cross-harrowed, by which «* means this complicated grass was turned up, and, when ‘* the roots were sufficiently perished, it was again har- <* rowed, and sown with Dutch clover: a small dressing “* of old dung, consisting of yard and stable dung mixed ** with road scrapings collefted in hollows, was laid on, 6 7 and harrowed well with a strong bush harrow. The “¢ first _—-~~= oe’ egy Tani t oA Ee ieee pi a an i es 250 HAY-MAKING. first crop produced two loads and.an half per acre; the second crop one load per acre, of an excellent quality. This experiment was proved by Mr. Raine, on a farm ‘“‘ belonging to George Byng, Esq. It is obvious, that this black complicated grass will always breed on cold *< clay land that is fed late, and trod by heavy cattle.” The following remarks are also copied from marginal notes written in the Reports returned to the Board. «¢ Neither the Middlesex nor the Kentish farmer, has ‘* favoured you with any attempt at making hay im seasons «© unfavourable to that business.“The mode I have always ‘* pursued, is, the first fine day that comes, to break out 2}) ‘* what grass is cut, turn it, windrow it, and get it into <¢ small cocks: the next fine day, as soon as the ground is 6¢ dry,[ break a few of the cocks out at a time, and keep «© them continually moving till I get them quite dry; then ‘¢ T put three or four of them into one cock. I proceed in this manner till I have got them all broke out, and ‘6 served as above; and should the weather still continue unfavourable for hay-making, I never venture to break ‘© those cocks out again, but I take every opportunity of ‘¢ draw through them. I pursued the above plan in the a wet summer 1781, and by that means made more good a w hay that year than any person in the neighbourhood a « where I then lived.” «©[ am thoroughly convinced that grass cut full of sap roleann, oO P> a . is not likely to receive much damage from small showers ‘* of rain, till it is nearly made into hay; and, on the “6 othe her hand, grass cut when the bents are quite ripe, fs “ liable to he damaged by every trifling shower that falls. «© When the grass is thin, or stands to be quite ripe, I “ have known it only just broke out, raked together, bé 1 cocked, and the next day put into a rick, without its “ being eo FEEDING. 25% ** being over-heated, or any way injured by such hasty ** proceedings: were they to give such hay much making, ‘* it would never settle in the rick.” The foliowing observations on the Middlesex method of hay-making, are taken from a letter written by Thomas Skip Dyot Bucknall, Esq. *«* By this regular method of tedding grass for hay, the ** hay will be of a more valuable quality, heats more ‘* equally in the stack, consequently not so liable to da- ‘* mage, or fire: willbe of greater quantity, when cut into rr, trusses, and sell at a better price; for when the gras ‘ is suffered to lay a day or two before it is tedded out o the swath, the upper surface is so dried by the sun and winds, and the interior part is not dried, but withered, so that thes herbs lose much, both as to quality and ~ w quantity, which are very material circumstances, at the ‘* price hay now fetches at market. An instance in point: the physic gardeners who attend to their business, are ** very careful, in the proper and equally drying their ¢* herbs, and they find their account in it,”’ SECT. 1V.—FEEDING. T po not know of any land in this county being applied to the fattening of cattle for the butcher. Indeed the pro- duce can always be sold for ready money, at such high prices, asto render any system of grazing a losing business. A. bullock would eat as much hay, turnips, oil-cake, 8c. in a week, as could be sold for twelve shillings; and he would probably increase in value in that time about six. Of course the farmer would lose six shillings a week per head by feeding bullocks; and sheep would occasion a proportionate logs, lam judicious : ee= x ee ee —— a 252 FEEDING. T am fully persuaded that all the straw and haulm in the for thatching buildings and littering cattle, might be easily converted into wholesome food, and made to contribute ma- terially towards the rearing and support of lean stock, by the simple operation of cutting it into chaff; and, in some cases, by the commixture of roots and other articles, in order to render it more palatable, and to induce the cattle to eat an increased quantity. When so prepared, it should be given to them in mangers of rather a large size, and calculated to prevent waste. There can be no doubt but this method of preparing and consuming straw, haulm, &c. would tend considerably to increase the number of black cattle; and, when compared with the present prac- tice of treading and rotting it into manure of a poor qua- lity, must be considered of great national importance. Thus the straw,&c. is not only rendered fit for the support of live stock; but, by being digested, and passed through their bodies, it must become a much more highl enriched manure than in the ordinary way of treading and rotting. The astonishing increase that would probably take place in the number of stock, in consequence of this mode of feeding, would effectually reduce the price of lean neat cattle, and con= sequently the price of butcher’s meat in general. Cut straw is also found to be extremely useful for bullocks while fattening for the butcher on roots, oil-cake, distiller’s wash, or indeed any soft food which does not admit of chewing the cud; as this defect may be as well corrected by the use of chopped straw, in the way just mentioned, as by that of any other and more expensive diet. Varying the food of stock, while fattening, as much as possible, is allowed to promote quick feeding in a very great degree.‘This variety may easily be furnished by a FEEDING. 253 : judicious mixture of the several articles adapted to that : purpose, and the quality at the same time may be consider- | ably improved. Some kinds of food, that are loathed by cattle while in an unmixed state, are rendered both palatable and nu- tritious, by being incorporated with other articles. Even oil has been found greatly nutritive, merely by having been mixed with bran, and given to cattle. It is supposed that lint-seed is more fattening than any other, which is probably owing to its containing a oe portion of oil. Melasses has also beén given with boiled Indian corn, and found to fatten oxen very quickly*. | 1 During the present war, an astonishing quantity of hay was exported from this county to the armies in Germany, after having been previously compressed into ao one Pe Re ba ay aay atiaral comnace a oe> of the] third of its natural compass, by means of the double ser presses in common use among the packers. I aK ee a y Lit ss eres eo eta a yas ne olnrenae~ renders even the most bulky articles infinitely more con- venient and portable, and consequently better calculated for nient anc pol table, anGd consequent y pe.ter Caiculatead Iror conveyance from one place to another, either when on shi key board or in camp; as it is evident they may be removed with much greater ease and alacrity when so compressed than could otherwise be the case. Hay, straw, or indeed any article capable of sustaining the necessary pressure, might, after being thus reduced in point of bulk, be much more readily conve yed, either by land or water carriage, with less than half die number of carriages, horses, and boats, now im general use for that purpose. * See a letter from L. Millington, Esq. in the Appendix. CHAPTER. Ee ~~ teat a Saag a Pp ME ae 5 eicsia-= ait a cal i.= SS— a 254 FRUIT-GARDENS, PEAY PER ix GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. SECT. I:—FRUIT-GARDENS: FROM Kensington, through Hammersmith, Chis- wick, Brentford, Isleworth, and Twickenham, the land on both sides of the road, for seven miles in length, or a distance of ten miles from market, may be denominated the great fruit-garden, notth of the Thames, for the supply of Lon- don*. In this manner much, some say most, of the ground in these parishes is cultivated.‘The pleasure- grounds and villas of some of the nobility, and wealthy commoners, Comprize most of the remainder of this dis- {ricl: The fruit-gardeners havé, what they call, an upper and under crop growing on the same ground at one time. First, the ground is stocked with apples, pears, cherries, plums, walnuts,&c. like a complete orchard, which they call the wpper crop. It is, secondly, fully planted with raspberries, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, and all such fruit, shrubs and herbs, as are known to sustain the shadé and drip from the trees above them with the least injury. This they term the wxder crop. Some of these gardens have walls which are completely clothed with wall-fruits; such as ne¢tarines, peaches, apricots, plums, and various others, all properly adapted to the aspect * There arealso considerable fruit-gardens on the Surrey, or south sic the Thames.—%. AZ. -GARDENS. 250 vel vs) a ie Lap| of the wall. In order to increase the quantity of shelter and warmth in autumn, they raise earthen banks of about three feet high, laid to a slope of about 45° to the sun. On these slopes they plant endive in the month of September; and near the bottom ot f them, from Odtober till Christmas, they drill a row of peas. By this méans the endive is preserved from rotting; and, as well as the peas, comes to maturity nearly as early as if they had been planted in borders under a wall. Soil.—The soil is an excellent dry loam, and is annu- ally dug, and repeatedly hoed, so as to keep it free from weeds. /V ater.—The springs of this district lie at eight or ten feet in depth; and the manner of raising the water is peculiar to gardeners. Tor cheapness of machinery, and dispatch, it ex- ees the pump or the roller. It consists of a principal post sct firmly in the ground a small distance from the well, and Pu about eight feet out of a the ground, as at a. = In the top of this post a ue baulk, or ufer, 4, SSturns on an iron pin y To the smaller end of this baulk is hung a pole, c, and to this is suspended the pail,’ d, which, when empty, swings over the well, e. In order to raise the water by this apparatus, a person takes hold of the pole, and pulls it down until the bucket descends into the water and is filled, when a small force at ¢ lifts it up again, as it is assisted by the weight at 7A I suppose i a ae 2 ee ee cena —_ sj Siac ee&== a nt eee a 256 FRUIT-GARDENS. f suppose there are upwards of three thousand acres of land under this most excellent and valuable management. The quantity of productive labour depending on these gardens is surprizing.[he digging, hoeing, trenching; harrowing, planting, grafting, pruning, budding, gather- ing, and marketing the fruit; and also carrying it from market to the dealers in every part of the town; and in crying it for sale daily through six or seven thousand streets in London; must supply a wonderful quantity of labour and profit to numerous individuals. They probably give employment and support, in the garden, to five persons(a man, his wife, and three chil- dren) per acre, during the winter half year; and in summer; about five persons more(chiefly Welsh women) are added to the number; while the market-people, porters, basket- women, dealers, and hawkers, may be estimated at five more. The last ten are all men and women whose families equal their own number, or may be twenty. Thus the whole probably amount to about thirty-five inha- bitants per acre during the fruit season. Many of them do not depend solely on the fruit-gardens; but, if 1 may be allowed to average the number at ten per acre, they would give thirty thousand inhabitants as being entirely‘supported by the labour of these gardens; exclusive of the persons depending on the rent, taxes, and tithes of this land. Estimating their produce in money, it cannot be less than 1001. per acre, or 300,000]. per annum. The fruit-gardens of Surrey are of considerable extent, and cultivated in the same manner as those in Middlesex. And as much is also brought from Kent, Essex, Berks, and other counties, for the supply of the London markets, to the amount of at least one-third of the produce of this county, the consumption of the metropolis and its environs, must be 400,000. per annum. Fruit- nines sans Faliné FRUIT-GARDENS. 257 Fruit-trees are of many species, and their varieties are so numerous as entirely to preclude the idea of describing them severally in a work of this kind: indeed they are highly deserving of being made the subject of a distin publication; and I shall take this opportunity to say, that the public will, probably, be gratified with such a treatise within a reasonable time,‘‘ as there is a general catalogue “¢ of fruit-trees now compiling; in which the fruits are “ painted from nature, and the charaéter of each, when “* ripe, particularly described, together with their several “« qualities, in the most correét manner. This work has “¢ already(1794) occupied three years of incessant labour; ‘* and nearly as much more, of both time and labour, ‘* will be necessary to render it fit for the public perusal.’” —P. Foot. James Gessop, gardener to John James, Esq. of Ham- mersmith, in the year'1778 made a quantity of exceeding good wine from English grapes, which induced him to attend very particularly to the cultivation of the vine. When it first came under his care it was aged; but had been injured more by negleét and injudicious manage- ment, than by years. He cut almost half the stems off, and laid down half the remainder; and the abundant crop of improved fruit which succeeded, gratefully repaid his care.‘Three-fourths of it then consisted of new wood. In the year 1779 he cut down the remainder of the old wood, and trained the finest wires he could select, perpendicularly about eighteen inches asunder, in three and six-feet lengths alternately. In the year 1780, he again cut off all the oldest wood, and trained the young wires as before; but in this instance, in lengths of six or seven feet. Of the full crop of excellent grapes which this culture produced, he made wine in the proportion of one hundred gallons to one hundred yards of wall*. * Foot’s Middlesex.The kiad of grape is not mentioned, F¥. AZ, R The 258 FRUIT-GARDENS. y The inhabitants of Britain, with few exceptions, neither understand the culture of the grape, nor the manufacture of its juice; for it certainly is very possible to make as palatable, and much more wholesome, wine in England, than what is generally imported. It is well known that wine might be made of the English sweet-water grape, superior to mountain. And it is almost equally well known, that much of the colour, and all, or nearly so, of the sedi- ment, or tartar, and part of the flavour of red wine, are obtained by the infamous addition of unwholesome drugs, which have destroyed some persons in a few hours; others in a few days, and reduced the duration of life in thousands to half the number of years which they might otherwise have attained.‘This practice has determined, or will deter- mine, every man who has any regard for his health, to refrain from drinking such wine, until it has been kept a sufficient number of years to procure the deposit and con- cretion of the poisonous ingredients that haye been ob- truded into it. The orchards and fruit-gardens of these kingdoms are a considerable branch of its agriculture; and it is expected he standard fruit-trees will, in a few years, be much im- proved from the exertions of T. 8. D. Bucknall, Esq. who has been very assiduous in establishing the science of orcharding upon more rational principles than had before been done in this kingdom. Several of Mr. Bucknall’s papers on this subject were published in the r1th 12th 13th and 14th volumes of the Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. containing the practice which he introduced at Sit- tingbourne, in the county of Kent, in the year 1790; which papers have lately been reprinted in a pamphlet published by G. Nicol, bookseller to His Majesty and the Board of Agriculture, in Pall-mall. Ta SF hn 7 ae ce: ee eee iia a= 3 SS iS eg ES et> nS —————— oo, a KITCHEN-GARDEWNS. 259 In this book, are observations on the suitable manures. All that ,should be done in order. to render most trees healthy, large, handsome and productive, is fully pointed out. Many useful hints are given to guard the planters and fruit-growers against the usual effects of neglect and mis- take; and much stress is laid upon the proper soil, position, and judicious shelter. The operative part is expressed in so clear a manner, that it can hardly be misunderstood; nor can I sufficiently recommend the pamphlet, which should be read by every fruit-grower. SECT. II.—KITCHEN-GARDENS. THE Xitchen-Gardener, conscious that he cannot raise his goods to the higher state of perfection without the most hberal use of dung, is not sparing in the expence of pro- curing a sufficient quantity; nor is he saving in the labour of managing his dunghill, when it is procured. This dunghill consists of new horse-dung and litter, brought from the stables, and shot immediately from the carts in which it is brought, into an oblong heap. To this is daily added, what is brought home in the carts on their return from town, until twelve, fourteen, x or sixteen days* before it is wanted; at which time, so much of it as the gardener thinks necessary for his immediate- purpose, is shook to pieces into a separate heap, turning all the long litter into the middle; and the short litter and shovelings to the outside. This being done, it is left in the lightest manner, to permit the hot, utrid, offensive vapour freely to escape; which it does I y pe; * Whether itshould be twelve, fourteen, or sixteen days, depends on the judgment of the gardener. If it be long, sound litter, it will require sixteen days; if short, and partly rotten, it need only be twelve days; and if ina medium state between the two, it should lie fourteen days.— 7. R 2 very | ez: ee ee ee ae oS go Say ee om peer SS ee 260 KITCHEN-GARDENS, very copiously in a few days. It will then be fit to be turned, and shaken up, as before, in about eight days; and when so done, it is left for four, six, or eight days more, according to the state of the manure, as aforesaid. To fit it for use in the winter season, no water is necessary; but in drying weather, during summer, when the heap would be more likely to turn of a dusty mould than to putrify, they add water from a garden pot, just enough to secure putrefaction, and to give time for the air, which it discharges during that process, to escape, which would otherwise fill their frames with an insuffera- ble stench, more than could be absorbed by the plants, which would either injure or destroy them. The dung thus reduced and prepared, is fit for the formation of hot-beds. When intended for the purpose of raising mushrooms, a large surface becomes an object, and the bed is therefore made twenty, forty, or more yards in length. A transverse section of this bed would be of a triangular form, thus: When it is intended that the bed should be covered with glazed frames, it is prepared in the form of a parallelogram; and in this last shape it is usually made for the raising of most kinds of seeds. Small] salad is raised under these glazed frames; and a fresh crop is sown, cut, and marketed every fortnight. The crop being divided into a regular succession, produces a daily supply. ‘he moderate heat arising from the constant putre- faction of the dung under these frames, during every fort- night or three weeks, forces a succession of seeds into plants, of about six inches high, fit to be transplanted: which heat, when necessary, is increased by lining the frames(i. e. laying stable litter to the back and rane edges 1= Ae ee ee-=. os - a—= SS i a ie x=———— es= ners=<== Se a aaa stata KITCHEN-GARDENS. 263 edges of the hot-beds), and so continued until the end of the season. When the dung has done working, the frames being removed, it is dug up, and barrowed to a dung- hill, where fresh horse-dung is mixed with it, and, after being all rotted together, it is trenched into the quarters. Thus, in one season, it contributes to raising the seedling plants; and in the next, to force other plants into mas turity. When the quantity of dung returned from the hot-beds exceeds the demands of the ground, they sell it to common farmers: in this case, giving preference to dung that has not been worked, for their own use.‘The farmer ought also to estimate the difference. OBSERVATIONS ON THE GARDENS AT THE NEAT+ HOUSES, LYING BETWEEN WESTMINSTER AND CHELSEA, This soil, no doubt, originally consisted of the sediment deposited there from the richly impregnated water of the Thames; and, like the other marsh land on both sides of that river, is secured against inundation with am earthen bank, or, as it is elsewhere called, a sea wall. The time, or period, when these walls were constructed, is one of those events of which history is silent. I have heard it said, that much of the base and center of them consists of chalk, which substance was probably made use of for the Les pose of keeping otit moles, rats and worms. Most of the land thus secured against floods, is of the richest quality, and peculiarly suited to the purposes of a kitchen-gardener. In the situation now under review, the occupiers can, by a little attention to the sluices, fill their ditches, dip-holes, and wells, with Thames water, and detain it in such places to within about eighteen inches of 3 the 262 KITCHEN-GARDENS. the surface, and by that means save a great deal of labour: in watering their crops. In addition to this, the water they use(from the Thames) is also of a more enriching quality than can be met with in most other places. This land has been as long, or perhaps longer, in the occupation of kitchen-gardeners, than any other land ia Britain, and fora great length of time has been supplied with dung, as much in quantity, and as often repeated, as, in the opinion of the occupiers, could be applied with ad- vantage to the crops.“The quantity thus used is annually upwards of sixty cart-loads per acre*. Thus, by an union of natural fertility with heat(raised by dung), and a due degree of moisture, are the occupiers of these grounds enabled to raise the greatest crops in the /ast possible time. This distri€t being also nearer the market than most others, it has, from a combination of such ad- vantages, a decided preference over every district in the kingdom f. Crops.—Soon after Christmas, when the weather js open, they begin by sowing the borders, and then the quarters, with radishes, spinage, onions, and all the other seed crops. As soon afterwards as the season will permit, which is generally in February, the same ground is planted with cauliflowers, from the frames, as thick as if no other crop then had possession of the ground.|The radishes,&c. * The gardener to whom J am indebted for most of this account, fetches six hundréd loads of dung annually from town, and uses it all on nine acres of ground. These carts are drawa by two horses, and the loads are aboué half the size which the farmers draw to greater distances with three or four horses.— 7, M, t It is also situate on the south-west border of the town, consequently the cold of the north-east wind, so hurtful to vegetation in exposed situations, is considerably moderated, or rarefied, before it passes over these grounds ¢ they are also naturally low and sheltered.— 7. AZ, are PS ¢ mee Se ee EE: a ts z nn sey Tn_— “ae oe KITCHEN-GARDENS. 263 are soon sent to market; and when the cauliflowers are so far advanced as to be earthed up, sugar loaf-cabbages are planted from the aforesaid seed crops. When these are marketed, the stalks are taken up, the ground cleared, and planted with endive and celery from the said seed crop; and daily as these crops are sent to maket, the same ground is cropped with celery for winter use. The foregoing rotation, or order, in which the land is cropped, may be considered as the general practice of the gardeners of this district, although there are individuals who differ from it in several respects; as the state of the markets, the price of the articles, or their own inclination and opinion directs them. But one thing they unani- mously agree in, namely, that to dung plentifully, and with discretion; to dig the soil well, and to sow good seed; is the only practice on which a reasonable expectation of good and plentiful crops can be founded. Next to the grand object of good land, clean, full of dung, and but little above the water, the kitchen-gardener esteems shelter from cold winds as highly essential towards bringing his crops rapidly forward, and into the highest state of perfection. Hence it has been the constant practice, in order to attain this desirable obje€t, to erect a consider- able number of reed fences(though they have lately sub-" stituted paled fences in their stead), which they place in such positions as are best calculated to prevent the currents of cold chilling winds from passing aver their grounds, The following estimate was made by a gardener who occupied nine acres, situate about two miles farther from market, as his opinion of the produce of the soil at the Neat-houses before mentioned, viz. R 4 The 264. KITCHEN-GARDENS. DUA Cris he ik es£10 Cauliflowers, frequently 70 or more, but say- 60 Cabbages Sige he oe cre ie ie por re 30 Celery, the first crop, not unfrequently upwards 9 of sixty, but BANGS clelegilo ats eg te oy bo p52 | So OES SR A ata le ee 30 Welery,. the sccond hones. wh alc) ena dex 40 Total annual produce of one acre-£.220 This: he stated as an estimate rather under the mark. Some seasons occasion a considerable loss, perhaps of one crop; but as this does not often occur, he was of opinion that, upon the whole, twa hundred pounds an acre was a very low estimate of the average annual produce of these gardens. With the produce or amount of a gardener’s crops, I confess I am not praéfically acquainted; and, therefore, I must beg that the foregoing account may be taken as the result of the enquiries which I have been able to make. The very great expences, in labour, manure,&c. which kitchen-gardeners are at, is evident to every one who lives in the neigbourhood of them. Probably their expences may be thus divided, viz. in labour, 35|.; teams and dung, 2g5l.; rent, taxes and tithes, ral.; marketing and expences,$l.—together, 80l. which, taken from the fore- going sum of 200]. leaves 120]. per acre as interest of capital, and profit. The farming gardeners, or those who work their soil principally with the plough, are situated rather more dis- tant from London; occupy larger tracts of land; and are content to follow something like the following method or order of cropping, namely:—in the months of January and February they crop their land with early peas, to be gathered green in pods and sold in the month of June. The haulm is hooked up, and, as soon as it is dry, is carried ee ee ow KITCHEN-GARDENS. 26s carried off the ground, and stacked, for the fodder of horses, on which they thrive nearly as we as on hay. The ground being cleared, is ploughed, and sown with turnips*, which are sold off in autumn; at which time the ground is again ploughed, and planted with collards. When the crop of peas is of the marrowfat kind, they do not come so early as before mentioned, and are, therefore, generally succeeded by a crop of savoys, or late cabbages. In gathering green peas, six or seven acres will employ twenty persons, daily(Sundays not excepted), and they are paid from one shilling tosixteen or eighteen-pence per sack, of four bushels, for gathering them. The price varies according to the bulk of the crop, and also according to the kind of pea, or size of the pods. Those of the mar« rowfat, or larger kind, at one shilling, and the smaller sort at sixteen or eighteen-pence per sack. They are sent to market in these sacks, by both land and water carriage, from every distance, perhaps, not exceeding twenty-five miles, and are sold in the market at, from five to seven- teen shillings per sack: in which manner this crop returns from less than five, to upwards of 201. per acre+. ¥ * All these operations are done in a few days, or finished within a week from the time when the last peas of the piece of land are gathered.— F. AZ, + The produce ofa field of six acres, in June, 1796, that was notat all re< markable for more than a common crop: Liat e Number, 40 sacks, of four bushels each, of pods sent to market, and sold from 6s. to 13s., average 7s. 6d. each-=: 4h 0.8 Haulm, stacked and given to draught horses, one ton per acre, worth two-thirds as much as hay, butsayonly-< 3078 ee Produces=" 5£248 6. 6 Ex PpeNcxks—Ploughing once from cloverley-© 10 0 Seed, four bushels, at 12s, 2 fe) Drilling, covering,&,-=° Hoeing twice°>=© 10° Podding at 18d. per sack, on go,= 3 0 0 Marketing, distance ten miles, land- CRUE SO So ee oye ——, 8 6 ee Remains 2»-=£.10 0 0 Turnips 5.& » ; 1 h\ | i rt i Se | i i i ore 266 KITCHEN-GARDENS. Turnips are pulled up by the hand, the tap-root cut off, washed, and tied in bunches, of ten or twelve in each. ‘They are then sent to market in carts, which carry about forty dozen of these bunches, and thus produce from two to four guineas each load, or from twenty to upwards of fifty pounds per acre. I think there are about eight thousand acres in four counties* cultivated in this manner, producing, per acre, about fifty pounds. There are perhaps thirteen hundred acres in the vicinity of London, cultivated by the spade in the most perfect manner, which do not possess the advan- tages which I have before stated to belong to the soil at the Neat-houses, but which are rather under the medium between the soil at the Neat-houses and the land occupied by the farming gardeners, producing an hundred pounds d 5» P Fo) g per acre. There are also about five hundred acres more, whiclr, possessing some of the advantages of the soil at the Neat- houses, hold a medium station between that and the last- mentioned thirteen hundred acres, and which, being cul- tivated in the same manner, produce a return of about one hundred and fifty pounds an acre. This sum is dis- posed of thus, viz. in labour, 4ol.; im teams and dung, 251.; marketing and expences, 51.; rent, taxes and tithes, rol.—together, 80l., leaying for interest of capital, and profit, 701. per acre. # Middlesex-©-© 1809 Surrey-<--=-* 3500 Kents= a= 4=! whe NURSERY-GROUNDS. 269 SHC Rh. Li. NURSERY-GROUNDS. At Chelsea, Brompton, Kensington, Hackney, Dal- ston, Bow, and Maile-end, much ground is occupied by murserymen, who spare no expence in colleéting the choicest sort, and the greatest variety, of fruit-trees, and ornamental shrubs and flowers, from every quarter of the globe; and which they cultivate ina high degree of per- fection; the latter, to a very great extent, and to almost an endless variety, so that to attempt a particular description of them here, would not only be a work of much iime, but would also be foreign to the nature of this undertaking. Many of them are annually exported to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Russia, and, until lately, to France; but there are still greater quantities sold for use in this country. “ Mr. Lee, of Hammersmith, has made great progress *““ in the propagation of forest-tree plants, as well as of “© ornamental shrubs. Mr. Wheatley, likewise, of Bromp- ‘© ton, raises quantities of hardy trees. But although the *¢ inclination for the culture of these trees seems to be in- “* creasing, it has yet, from want of proper encourage- ** ment, made very little progress. The quantities raised ““in the county of Middlesex is very small; but, from ‘¢ the best information I could procure, elm, beech, ‘¢ larch, planes, pines of all sorts, birch, ash, chesnut, ** walnut, acatia, and laburnam, might, with proper en- ““ couragement, be beneficially cultivated in this county *¢ co a considerable extent.”—P. Foot. Soil—The most general opinion of the trade seems to be, that the best soil for a nursery, is that which would be the most desirable for the general purposes of agricul- ture, namely, a good loam fresh broken up from old pas- ture; aa 3 270 NURSERY-GROUNDS. ture; which may be true, as to the nurseries producing abundance of thriving plants; but otherwise, as to the success of the timber trees to be raised from such plants, Mr. Baird very justly observes,“ that it does not appear ** to be a safe or eligible plan, to trust tothe forest timber ** plants raised in grounds so near London, especially ** when they are to be planted out upon a poor soil, and ** more exposed situations, as it 1s obvious that plants * raised in a mild climate, as it were in hot-beds, and too ® ” hastily brought forward by the force of manure, will ¢ " make but a slow and sickly progress when transplanted & * to a less rich soil, and more unkindly climate*. « It is therefore humbly suggested to gentlemen who *¢ have it in contemplation to become considerable planters, *€ to turn their attention to raising their own plants and * trees. By adopting this plan, they will find not only *« a very great saving in point of expence, but prodigious *¢ satisfaction afterwards, in the health, and future success- ‘€ ful progress, of their plantations.” In my opinion, no one soil can-be the most suitable for plants of every genus; one delights in a dry soil, another in a moist one, and some even in water; nay, two plants, which require a soil equally dry, may be so opposite in their feeding powers, as that one shall flourish in a situa- tion where the other would inevitably perish. As for example, a dry black peat earth matura/ly produces heath, * Upon this opinion I met with the following observation in one of the returned Reports, viz.—‘* The author adopts here the common, but ill- *© founded, opinion, concerning the soil of nursery-grounds: an opinion 88 which must appear very plausible, and prove captivating, to the unin- *6 formed, for the reason he gives. But the young tree of the best growth, *¢ and with the most roots, which can only be obtained in the richest soil, $6 will always thrive best in whatever soil it is planted. As, on the other ‘© hand, a tree stunted in the poor soil of a nursery will never make a free 6* growing and vigorous plant in any situation.’” and NURSERY-GROUNDS,. 2471 and is an enemy to white clover; but upon applying lime in a proper quantity on this land, the heath would perish, and white clover would then succeed. The beech and the willow are never found in a state of nature in the same place; nor are the elm and the pine in such a situation the neighbours of each other. An at- tentive observation of the natural products of different soils, would convince even a St. Thomas, that no one soil, and perhaps not one nursery, can be most fit for raising every tree of the forest kind. No person, competent to make the observation, can ride over a large estate, without observing that the trees vary according to the nature of the soil. Every marsh of a certain degree of wetness, presents to us the willow and the alder; where the soil is rather more dry, the elm and the ash are the natural growth of it; as the soil becomes still further removed from the marsh, the oak is found to succeed; a little further on, if the soil is dry and calcarious, the beech is found; should a poor free-stone gravel or sand succeed to this, there will be seen the fir. { have observed all these changes in the distance of a rile; and that planter will certainly stand the fairest chance of success, who follows this order of nature; or at least, who avoids planting in dire&t opposition to it. Every wood-cutter knows, that oaks which have been raised into timber under a certain degree of shelter, would cease to thrive, if deprived of that shelter. Experience plainly shews, that trees and plants are as susceptible of injury, from every sudden and extreme change in their habits, as is the human frame itself. Hence the importance of well considering the nature of the climate. Its degree of shelter and warmth should not, in the nursery, exceed what the tree will meet with after being trans- planted; 272 NURSERY-GROUNDS. planted; but, on the contrary, if the nursery should be in the more exposed situation of the two, the trees will be the more likely to succeed in the plantation. When a gentleman has determined to raise a plantation, his business is to look out for nursery-grounds whose climates are rather worse; and soils rather better, than his own; and in such grounds to select the most healthy and thriving plants. If no such nurseries are to be found, the only remedy will be, to appropriate a part of his own ground, circumstanced as aforesaid, for the purpose of raising a suficient number of plants for the proposed plantation. The methods of raising timber plants, fruit-trees, and ornamental shrubs, are many and various; such as sow- ing, laying, cutting, grafting, budding,&c. but for a articular description of these several operations, ample information may be obtained by reference to those authors who have written expressly on such subjects. It is supposed there are about 1500 acres of nursery~ ground in this county; and that, including the hot-houses and green-houses belonging to them, they produce nearl 701. each, or 100,0001. a year. a] CHAPTER a . waar~-> ~~ y te Zs 4 ae:=~ ig ae SS= — COPSES, WOODS, AND PLANTATIONS. Big BP. CHAP Y Em.-X: COPSES, WOODS, PLAN TA TIONS, HEDGE-ROWS, AND OZIERS. THE copses and woods of this county have been decreas- ing for ages; and, in a few centuries more, they will pre- bably be annihilated. There are, however, still a few acres so occupied on the north slopes of Hampstead and Highgate hills; abcut one hundred acres on the east side of Finchley-common; and two thousand acres on the north-west side of Riselip; together about three thousand acres(exclusive of near one thousand acres on the remains of Enfield-chase, which are accounted for under chapter vi, on inclosing)*. Rather more than half the said quantity 1s wood, pretty well stocked with thriving young oaks; the rest is copse. I believe the whole is on a soil of yellow clay; which, at present, would not pay for the trouble and expence of clearing, and putting into a state of aration; at least, not if continued under the plough longer than would be neces- sary to lay it down in the best manner to grass; but in that state, it would produce to the community from five, to ten times as much as it does now. % The forests, woods, copses and commons of this county, are nurseries I yy for thieves.‘The security which they apparently hold out against detection, has tempted hundreds of the ill-disposed to commence footpads and highway- murders and robberies and hac h th ¢ siqn of 1} xs men; and has also been the octas of numberless being committed, and some of the perpetrators being gibbetted.—77. 17. Oy© per} $‘The ee 274., WOODS, AND PLANTATIONS, The hills about Copthall and Hornsey are now appro priated to the scythe; though, but a eau years ago, they werg covered with wood.‘They are already of five times their former value; and, after aie ten years more in grass, their produce will be worth, to the eae ten times more than the produce of the same ground would have been in a state of wood. Near ive Farm, several hundred acres of underwood have been grubbed up within the last eight or ten years; and the improve- ment of the soil is going on in a proportion nearly similar to the foregoing. It is a matter of regret, that while the national councils are ringing the alarm of an apprehended approaching want of timber, most of the antient parks are disfigured with trees that are mutilated, ruptured, and rotting as they stand. How much superior is the scene, where the trees are from twenty to fifty years old, perfed in every branch; healthy, beautiful, and profitable. Every acre of this county ought to be appropriated to the produéiion of more valuable crops than timber and underwood. Surely copses, woods, and large plantations, should be raised in rocky soils; on the tops of downs and hills; and as high up the szdes of mountains as there might appear to be any prospect of their succeeding. And also on the most dry and exposed situations; not as being places where they vould invariably arrive at maturity in the least possible time, but as situations where nothing else would succeedso well. The offering premiums for the general increase of wood, is going retrograde; or contributing towards a retroduc- tion of uncultivated nature; instead of which, this country aught to bein a state of garden-like cultivation*. No parts shoula #© Tn many parts of North-America, the landlord would be much obliged ** to any body who would carry away the greater part of his large trees. In s some =~~_ a eee SS NN tn a ST= ae'——= PLANTATIONS, AND HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. 275 should be in wood, except such as are unfit for the produétion of grass, corn, and garden crops; nor would there be, in that case, any deficiency of timber and copse, if the mil- lions of acres of bleak, rocky, and, at present, unprofite able situations, were to be fully planted. «‘ Planting is capable of doing great mischief to a Ct country, when applied to lands that ought to produce ** corn and herbage for the use of men and animals. No ground should be planted which is capable of being employed in the purposes of agriculture.”—(JZ. R.) 6¢ €é HEDGE-ROW TIMBER, Many of the hedge-rows of this county are disfigured by pollard trees; but in no degree equal to what they are in some other counties. I never saw hedge-rows in any so much want of attention on the part of the landlords, as those in Norfolk and Suffolk. Numerous are the fields in those counties, whose hedges are filled with pollards of every age, under perhaps two hundred years, of no value to the tenant, and worth to the landlord only a twentieth, or thirtieth, part of what those identical trees would have been worth, had they been protected from the spoliation of the farmer’s axe. Including interest on the value of such trees, the amount would have been at least an hundred times more than it is. ~ Some parts of the Highlands of Scotland, the bark is the only part of the ** wood, which, for want of roads and water-carriage, can be sent to mara “ket. The timber is left to rot upon the ground.”—Smith’s Wealth of Nations. $2 In- ies eno ie ee — —— Re ny pert ut 276 HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. Instances are not wanting in every county, of pollard- oaks abounding in hedge-rows; which, if they had been protected till prown into trees, and sold in their prime, including interest on their produce, would now have brought three times more money than the freehold would sell for which produced them. But, for want of such protection, they at present disfigure the estates on which they stand; and are only of a comparatively trifling value. Consequently the owners of such estates have lost the greater part of their property by the knavery of their tenants; the want of skill and diligence in their agents; and of attention or discernment in themselves. The best remedy for this evil would be, for landlords to cut down all the pollards over the whole extent of their properties; and to sell them for what they would fetch. They would produce, on some estates, 2 considerable sum; which, at compound interest, would double itself every fifteen years. But the longer the pollards stand, the less valuable they will be. In the next place, a covenant should be entered into by the tenant, not to top any tree (nor to /op it to any greater height than ten or fifteen feet from the ground) under a penalty of five pounds for each offence; which sum the landlord would be entitled to receive of the tenant for every pollard discoverable at any time upon his estate., Any tree recently pollarded, would be positive evidence against the tenant; who should be invariably required to pay the penalty: and, when that is done, the landlord should cut the pollard down. If this method were adopted, and the young trees thus carefully protected, the estates would increase in beauty and value every year. In a national point of view, this matter is of still greater importance. It is not conceivable, without the help of calcu- omer Ss Se a~ 2 ae—— SS te a a ae £v HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. 275 ealculation, what an immense quantity of timber has been destroyed by the occupiers of land cutting the tops off the young umber plants. If this had been prevented, by a general law, I do not hesitate to pronounce, that no alarm would ever have taken place in this island, as to the want of timber for every purpose. It would still be wise, and politic, for the legislature to pass an act for the effectually preventing farmers and others from cutting off the tops of timber trees, and plants hikely to become timber. This regulation, in a century or two, would be the means of producing ten times more timber than ever will be done by rewards for plantations and woods. It would not only put wealth into the pockets of the land- owners in every part of the island, but would also be the most certain, and efficient means of providing an ample supply of maierials for the future support of our wooden walls, the only true bulwarks of the nation. It would not be an easy matter to make an accurate estimate of the advantages to be derived to this country from such a measure; nor does it seem necessary to go minutely into such a statement; but, in order to gain a slight zdeq as to the quantity of hedge- row timber, let it be considered that, in well-inclosed, hedged, and cultivated distriGs, the hedge-rows occupy from a twentieth to a tenth of the whole surface, Even includ- ing the common fields, and cultivated slopes and borders of sheep-downs, the average quantity of land occupied by hedge-rows at this time, amounts to a twentieth, or two millions of acres: al! of which might, probably, be made to produce timber; more than half of it, however, would no doubt do so, by only trimming the lowest- ranches off to the height of ten, twelve, or fifteen feet from the ground. This would permit the air to circulate freely; give every advantage to the occupier’s crops; and would leave sufficient tops upon the trees for all the pur- $3 poses t ' 4 | il 298 WILLOWS, OR OZIERS. poses of growth and rural ornament. Under management like this, the hedges would every where present healthy, vi- gourously-growing, and handsome timber; would add very much to the profit of the land-owner; to the security of the country; and to the pleasures of the traveller. A striking contrast this to the present appearance of hedge-rows; which, almost every where, disgust us with the sight of rotten pollards, and trees stripped of their side-branches, like May-poles. In short, so great is the waste and destruCtion of timber in the hedge-rows, commons, and forests, of this kingdom, by the conversion of timber trees into pollards, that[ can- not sufficiently condemn this barbarous practice. WILLOWS, OR OZIERS. «© THERE are many islands in the river Thames, and € “ nearly all of them are rented by basket-makers, and “ © ¢ planted with oziers for their use. Also, there are seve- ¢ a ral wet borders of small extent on the side of the Thames, “ nw cropped in the same manner. «¢ T am happy in being able to furnish the Board with ‘¢ the following short, but satisfactory account, containing ‘¢ the specific names of those raised in the neighbourhood «¢ of Brentford, the uses to which they are applied, and <¢ the manner in which they are cultivated. —Th} salix vitallina, or yellow willow, is cul- s* tivated chiefly by the nurserymen, and being of a tough «¢ but yielding nature, is used for binding packages of ARS be SEN ; ana ror tying ,} 1°° ¢¢ trees and shrubs in the drawing season; s¢ up the branches of wall and espalier trees. oa WILLOWS, OR OZIERS. 279 —The sale amygdalina, or almond-leaved wil- low, is a species of which there are several varieties, one of which is called by the planters‘* the small red willow,” or,‘ binding rod;”’ it being chiefly used for sroduce of garden-grounds. Another kind the rT Asa} binding of this willow is at present known by the loose appella- tion of the‘new kind;” it is of large growth, and produces a great crop; is used both by the basket- makers and the corn sieve makers, and is fit for any work which requires a firm as well as a tough rod. The salix viminales, or ozier willow—Of this species there are also several varieties, which are called wmong the planters by the name of“ the yellow and brown oziers.”’ or,‘‘ Comb’s oziers.””“They are chiefly used by'the basket-makers, being very pleasant work- ing rods, and, as they produce a great crop, are much cultivated. ‘© These three descriptions comprehend the most useful varieties, and are the most profitable in point of crop, of any that are cultivated in this district. here is, however, a coarse sart of willow, known by the name of“¢ the Spaniard,”’ but whether it is a distinct species or not, I am unable to decide; it might be rendered extrémely useful in counties where much brush or underwood is bound. ‘© The mode employed in the cultivation of willows is as follows:—The ground is, during the winter, dug a full spade’s depth, and left rough, to prevent the tides from running it together again before it can be planted. ** The planting work begins in the month of March. The planter having procured the sets or plants, which are fifteen or sixteen inches long, cut diagonally off the strongest shoots of the last year’s growth, and care being taken that they are not cut near to the top of the rods, $4«¢ that. — A |{ aa_— ri? a 280 WILLOWS, OR OZIERS. 6 n that part being too porous to make a sound plant, the ground is then marked out into rows two feet asunder, ‘‘ and the setts are struck in the rows, eighteen inches <* from each other, leaving about seven inches of the setts ** above the ground. This work is very easily done, “* without using even a dibble or a setting stick; but “* when planted, care must be taken, by hocing, to keep “< them as free from weeds as possible; or, if the ground ** be too wet for the hoe, a weeding-hook may be used to “* keep them down: this is absolutely necessary to ensure “a good plantation. It is also equally necessary to keep ** the ground well drained, to prevent the tides remaining “* upon it any considerable time, for on that also depends ‘* the firmness and good quality of the rods. «¢ The willows are cut the first year with a bill-hook; & wn the shoots are cut off close to the stock, and bound up A n in bundles, or boults, as they are called, which measure “¢ forty-two inches round, at sixteen inches above the butt «¢ ends.‘Ihe same process of weeding must be pursued «¢ every summer, while they are shooting up from the «“ stem. The next cutting season a portion of them is «* Jeft to stand another year, where large stuff is wanted, «* for the ribs of large baskets,&c. ««‘The planting of willows is expensive the first year; a « but if well managed, they produce a great profit, as *~ © they improve in quantity every year.“The profound “‘ secresy which every willow planter observes with re- ** spect to his individual profits, renders it impossible to “* ascertain to what amount this article is cultivated; but ** greatly profitable as it certainly is, there are still many ¢* parts on the banks of the Thames, well suited to the ** propagation of this useful plant. “¢ Oziers are grown on so very small a scale, that it on 6° compels the basket-makers to hire suitable land, and ‘¢ plant a a aa a ns aN aw es a * €¢ &6 Foot’s Middlesex. WILLOWS, OR OZIERS., 281i plant it for their own use, which occupies their time when they would otherwise be employed in Weaving baskets; and every means which they have yet been able to contrive, is insufficient to supply a quarter of their wants. They would willingly pay a high price for oziers grown for their own use; and there is too much land in every county, so neglected in its drainage as to be unfit for every other crop; much land that would be cheaper at four pounds under oziers than it is now at eight shillings; vide Arts and Sciences.”—~ CHAPTER 282 WASTES. oy} CELA TER. AF. WA.0 125.0. THIS chapter is comprized in the following sections, namely, CoMMONS,------==. page—o8 ENFIELD-CHASE,---=»=° 116 STANWELL-INCLOSURE,<-2=== 126 SHEEP-DOWNGY).=——=).=)== 127 INCLOSING,(©= ee Ss a= 106 CHAPTER a a a—— See—- IMPROVEMENTs. 233 ("TI A T;' al CHAP YT ER 2cli- ee~ : G TONE PRO? VE VE NS THE improvements of this county decrease as the dis- tance from the capital increases. In the more remote parts, much of the land lies waste, or in a state of nature; = S ey- 1 more is in common fields, and, consequently, has only received the slightest decree of cultivation; but as we see A;° 1 approach the Capitai, 1€ 1s mostly in gardens, and there- fore in the highest state of improvement. Tf the value of agricultural improvements were, as I think they ought to be, estimated by thei capacity for giving em- ployment and support to human beings, it would appear that Middlesex is so very far short of perfection, in this respect, as to have advanced in its course towards it only one-fifth part*; and every other county stands much lower in the scale. With respect to the question, whether it is better that improvements, especially of the more expensive kind, should be made by the /andlord or the tenant? the answer will, I think, most readily be found, by first determining * Divide the county into ten equal parts, and the support which they give to human beings is nearly in the following proportions, namely, x of those parts support§ persons per acre, which I shall call perfection, i. 7 Other diftojser—= ee~======= 2 X¥ other ditto= 7===+=====(en ¥ otherditto-« 4%=== s== a~ 0.6 § otherditto-~- 3 SL ee Char ere cer Sas ey eer 1.25 ¥ waste,- supportsnothing-.-«-=. wipe ¥o supports rather Jess than one per acre,=©©. or 9% which is not quite one-fifth of what it is capable of doing.—F. M1. which ao Be ecole, gia titi:;— aa——-;, 1 284. IMPROVEMENTS. which can carry them into effect at the least expence. On large estates it would, generally, be the tenant, inasmuch as he 1s supposed to live on the spot; and, having every operation executed under his immediate inspection, will of course be able to keep down the expence as much as possible. On the contrary, the large proprietor or his steward generally live at a distance, and therefore cannot give that close attendance to the business, which is neces- sary to prevent the expences from exceeding, jin a con- siderable proportion, those that would arise under the management and conduct of an intelligent and prudent tenant laying out his ow money. I am very much inclined to think that, in case data sufficient could be collected to ascertain the fact, it would be found that, generally speaking, zenanis are able to carry into effect most kinds of improvements at little more than half, or two-thirds, of the expence they would cost the landlords; besides, the improvement being made by the tenant, gives the landlord the obvious advantage of the most perfect security for the receipt of his rent. Yet there will certainly occur some cases, in which it may be most advisable, and proper, for the /andlord to pay the expence of any improvement that may, and ought, to be made on his estate. As, for instance, where an honest and industrious tewant may be willing to pay interest for the money expended in making such improvement, but cannot afford to disburse the orzgimal cest. Humanity says that, in such a case, the tenant ought not to be turned out: the interest of the landlord, and national policy, require that the improvement should take place; it is therefore expe- dient that the ¢enant should do it, at-the /endlord’s expence; the /ormer paying four or five per cent. interest on the expenditure of the /atter, in addition to his former rent: whereby the landlord will not only have the satisfaction of encou-« —— pe | DRAINING. 285 encouraging a spirit of industry in one of the most valuable classes of the community, but will also benefit both himself and the public by the improvement of his estate. On the whole, I am of opinion that the best mode of lett. ing estates would be, that the tenants should make the proposed zmprovements at their own expence; and that the landlords should grant them leases, proportioning the rent, and number of years, to the nature, and supposed expence, of the intended improvements. This method would, I think, have the merit of rendering complete justice to the interests, and of promoting the advantages of both parties. But the /endlord should never forget, that it is Azs busi« ress to have the lease drawn up with the most scrupulous attention, and by persons of competent judgment*: with particular covenants, that the proposed improvements shall certainly be made; that the land shall be put into, and continued under, the most improved course of husbandry; and that every part of the farm and buildings shall be sur- rendered up, at the end of the.term, in high condition and repair. Se SECT. I.—DRAINING. THE inclosed grass land of this county, with very few exceptions, and those only of small extent, receives this improvement by means of surface drains, The light land distri, from its filterating nature, is always sufficiently dry. The clayey loams, that are in ara- * The draught convenants should be drawn by a Jand-surveyor, and after- wards submitted to the correétion of an attorney or a conveyancer, and, if weed be, they may consult together.— 7%. M, 3 tion, 286 DRAINING, tion, are ploughed into ridges and furrows, which lead the superfluous rain water into the water-furrows, pro- vided for that purpose, and it flows from them into the ditches ae rivulets. This kind of surface drainage an- swers perfectly well on the land of this county; as it will, undoubtedly, for any other, except in springy or rotten places; where ancther kind of draining will certainly be necessary*. Springs.——Every spring makes its appearance in a local manner, and the water may be carried off by means of one main drain made across the rising ground, im- mediately above the place where the spring shews itself, sufficiently deep to cut off the supply of water. In this stage of the business the nature ofthe soil must be particularly considered; as the future operations must be entirely regulated by it. Should a be a loose gravel, or a quick-sand, perhaps a Pee oe oo a with either brick or stone, thus: the /ower half Jaid in mortar, and the upper half dry, would be both cHecnve : and durable. Jn soils ¢ Cae the drain, after being es ae be filled with green bushes(not in leaf), or with stones that are free from soil, in such a manner as certainly to inter- ne water. The wood, or stone, should be covered with a thin layer of wheat, rye, or bean SE or with the stubbie of either of them; or with reeds or heath. In either case, the remainder of the trench should be filled up, by jist placing the more large and loose materials; next the smaller; and /ast/y the best mould, level with he surface of the adjoining ground. av f Ly ir.. eune“y All arable land may be effectually drained by ploughing it into ridge ** and furrow; narrowing the’ ridges as the wetness of the soil increases; which renders hollow-drains unnecessary, except in springy soils or peat <5 YmMr. Fenkins. This ae NOZS. DRAINING. 284 This method will on ly require further, a small drain or two to be made to the nearest sufficient fall into a ditch or et, for the purpose of conveying off the water that will be intercepted by, and collected into, the said main lrain*®. Very frequently the water, when colleGed in such main drain, may be got rid of Py boring a number of holes in the bottom of i it; throug! Nn the texacious soil into 4 more epen or porous one below. Bogs.—I have no knowledge of there being any bogs within this county; but, wherever they may be, dr aining is, unquestionably, the first step to be taken towards their improvement. For the accomplishment of which, Mr. Elkington’s mode might be resorted to, undoubtedly with great effet; though we should not be too sanguine in the matter, or imagine that sie is,cin every case, an easy ee I much fear, that there are some bogs which ould not, without great difficulty, be drained at all; and others, that would cost‘the value of the land, in drains and machine ny, toeftem it.=. Yer. notwithsanding some unsuccessful trials, we ought not to be entir ely dis- couraged from the attempt, where there is a tolerable prospect of succeeding in it. The cases are no doubt very numerous, in which this sort of land may be effec. tually drained at an easy expence; and thereby brought from a state of annoyance, to yield considerable profit to the Owners and the community. After this kind of soil has been complete] ly drained, it should be cultivated as peat-earth.(For a description of PeLGs rik Bape tos anne as BB A eA; this mode OF culiure, See the article ¢1 lage. He * In making hollow-drains(except such as may be made with bricks or stones) in land that has a quick de cent, care should be taken that the drains have an easy gentle current; for, when they have too quick a fall, are very apt to excavate, and lose their support below, in which case a wery small pressure from above entit rely destroys them,—7F. M. 288 DRAINING. Commons.—The drainage of the commons of this, and indeed of every other county, is totally neglected; and consequently they are, in various places, and particularly during winter, under water. The soil absorbs as much of it as it can contain, and the rest remains on the surface in a stagnant state; which must, manifestly, be injurious to the health of both man and beast. No effectual remedy can be found for this evil, except inclosing such commons. There are many dense soils in grass, which are chilled by the water lying too long on the surface: this defect might be remedied, and the soil rendered perfe€tly dry, by means of open drains only. In order to have covered drains sufficiently deep in this kind of soil to bear the treading of cattle over them, they must be laid so far beneath the sur~- face, that the water, from the tenacity of the soil, will not be able to filter into them. But as this objeciion is entirely obviated by open drains, it seems advisable to make such drains, and to keep them open when made; except in paddocks, lawns, and the like, where open drians are, for obvious reasons, objectionable. As the drains in such places have only the surface water to carry off, they need not, nor indeed should they, be made deep; but of such a depth only, as to admit of their being so nearly filled with willows, or other green* wood, a ~ ¢ to have onl ly a tender loam and turf, of a few inches 7 thick, placed upon the twigs, through which the water would be certain to percolate f. * The importance of using greez wood in drains, is fully ascertained in Mr. Hassell’s valuable Report of Caermarthenshire, page 27 5 and in the same place he has suggested a very improved method of placing the wood for par- ticular soils.—‘F. M. +“ Draining meadows with hollow-drains, particularly strong ** land, has been found a great impediment in dry seasons; and in wet, The only method by which I clayey e have seen the water stand on the drain. “ could preserve the meadows for a produétive crop, is, not to have heavy “© cattle in them after November. I approve of hollow-draining squé Jaid in, and cov ered with ed Reports. o ” lands. But nothing is equal to stone or brick ‘‘ wheatestraw.’?—Note in the margin of ave of the return ot = DRAINING: 280 7} f] ANSIP>t=) 5| Pp Ba in the. winter of 1795-6, I made one of the« Com. mittee of Agriculture,” appointed by the Society for the {ncouragement of Arts, é&c. to enquire into, and ex. amine, the merits and performance of a mole plough, in» vented by Mr. Adam Scott, for the purpose of making hollow-drains. It appeared to be well calculated for : ae Mary Lage Se Apt eegh Ie Ege feed Same Lae Naxking a drain Olu LV€E inches dia-(the SIZE or tne DOFer), ¢ MOU a 1OOt DElOW the sui lace, W ithout TEAKING = een= ao nS oer Ae i ey<1 oe hla as ree= Or turning up tae soil; and without requiring any mae oO t, o 3 terials. to be used in the formation of it, as the whole OUSINESS Was Completed by drawing the prough along the 4 J o oO o Wines Aelita any oer| yA fa A ida ig piace marked out for tne intende dad drain. 4AnN 1d€a was entertained, that it would drain tem or fifteen acres in a day, ? 1 at an expence of less than one shilling an acre, even where 7) BS it might be deemec d necessary. to make tne drain 1S wit nun Lo Fig A 7 TLOELOTRSEX yards of€acyn other. ine experiment took piace 2££ ona clayey soil within Marybone-park; the power was in- creased to six horses, which broke the tackle; and, after two days trial, it completed about two hundred yards of ctly hollow, round, and sound, as a leaden re tic drain, as j pipe. The sides were so closed, as entirely to shut out the filteration of water, and therefore none oused from the soil(which was wet) into the drain; and, when water was poured over the drain, it r could not, ae penetrate aces it cer ainly did. When 1d y ito it, thou the surface was removed 1, and water was put into the upper end of the drain, it ran through eo whole length, and out at the lower end, in the most free and unit iterrupted manner. The drain was cut asunder in various places, to admit of observation and inspection. A transverse section ale iF AS ro>WNHPATA,} a of this drain appeared thus: and it seemed to be so closed at top, as S Yy to prevent any water passing through SS £ Oo the nick or opening above it, which SSS = 290 DRAINING. nick was intended to have been about a quarter of 4 inch wide, and to have remained open. 4 common plough might be held so as to cut out a small triangular trench thus: s which would be quite sufficient to lay every soil of this tenacious kind, dry; as| have| myself experienced on my own farm. The plough under review, consisted of a strong ash beam, a, with a handle of the usual construction, 4. The mole, or borer, c, was a cast-iron conical share, of about three inches diameter at the largest end; and was annexed to the beam by means of two wrought-iron flat bars, dd, with sharp front edges so as to cut the soil. These last passed through the beam, and contained a number of holes, through which pins were put, in order to determine the depth of the intended drain. igi Tt was found that the part marked* could not clear itself of bones, sticks, rags, stones, or such like obstructions as am ed" DRAINING, 201 as it met with; and therefore, in February 1794, another trial was made, with the plough altered as under. “ME ifiatt tl‘il Ti il Lice I UU The part marked* was now found to clear itself of every obstruction, and completed several drains, moving with near- ly asmuch speed as any heavy plough usually goes. The soil was a loam of a medium density, rather approaching to the tender; the power applied was six horses; and the labour appeared to be full as much as they could, or ought, to perform when in constant work. It is necessary, in using this plough, to guard against the beam’s drawing on the ground, which, in a dense soil, was difficult to prevent; it was this pressure of the beam on the ground, which closed the nick made by the coulter, in the experiment made in 1796. Butin the dast trial this was avoided, by keeping the beam six or eight inches above the surface, and the nick consequently re- mained open. Should this implement be further improved by the addi- tion of wheels, for the purpose of regulating the depth of 1¢ drain, and so constructed as to be used with perfect ease 2 upon 202 DRAINING. upon grass land, without the horses poaching(as they do at present), by means of the great weight, or draught, it might be annually applied with advantage, at the setting in of winter; as it would be the means of keeping the land dry, for one season at least, at a very small expence, and without disfiguring the superstratum of the soil. Wheat straw, twisted into a kind of rope as thick as a man’s leg(by means of the machine here sketched) has been lately introduced, as an easy and cheap way of supplying the want o better materials in drain- ing; but it will soon perish, and be washed away; the channel left in its place, will, in a loose soil, be immediately closed up; while in a dense soil, the “5>: basen fle j ea water will not filter freely into it. Heath hand, is durable and proper for the purpose of fillin drains; but there need be seldom any difficulty in pro- curing materials, as it 1s well known that green wood, of every sort, 1s best adapted for such use: even green wil- low is known to have lasted for ages, in such situations. scoop used in draining. No. 1, draining spade, to di cro4w oO IT Oo f DRAINING. 293 No. 2, the scoop, pointed as No. 1, to scoop out the icose mould,&c. at the bottom of the drain, in order to make it quite clear of all obstru€tions previous to putting in spray-wood,&&c. NiOies pie The prices of draining on Enfield-chase have been, for WE SES : Tee eae yaa Common drains, 20 pole 18 inches deep, each oS drain------ Principal drains, 2 feet deep, of the same length oO§© Burr to each score--. He.OT-O* 2 Ge Pee Se e 1 Te Lp a yee Sia nciet The labourer to find tools, and keep them in repair. Che usual distance at which the drains are made on the chase, is a short pole from each other. Mr. James filled drains on the chase with small flints; but in less than four years the effect had ceased,‘This circumstance was imputed by him to the accumulating particles of earth which were carried down by the current, and detained by the gravel which formed the drain. i 3 SECT. J 7 | ] q 294. PARING AND BURNING. SECT. II.—PARING AND BURNING. “¢ Paring and burning has been praGtised to some extent “on Enfield-chase, and very productive crops have been *¢ obtained by it.”—P. Foot. But the fear(excited by theoretical writers on this sub- nect), of exhausting the soil, by such éudky crops, induces people to plough up tough, wiry, benty, and heathy, old sward, without paring and burning; to the very great injury of the parties. Many there are who fall into this error; and among the number, were several of the owners of allotments on the chase*. As that did not answer, they *“© Tt has been a common prattice on the chase, to break up the ground, and sow it with white or black oats, but seldom to any advantage. The thick tufted, coarse, implicated grass, being turned in, carries most of the moisture from the seed, and proves a harbour for grubs, slugs and worms, &é which are ruinous to the crops. Add to this, the only chance of the seeds effectually vegetating, is between the furrows, where a scanty portion of poor earth is brought together by the harrow. Were it possible to make narrow furrows, the prospect of a return would be greater; but this would be very difficult, if not impracticable in most places, as a weight of earth is required to keep the harrows down, and to give them an opportunity of ** operating without tearing up the work.”°—P. Foor. A note on the foregoing in the returned Reports—“ This observation is ** a strong argument in favour of burning the turf, and afterwards making a ** summer fallow for turnips.’ Mr. James too admits, that lands uncultivated, or in their wild and Ori« ginal state, partly forests, such as the chase was before its inclosure, will gradually, by adventitious circumstances, as the fall of leaves, the decay of the vesture, imperceptible fermentation, the nutritious matter that the soil imbibes from the air, acquire a complete envegetic power, according to the properties which the respective lands possess, of acting upon such of the vegetable kingdom as are consentaneous to them; that the breast- plough affecting barely the turf or sward, leaves a great part of the vege- table matter behind, which being ploughed, and rendered more pulverized by means of the ashes being spread upon it, the roots of the plants have more room to expand, and the nutritious particles are disposed to administer ** their whole support to the crop; and that the whole power of the soil being by re PARING AND BURNING 295 they are now very sanguine in their expectation of success from an experiment of paring only, and carting the parings | into heaps, there to remain until the mass be reduced to mould; when these heaps are to be re-carted, and spread on the land from which'they came. This is a laborious, expensive process, that will require three or four years to perfect, even for the smallest piece of land, and much better suited to the whim of a man of fortune than to the pocket of a farmer. The impropriety of breaking up this kind of land without paring and burning, 1s manifested in the neighbourhood of Beach-hill, where land, after twenty years inclosure and cul- tivation, is in a worse state now than it was originally. Well would it be for the owners of such allotments, if they could now pare and burn it; but it has been ploughed, and, not pro- ducing more than what the vermin destroyed, laid down in so rough a state to grass, as to be incapable of being pared and burnt. The original wiry bent, and dwarf shrubs, are now growing in full vigour. On the znclosure of Stanwell, in this county, the allot- ments on Hounslow-heath succeeded well under the perfect ‘¢ by these means exerted to one end, a good crop may once, or perhaps *“ twice, be obtained by this mode of agriculture: but he contends, that it is “* by a sacrifice of a number of future good crops, which might be procured $* by a different process.’’—P. Foot. Against which, the following valuable observation was made in the margin of one of the returned Reports. “* If the turf is so impoverished as to be of no use externally, its property cannot be altered by ploughing it up, and turning it into the soil: on the contrary, the latter, by this praétice, is burthened by an inert substance, that cannot in any possible way aid subsequent vegetation. But very dif- ‘¢ ferent is the effect produced by burning the turf. Its sterility only vanishes by this operation, and in its stead leaves a fertilizing power, that, under the circumstances, could only be obtained by such chemical process. This power united with the soil, produces a principle of attraction that quickly furnishes a subtile nutriment much more advantageous than that which © may have escaped in the original decomposition.’? A practice 4 i i j / practice of paring and burning; and ill, where the turf was ploughed without the application of fire. In the land was imn the former case, nediately fit for turnips, tares, barley and clover: in the /etter, the tough wiry lwarf furze, kept the land bent, heath, and cannot keep it and spungy for any crop. Even roiling down, for its elasticity raises the soil soon after the roller has eae over It, and it is of so imperishabie a nature, +s that it is likely to plague the farmer for many years. Lhe difference between the two methods of breaking up rough ground, is more than the value of the frechold in favour oj ee ayaa Aw Pett are Arya f paring and burning, which immediately opens a source of £ fo} oO Y f J = eo SS ies 1 great profit; whereas the oth er proceeding leads to nothing but expence and disap eee The before-m 1 county, that ha decidedly in ae of the fire. In various other counties, p wed, have observed the same decided preference due to paring- S tioned are the e only tuo instances in this come tomy knowledge, and they are=P burning. The instances which are produced against it, have arisen from the rapacity.of the occupiers; who finding, from the first crops of turnips Lal corn, that the land was in great heart, have sown wheat fourteen years 1m succes- se ae Ne. 7 sion, till the soil was wholly exhausted*. Certain theoretical reporters have, m conseque, condemned Wane and burning, as“ the most infamous of all prac Stices,”’ with- out passing any censure on the knavish occupier, and the negligent land steward who permitt ed so infamous a suc- cession of crops. There is no more propriety in thus generally condemning par ing and burning, than there would be in exclaiming against all warm stimulating manures. > ¥ 2}: ae} fl But pW Inf QnA bui mine fas More Merit thai any Ol >: ; 7 f ji eo en yh ty, Y~ 7 manure, in its property of converting neath, furs, SUruyy, - i ae;“=. yh 1) * Asrelated by Mr. Goodchild of Staffordsea, Hants, to Mr. Jenkin an AT ii i a c8s a BO foe Bd eI: Pa) Py[eee ROP ay bape ae Bra been ee PEO palea of advancit g the land to the first aegree of Jertitily jor any length of time, land soa enriched, in a high state of a/~ Oo A f RARING AND BURNING, 207 me 3. r ae pee a- S rar ear eMged(MEELIS Se fe Pees See Pr ee fe= and wiry bent, into coal, most fitly prepared for the food of ag[oe BS ees A rp pee vay PGi beer pati P) tign eo Diants;s and it Will pulverize SUCH GA SOL GS MUCH 1H twa Ty] ye x x af i fare- STARA OTS. years, aS all other means can ef ect TER EORIEIOV Paring, OU NING, and liming at the same 7zme, 725 the most ¢ é E/ficient ana cheap are SSE tiat Can be ae eH 10 land yn the breaking up of commons and. rough pastures, where the natu- Ord fo) ral produétions are ling, heath, furze, rushes, and coarse a<-° 7 ass. Qn whatsoever soil they may be found, it never has ot 7 J Aas 5] and he must be a very bad jarmer Who cannot continue, ; of pi odu€éhiveness. OuUppose two or more of each of the crops of tuUYnIpS, Lares, cole, and clover, to be raised and fed on the soil, and the land Zien L. un to grass, Without Corn, in such case, it cannat be doubted but the herbage would be abundant, and coveted by all rg sorts of cattle; and its duration, if continued in pasture, would be co-eval with the land. The particulars brought against this practice, totally fail in proving that paring and burning is in the smallest de- ee of an impoverishing nature; but they demonstrate the ruinous practice of a succession of corn crops, and the neces- ae ed ee si ingdps an c=~, Bi Aca SOO f ie sity of strong covenants, and a watchful attention, on the part *“ Paring and burning reduces vegetables and their roots into coal and ** ashes, and thus prepares both a stimulant and nutriment for plants; it also ae] destroys the old sickly roots, and thus leaves room for others, younger and| §* more vigorous.”’ “* Coal is an essential ingredient in the food of all vegetables: it is found in all vegetable and animal manures that have undergone putrefaction, «¢ and is the true basis of their ameliorating powers.’’ ** Burned clay and brick-dust, improve the texture of clayey soils, and ** supply also the carbonaceous ingredient.”,—R. Kirwan. ““ The coaly principle may be exhausted by too many crops;’’—but if these crops are consumed green on the Jand, the dung and urine of the cattle will increase the carbonaceous principle.—F, M/Z, ti een 298 PARING AND BURNING. of the landlord, to their due execution, in-order to secure the land against being exhausted. The hills on each side of the meadows which produce the Newbury peat-ashes, consist of chalk, easily dissolvable by heavy rain, which washes it off the ridges, down the furrows, ditches, and streamlets, to the low grounds, where mixing with the floods, it is floated over the meadows, and deposited in the peat. Consequently the peat of this district differs from that of most others, by the quantity of chalk which it contains; and, when dug, dried and burnt, the fire reduces the chalk to lime, and the rest to ashes. fence Newbury ashes are a mixture of lime and vegetable ashes, and it is very prebable that any common peat-ashes, or the ashes of rough grass land, of turf, heath, furze, ling, laces sae. sian ees gee aii wood, Sc. produced by the operation of paring and burning, na SOS Oe ne) fee ee oe Sees Bee a eh er being mixed with chalk lime in due proportion, would be equally fertilizing as these noted ashes. The operation of paring turns the sod upside down, and, when covered with heath, the shrubs keep it raised a few inches above the ground, so that it readily dries sufficiently, and is mostly burnt in that state. This is a saving of much trouble and expence, the ashes are thereby more equally spread, and the fire operates over the entire surface of the soil below where the spade went, which is to a greater depth than usual. The following is an instance of the success of a case of that kind. «« The Rev. Mr. Cooke, in the month of April 1792, * determined,| understand, to make a course of experi- «« ments on a farm which he held in the West Riding of «¢ Yorkshire, by burning the sward all over the surface, “ in the state in which it was left by the paring-spade.— «¢"The land was intended to have been ploughed imme- “a n diately after it was burned; but this was deferred by ¢ other business of the farm, for above four weeks, when, 6 to PARING AND BURNING. 299 *¢ to his astonishment, he discovered better than half a *« plant of spontaneous grass, where nothing but heath and «ling had grown before. Agreeably surprized by this €© unlooked-for circumstance, he suffered it to remain in ~ en RSE » “* the state it was; and the grass not only thickened very d “* fast, and grew quite green, but, being the spontaneous Fe a ee ‘* produce of the earth, and not arising from seed that had aN ——— cas ‘¢ been sown, continued permanent. The spontaneous production of this luxuriant grass, ¢ nn he accounts for by the parings being burnt all over the « “ surface instead of in heaps, and never suffering it to “* burst into flame sufficient to exhale the pabulum existing ‘6 n in the soil. *¢‘The land on which this experiment was tried, is a black “* peat earth; the former produce of it heath and ling. «¢‘The expence of paring and burning he calculates at ‘* 16s, an acre, and the present appearance of the land, he s, affords a reasonable expeCtation of its bees here- é ve er worth at least 16s. an acre per annum.’ Inclosing has been carried on in an extent more than ten times, greater in the xorth of England than in the south-east; and the opportunities of observing their effects, have of course been proportionally many. Most of these new allotments of the commons have been broken up by paring and burning. The few who ploughed their land without this operation, have. been much mortified by their own crops not succeeding so well as their neigh- bours’. It may be-proper to observe, that I am by no means an advocate for the burning of any turf that will readily harrow to pieces; that produces a fine herb bage, and which is usually fed bare; nor indeed for the ploughing it at all, except its produce be very scanty, and manure scarce; and then only for the purpose of growing and feeding three or four green crops on it, and laying it down to pasture again. Land, 300 PARING AND BURNING. Land, when pared and burnt, yields its treasures very freely: this puts it in the power of tenants, wit to exhaust the soil by successive corn crop may be continued so long as to leave the landa|! mortuum. But this is occasioned by landlords n rantin longer leases, making proper covenants, and seeing them complied with. For instances of great improvements produced by aring and burning, see the Reports of North Yorkshire, p. 55, =:; ee at 2 10Q; a 134, 115, and 116; Boys’ Kent, quarto, p. 38, 45, and 46; East York, p. 37, 39, 50,&c. T°- Further, Sitio knawn much land, worth from one shilling to two shillings and six-pence an acre, advanced, by paring and burning, to ten, twenty, and even thirty shillings an acre, on twenty-qne years leases. Paring, burning, and chalking, is an excellent method of breaking up wood sour land.—Wz/ts, p. 94. Paring, burning, and liming, is equally proper for black peat aah though peat earth may, in some cases, be greatly improved by liming the old turf without breaking it up. NOTES IN THE MARGIN OF ONE OF THE RE DURNED= ROE POR AGS «¢ Paring and burning is the best method of proceeding in new inclosures «* where heath and furze grow, as those seeds cannot be destroyed by good a husbandry in any fixed period. A proof, in 1793, of furze seed not being cr ‘ destroyed within a period of seven years cultivation on new inclosure “¢ where furze growed—some land in South Mims allotment part of Enfield- chase, had been cultivated nine years; was apparently very clean, suffi- cient to lay down, which was done in 1792 with clover and rye-grass; after mowing the first crop(1793), there appeared to be young furze spring- ing up, and on examining, it appeared general. The spring of 1794 i€ was thought advisable to turn it again to the plough, therefore it is most probable no person has been able to ascertain how long a period the seed of furze, by cultivation, can be destroyed. Which observation is very ob- vious, that paring and burning in that case is absolutely necessary.—Az0~ my MoS. © Paring - Tt f z ee as, 0000 cows, and 050,000 27/ F J MANURING. 201 Paring and burning any black peaty or heath ground, without lime, is &tice; the ashes alone would produce two or three miserable ats, though no herbage; but with lime, good wheat, oats and —Ca, p27 and burning is but little used; but when it is, no management he farmers on our hills are shy of acknowledging its benefits.’” ‘quarto, p.9. Appendix, Cs ok hl—— MANU RUENIGS THE greater part of the manure used in this county is carted from London; being part of the sweepings of a surface containing tree thousand« produced is probably not less 5 j al, Pied f y i> fie eon Se Says f than five hundred thousand cart-loads*; about one-half of | ORE a] A Haney Aue oo He ea en Ay,? Soil 18 not ONLY more quick in its operation than any other aress- ang, but is by far the richest manure ever was laid on 5 2 land is Lat ia| ee 1 i ne farmers pay at tne s ose aes Re Pe Speers ea See er cart-load(thc me litter and norse-adung, avout 2S. pel Calt-i0ad{tuo0ue av CS, 1Olea=MTKGIEe.O! Straw y= * This county contains about 179,200 acres. Suppose the produce of ; 120,000 of these is sent to London; to which add the produce from 30,000 >,> Jah} acres in Herts:and Essex, and from 1 make a total of 250,000 acres, the produce }0,000 acres in Surrey, Berks, Kent, and all other places, and it w of which is brought to London, and may be supposed to be two loads per acre, which is Aalf@ million cart-loads of produce converted into manure an- & tered cattle and animals.— 7%, M, sive of the inside« + Three or four cart-loads are for the first dressing of an acre and afterwards one load per acre per annum would keep it perpetually in heart.— as MM. 302 MANURING. allow their carters 2s. 6d. a load; the man to get it a9 cheap as he can, which he sometimes does for 18d.) heaped so as to contain between seventy and ninety cubical feet. Ihe price of dry street slop at the dunghills is rs. per horse; the soil of privies, dry, 1s. 6d. per horse; bones raw, boiled, or burnt, and coal ashes 6s. a load; soot 8d. a bushel; horn shavings from 6s. to 7s. a sack, of eight bushels, well stuffed;‘leather dust and shreds, 2s. 8d. a sack, of five bushels, well stuffed; the scrapings of sheeps’ trotters, calves’ feet, cow-heels, 8s. a quarter; woollen rags from 2s. 4d. to 3s. a hundred weight; and hog’s hair, if wet, 15s. a cart-load. The foregoing are the prices in London. The chimney-sweepers who sell soot in London, mix with it ashes and earth, sifted very small and fine: this they term“ spzcing the soot.”. The expence of stable litter, when back carriage is reckoned, to South Mims, which is thirteen miles from London, is 12s. a load; and at Hendon, which is seven miles from London, 8s. 6d.aload, with four horses. But if the farmer sends his team on purpose for manure, which is very often the case, the expence of each load at the former distance will be 22s. and at the Jatter 15s..Od;*per load, with four horses; or 2s. 6d. less in each case when they do it with three. The barge-men on the river Thames supply, from the different dung wharfs, those cultivators of land who reside on the borders of that river, at amuch cheaper rate. The nanure which they carry consists, generally, of the sweep- ings of the streets,&c. though it sometimes has a small quantity of stable litter mixed with it. The street slop is delivered, at any distance capable of being reached in one tide, at the price of about four guineas a MANURING. 20 > 2-2 wuineas for seventeen or eighteen cart-loads, each load consisting of nearly two tons weight: this they call cold manure. The same barge being filled with stable litter, they call Aot manure, and deliver it in like manner at five Street slop is also sent, from the different wharfs, by the nver Lea canal, in barges which carry about thirty tons, or fifteen cart-loads; and delivered as far as Enfield, which is about thirteen miles, for 41. The price of stable litter or dung is about 20s. more. Chalk is brought by the same canal, from Ware-park, and its environs(Herts) a distance of about eleven miles, and delivered at Enfield, at the rate of 41. for about thirty tons; and is found to answer with tolerable success. Sheep-folding is resorted to, in order to manure part of the land in different parishes round Hounslow-heath and other commons.; The gardeners manure their land twice in every three years at least. The farmers in general, only once in three or four years. The former at the annual expence of 10] and the /atter at from 3° to 40s. according to the distance of carriage, and the quantity laid on* The farmers of this county also colleét road-scrapings; mud arising from the cleansing of ponds and ditches; and the top-mould from gravel pits,&c.; all of which they lay in the most convenient places for future use, as bottoms for dunghills. On these bottoms they cart all the dung pro- duced in their respective farmeries, and also what they bring from London, or collect from the several inns on the road. To these they sometimes add chalk, ashes, bricklayer’s rubbish, soap boilers waste,&c. In this state a * Since this account was written(which was in 1796) the for egoing prices have advanced about 20 per cent. occasioned by tl ve tax on draught-horses, and opening anew market for manure through the Uxbridge canal.—F, AZ, the B04 ATANURING: the heap lies till within a month of the time they purpose laying it on the land; when they turt 1 it, and mix the whole as intimately t gether as ae: shaking the larger pieces to atoms, and tossing such as are too ae to the inner part. Thus treated, it more perfectly ncorporates, and completes its putrefaction while it con- tinues in the heap, which, as before observed, is about a month, whef it is carted and spread on the land*. This method of laying dottoms for dunghills 1s a most excellent practice, aaa cannot be too much recommended to the attention of farmers, as it preserves the preciot us liquor which distills from the dung during that heating and putrefac- sion which necessarily takes place while it lies in the heap. This beneficial practice, however, 1s not ui niversal in this county; there are some slovenly farmers Who nai precaui tion; and, cons sequently, one half of the most fer tilizing particles, nay, the very essence of the dung itself runs inta the adjoining ditches, and is lost. : ee: See It is rather a general opinion, that durie should, in ail cases, be quite rotten before it is spread on the land; though, in consequence of all root crops succeeding best ona light soil, it has been the praétice of many farmers to use stable litter, hot with putrefact This is, probably, very right on 4 soil that is rather too den e for that crop; but, ona true be more proper to use the dung a after all eo for potatoes. carrot soil, wt may its parts are dissolved, an mass, by means of putrefaction fT. a It t 1 a ee * During the latter end of September, and all the month of October, syass land daily as they bring some farmers cart the dry street slop on to their g it from London.— 7./ For additional information as to the management of dunghills, see kitchen- gardens. + This part of the subjeé is not so clearly ascertained as could be wished, for some of the most attentive farmers decide this question the contrary Way 3 -efaétion, and about half d incorporated into one complete td er RE Hi premise z Snes MANURING, 305 The dung of fat animals is unquestionably more rich, and ronsequently possesses greater powers of fertilization, than the dung bf lean ones."The quality of the dung of every sort of mimal will, in a great measure, be proportioned to the podness or poverty of its food.“Thus, when the s fed on oily seeds(as lint, rape,&c.) it will be the moj rich; when kept on oil-cake(or those seeds de- prived{ part of their oil) the next; on turnips, carrots, é&c. thaext; on the best hay next; on ordinary hay next; "9 417 Se eye|- pan and omraw, perhays, the poorest of al ] FPL ance ey farm | I. The aUung of lean hard! x 19 CALLLES feeding On Straw, 75 poo indeed| Mure is undoubtedly the great cause of fertility.(The Midesex farmer savs** there 1s nothing to be done with- out tendment’’). The soil is grateful, and, for all the dundaid on it, never fails to return the principal with Jargiterest, wa! and insist upon it, that all dung produces greater effects when laid on jn ¢ midst of its heat, whiie it is in the most putrid and offensive state. It mie confessed, that the great advantage of showering the putrid water of figpits, and the Flemish method of applying a prepared stinking liquid yyure, make strongly in favour of this side of the question. I think Dr. J¢nhouz proved, that, it is the offensive particles of matter which nourish pits. It is well known that dung, which has lain long enough to be com- piely reduced, and turned once or twice, has lost its offensive smell, and yhably some of its most fructifying particles~- 7, 7. “ Dung is a proper ingredient in the appropriated manures of all sorts of soils, as 1t supplies the carbonaceous principle.”’—R. Kirwan. There is a much larger quantity of dung carried on the Edgware road, jan on any other in the county; and the number and size of the dunghills 4 the side of this road is astonishing.— 7. M., ‘© T prepare the bottoms of most of my dunghills with pond mud. After “the dung is rotten, I turn the whole over, and mix it in the turning. “When mud or mould is not to be had, the yard should have the shape of a “dripping-pan with a well in it, and the liquor should be carted out, and showered over the land.”—Mr. Fenkins. ‘¢ T never turn my dunghills more than once, and think more would be in- # jurious; and always lay mud, mould, ditch-earth,&c. under my dung- Whills.°-—F. Marsh. Sagar U In g00 MANURING., In this county, the produce of the land fetches such a high price at market,‘that no cattle, by eating the crops either in the field or the home-stalls, would by any means bring so much. This necessarily has the effect of drawing all the produce to market, and the land is kept in heart with the dung brought by the carts on their return home. In places at any greater distance from town, the most ef~ fetual way of manuring, is to raise green crops, for the pur- pose of feeding sheep and bullocks with‘them on the land, This is the only method by which the loss of very nearly all the urine(in itself perhaps equal to the dung), and a considerable part of the dung, can be prevented; for, in the stables, cow-houses, sheds, fold-yards, and dunghills, even under the best management, there is great waste, per rhaps of “half, including dung and urine. Under ordinary manage- ment, three parts of this manure is lost; but, in the soiling of tares, turnips, cole, clover, ic. in the fields, thereis ne loss; the wholé is immediately applied, without the cost of carriage, to the enriching of the saul In this county, the grass land receives most of its manure between the middle of September and the end of OGtober; a time when the sun is not so hot as to exhale its most vo- latile parts; and yet a sufficiently early season for the land to bear the drawing of loaded carts over it, without being poached by the horses. The rains which follow, dissolve the salts gently into the ground, where they nourish the grass all the winter, and prepare its roots and buds for growth early in the spring, /is is supposed, and L think with good reason, to be the best season for laying manure on grass land, For the most advisable time for manuring arable land, see the several crops, such as tares, clover,&c. Excessive falls of rain powerfully dissolve the animal dung ee LIA CrP TE DICE.‘ enerall; suffer ed to Wa: cA ~° p aropt on all land, and they are also too the — SE————E—————— epesa——— : , RT AWN TT ING O0)9 MANURING. 307 hy vl rn the dunghills and dung-yards, in every part of this island, which 4<~ or:;; 5 J 7 mn sp opp t4-079104 4) 1174 nw pC r of FI4GI0 ¢ We 7C'9 A ean ere Ve ibe atly Lala On slopes, Or SHE ving ZYOUuURA, as af jor .=. yi Rie Ws a a oe the very purpose of being so washed, and for the dung-water ing J PUY]‘ é ces Se es: aia aest: Ss : to run off. Thus the salts become dissolved, and such es them Lal)=: as do not pe into the ground, are floated off tog with me the richest ee along the furrows, drains, ink StVreaQms, ‘- fs Ae Ae a aediya n bre and rivers, towards the sea. Hence the superior wisdom of those who take every oppori tunity of turning water thus Lmipreg= nated, over ever Pi pbc art of their land, in such quantity \V / Sees DORA ey to en e th 5 ef SANS Seat ties sores Seb 477 Teen Pee tie ; aS 1s best CALCULATEA LO SUr 1€ aépositing of its rich contents, r Anes PEE For‘additional observations on manuring with putrid ial water, see the section on watering. Wh oO i of: rays“y eee ee sage= J Lime.-—There is neither limestone nor chalk in this é county; nor is there any lime burnt in it; though ther are kilns for the burning of both chalk and limestone a ai Nine-elms, near Vauxhall, on the Surrey side of the i Thames. Chalk lime may be obtained, in any quantity, t Sutton and Croydon(Surrey) only ten or eleven miles Ne off, by land; and at Northfleet(Kent) only twenty miles 54 by water; yet it is never used asa manure.’ The price at V0: which it is sold on the wharfs in London and Westminster, inl is too high for the farmer; as it would stand him in up- ing wards of two guineas a cart-load, by the time he had got Lv it home, if only ten miles from town*, the On inclosing the commons of this county, some cases for will present themselves, in which lime would be neces- ink sary, and highly beneficial; as it is on all soils that are 1] 1 1 i black a ay IC ii ¥ oO t} on black and peaty, producing heath, id,* Tt is sold at about nine shillings per twenty-five small bushel bags, which weigh about halfa ton. A farmer’s cart would hold four such parcels, The team and expences of carriage ten miles into this county, would be six. é ¢aen shillings; together, 21, 12s.—}% J, hi ay a If 308 MANURING. Tf lime be laid on ae the intent of curing a defect in the soil, it would probably be ce on land in which there is a mixture of marl, se or limestone; and also on the sand and gravel of marine shells, limestone, marble, or any materials which are reducible to lime; and perhaps on any clean skinned soil, producing an healthy herbage*. oO Most kinds of stone Lime should be applied with a sparing hand, and with a considerable degree of caution, as the caustic quality 1s many times greater in ¢/zs than in lime made from chalk. Indeed I have had many opportunities of seeing total barrenness induced by a too liberal use of it. Very generally, at the several places where the carts were stopped for the men to spread it; at the bottoms of every heap; and, once, an entire close+. Old arable land, that bears good corn, is in no. want of lime; nor ought it to be applied to such a soil without being previously mixed with mould, mud, dung,&c. Landlords would do well to restrain the general use of lime; and to give their teats leave to apply it only, where its beneficial effects are proved by experiment; and then for the production of twa or three green crops to be fed on the land, previously to taking ove of corn. It seems to prepare the soil for yielding its treasures, and therefore, if it should be applied for a succession of corn crops, the ruin of the land 1s inevitable. * S¢ As quick-lime greedily absorbs fixed air from the atmosphere, and €¢ from the soil, by which, as soon as it is saturated, it is brought back to< *¢ mild calcarious earth or selenite, might not selenite or gypsum, Shout ii “¢ the trouble and expence of calcination, supply its place? Some affirm, ** from late experiments, that limestone, ground or broken down, answers ** equally well asa manure. And of late, gypsum, or plaster of Paris, has *¢ been extolled both at home and abroad.’’—Note iz the margin of are- turned Report. +“* We have had many opportunities of obeys the abuse of lime *¢ being too often repeated, and in large quantities, it becomes hurtful. Cumb erland.» Guarto, page 59. Lime a a oe Pa ft SS |> Bey par yA ent psa Gee Si[epee Gop Uae ee Rec Othe ime never increases the richness of any soil; but it io 2 cea Stee Pato ie, ae land. Awone yHotino an over ex haus- Uy OF was deteriorated much! da, DY| roi LOUIS all OVCY Exhaus = ae y A Sipe hee anon an ho Aes oe. DS on tion. Yet many are the landlords who, from su posing : ses!+ fc~ aes t ahiat it enrzc/le the soul, Make their Tt L covenant fo . a° 1 7 es hers ms peotian& Ik iting lime the land every time they fallow it, which is cenerally il v Aa J y) s the every third year; not considering that it is a dressing lime mostly in favour of the tenant, and frequently against the ities interest of the andlord*. of sid Limestone.—In Osx by a sufficient number of experiments, tried for‘ several Years; asit will id y increase the wetness and tenacity of the soil At> Sussex, several fields of temperate loam YUi€ vere marled about tl urty years ago by the present tenant, (Smith), who complains, that it has done much harm, by rendering the land too tenacious, adhesive, and wet; and likewise, that it introduce- colisfoot into the fields; which has maintained itself ever since, in spite of any endeavour of the tenant to eradicate it. Soot.—The soot of all the chimnies in London, and most of those in other parts of the county, is collected by iets the sweepers, and sold for the purpose of top-dressing corn and young clovers; though I believe more of it is used in Hertfordshire than in this county. Its usually spread at the rate of forty bushels per acre, towards the latter end of February. Smoke.—The smoke, consisting of the lightest partic of soot, raised by the force of the ascending current of rare- fied air, arising from three hun: idred thousand res in Lon- don and its environs, is daily deposited on the surrounding country; the next rain washes it into the soil, and it sen- sibly promotes vegetation. Peat—Is to be had in great abundance in the marslres near Uxbridge, on both sides of the canal. It is inter- sected here and there by beds of flinty gravel, than which there cannot be any thing more ponveaiea: for makin roads across these boggy grounds.‘he owners ie these meadows would do well to burn the peat. into ashes for sale, as they might be easily conveyed to every place bor- dering onthe canal, and on the river Thames. The Sig MANURING. The Newbury ashes can be brought by the barges td any place‘a this county adjoining the river Thames, above London, at two guineas and a half per hundred bushels, nine-gallon measure;(i. e. one guinea at the place, and one guinea and a half for the freight). I have tried these ales on wheat, tares, seeds, and meadows, in various quantities per acre, on my c/ayey-soil, without their producing any sensible effect. For the effets of peat-ashes, when mixed with lime, and applied as a top-dressing to the lands in Berkshire, see the section on paring and burning. The following notes are copied from observations made jn the margins of the returned Reports: *¢ In my opinion, every load of hay expended on the farm will produce *€ three large loads of dung; and every load of straw used as above wil} “« make two loads of dung.’” “€ Coal-ashes—I have frequently tried them upon cold, wet, clayey mea- ** dows, but never found they paid the.expence. Upon gravel I have ** known them answer well, and the Hertfordshire farmers sow great quan- *© tities of them annually, upon their clovers growing upon the hot gravels in ‘© the neighbourhood of Watford,&c. “6 The Middlesex farmers, particularly in the parish of Hendon and its “ environs, manage their compost heaps the best in the kingdom: they ‘© make it as fine as ashes, by which means they are enabled to put it on ‘6 their land at most times of the year, and the first shower of rain is sure *© to carry it down to the roots of the grass.”’—Anonymous. 6¢ Where the dung is tre awn by back carriage, the expence should not be “© estimated high; a good load of dung may be worth in London about 3s, 6d. **—-about fourteen loads aoe lent for an acre—night-soil is sold at 5s. per ‘© load, and is reckoned to go three times as far as dung, in giving fertility to land.”’=—Dr. Wilkinson. There isa new kind of manure brought into use within these few years, ¢ viz, the soil of the necessary-houses in London, which used to be thrown s¢ into pits(particularly in Tothil-fields) and quite wasted. It is nowregularly «* worked up with mould, and I believe sometimes with lime. This may ““ be seen done ona large scale on the north side of gthe New-road, between €€ Marybone and Paddington. Query—the kind of land, and the quantity €€ in which it is laid on? It appears from various authors, to be the chief manure ; WEEDING.» abs 8€ wonure used from timé immemorial in China, and reckoned the most "** forcible. els“6 Some notice should, I think, too, be taken of the use of soot and bones ind® from the laystalis in London, which last is, J believe, very little known ” S¢ in other counties except in Hertfordshire. Woollen rags, though got in London, are, I believe, more used in Berkshire, being gent up in barges, |“¢ than Middlesex.’—Sir Rich. Sutton. Night-soil is, in my opinion, founded on experience, the most powerful and effeGtual manure, quantity considered, of any now in use.— J. AZ, wo. i. SECT. 1V.—- WEEDING: + N one or two parishes in this county, the weeds are destroved by an entire summer-fallow every third year: Jd 7«/ and on the strong /oams in the other parishes, by. hoeing, > J e) < c Je and hand-weeding th eans and peas. On the sandy loams, by hoeing the crops of peas, tares, eee GE):: and turnips. After the peas or tares are off, the land is ; ploughed and harrowed, and the root-weeds raked together ere x|. yA“yn Sy I eS S| Poa Pees and burnt- which 1s reé peated arter the‘Cros ss-plou gning. mm nee. pete eer Ee Ge are 4 Sapa me bt~ ee eat Eger at [he land being then free from eS turnips are ‘ sOWn, ana the seed-weeds are destrove DY twice Nand- rn hoeing. This process being repeated once in about three four years, keeps //gfz land clean. = in a dry summer, the trouble and expence of raking, is 2 inoS repede tr‘reqdiuentliwz he AA on picking, and burning, weeds, may frequently be saved, and the roots destroyed, by only harrowing them to the 3 7]= aioe pen Wee eee ee RO) isk ees surface aiter every ploughing; and thereby exposing them ¢ ieee enturient llenoth C tim Ealleenies to the sun for a sufficient length of time to kill them; vet which is effectually done in a week. J Wherever the vegetable mould is of a sufficient depth 5' ete ape ratic Pesta eat enn te I, b, to admit of trenchplowshing, that operation, aided by a I= Ss A | j Bah oped tl ee I] aamniletelw dectr YQ wnnterth eed[ heavy rolling, Wut completely destre the root-weeds. C ; J.) / . is even more effectual for that purpose, than any 1 Let& te} aa ae ASS hah Re a a4 Bs n number of ploughings, and is an excellent method, where jhe r,= n y it can be done without turning up a poor sub- soil, i 2‘: aonrnamn SECT.« 8 bs s ‘ eo,“——: rs eer————. naa sil= SS ee oo 3 on 316 WATERING» SECT. V.—-WATERING: THIs county ts very well watered. There is no deo ficiency in swmmer for the use of cattle, though some parts are a little too dry for the crops in that season; and others are too much flooded in winter, Yet notwithstanding these extremes, irrigation makes no part of the practice of a Middlesex farmer; he suffers the streams to glide by, or through his farm, without interruption; and looks on them merely as conveying the surplus-water out of the county. When the swmmer’s heat is burning up his crops, his only hope is in an early rain: he never thinks of sup- plying the deficiency of moisture by art. And when the winter's flood o’erspreads his fields, in-some cases he be- wails his misfortune, but dreains not of embanking his land. If his farm is exhausted, he resorts to the London ] 1 dunghills, forgetful of the streams that are running through it, loaded with fructifying regi ol fir & particies. The improvement of land by irrigation, is of the very first zmportance. Wherever the water of this county can be flowed over, and afterwards drained off, any kind of land, at pleasure, be 7é ever so poor, it may be laid to grass; and, by the effect of water alone, raised to the highest pitch of perfection which meadow-land is susceptible of. This is not only a great improvement, worked without manure 2s] by cf 4 AAV OC bh) B L> k:| 11] A27)PV y T e in the first zmstance, but the land will neve, want any, oO} at least not more than it will nieet with in the water, The largeness of the produce of watered-meadow is, at the same time, a fund f£ or the dressing o larly valuable to every cow-farmer. No other mode has other land; and particu- yet procured such early spring grass; and the hay, when mown early, is peculiarly suitable for cows, being soft and succulent. et—_—= Se WATERING, 317 ': Eat Bee samy ba ie succulent. As a cow-pasture, no other land woOuid support half so much stock. The produce of meadow-land in this county, 1s rol. an : Ce SS a i ne) perannum; of the arable land, in common fields, 81.*; . 1 ai 7 7 Blea| Sea i rt might successively lay the whole under water. But this stream is applied to the use of the canals in Bushey-park and Hampton-court; and the persons employed to keep it clean, will not suffer it to be obstructed» nor diverted from its course, in the smallest degree; though much of it could be returned into the same channel, after having served the valuable purpose of irrigation. These people enter the park, and drag the rivulet at their pleasure, leaving the ez arth and weeds which they rake out; and, if there be only.a bariow- full of it, they generally leave it in eight or ten lumps, besides trampling and destroying the crops in every direGtion. It is not this water which is employed in irrigating the sixty acres mentioned in the text, but the water of another stream which the estate has aright to use. These men not only d twenty times more damage than is necessary; but, what is still worse, they have the impudence to personally insult the gentleman who occupies this large farm, even while they are trespassing on his grounds, and destroying his crops. In short, he iy irritated beyond description, and says that na regard is paid to a Sarmer.— Ff. y ANNU EL5 UIE o 4 a&& WATERING, 319 and, of course, present an insuperable bar P70 past“res 5 against this, and every other improvement. The zaclosed dand too, in every part of the county, is divided and subdivid- ed into sucha great number of sma all estates, as to circum- scribe the possibility of making en meadows, without machinery, into a very narrow compass, along the borders of the rivers and streams; and even there by no means gene- rally, as, in such situations, the same obstructions would frequently be found to interrupt the conveying of water from levels sufficiently high*. The Thames, at London, receives, daily, immense quan- tities of the richest materials; and, as far up the river as the tide flows, its water is almost saturated with manure. In every part of its course it contains, in a state of sclu- tion, large quantities of the most valuable parts of animal manure, and of calcarious matter, previously dissolved by the rains, and washed by the floods off the rich lands, sheep-downs, and chalk-hills of several counties, whose surplus-water united form the Thames; which still farther enriches itself as it passes along, by the waste of various towns. Being thus loaded with the cause of fertility, it ought, as much as possible, to be spread over poor land in such a manner as to allow it to filter and deposit its rich contents.“Chis can only be done, to any considerable extent, by inclosing the commons; by providing for irri- gation during the division; and by calling in the aid of machinery. The water of every flood, special a of the first in au- tumn, is thickened with the w Be gs of manufactures, of sa Sa a pe thee SY epee? Baby 8‘ 2 ju m-yards, Of AUUAZHELLS, 0 of marl,‘ah and of animal and vegetable matter sallcéted plik all the lands on which the rain * A note says, that‘ along the sides of all the rivers and streams which 6c abound in the county, there are fiat grounds sufficiently low to be flowed, a ; “* at least during every winter, and othes times of flood.?? 320 WATERING. fell which caused the frocd. ing matter, cannot fail of being highly beneficial to every de- é 7 scription of land over which it is possible to throw it @ manner as to deposit its contents. But of all the waters that ever were used for the fruclifying of land, the> highly putrid seems to claim the first attention. The ponds, for instance, in which hemp and flax have been rated, power- fully promote vegetation; as has been experienced in So- mersetshire(see the Report of that county), since I gave the original hint of its probable value on being showered over grass-l.nd, in the Annals of Agriculture, tolume 18. Of course, a cheap and ready method of rendering any considerable pond highly putrid, for the purpose of irri- gation, would be a valuable acquisition to the agricultural world. The higher grounds of this county, on account of the tenacity of HIRE nature, are particularly adapted for the J .] waters running into the lower ground, between the hills; where dams ead be’set up, in order to form a number of large ponds that might be employed in irrigating the lands below. Every stream should be stopped, by as many - J J dams as might be necessary, to enable the farmer to turn the surplus-water over his grounds. O sh parts as are too flat to admit of this method of n such parts as are too Nat to admit of this method of 1 ° 1] 7 wld making ponds, they should be made by excavating the grounds, in situat ions the most suitable, for the double pur- pose of collecting the water, and of admitting of its bine re~ turned over theland. Every pond that can be made by the damming of a stream, would collect large quantities of mud, always fit for immediate application on@radle land, without any thing else being mixed with it; or on grass, after being mixed and turned up with dung. Of such great use are ponds, as collectors of mud, that some excellent farmers have e we Seeks aac-_= a Sia aes ana a Wa fr i TE SR I NG. 32% ah. have@ All€ at the lowest corner of every close, for the 7 1 rtn 3 n /, 4 Water to aepo A€£FO} po 7 CL ti7nent Z Chere are many ponds in this county already; and in ge~ i neral they are situated on high; rround, between the sloping 1y= a sides of tw 0 opposing hills. Such, fi for instance, are those at try Hampstead, at Car nons, and near each of the ee lodges | on Enfield-chase; at Beach- hill, and Trent- place; and on the common west of Elstree: in short, there are ponds é on most of the high grounds in the county, and there might be such on a//, which could be made extensive re- servoirs. The surplus-water of every one of them might = be emt loved in flowing some adj oining land, without ma- 125 ip> = cy here is a very great quantity of Jand in Britain, now in a state of nature, which is capable of being drained and watered in the manner of water-meadows; and the various Reports afford ample proof, that it is not always ; more necessary to re-shape the ground and burn the rub- bish, than to bring the water on in proper quantity, and keep it in a small degree of motion till filtered and drained ny off again. This, being continued for a moderate length co ir of time, so alters the nature of the soil, as to destroy the coarse grass, hassocks, rushes, reeds, heath, furze, and other equally worthless produce, w hich are gradually suc- ceeded by rich grass in the greatest abundance, equal to NUT the production of the most luxuriant soils*, ree Most small streams on the sides of slopes may easily be the dammed suffici iently to turn them over the adjoining ud ew; and so may many considerable rivyulets, where = one person only owns the land on both sides to a consider- iy able oe as 1s the case on some large estates. But even re) e 5 ¢* See Dr. Anderson’s very valuable Report of Aberdeenshire, quarto, Pp, 167,&c, and Dumbarton Report, quarto, p. 30, x should e Ry wo a) id~ 32% TATERING. should the owner of a few hundred acres, which are bound= ed by a rivulet, have the good fortune not to be hindered in this matter by a mill, he will have to encounter a hundred other difficulties from his neighbours, w ho are not con- vinced of the superior value of his enterprize. Some; = ae 1 x cane eA etlapeedst»e perhaps, have a short lease; most are tenants at will, and 1S 1:. their landlords will not be at the expence of preparing the ground. Damming the water to the brink, without a previous preparation of the neighbouring grounds, would be injurious to them. One, or all,“of these objections, would be more than the most spirited exertions could overcome. Owing to these difficulties, some of which are not of a remediable nature, not one acre in an hundred that would admit of it, can be watered without machinery. A power effectual and cheap, for the raising of water in sufficient quanuty to flow about ten acres at a time, would be invaluable*; as nearly all the landed estates in Britain might be wonderfully improved by it. Should the power be acquired, be it to ,work by horses, wind, water, or steam, innumerable are tlie uses to which it might be applied. The most obvious, to a farm, are = thrashing, winnowing, cutting chaff, raising water fo the use of the family and of the cattle, the grinding of malt, lintseed, and corn; but, above all, the raising of water for irrigation. Forty acres of good water-meadow will support, in the greatest luxuriance, s00 Wiltshire ewes and lambs for six weeks, from the middle of March to the, 1st of May, during which time they will improve one shilling a week, or pay three pounds fifteen shillings pex acre, at a time of %® Mr. Boys mentions a wind-pump erected near Deal, at the expence of only thirty guineas, which raises 1600 butts in twenty-four hours. This would probably water two acres at once; and possibly, for Ioo guineas, the saimg person could erect machinery to irrigate ten acres at atime.—_ 7. M. 'e of This the og EL(a aaa WATERING, 52.3 eaf when all other farmers are distressed from a want of food for their stock. In Middlesex, it would still be more } ay et pate valuable, as five pounds worth of hay might be mown of 49 et o he first week in May. The best water-meadow is prebably the mark of perfection en the management of a farm. It follows, of course, that every possible exertion of labour, art,.and machinery, should ée employed to flow as much land as possible. x 2 CHAPTER aes iPr. eS ae sn ee Np ee ne ee a——— LIVE STOCK: GAS i) ofe CHAPTER EME LIVE STOCE IN a country like this, where animal food forms so considerable a part of the sustenance of its inhabitants; and where horses are of so much consequence in every department of business, no subject can well be of more general importance, or more worthy of attention, than that of live stock. Before I proceed more minutely to discuss this important branch of the rural art, Iw rould premise a few observations, namely, that whoever means to atte: npt any considerable improvement of his live stock, should, first of. all, be sure to have a proper degree of shelter, shade and w armth; and in the next place, 2f Avs land be not ready of the richest quality, he should set about bringing it to that degree of per- ‘feétion; at least, he must drain it completely, and, if pos- sible, make water-meadows, raising the whole to the highest degree of cultivation of which it is capable; as she live stock will in some measure keep pace with the im- proved state of the land. Both reason and experience prove, that vegetables and animals are, in some degree, proportioned to the quality of the land on which they are grown, or reared. Rich land naturally produces a luxuriant herbage, and such rich food will certainly raise large animals: on the contrar}y dwarf plants are generally met with on a poor sotl, and the poverty of such food as certainly produces stunted animals. To prove this, let any one disposed to try the experiment, take a wrsver- sd LIVE sTOCK. eS ira cake twin lambs at the birth; let him rear one in the ene poorest manner, and the other in the richest; he will then — find that the latter has grown to two or three times the ght of the former in the same space of time. One of the certain consequences resulting from a general inclost re, and improved husbandry, would be amore plentiful supply of nutritious diet for all kinds of ammal stock; and the size of the various breeds of cattle and sheep, would cer ;. increase proportionally to the quantity and quality of vegetables on which they feed. A more powerful argu- ment in favour of a general inclosure cannot perhaps be a found. With respect to the choice of stock, at least in regard t to size, the farmer should keep in view the nature and ; quality of the soil; as live stock of every kind, and of all the various breeds, should, in point of size, be proportioned 3 to the quantity and quality of their intended food. The richest grazing land, and the most nourishing artificial food, will certainly pay more in feeding large bullocks, sheep, and swine, than it would do in feeding the smaller sizes of the z same species; and it is equally obvious, that the smaller breeds e will answer better on poor pasture than the larger. as The preference to be given to any particular breed, of every me species of hive stock, should be Aeterna by the principal objeé? the breeder has in view. If it be to possess a stock d that is disposed to become more early fat with a smaller " quantity of food, than another breed, the chief thing to be done to attain this sue will be, to procure a male and female possessing such quality in an: higher degree of per- | fe€tion than others of their species. Their offspring will certainly possess the quality of their parents, and should not by any means be crossed with any other breed but such as have the said qualities, if not in a superior, at least in an equal degree with themselves. And it 1s worthy of x 3 atten~ we Ss SR EEE I oe LS ee 4. pean RS Sg) ASRS ee oe og ae a ee fa ie a- 2, a a a al_ anh y A r—" ¥, 320 LIVE sTock. < attention, that a wild or unsettled disposition in any animal, is a certain drawback on its powers 2 a as. O08 the other hand, a quiet, easy-tempered, docile nature, pre- disposes such animal to the accumulation of fat. If quantity of milk be the object to be attained, such a cow as is mentioned in the Report of Lancashire, p.151*, 1 | should by all means be procured.-Neither labour nox expence should be spared, to discover the bull from whom } ent- S he: t or any| A nw she sprung, for they would together be worth almost any A 2 5 Soyo) Wi ey oe a Ss Hal: 7 eal money. By invariably breeding in the same family, or Hlgod. a oneaeecauisiion wvould’be wiadet neu cae DiOOd, a g1 Salen eke| WSI1ON WOWUd De Made, aS ait LNeir O]j= spring would undoubtedly partake of the qualities for which their parents are estimable. After having once procured the best milkers, it would be absurd to adinit a cross from any other breed, unless they should have the same perfec- tions 1 at least an equal degree; as crossing the breed with one that gives less milk than your own, must in- evitably defeat the intended object. The same observations apply with equal force to every other species of live stock; it is therefore unnecessary to repeat them. The quantity of live stock on the farms of this county is much less, 11 proportion to the number of acres, than perhaps in any other.‘his is certainly owing to the produce of the land fetching much more, and being dis- posed of with greater advantage at market, than if given to catile at home. 1s Cow gave twenty-two quarts in one day, and her milk in one week yielde 7 eighteen pounds of butter, sixteen ounces to the pound.— 7% J. SECT. oe sae wit i Pj ieiade mers 34 4 i siete——— re ea NEAT CATTLE, ~) nN pm FX Neat Cattle.— This county is not distinguished by any particular breed of neat cattle, as belonging peculiarly Oo oO . Wess a6 eet a| BS eg A[ay en err ea el UY to itself: for most of the Caives bred here are suckled till about ten weeks old, and then sold to the butchers, fot 1 1] the supply of the London and other markets, in the article ay er OF Veal. ; z se ne se In the pleasure-grounds of gentlemen, the Suffolk, Al- LT ey, Jersey, Guernsev, Welsh, and Scotch breeds, are mostly to be met with. The Holderness short-horned reed are almost the only sort kept by cow-keepers for the produce of milk for sale. The farmers in the more distant parts of the county have a mixed breed, consisting Of all the foregoing kinds, which are employed by them in suck- ling. This practice is well known to be more profitable than grazing, and less so than the dairy. The latter is pretty nearly excluded from the domestic economy of the farm- houses in this county, as the farmers’ wives, for the most yave neither inclination, industry, nor skill, sufficient for the management of a dairy; and in suckling, the busi-~ ness is performed by men, as the women(even the servants) will not go into a dirty cow-house, and submit to the drudgery of milking, and attending the calves. f malt distilleries, which had for a con- Lam mS| 1 as [The wash o hogs, has of late vears been appl T cae Umer ata we 7 eee Remini eh eeu Ss Vir. Liptrap, of Whitechapel, has fattened } Aiko= Ee eae Alene re Sir ae| ax= ya many beasts in this manner; and at a single house in Bate * This praétice was probably copied from the cow-keepers, who had, for -n or fifteen years, bought the said wash for the purpose of feeding off their dry cows.— 7. Mi x 4 tersea 328 cows. tersea(Surrey), stalls have been erected to accommodate g00 ata time. They have a little hay or straw given them once a day, to enable them to chew the cud; they both stand and lie on a framing(a kind of trellis) of wood- work, raised a little above the pavement, and are not allowed straw, or any substitute for it, for bedding. This beneficial praétice is extending itself very much, and is, as well as the feeding of hogs by the same means, a very considerable improvement, and must be of great advan~ tage to the community. Mr. Foot, in his Report of this county, says, that *¢ Mr. Allen, of Philpot-bridge, fattens oxen of the Wor- ** cestershire breed with oil-cake,&c. and generally gets “* them to so high a pitch of perfection, as to sell them * for 40l. an ox.” He further observes, that“ farmers ** near London, who have fat cattle to send to market, ‘< have‘great advantages; they can, if cattle are wanted, ‘¢ send them to Smithfield at a short notice; and if at any “* time they are not sold, they can return to their pasture, «and not be much the worse for their journey. The *« distance being so small, they may frequently sell them *¢ to the London butchers on their own farms, and by “¢ so doing save both time and expence.” Cows.—The cows kept for the purpose of supplying the metropolis with milk, are of a large size, and known by the name of Holderness cattle(from the distri&t of that name, in East Yorkshire), though they do not now all come from thence, but from the most perfect breeds of this stock in Yorkshire, and the neighbouring counties. The dealers in these cattle buy them of the breeders <) when they are three or four years old, and in calf. They expose them to sale at the fairs and markets in this county; particularly at Islington, where there is a fresh supply / TOIT. eae a COWS. 329 from the country efery Thursday morning, by means of which the London cow-keepers are enabled to keep up their several stocks. Many cows are likewise bought in the aforesaid counties, in lots of ten or twenty, by private commission, and for- warded to the cow-keepers in and about London. The prices given for them have generally been from ten to fifteen guineas. Though, for the last two or three years, the price has increased to sixteen or eighteen, and is now (February 1798) twenty, or more. The Holderness breed is supposed to give the largest quantity of milk, and, for that reason, is preferred by the cow-keepers, as quantity, independent of quality, is their object. «« This breed of cattle were, most probably, first brought «© from Normandy, where they are the common cattle of «< that country. The late Sir William St. Quintin took << great pains to cultivate this breed. He had bulls brought « from Normandy to his estate at Lowthorpe, and there~ «© by much improved the breed of short-horned cattle, as <«¢ he not only gave the use of them up to his own tenants, «¢ but to the public in general. « The calves from large cows grow too fast to get «© soon fat, and are, besides, coarse in the grain of the «¢ meat. The smaller sized cows bring calves that are é¢ much more esteemed both by the butcher and his cus- ¢ nn tomers, for smallness of joints, fineness of grain, and ‘? n delicacy of taste,&c.’ that this breed has a greater A correspondent observes, proportion of lean meat in any given weight of beef, than any other with which he is acquainted.“There is also less waste of fat, and it, therefore, goes farther in most families. Mr. Baird says,‘¢ that round Hackney, Islington, «¢ Paddington, and several miles thereabouts, the cow- “ keepers 3320 COW 3S. 66 keepers+O se inc}£ lan} thev"9349 HPLOCHT CCCPeCrs En gross eV cry incon Ol aAiic tlic y Cai procure, «¢ Some of these men have remarkable large stocks of *¢ cows. One of them(Mr. West, of Islington), has, A ee ¢¢ on different farms which he possesses in that nei «¢ hood, very near eight hundred*.” / oO The cow-keepers breed very few cattle, and those «¢ only from favourite cows(which become so merely ** trom their giving much milk), and with very little at- ¢< tention to the choice of their bulls) Even ta summer, «¢ and when the a is in the greatest plenty, the cows «© are regularly fed with grains, which, though the quan- “ tity of Petit is S: iforeny alana by no means add to « its quaity.” The general allowance is forty-five quar- ters of grains per week a Is. 10d. per quarter) to every twenty-five cows. They are given them twice a day, and they have, besides, two meals of— and Haye << Some cow-keepers have tried salt mixed with the grains, « more with a view to preserve the gratns longer in a ‘¢ sound state, than from any consideration as to the *% health of their stock, or the improvement of the quality A ti| « of the milk. It is acknowledged that the cows eat the ¢ grains so MIXEe-d with great avidity; but the Go he. 7 much pra Se + «© nence, I do nct find that it 1s now « Fhe number of cows eas Mr. Foot) kept by the ¢¢ London cow-keepers, in the county of Middlesex, «¢ amounts to nearly 7200; and in the counties of Kent «¢ and Surrey to 1300. I have taken great pains to ascer- «< tam these n umbers with as much precision as the na- “ture of the subject 1s cz ae of; and having coll «* my information from the following places, I have great 1 s¢ confidence in the account being accurate. * Eight hundred cows, producing nearly 30]. each, is 24,0001. a year.- f° lM, w * MIDDLESEX. not getting an leas return for their trouble and ex-) re Se] COWS: Bz ct MIDDEESEX. € Tothill-fields.- a ae * Knightsbridge u) << Edgware-road~*;*§50 *¢ Paddington--) «© Tottenham-court-| road~= «¢ Battle-bridge-—395° “* Gray’s-inn-lane ‘ Bagn igge-wells 6 ino Islington- 3] <«¢ Hoxton== 150 SotRatelie oe 20 ““ Mile-end--~- 406 <¢ Limehouse i 1 _ << Poplain= ie 70 ‘¢ Bethnal-green- 200 “ Hackney=*= i=. Goo *“ Bromley--- 1609 ‘BOW ee= OO «* Shoreditch- «Kingsland-} « Odd cows=- 224 . 7202 i} «< During the night the cows are confined in stalls Brought forward « Deptford-- 7 ept i]} 3| ‘«¢ Rotherhithe- &(Greenland-dock New-cross «¢ Bermondsey-; “© SURREY. epambeth=" ¢ South Lambeth a « a “ Kennington- bridge--- ¢ " Cotdharbour-. 619 «¢ Peckham~.- «¢ Peckham-rye- «“ Newington- «¢ Camberwell~ J ‘sofa So= deo s¢ About three o’clock in the morning each has an half *¢ bushel basket of grains. From four o’clock to half ‘6 past six they are milked by the(retail) milk-dealers, «© who contract with the cow-keepers for the milk of a *¢ certain number of cows, from sixteen to eighteen-pence “2 100 ————————— 3 6 é¢ 66 € n n é C14 iT é¢ A . a n aA . “a n a © 32 cows. for eight quarts*. When the milking is finished, 2 bushel basket of turnips is given to each cow; and very soon afterwards they have an allotment, in the proportion of one truss to ten cows, of the most grassy and soft meadow-hay which had been the most early mown, and cured of the greenest colour. These seve- ral feedings are generally made before eight o’clock in the morning, at which time the cows are turned into the cow-yard+. About twelve o’clock they are again confined to their stalls, and served with the same quan- tity of grains as they had in the morning. About half past one o’clock in the afternoon, the milking com- menices in the manner as before described, and continues till near three, when the cows are again served with the same quantity of turnips, and, about an hour after. wards, with the same distribution of hay as before described. ‘¢ This mode of feeding generally continues during the turnip season, which is from the month of September to the month of May. During the other months in the year they are fed with grains, cabbages, tares, and the foregoing proportion of rowen, or second cut meadow- hay, and are continued to be fed and milked with the same regularity as before described, until they are turned out to grass, when they continue in the field all night; and even during this season they are frequently fed with grains, which are kept sweet and eatable for a considerable length of time, by being buried in pits made for that purpose, There are about ten bulls to a * The price varies with the distance, as, close to the town eighteen-pence, at a mile ora mile and an half seventeen-pence; two or three miles, sixteen« pence.— 7. + The ground-work of cow-yards ought to be made of lime-rubbish, chalk,&c. which makes a sound bottom, prevents the cows from poaching the yard, and is easily scraped, and kept clean.—F. M, 66 stock —anl a a er W° 299 : JI39 | sere| j calvec 2~ & stock of three hundred cows. The calves are generally ‘ sent to Smithfield market at one, two, or three days old. «© Good milkers are. kept four, five, six, and sometimes «© even seven years, and are then dried, and fatted by the «¢ same kind of food as was given to them while they gave «© milk, and are then sold off to the butcher*.”” PRODUCE OF COWS, AND CONSUMPTION OF MILK. From the faéts adduced in the preceding article, it ap- pears that there are about 8500 milch cows kept for the purpose of supplying the metropolis and it environs with milk, and, according to the information received, the quantity given by each cow, on an average, is nine quarts aday, equal to, per annum, 3285 quarts. The caif takes part of the milk for the first two or three days, during which time it would not be saleable; and there is a falling off for a few days before the cow calves: these occasion a dedu@tion of about eighty-five quarts, leaving the annual saleable produce of each cow 3200 quarts, which, at the medium price of seventeen- pence for eight quarts, amounts to- fae Go& To which sum add for a calf, at two or three 7} days old, from 20s. to 30s. the medium is> I 3 4 about-~~-= and it gives the total annual produce per cow£.29 10 O which, on 8500 cows, amounts to 250,7 sol. per annum. * J remember hearing a cow-keeper say about the year 1780, that he gave lintseed jelly and distillers’ wash(as before remarked), as part of the diet of his fattening cows.— J. MV. 334 cows. EXPENCE OF THEIR FFED; a The cow-keepers feed their cattle very high, in order to their producing the greatest possible quantity of milk. The expence is nearly as follows: Le Se Turnips, 14 bushels per week each cow,} ; OF 217 at 21d. per bushel, is-- eee| Grains, 7 do. at 23d. per bushel- Oo T aye Hay, 1 truss, at 4-zoths per do. at Is.gd. pertrusso 2 si* Qo 26,474 Et ceteras.<< 7<=. O° O08 The expence of keeping a cow one week, is Lf Ox 0 and per annum 181. 4s. which, taken from 2g]. 10s.(the produce, as before stated), leaves 111. 4s. for interest of stock, losses in cattle, the hire or support of horses and waggons, rent of buildings, attendance, and profitf. 1 aye * This may perhaps be deemed a Iowprice to put the hay at, but it will not appear to be so, if we take into the account, that the cow-keepers mow their land two or three times in a season; as thei objeét is to procure the most grassy and soft hay they can. Hay of this kind would scarcely be sales able at market.— ¥. AZ, t+ The late Mr. Harper, of Bankhall, near Liverpool, made the following remark on the produce of a cow, and the expence of keeping her.—** I have ** been informed by an industrious cow-keeper in Liverpool, that his cows “© average nine quarts of milk per day all the year through, which is sold at «© two-pence per quart, with the advantage of selling cream. But then, he ** says, there is a discount to be made: as, when the summer months come “* in, there is often a great flow of milk comes out of the country, which re= ae duces the average of both milk and cream, to two-pence per quart the “¢ year through. “* To 3235 quarts of milk, at two-pence per Quarts me tg O77 Aa 27 “* To the average keep of a cow in grains,&c. for Pits. ee “* one year, at 4s. 6d. per week,--$i 14, 0 “* To 160 stone of hay, at eight-pence per stone,~ 6 8 5 “*‘To 16 weeks grass, at 3s. 6d. per week,=- 216 8 together= 19 16 8 remains-£-7 to Io ** for interest of stock, losses in cattle, and profit.’? By oo——_ 2==—— 7 a————————”— ee_ Le —; cows: 5 ae ree ne halfmenny per wart pay three-pence halfpenny per quart [e h~ lntter were[to cell he aa) a f the latter were[O seu tne mux pul ~:: 1 ome 1 at this price, it would yield them a pro- per cent. But, in order to discover the he retailers, we must add six-pence for i the extraneous articles mixed with it, 2s. 4d. the usual price of eight quarts, nly 1s. 5d. there re- ur and profit 100 per cent. Thus the re- Q Soa RYE Yn the VE d. by every COW. On the Whole, BI divide amot hase them the unreasonably large sum of aMO}1 f said for milk amounts to 481,666l. fashion are in London for the e Consumption, and consequent deterio-= sre at the highest. During the summer ett not Rs=} h families are for the most part in the months, w country, the milk may prob yably be of rather a better qua- lity. The cream is taken from so much of it as remains unsold, and made into fre: iG mt tlt. ee y be The butter-milk is given to the 1 Sh Se s pe ee Or, Be er Ae The milk is always given in ifs genuine state to the retail dealers; and, as it is sold to them by the cow-keep- ers after the rate of two-pence and 1-8th of a penny per quart, and is retailed by oa at three-pence ate nny per quart, the profit is surely SO large as ought to prevent even the smallest adulteration. but when it is cons idered how gen it is reduced by water, and impregnated with at=]~|= ng- -edients, it is much to ve lamented ee no method has yet been devised, to put a stop to the many By this account it appears, that the difference in the profit of a cow at Liverpool or London, is not greater than might be expected. The account states the produce at nine quarts per day all the year round; and J think the produce in London will at least be as high as in Liverpool.—7. M. 326 cows. scandalous frauds and impositions in general practice with regard to this very necessary article of human sustenance. It is certainly an object well deserving the particular consideration of the legislature. It cannot be doubted, that many persons would be glad to make some addition to the price now paid for it(high as that price is), pro- vided they could, for such increased price, procure so useful an article in domestic economy perfectly genuine*, Five or six men only are employed in attending near three hundred cows. As one woman cannot milk more than eight or nine cows twice a day, that part of the business would necessarily be attended with considerable expence to the cow-keeper, were it not that the retailer, as before observed, agrees for the produce of a certain number of cows, and takes the labour and expence of milking on himself. Every cow-house is provided with a milk-room(where the milk is measured, and served out by the cow-keeper), *“ Not satisfied with the profit here stated, which, considering the dif- ** ference of measure, is above 100 per cent. it is a common praétice with “ the retailers of this useful article to carry the milk first home to their own houses, where it is set up for half a day, when the cream is taken from it, at least all that comes up in that time, and it is then sold for new milk. By which means, whatis delivered in the morning is noother than the milk of the preceding afternoon, deprived of the cream it throws up by standing during that time. By this means a farther considerable profit accrues to the retailer, and the milk is greatly reduced in point of strength and qua- lity. This cream, poor as it is, they again mix with flour, chalk, and perhaps other more baneful ingredients, and yet it finds a ready market in the metropolis. Itis a matter of surprize, that in the city of London, so long and deservedly famous for the attention and vigilance of its magis- trates, in the condu& and regulation of the markets, no notice has hither- to been taken of, or any means adopted to prevent, the abuses so generally “and justly complained of in an article, the consumption of which, in Lon- “© don and its environs, is greater than in half the cities of Europe. Milk “* has always been a favourite part of the food of Britons. And ina great ** and populous city, it is highly conducive to the health of its. inhabitants.— S* Late et carne vivunt—says Cesar in his Commentaries.""—Mr. Baird. and ee RL eee aS ee ay vith cows. ee. Nee, and this room is mostly furnished with a pump, to which‘ ul the retail dealers apply in rotation; not secretly but openly, ted, before any person that may be standing by; from which dition they pump water into the milk vessels at their discretion, Pro. hc pump is placed there expressly for that purpose, and €$9 indeed is very seidom used for any other. A considerable Ie*, cow-keeper in Surrey has a pump of this kind, which lear goes by the name of the famous black cow(from the cir- lore cumstance of its being painted black), and is said to yield the more than all the rest put“Eis able Where such a pump is not provided for them, thi a are aller, much worse; for in that case the retailers are not even rain careful to use clean water. Some of them have been seen' e of to dip their pails in a common horse trough. And, what is still more disgusting, though equally true, one ere cow-house happens to stand close to the edge of a stream, t}, into which runs much of the dung, and most of the urine, of the cows; and even in this stream, so foully impreg . nated, they have been observed to dip their milk-pails. th A cow-keeper informs me, that the retail milk-dealers wn are, for the most part, the refuse of other employments; “ possessing neither character, decency of manners, nor leanliness. E No person could possibly drink of the milk, were they a fully acquainted with the filthy manners of these dealers H in it. The same person suggests, as a remedy for these abuses, that it would be highly proper for every retail milk-dealer to 4 be obliged to take out an annual license from the magistrates: Mr which license should be granted only to such as could pro- , duce a certificate of good conduct, signed by the cow- keeper, and a certain number of their customers; and also on their being sworn to sell the milk pure and unadulte- rated. b4 Lutter. aa= SI. a een ae|, aD ce eZ NW asee 228 BUTTER Butter.—There is not, perhaps, a county in the king- dom, where a smaller quantity of this article is made, and certainly not amy, where a greater quantity 1s consumed, than in Middlesex. As the farmers of this county employ their cows, for the most part, in suckling, the very small quantity of but- ter they make is principally for their own consumption; and what is made at the dairies of noblemen and gentlemen is, of course, intended solely for the use of their respective families: so that the astonishing consumption of this arti- cle in the metropolis and its environs, is almost entirely supplied from those*counties where the dairy is more the object of the farmer; and from the sister kingdom*. The largest proportion of butter used in London 1s brought from Ireland, Yorkshire, and Dorsetshire; the rest from ee Norfolk, Essex,&c. Of these several varieties, that which comes from the ae een of Epping, and usually called Eas butter, is in the highest esteem; and next to that, fresh butter, which is sent to London in baskets, called flats, principally from Norfolk and Essex: a little indeed from all the neighbouring counties. This is only very ligh tly salted; just s sufficient to preserve the flavour of it for a few days, and is very much used in the houses of the ae sort of people: Of salt butter, or what is put down in tubs, the best is what is called Cambridge; but which is brought not only from Cambridgeshire, ae from the * Jn Middlesex, the dairy has given place to suckling, and even in more distant places it seems to be losing ground. It makes way for grazing on the more fertile lacds; and for the plough on dry crumbly loams. This is the necessary consequence of the present mode of educating young women who are to be farmers’ wives, which entirely disqualifies them for going through the labour and attention necessary to the well-managing of a dairy: nor can servants always be procuréd on whom the farmer can depend for this branch of business,.1 found this to be particularly the case in Suffolk; and Mr. Davis intimates the same thing imhis Report of Wilts.— 7. 27. marshes ] ote ne| ne oan} :; ReneS' f= a ae Co anaes Beuei ally oft a goog qua-= =| os ea} cam ais Aas r hot weather, or Dy SOMe mismanage- Peg ein eH firkins or naltf rs at AE)| her more saite fresh butter, is very relishing, and pretty much used at 2s of the middling orders of people. Che next in point of quality, is what is-called Dorset- shire butter, which is for the most part of a clear uniform colour, and is well made. The York butter is nearly, if - a fea} 1 Rea Naas were Sn not quite, as good as the Dorset, and bears nearly the same } ari ee gdee eae ca!, lowest estimation, as it 1s almost meyer eel ees Eee a re a Ron Eletacteciiemi aac always heavily salted, and very frequently tastes smoakyy o 4 a~ shy, and tallowy; though sometimes(perhaps one tub eh - { A 4 a fifty) it is very good These three last sorts are mostly consumed by the pau- pers in the work-houses,&c. and by the servants of the lower order of tradesmen; as the common labourers, even the very lowest classes, will scarcely buy any but the best. As the manufacturing this article is so limited in th county, that almost ie whole consumption is suppli ee from elsewhere, I shall refer the reader to the ae ts of such counties for information, as to the minutiz of the business, and the various methods in use among a dif. ferent dairy-women in those« ie where, no doubt, he will meet with an information as to all these particu- ws 1 Oo pay (a) ~~ ie r Jars. I shall, however, just state a few general observa- Fore eae, ner= Aa ee ae 1ons which occur to me on the subject. if the first place, I think it absolutely necessary, in order ewes n. aA 97s+ 1}+ 310 Bee to procure se and sweet butter, that all the different cena 1 Bedale cenlded- vessels made use of in the process should be daily scalded; ne next, that the butter-milk should be completely sep rated frowh re butter; and that the quantity of salt to a Y 2 made 24.0 BUTTER: made use of, should be entirely proportioned to the lerigtha of time it 1s intended to be kept*. In case the milk should have acquired any unpleasant taste, from any thing th cows may have fed on, this may be corrected by seria d small quantity of nitre in the sale Eyer daar 3h Eiger Bena ane arial o| ee ki uy by very dairy, whether appropriated to the making of cheese or butter, should be Pernice with a thermometer, and the dairy kept, as near as may be, of an equal tem- perature of air. To this if cleanliness be added(an in-, dispensible quality), and a proper attention paid to separat- ing the butter from the butter-milk, there cannot be much doubt but the butter will be good. An opinion I believe pretty generally prevails in Lon- don, that the dealers adulterate the buiter(by mixing with it hog’s-lard and other ingredients) after it comes into their hands. This is certainly an unwarranted suspicion, which has no foundation in fact. It is well known, that butter == 7(f= Aa= in general is so various in its shades of colour, as that no z rhceaailan intimate two sorts could be so intimate ©) mixed as to elude detection; ,&c. with butter, it is evident that, at the price that article now fetches, it would not pay for the labour and expence of doing it. Besides, the dealers constantly keep the fresh butter in the very flats or baskets in which it is brought to London, and only take it from thence as it is wanted; so that their customers have an opportunity of observing the state of it, as it comes into their hands, which is of itself a sufficient refutation of the charge above a alluded to. * When butter is found to be too salt(as Irish butter very f is), it may be deprived of this superabundant' quantity of salt| F] peatedly in clear water, and kneading it with the hands. ade fk ar Wy 1 mers oY: mtarientigcs mde butter was, in the first instance, sufficiently salted ported from this country to Russia; and when arrived there good fresh butter by the simple operation just mentioned.—% MZ. ~~ ANIMALS NOT NATIVES OF GREAT BRITAIN. 341 ee The variegated colour sometimes to be observed in butter, and which may perhaps in a great measure cause the suspicion of its being mixed with some extraneous matter, arises, for the most part, from the want of due care and attention in the dairy-maid, who has not in that case completely divested the butter of the bu ter-milk. It iS someaures to be observed, that in one tub the butte will be in layers of two or three different shades of colour, ede, which it is well known arises from its being composed of s0 many separate churnings. The following account of the mode of making butte1 in Holland, is copied from a manuscript sent to the Board Mr. R. Pole Carew: The method of making butter in Holland is this— «¢ having milked the cow, the milk is not put into the « pans till the milk is quite cold; it is then stirred two or ‘* three times a day, with a wooden spoon, to prevent the <¢ cream from separati ng from the milk; and if it can be * stirred till the spoon will almost stand in it, they deem ‘¢ it so much the better. When it is found to be suff- «« ciently thick, it is put into the churn and beat for an ¢* hour. When the butter begins to form, a pint, or « more, of cold water, according to the quantity of the « milk, is poured in, to separate the butter from the ‘© butter-milk. When the butter is taken out of the é¢ churn, it is washed and kneaded till the last water is «© perfectly clear and free from milk, By this method, ‘© greater quantity of butter is made from an equal quan- « tity of milk; and the butter is more firm and sweet, «¢ and will keep longer, than that which is made by the ¢* method commonly in use in England; and the butter- s* milk which remains is thought preferable.” Animals not Natives of Great Britain—Mt. Baird ob- serves, in his Report of this county—‘ The variety of ¥ 3 6¢ birds ** goat was not, however, so ea SHY reconciled to his fu- co SHAWL GOAT,&c. birds and beasts to be met with at Earl’s-c Oo O S ct a ‘ ¢ villa of the celebrated and much-lamented My. Tohn se: ‘‘ Hunter) is matter of great entertainment. In the same ground you are surprized to find so many living-ani- ** mals, in one herd, from the most opposite parts of the «* habitable globe. Buffaloes**, rams, and sheep from Turkey, and a shawl goat from the East-Indies, are J among the most remarkable of those that meet the eye; 7= fe la~$ry r~“~+ r el << and as they feed together in the greatest harmony,. it is natural to enquire, what means are taken to make them ‘¢ so familiar, and well acquainted with each other. Mr. 738 ‘¢ Hunter told me, that when he has a stranger to intro- ** duce, he does it by-ordering the whole herd to- taken <* to a strange place, either a field, an empty stable, or or any other large out-house, with which they are all alike unaccustomed.‘The strangeness of the place so otally engages their attention, as to prevent them from running at, and fighting with the new-comer, as they most probably would do in their own field(in regard to which, they entertain very high notions of their ex- oe ‘ clusive right of ey, and here they are confined <¢ for some hours, till they appear reconciled to the = 7 Ky Sep Be 3 fe stranger, who is then turned out with his new friends, sen e aera AC XK es Lt(Pe) eon| «¢ and is generally afterwards well treated. he shawl ture companions: he attacked them, insteac *© The American buffalo, from the banks of the Ohio, is not only ¢ much stronger than the American ox, but also steps much quicker, and S¢ the beef is much superior, as appears from a letter from my learned cor- respondent Judge Turner, which I lately communicated to our Bath and West of England Society; an extraét from which will probably appear in our next volume. ‘* Might not these powerful animals, imported from America when young, s* and trained to the yoke or draught, prove not only superior, but far more economical than horses??’—Note copied from one of the returned Reports, Set = ey Aa BUFFALOES,&c. 343 t 4 (ths 7« to be attacked; fought several battles, and at present JOAN= aa ‘¢ appears master of the field. e Same Eee 1. :«¢ Te is from the down that grows under the coarse hair ant. ecb€.+ 1 e 1:} or*< of this species of goat, that the fine India shawls are Of the pee ee Re:: be“& manufactured. This beautiful as well as useful animal, trom Ch aoe we Be eres DE pe een eo Bombay, in the ‘ was brought over only last june from Bombay, 1n the eal« Duke of Montrose Indiaman, Captain Dorin. The PY p 4~~ 7* bs- art tyes« female unfortunately died. It was very obligingly pre- sak< sented by the Directors to Sir John Sinclair, the Pre; them,“ sident of the British Wool Society. It is proposed, M,;-=:: Mr,‘¢ under Mr. Hunter’s care, to try some experiment with wnttTo.<< it in England, by crossing it with other breeds of the ]. aad.. Ny (axe‘* goat species, before it is sent to the north*. OF«© Mr. Hunter has built his stables half under ground; e all«also vaults, in which he keeps his cows, buffaloes and >$0‘¢ hogs. Such buildings, more especially the arched byres, rom& or cow-houses, retain a more equal temperature at all hey<¢ times, in regard both to heat and cold, and consequently it“‘ are cooler in summer and warmer in winter; and in IC? se ¢* situations where ground is so valuable as in the neigh- ned<< bourhood of London, are an excellent contrivance. Mr. <«¢ Hunter has his hay-vard over his buffaloes’ stables.— «« The expence of vaulting does not exceed that of build- « ing and roofing common cow-houses; and the vaults «¢ haye this essential advantage or preference, that they re- ‘ ¢6 quire no re airs,” fhe quire no repairs fe} Aa*“ Extract of a letter from Bombay, to the Direétors, respecting the i goat, transmitted by Mr. Dominicus, of the India-house, to Sir John jie. r Sinclair:—‘‘ Your servants at Bussora, contrary to their expectations, 2§* have lately procured and sent to this presidency(Bombay) two animals ath ¢ that produce the shawl wool. They advise us they are of the best colour, ‘* and tolerably hardy.“The wool which grows on different parts of their ie** bodies, under very long hair, is obtained by gently combing them.”? A as** South America she-goat, it is supposed, is already with kid by him, at : Mr. Hunter’s.’—P, Foot’s Report. ¥ 4 6° Mr, {G | | i J Sa a ee 344 BUFFALOES,&c it4 n “ “A n Cal " a“ nn Ge &¢ a“ x «¢ Mr. Hunter has caused his buffaloes to be trained to work ina cart; at first, they were restive, and would even liedown; but now they are steady, and so tracta- ble, that they are driven through the streets of London in the loaded cart.‘These animals do not draw greater loads than oxen of the same size and weight. “¢ This gentleman has at present a very beautiful little cow, from a buffalo and an Alderney. This animal in some measure is kept for her beauty; and what adds to it, she is always plump and fat, whether in summer or In winter, and upon much less food than would be suf. ficient to support a beast of the same size, of the ordi- nary breed. I donot find that she exceeds in quantity of milk, but the quality is very good; and it is certain that she could be fattened at much less expence than any ordinary cow of the same size and weight.” “¢ Among the experiments now going forward in Mid- dlesex, one of the most important undoubtedly, is a cross that has been tried between a Spanish ram and two Shetland ewes: four lambs have been already produced from this mixture. The Spanish breed, it is well known, is distinguished for the fineness of its pile, and the Shetland for its softness and colour, If these quali- ties were united(which, so far as can be judged from the experiment above mentioned, is likely to be the case), the article of wool would be brought to its highest state of perfection.” 2 SECT, SECT, 11.5 oH eee. THERE is not any particular breed of sheep distin- guished from the rest, as exclusively belonging to the county. Indeed the farmers of Middlesex employ their Jand more proititably, than could be done by breeding and rearing sheep to any greater age than to be slaughtered either as house or grass lambs. In some of the inclosures of men of fortune, may be found specimens of sheep of various foreign breeds, mixed with several of this country. This mixture is merely an object of curiosity; and, from the variety it gives, atfords pleasure to the owners, but is by no means fit for the imitation of a farmer. The grounds of Mr. Robinson, the surveyor-general, are in part stocked with the shorter bodied Scotch sheep, which at a distance have the appearance of those of the South-down, but are inferior to them in the essential pro- perties of fine wool, and quietness of disposition. The Scotch have much hair among the wool, will run like grey-hounds, and leap the hedges like hunters. The farmers buy their sheep at the fairs in Wiltshire and Hampshire, and of the jobbers of west-country sheep at fairs within the county.‘* The flocks differ in number, in proportion to the right of common appertaining to the respective farms.” <¢‘The sheep in the parish of Hardmondsworth amount, I believe, to nearly two thousand; and from the best ac- counts I could collect, about six thousand are kept on Hounslow-heath” and the adjoining common of Sunbury, &c. originally nearly all of the Wiltshire sort; but such of them as have bred through several generations, have Os 45 SHEEP. degenerated into a small unprofitable breed, proportioned to the poverty and exposure of their pasture. The commons of this county, as every where else, are thinly stocked by poor half-starved, ragged coated, and wretched looking sheep. Sheep are kept in this county all the year round where there are common rights sufficien from Candlemas till the after-grass_is On. the commons iGo. Riselip A many kept, and folded on the arable land. of the hay farmers are without com- mon rights, and‘ devote their after-grass to‘the agist- < oO Oo ment of sheep and neat cattle, which they take in, sheep at 3s. Gd. per score, and bullocks at per head per week.’’ L00r p“uveS AVE Wels£ LQlCa 10 PI Or d£ 7, Pr“ c toy hee Oa 7 A ue 9bIr Th, SLU II tea TE w Al bi y| JIE Wo0l, Oy; thé C. 7. oar three cAiliyoes- nl aphen map OV LNV EC SHLLLINZS~ ANA, WHE MaaEe = ase Bs?: Feely Pea 7G 1772 K ep, a Sfl04 f=9} al Hea mutton;“GS tHE TiC J00a Py, B c J 4 Pale inner er a iM tATY Fp“ary oF ft ares, rape, CLOVET and SainfOiNn, 2S 10 Ye€ai y t apy i Aan Aerie© Ere y dey ng On 0 o nine chit. Sheep, With ea VY JLeeces, proaucing jrom S@Ven ta nine SAil~ 7° 7 Lines, and coarse§ grained Mutt On. oO iby Peay ere ASD 1 a Pe he a OF ey Se pon oof Animals that arc intended to be fattened wiih the most speed, the least j00a, and preaiest profit, Gre, or ou oht to be, kept YD et Ses! REIS Sits bys) eel& DRTC! Es SRA Upper EE ree rad bail Pann still, and as free from exercise as possible; as in the suckling RSE fon OLS| Pe ehic TAB g Ao maryy oF SA ey ae OR 07 calves and Aouse--lambs, which could not possioly be done J Sy) ho cin FUP ISP UIP EPP) EPL. AHIOTOP YR ee AEST ac Witii the Sa€mMe tHnerveasSE Gf s/2EY Were allowed CNET CISC. This oie 7¢ i Bg aes i Bed) Bee rE~ practice applied to sheep, would shew, that for lean stock, i i MUCH less food zs required 10 Support them in any desired con ation im QA Still GNA Guiel inclosure, than 28 necessary jor the same animals 7] they y took much CNEV CISC, such as in travelling to and from the fold. All sheep that are reared on commons, as| before observed, are naturally of a ram- bling and rest'ess dispos tion, wild, and slloping at the sight of men and dogs: taking so much exercise, Wastes hen AM of my SHEEP. 244 ==-° Sh pes: Eee their fat, creates a voracious appetite, keeps down the weight of their carcase, Js injurious to the wool, and, in hot weather, ruinous to the mutton. as: See cece Ser ere; The-grey-hound like sheep, naturally suitable to“ a «¢ wild, bleak; unproductive sandy county, sounding ““1-oahbit-watrens. 2 rill alwave he Pe PON= EY os with rabbit-warrens, Will always be peri CUyY wunnet and improper for the same county after it has been well inclosed; and when, by means of marl and heavy green crops, it i: become one of the most fruitful soils in the kingdom* Go 90d nd + aoe ary FA noel BT Se Be PS yea[eyes convey to the mind the idea of a quiet, docile, and per- i@) oO 1 s Be ves, small closes, and plentiful green crops, haps of rather a heavy sheep, as the stock that would be + 7* 11 ey Sree 4 Athie': mutton of South-down sheep 1s well known to be finer grained than that of any other which comes to mar- than the Werk by six- pence a stone of eight pounds, and is retailed at a penny per pound higher. Its superiority is so fully established Emone the more wealthy families, that the butchers who 1 serve them, always look the market over, in order to buy quired by such of their customers as are willing to pay an advanced price for them. That South-down sheep are a fit and profitable stock for other chalky hills bes: des those of Sussex, we have the svidence of the practical and enlightened Mr. Boys. See his Report of SS octavo, pages 132 and 133. gin Wilt shire, better than othe breeds, see the Marquis of Bath’s That they endure hard driving and foldin experiments,. in Transactions of the Bath Society of Agriculture for fs eee 1795-6. # This applies particularly to Norfolk.—7. I, U3 te o3 w HD} t 4 les rd Sheep are particularly fond of ragwort; of course they are proper stock in pastures where it prevails.—Nortl berland, quaito, page 27. Sheep were cured of the rot by being wintered on straw in a warm yard, in which there was, probably, sheds to keep them dry. North York, quarto, page 122. A‘great sheep farmer in Surrey confirms what is said in the Rutland Report, that Welsh sheep are not at all] affected by m Some of om Oy azgo ise ope era ek the eee sheep have lately come to x 3(eres|=)|=-$ baec= pmithfield, which were particularly light in the le wr The same has longer been said of the Kentish, and is The Lincoln and Leicester s} 1eep come to Sinithfield in C, oc} chaArn 5: perfection, fresh shorn, in Aprils sometimes in flannel : ate. waistcoats, which are kept on till the sheep are sold, and then taken off by the seller, to be used on other sheep the following week.‘This seems a proper precaution at that season of the year. BS At twenty or more miles from London, the dung and urine of sheep is worth about five shillings per head per annum, The animal is injured by the practice of folding early as much, even by a little driving; but if it is to be drove four or five miles daily, asin Wiltshire,&c. it will be injured to the full value of the manure which it vields. cs £ he fold is the natural consequence of large traéts of waste clos ed 1 vd WW Hohulat OW ud nt t; ana© oF or minclo Qa taHa ,) of a thi 143 populat L071, ana ue W258 ee much too pe s entire cultivation. ILnclose the commons, ] toc 5 y) py AR falc aie a“fh crerpe downs and wastes, reduce the farms and closes to such sixes as admit of entire cultivation, and sheep folding will vanish* Tne Inc 506 tbe LOSEG * Mr. Billingsley, in his Report of the county of Somerset, has warmly contended for the propriety of the folding system; but some observations of his make for the contrary side of the question; nay, prove it to be a bad practice 5 y| ae BIRD His o. A ASA ar SSPE eT ee Lae SS SCA LGNA, Ci VE in 1ANHCvs C admit anagaiao FAA Ra re the tenant para fea ipr Ltt Al lis L/LE LUTLEULUI Hy ESil(ae MLAs» Gia tlie manasa tS LLY. Q7 1=e: wae] 1 ee Erase ee~ a Hig is / fA that wave peen reared and con tantly pastured ¢ { } 7} 1{ 7 4 7 Areal ee cate oe ey Say= Se Stan cs ESATA TART CTA Ce alk-hills, sach as the south and west country downs, are , Seed bee Te GAA PS es EN LS varked of salt marshes, my ERY S|= oil iene sround, heal and Hern CES OCCH oH I SOZL OW Ld = T Gmises, probable, Sy Aaa te T Beano! aes cS rag aN| ther lime, VFB or marl; and[ earnestly recommend this subject to the SadEBERn of gentlemen of landed see and also to every farmer, as a matter which forth er, he says, ie the ree of feeding sheep on vetches, clover, = free from the above malady. and turnips, the 3 » *) 4 ket ae) o ~» Oo a) Qu a that more sheep per acre may be kept by former.(See Somerset Report, pages 147 and 257). To which I shall add a word or two of advice, na downs, and raise vetches,) turnips, cole, and clover on them, for sheep feed, and cease to drive the flocks to and fro; which will, undoubtedly, be the means of improving the land, and the stock supported on it.— 7. 1 had the very great * Since the foregoing passage was wri pleasure of meeting with one proof of it in the Staffordshire Report, quarto, page 60. The highest honours of the kingdom would not be too great a reward for nd cheap method of preventing the the man who should make public, an annual produce of these shee} as to make the amount of animal food equal in wei 420 I-VEP ef bs SHEEP: 5 Rae re a= ne fh HG ste I think there are about fourteen millions of ewes, and three millions of wethers and rams, together. seventeen millions stock sheep, in South Britain; which is in the proportion of seventeen sheep to forty-six acres. The 1 9 1s consumed at such ages, about eight millions and a half of full grown sheep. “¢‘The experiments with Spanish sheep, which have taken « place in N esex, merita particular detail in this Report. «« In the summer of 1785, Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. 1 «© cured from France a ram and an ewe of the true Merino “«« breed, which he kept at Spring-grove, in this cou nty. 4c TI xt he flock whence they were selected, had at that tim “* been kept in the province of Burgundy for eight years, <¢ without any ram from Spain being brought to it. ‘‘ In the year 1787, after having clipped this ram and <¢ ewe twice, Sir Joseph delivered the four fleeces to «© Humphries, an intelligent manufacturer at Chippenham, “ who made from them cloth saielent for a suit. of *¢ cloaths; and this cloth was judged by the trade to be the rot in sheep; and that such will be effected, there is no sufficient reason to doubt, as Mr. John Jeanes, of Alhampton, Caste cary, Somersetshire, has already proved himself in possession of the means of curing this destru¢tive malady, even in its worst stages; and I believe the same may be said of Mr, Fleet, of Hants.— 7. A. “¢ That lime has a powerful effect on animals, is proved in the cases of ¢ broken-winded horses, which receive such relief by drinking lime-water, _* as to be perfectly as fit for all the common purposes of labour as sound ** horses, and even to be passed on the best judges for sound horses.”’>—~ Mr. Wm. Bean. acquainted with a gentleman who had a leprosy on him, which pre- his obtaining any rest. His life was become a burdento him. He vented e nertes+] 1} was periectly ¢ red by drinking lime-water. This gentleman informed me of several others who had received great benefit from it in cases somewhat o s similar—F M. The scab on sheep is certainly cured by the use of a preparation published in the 7th volume tas] fe MM. of the Transactions of the London Society of Arts,&c.— 6 eq equal a ne broad cloth. In the yea: (een s i - 66 made by Mr. Bell, a wool- l\a i sé‘eet, between sixteen South- Ne es« down ewe fleeces, and an equal number of teg fleeces, « their pr Spanish ram. He reported that the 72 SISELEEN, «<“yh arrays oe ee when sorted, worth tot

.‘ae. I say wood, in opposition to woods, for extensive woods snl) wuld be:: A as, lel neither improve the air or fertility of a country, and alittle i 3 ; should be avoided. What I mean by wood, are slips, or eeping 5:.: me belts and pieces, running triangular, or any form, as Hationt ire ees may best suit the land: also brows of high hills and deep erther‘ ay valleys, or where a range of green would give a pictur- | article: yes esque appearance to the country. Remember Prior's HONS farm house— bp nae 4¢ In summer shady, and in winter warm.”? fie Why do people complain of the drearyness of riding ake over extensive cammons?—Because there is no shelter! ay A person undertaking a large inclosure, 1s performing sada a public spirited aét, and should meet with all indulgence; sid‘ for let him perform his business with the greatest caution, es or take what steps he may, it is impossible for him to ne. wd benefit himself and family, without at the same time noses producing much good to the community; and a moment’s vefle€tion must convince, that it is the public who ulti- mately enjoy the blessings of plenty, long before the pro- hewn prietor can have a shilling return of his expences, without 0: allowing 51d CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS. allowing any.compensation for the fatigue and disappoint~ ment naturally attendant upon all extensive undertakings. T do not attempt marking the due proportions which are properly left to the commissioners, but must again enforce some slight indulgence to be granted to the body of the people from all extensive inclosures, which would remove the dislike, and prevent them from joining in a clamour. In most inclosures, a gentleman no sooner hints at taking in an extensive tract of land, than he is held up as an object of public’ dislike, by some popular misrepresenta- tion of a few artful persons, who, thinking it may suit their private interest to obstruct the measure, easily con- trive to play upon the minds of the ignorant and un- guarded; and these last descriptions of persons finding they have nothing to gain by the inclosure, readily join in the general cry against the measure. It is far more easy to prevent a clamour than to stop it when once it is raised. Those who are acquainted with the business of inclosure, must know that there are more than four-fifths of the in- habitants in most neighbourhoods, who are generally left out of the bill for want of property, and therefore cannot possibly claim any part thereof.“his description of per- sons, whom I call. the great body of the people of the country, should be addressed in the most friendly man- ner—be requested to keep quiet, and follow their usual employments: it ought to be suggested to them, that there is an intention to do something for them; and that their convenience shall be attended to, if they did not, by improper zeal, frustrate the undertaking. I say, a gentleman no sooner makes a proposal, than he is, by artful clamour, held up to his neighbours in public detestation, and all his intended measures are endeavoured to be counteracted. If he perseveres so far as to bring the matter before parliament, there he is almost certain. ot ULTIV FATION OF WASTE LANDS. ti SAD Doi Pvl\s takiny of having every clause in his bill opposed; and if he “SY which a means to succeed, it is at an immense expence, aa com- 4 on pelled to fight it through 1 by inch; and very likely, 1 force 2 ly of towards the end of the session, from some unforeseen or ‘Y Of the; capricious circumstance, a: bill is at last reluCtantly d remoye;# j given up. For these reasons, a gentleman of the least lamour, i, sensibility would rather suffer his residence to continue i taking 5 ID as an resents surrounded by marshes and bogs, than take the lead in what may be deemed an obnoxious measure, knowing the difficulties he must encounter when he gives himself anv May suit x m ane x i,: concern for the improvement of his own estate, though SLY CONS ¢:, d his neighbours, and the country at large, are so much and wn- ding they 1 In the benefited by the measure. Whereas, were the great body of the people attended to, these things could not happen; for the people have too much good sense to join Ay lO in opposition against themselves. Therefore let me hope aised, there may be a part vested in each ae and held as a losure, sacred deposit, to produce premiums and bounties to be the in- distributed a among the industrious poor; and, if possible, lly Left every labouring inhabitant having a none and family, Cannot should be indulged with a little garden, and a lot in some of per- convenient part ass iene se for producing fire-wood for the{ le of the cottager, and this description of persons. Only to attempt these good acts, Seu-be more than sufficient to secure their interest and regard, which interest should invariably be attended to, for out of the industrious poor spring the foundation of the wealth of the country. It is not mate-~ rial to the state who occupies the land—whether it is held in large or small lots, provided itis productive; and I am iy persuaded such a mutual confidence might be established, +s to produce comfort to the individuals, and beneft to inp Du Duc k on ey ta Pano of qaelosures ee foul society. I am here speaking of inclosures on a large oy cale, not the small common. 9 DIDS i Whether certain ol ’ a rT PT ae Ser sn ye———_— a iors== pater. -— Ee———————— Pe a—e ] Se seceartge at tana aerate gtammenneteraee eRe eT 512 CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS, Whether the business is brought about by a general, or separate inclosure bills, is nothing to the purpose; the material object, is to avoid litigation, expence, i-will, and loss of time, and that the subject should be clearly and practically understood; and for that purpose, I recom- mend a power to be lodged in the Board of Agriculture, for them to have an established surveyor, whom they should send to any extensive tract of wastes, whenever two-thirds of the proprietors, publicly met, should desire it; which surveyor should be directed to take the first outline, understand the levels, see where the drairis and roads ought to run, and plan the turning the waters into their proper channels, that it may afterwards lead to use- ful purposes. All this should be fully understood, before it can be known what particular lot of land will fall to any man’s share, for the misfortune is, people get into wrangles and mistakes before they come to the real business. This surveyor should be a man of experience, who has been practically brought up to draining, planting, and the several branches of rural economy, and who, when he goes to meet the proprietor, will be able to point out, that upon such and such levels he would recommend so and so—it was.done at such a place, and answered par- ticularly well—on that side such a mode would be better. This surveyor, by experience, and seizing local circum- stances, should be able to convince the proprietors, that his mind is capable of doing them essential service, and then they will attend to him. Observe, we are not come to inclosing yet, for after all this, the view which he has been able to colle€t, with the concurrence of the persons present, should be carried to the Board; there examined by a clerk, who should keep a-register of former transac- tions of the same sort—whether it be uplands, moors, heaths, CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS. 513 Merah, ty O56 thn lreaths, 8cc.&c. Then the report should go to a com- will mittee, where the members, being gentlemen of the first’ arly ay experience in their respective counties, the plan may ol receive such hints and touches as will bring it near itu perfection, before hardly anya cupente 1S eomnicneet om the Whereas in this Ban the time and expence of going Pie through the communities of the House of Commons, before ld dsr it can be called a bill, often comes to more money than rt the inclosure can be worth to the individuals then con- ik ing cerned in it, consequently they are indifferent about the ki ad event. But from this failure the kingdom sustains a most aters into material injury. ’ pine There will be this further advantage in applying to the " teat Board—there can be no extensive property come under I fll the contemplation of inclosure, but some of the members get into must be interested in it; and from their attention and usiNess. knowledge of the’ country, much valuable information vho has may be collected without expence. And if we could in-‘aa and the sensibly instill into the minds. of men, a habit to unite for hen he producing improvements in their respective neighbour- Nt OUt, hoods, and that disposition could become general, it would nmend 90 be as powerful as the influence of the sun—warm and en-{ vered pate liven the whole island.‘The Prince certainly has made be better, most laudable exertions for the improvement of agricul- al circum: ture—he has raised it from an art to become a science: etos, tt and the exertions of the honourable President have happily aie seconded his gracious intentions. ae From the report of the committee on the waste lands, ch heh it appears that in South Britain there are 7,888,977 acres, id i which number is so vast, that the human mind, without it some assistance, shrinks under the idea of many millions; ee therefore take it in this light---suppose it possible to colleét ;“nf all the wastes of South Britain into one continued spot, and form a square, it would be found to amount to more than 108, Bok which h nthe peal 514 CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS, which being taken as the 108) and applied in miles, to a right line, will extend from Bristol to London, on which ideal line ere€t a square, and placing it on the map, will cover all the countries contained in right lines from London to Lincoln; from thence to Chester; then to Bristol, and east to London—Lay the paper upon the map, and there is a convincing argument of what propor- tion the wastes bear to the cultivated country. In laying down the square, I chose capital cities, to bring the subject more within the powers of the human understanding. But my ideal square is not 108 miles. Whoever will take the trouble to extraGt the root of 7,888,977, will find the square amounts to more than 10% square miles, in which might fall, the parts of the following countries, provided the angles of the square were bounded by the four great cities of London, Lincoln, Chester, and Bristol; that is, such a square of 108 miles would cover, Viz. About two-thirds of Cheshire. One-half of Derbyshire. Part of Lincolnshire. Four-fifths of Shropshire. All Staffordshire. eicestershire. Rutlandshire. A small bit of Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire. Three-fourths of Herefordshire. All Worcestershire. W arwickshire. Northamptonshire. Gloucestershire. Oxfordshire. Buckinghamshire. Bedfordshire. One- / CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS. gig n thy,..... ndon, 04 One-third of Hertfordshire, with a slip of Wiltshire; iton thy a and the greater part of the county ight ln of Middlesex. an It must be held as a matter of surprize, that lands equal » he in extent to these tracts, should have been suffered to con- Hp te tinue in commonality, by an intelligent and wealthy sai people, to this day; which must shew great inattention to ! ie the interest of the state, and individuals; or a very strong € subject attachment to old customs—it might be deemed improper Mancing, in me to say prejudices. Had I the powers of language to convince the world, that, viewing the state of the continent, zow is the sime ethan 108 firmly to unite in each neighbourhood, with a hearty following desire of turning every foot of land in Great-Britain to > bounded some useful and productive purpose; to draw health, Chester, wealth, and happiness from honest labour and industry; I s would should think I had lived to very good purpose. Many years of my life have been dedicated to prove myself an unwearied friend to agricultural pursuits, and consequently beneficial to mankind. These wastes, it could easily be proved, are capable of employing, in inclosure, planting, building and cultiva-, tion, a capital far exceeding twenty millions sterling, which would ultimately turn to very great account; and when brought into proper arrangements, no one can foresee what an increase of revenue, population, labour and pro- visions such an expenditure must produce. These thoughts are well worthy the patronage of parlia- ment; and there I leave them. Kk 2 No. L11*. (Qne- 516 LORD BERKLEY ON WASTES. WO.“lit: EXTRACT OF PAS LETTER“FROM*THE*RIGHYT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF BERKELEY TO THE AUTHOR. TueE improvement of wastes, and the further encou- ragement to agriculture, is very simple, and requires only two things to be done, and there will be no occasion for any enforcing clauses in the act of parliament. It is this —find the means of preventing the excessive expences of office from the lords, commons, and agents; and every yard of waste and common field will be inclosed and cultivated to its utmost the moment that secret is found out. The rights of every person concerned in an inclosure, is now perfectly understood; and when an inclosure bill has passed, every lord of a manor, clergyman, freeholder, and cottage waster, are perfectly satisfied with their divi- sions——the rights of each are very well understood, and want no further restriction or enlargement; in doing of which Sir John Sinclair lost his bill, and will always lose it, if he makes a fresh distribution of their rights—let him lessen the expence of passing inclosure bills, and every thing is done.. I had made remarks on the wastes in Middlesex, living in the middle of one(Hounslow-heath), the finest wheat land in England uncultivated, as can prove by the small pieces that have fallen to my lot as lord of a manor. NO. IV. a Ect ae 2° a et encou. quites only ecaston i » Ttisthi EXDENCES r every yard nclosure, sure bill echolder, 1 rStood, and Pee, 1n doing of SS AGIA ATA ALWAYS 10S let him Lymm t ‘ae bas ° (2 ye aa m” a t ° x ‘ t lanl bee te 5 > Lee| he “ in i mel = HOUNSLOW-HEATH. Copy-of an ancient ordinance, kindly furnished by Sir William Gibbons, Bart. of Stanwell-place, which > 9 shews the original rights claimed by different parishes on Hounslow-heath. The Bill of Hounslow-Heath 37 Henry VILL. Wuere the King’s Majestie ys at this present seased of one estate of inherytance of the waste scone and soyle comonlye called Hounsloo-heath, contey ming in ytself ffower thousand twoo bundryth ffower score thyr- tene acres and one roode, lying and extending into the fields, parishes, and hamlets, Istelworth, Braynford, and 1 Twykenham, Heston, Feltham’, Harlington, elem Harmondesworth, Stanwell, Hanworthe, Bedfounte Hampton, Hounsloo, and Tedington, in his uate countie of Middlesex; his Highnes most prudentlie con- sidering, that as the barreness Beal infertylitie thereof, waunte of dylygence and industrye of men, necessarylye requyred for the amendment or mayntenance of any grounde that shall bryng forthe his frute, breadythe as well scarsytie and lacke of all manner of grayne, graffe, woode, and other necessary thynges, amongs his Grace’s subjects thy inhabitance of the said parishes, as also 1s the veraie oryginall mother and contynual nurs of derth of thyngs amongs his people dwelling in the confynes of the ro) same, x 1 nw oS) eee Pa easy {* 518 HOUNSLOW-IJEATH. same, even so the conversyon therof into tyllage and sev’al pasture by menys labor and paynes, besids that yt shall be an exile of idlenes in those parties, must of necessyte cause and bring furthe to all his said subjects plantie and habandance of all thyngs above remembred; and albeyt his Highnes myght justelie, by the auncyent lawes of this his realme, approve to his owne peculyar proffyt and ad- vantage a greate parte of the same waste and heath; never- theless, his Majestye most graciouslye tendering more the common wele of his subjects there than the advauncement of his owne comodytie, hath not alonlie already, to his great costs and charges, caused dyverse of his counsell, and others of his offycers and mynysters, by vertue of his Grace’s commyssion in that behalf to them dyreéted, to repayre thither, to vewe, survey, and consider, the said wast and hethe, and thereupon to assygn out, by mete and bounds, to every of the said parishes, a convenyent parte and porc’on of the same, and owt of those parts and porc’ons, by lot, to apoynte in severaltye to everye inha- bytant within the said paryshes and hameletts suche quan- fice of the said heathe, as by the dyscrecyon of the said commyssioners was thought mete and convenient, having a specyall regard to the nombre of the inhabytants in every parishe, and to the nombre of acres of hethe ly- myted to everye of the said hameletts and parishes; but also is contented and pleased, at the humble petycion and sute of his said subjeéts, to whom and thair posteritye the commodytie hereof shall specially redounde, that yt be en- acted by his Highnes, as hereafter ensythe: Wherefore be yt ordayned, enacted, and established, by the King, with thassent of the Lordes Spiritual and Temporall, and of the Comons in this present P’liament assembled, and by the authorytie of the same, that suche parte and so muche of the said waste and hethe whereof his Grace is now 1) never hore the uncement dy, to his ; counsel), <=) a rue of it quan- L t the said t, having bytants in Aethe ly. HOUNSLOW-HEATH. 519 now seased, or at any time hereafter shall be seased of one estate of inherytance, as shall be at any time hereafter by his Grace’s comyssoners, OF ffower of them, heretofore named, or hereafter to be named, certyfied under their hands and seals, into his Highnes Court of the Augmen- tac’ons of the revenues cf his Grace’s crowne, to be mete and convenyent to be converted, used, or occupied, into tyllage, pasture, meadow, or other severall grounds, shall from hensforth immedyatly be and remayn perpetually copyhold lands, and shall be deamed and adjudged of the nature, qualetye, and condicon of copy hold lande, to all intents, construcc’ons, and purposes. And that every tenente, inhabytant, resyante, and others, their heires, successors, and assignes, and the heirs,, successors, and assignes, of every of them, shall have and enjoye suche ryght, tytle, interest, possess: ion, remaynder, and rever- syon, of and in the porc’on and parte of the said wast and hethe, to them or any them by the sail commyssyone assygned, or to be assigned, as shall be by the said com- myssyoners, OF fower of them at the lest, by copy to them or any of them to be hade and made, declared, or expressed, and the same shall be certyfied in to the said court of Augmentacions under there hands and seales. And be yt further enacted, by the authorytye aforesaid, that all and every tenate, inhabytant, and resyant, and other above remembered, shall immedyatlie after cetirficat, made as ys, aforesaid, be deamed, adjudged, and taken to be tenate, by copy of court rolle, of the part and porcion to them, or any of them, as ys aforsaid alloted and granted by copy of court rolle to such manor or lordship being within the sa id parishes and hamletts, or any of them as the said comossyoners, or fower of them at lest, uppon the said certyfycat, shall, under thair handes and scales, assigne and appoynte them or any of them unto, K kA and a=———— $20 HOUNSLOW-HEATH. and according to the tenor of the copy of courte rolle to hym or them madeof the same; and that after assigment and certyficat made as ys aforesaid, the same parts and por- c’ons shall be taken, had, and reputed, to all intents perpetuallie, as only members and parcells of the mannor or lordship whereunto they ar so appointed and assigned; and that the stewarde for the tyme being of any such manors or lordshipps, whereunto any part or pore’on of the said hethe or waste, shall be by the said comyssyoners, or ffower of them assigned unto, shall, after certyfycat thereof as ys aforesaid, have full power and authoritye from tyme to tyme, as the case shall justlye requyre, to lett and grant the same, by copy of courte rolle, to any person or persones, to hold the same parts and porc’ons, accordyng to the estate and interests prescribed in thair copees, at the wyll of the lord, accordyng to the custome of the manor or lordshippe whereunto the said party and porcons are as ys abovesaid assigned or appointed to apper- teyn, and also, that all customes, usages, condycons, and ordynances, which the said comyssyoners or fower of them at the lest, shall at any tyme hereafter prescrybe, rendre, decree, or make, concerning any parte or par- cell of the said wast or hethe, shall be as good, fyrme, and stable in the lawe, beyngg certyfyed under the handes and seales of the said comysyoners, or fower of them at the lest, into the said court as ys aforsaid, to all purposes and effects, as yff thaie and every of them were particu- larly recyted and enaéied by authorytve of this Parlya- ment. Provyded allwayes, that yf any suche persone or persones, to whom any parte of the sayd waste and hethe shall be alloted, do ether refuse to take by copy of court yolle the parte and porc’on to him alloted, assigned, or letten, or to be alloted, assigned or letten, as ys aforsaid, or ells refuse to convert his sayd part or porc’on into tyl- lage ~=-——— eperarerensente re Se an, ORE 2 () hyny ent and id Dor. INtens Nannor signed; ¥ such on of oners, yfycat hatitye yre, to to any O1Cons, mn thair 1stome y and pper- cons, fower crybe, or par. tyrme, » handes them at DUTposes patticu- Parlya- rsone of id hethe of court HOUNSLOW-HEATH. 524 lage or pasture, and in suche sorte to improve the same, within such tyme as to hym or them shall be prescrybed or assigned by the said comyssyoners, or fower of them at the lest, that then suche persone and persones as be ox shall be tennte for terme of lyf, for terme of yeres, or at wyll, of such messe, cotage, or lande, in respect wherof the said’ parte and porcon is or shall be alloted or assigned, shall and maye take, have, and receyve of the sayd stew- ards, the said part and porcon of the said wast, to hold at the will of the lorde, after the custome of the said mannor or lordshippe, for terme of twenty-one yeres; the re- mainder thereof after the end and determination of the said lease of xx1 yeres, to the owner of the said messe, cotage, or lond, to hold to him, his heires, and assignes, at the will of the lorde, after the custome of the said man- nor. And be yt further enacted, by the saide authoritye, that vf the said lessee refuse that to take as ys abovesaid, that then any other the King’s subjects, borne under his Grace’s obedyence, shall and may take, have, and re- ceyve, the same parte and porcon of the said waste, as ys abovesaid, for term of xxXI yeres, with remaynder to the said owner, as ys abovesaid. Provided also, that all and everye suche lessee for terme of Xx1 yeres, as ys abovesaid, shall and maye improve the said part and por- con of the said waste and hethe to hym letten, by copye of court rolle, during the said xx yeres, without any interrupe’on of any owner of any such messe, cotage, or londs, any surrendre, discharge, determinacon, or for- fayture, of his or thair interest, estats, or terms, of and in any suche messe, cotage, or londs, notwithstanding. Signed, GEORGE ROSE, Cler. Parliament. No. V. 52% ENFIELD-CHASE. NO. Vs LETTER FROM ANDREW REID, ESQ. TO THE AUTHOR, RELATIVE TO ENFIELD-CHASE, AND THE INCLO- SURE OF THE COMMONS NEAR LONDON, URGING THE NECESSITY OF MAKING THEM FREEHOLD; AND TITHE-FREE. SIR, T aM sorry it is not in my power to answer your queries respecting Enfield-chase, with any degree of accuracy. Not having any interest in it, and my time heing very much taken up in my business, I have not attended to the cultivation of each separate allotment; but from riding over it frequently, I am enabled to state in general terms, that the King’s allotment, for the number of acres it contains, 1s in the worst state of cultivation of any land on the chase. A considerable portion of it, T believe from one thousand to twelve hundred acres, fell into the hands of a Mr. Kays, the greatest part of which either lies in its original state, or is in as bad a state of cultivation as it can possibly be; in some instances, hardly growing the seed sown upon it. The South Mims allot- ment has, in general, been’ brought into the highest state of culture, and this year bears as fine crops as I ever beheld. Mr. Byng, in particular, has a farm of-chase land, his‘proportion of Mims allotment, which may challenge some of the best land in the kingdom for the burthen it produces, and for the peculiar good husbandry which 1s bestowed on it. The allotment set apart for the parishes ——— so eee en“ SSL tag or ee tO the NO. VI. d Lon. holders LETTER FROM DR. WIEKRINSON,£0 THE When AUTHOR, mnable RELATIVE TO THE CULTIVATION OF ENFIELD- inch. CHASE, AND THE SUPERIORITY OF PARING AND cole BURNING TO EVERY OTHER METHOD OF TIL- » and LING THIS: SOiL,.écc. occ. moke, se: i ee SIR, és, in In answer to your last favour, permit me to assure you ma of my readiness to assist in completing the Agricultural nost Survey of Middlesex by any information which it may be py in my power to communicate. Iam in possession of a on, map of the several allotments which, at the time of the a general inclosure of the chase, were given to the crown =“ and to the adjoining parishes. As this map is now become ps scarce, it is of consequence to preserve it in some public oe record. If you think it worth inserting in your survey, oe I will send it to you, fully depending on its being safely ce returned. In answer to your query respecting the chase, whole of the inclosed land is now in cultivation, except ID. about 1,200 acres belonging to the tenants of the crow: oO o See I have found the fertility of the chase land much in. creased by the application of chalk and lime.‘The strong wet loams of this district are rendered dryer and more mellow by the calcarious earth. I have laid on twelve loads of chalk and 160 bushels of lime per acre. They are brought from Cheshunt-common, distant about three nii¢ ee SS—————~e ee—————— §26 ENFIELD-CHASE. miles. Ina wet winter, the extent of the lime and chalk might have been easily traced, by the superior vigour and more florid appearance of the wheat. I have likewise found, which is worth remarking, that the harvest was forwardest on the lands which had been chalked and limed. Where I adopted this practice, the crops have been uniformly good in the following succession: fallow, wheat, beans, wheat. My experience carries me no farther, as it is only three years since I began the use of Jime. Should a general inclosure of the waste lands take place, there is no question of more importance than the expedi- -ency of breaking up the turf by paring and burning. My own experience suggests the following arguments in favour of this practice. That it saves a very heavy expence in the first break- ing up of land, when a guinea per acre will not cover the charges of ploughing. That the burnt clay, acting as a mechanical manure, breaks the stiffness and adhesion of the soil. That the ashes are found to possess the most fertilizing qualities as a manure; and by this operation are laid on the premises at a small expence. That by destroying the natural coarse grass which grows up among the corn(unless the turf has been pre- viously burnt), it allows the cultivator to introduce clover in an early course, which would otherwise be choaked in its tender shoots by an abundant spring of grass. That it secures the first crop from the ravages of the worm, which are found so abundant in the fresh turf. That so far from ruining the staple of the soil, I have found land thus treated, retaining its fertility for five crops successively, without the additional stimulus of any other manure. After ENFIELD-CHASE. 525 W Chalk sia:: I: far After all, I am ready to admit, that on a thin soil the . practice may be injurious, and perhaps on any soil, if eri followed by an injudicious course of crops. On a strong Taye loam, where the staple is sufficiently deep, it may be eda practised to advantage. 8 have The rental of the parish of Enfield, on which the taxes allow, parliamentary and parochial are taken, amounts to about Ie No 16,c00l. per annum. The number of acres in the com- use of mon fields and marshes you will find in the last survey. They both lett at about twenty shillings per acre. place, The course of crops on the common fields: 1. fallow; Xpedi- 2. wheat; 3. spring corn;—when they are obliged to lie Mrning, fallow again, being common every third year. ents in By inclosure, the marshes would admit of an imme- diate advance in rent of ten shillings, and the common real fields of five shillings per acre.‘The annual loss in pro- ‘the duce to the community by this triennial fallow, is equal to thirty shillings per acre, which, on 2,746 acres, the site quantity of common field land in this parish, amounts to 4,119]. per annum. Maine, The wages given by the farmers in this patash; are sd ch trom ten to twelve shillings per week. In hay time, half a crown a day; in harvest, a guinea a week for the i harvest month. which ees I.remain, Sir, oN pie- Rahs eit ecient fie Your most obedient humble servant, bed ih ABRm. WILKINSON, dugust 21, 17096 of the rh oi| ‘any fer No. VII. ~=—=——-==-—— ee ak areata 5, Z ne= 528 ENFIELD-CHASE. NO. VII. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM DR. WILKIN= SON TO SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART. SIR, Havince three hundred acres of land in my own hands in the parish of Enfield, I have been labouring to intro~ duce a spirited agriculture. I have broke up one hundred acres of chase land, of which I sent an‘ account to Mr. Young, for the Annals. Our farms in general, in this neighbourhood, are but small, the new inclosures ex- cepted, which are held only by a few individuals. I believe I am the largest landholder in the parish. Our agriculture is sadly restricted, by the common fields on one side and the chase on the other; which, united to the marsh land, constitute almost the whole of the parish. The cottagers are much in want of small fields of inclosed land; yet so attached are they to their idle system of keep- ing a few half starved cattle on the chase, often to the ruin of themselves and families, without the smallest advantage accruing to the public, that they constantly oppose any inclosure. In the spring the chase is covered with ticks, which fasten on the cattle, and, by suckiag their blood, reduce them so low, that they are incapable of raising themselves from the ground, and in this state Thave seen them carried away in carts.) When I first purchased my estate at Enfield, as my fold-yard opened immediately on the chase, I imagined myself possessed of a treasure in this advantage, and accordingly purchased a number of black cattle; by which| lost so considerably, that Own hands Ig tO Intros ne| hundre ed nt to Mr, ral, in this losures ex. lo oe ie parish, on felds united to ie parish, it inclosed m of keep. ten to the re smnalles constanuy thicc fate 1{AIS Stay eee) ENFIELD-CHASE. 529 that I never since have had any thing to do with them. The chase is only useful for keeping dry cows tll within a month of calving. My milch cows would be starved on such coarse grass, which must certainly be improper for rearing cattle, unless it is for the benefit of the nation thar the breed should degenerate instead of improve. my paper in the last number of the Annals, number 114, you will find that I had last year four quarters and a ae of wheat from land which I found in this degraded state. Sheep are prohibited from being turned out on Enfield- chase; and in the common fields they can only be kept in sufficient numbers to pay the expence of a shepherd. fk There are a few flocks kept by some of the holders cf the common fields, but as they are kept principally for fold- ing, they are of a very inferior kind. A large tract of common field land, watered by the New river, is con- demned to be fallow every third year, which, if inclosed, might be converted into excellent meadow, and would lett immediately at forty shillings per acre. Marl has lately been discovered on that part of the chase which lies contiguous to’ Potter’s-bar, particularly on the farms of Mr. Byng, Mr. James, and Mr. Walker Lime and chalk may be had at a short distance from Cheshunt and Northaw commons. Tam,“Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, ABRm. WILKINSON. White Webb House, Enfteld-chase, August ty 1793: taal _— No. VII}. ENFIELD-CHASE. NO... VIEL. LETTER FROM DR. WELKINSON, TO THE Awe THOR, ACCOMPANIED BY A MAP OF EN- FIELD-CHASE, WITH EMPL ANATIONS. scree SIR, InciosEp I have sent the map which you wished to be forwarded. I have added the villas and buildings which have been ereéted either on the borders of the chase, or on the chase land, since the general division and inclosure. Edmonton allotment has been entirely cleared of its timber and underwood. Enfield allotment is in many places well stocked with young thriving oaks. That part of-the crown allotment which, though inclosed, has not yet been cultivated, you will find marked Fenny slade, Plum- ridge great lawn, and the triangular slip marked Sloper’s pond, on the other side of the road, and bounded in part by the yellow line till it comes to the road above Mon. key mead. The whole is in the occupation of one per- son, and contains about 750 acres, but is destitute of either house, barn, or farm offices. Hadley allotment has not been inclosed. I mention these circumstances, as it would be an improvement of the map, if the parts now lying waste‘and common were distinguished by a parti- cular colour. I must observe, however, that the part of Hadley allotment, as rarked in the map, behind Mr. Newdick’s house’(to the north of it) is now inclosed. Trent farm is chiefly wood, and therefore great part has never been broken up. It cannot, however, be called ENFIELD-CHASE. 531 waste, as it has been, converted into a park and orna- mental pleasure-grounds. Mr. Byng deserves much praise for his attention to agriculture. His property in the neighbourhood of South Mims has been much improved by the application of marl; and a spirited system of husbandry has been intro- duced by a son of the justly celebrated Ducket. I remain, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, ABRm. WILKINSON. L12 NO.[Xs if a |; ras | cal mae | wa q wg |< He< m4 ?= mu; |© at& | Mobo | 3 i si fee) a | g: A saa| ri x ra oR i } 9“ oe oe | si aan| e.<< Zz 2 o |: Ps fx, re Saas \= iz Ze. Rees . v: 5 mn=(<2) al | é nO rH a a: q: 2 O BR es f Fei | os Cm q(SA Mee i a:: pe(Oy 153) a a:= by .& B:| wy“ (>) YQ |: Ww) if = a an Seer ee ey Se Se=——~ ae= CO x e— Be Ae:: S BS Me“i Hanvnonts& BSNS€ a i CALCULA LION for TITHE; Mest(Ua sas ee O0DO LT 27, Lhe Chace contains Lhe POAGGS 318_0 3 Total including Toads,.....- 0540-1-5o Fiyleld allotmerit:......1582. 2 6 Mitton Lane—3 ye 5) an 20 To be cleard of Tithes.-----.3f52- 0-10 ee Ede a~= 70 of which for Tithe t8.~... I45 0.52 nN * Thus Fond has been latdy draind bv MTaines, and is now under cultivation. Road from Sout Mires> aS S VOR< | 2 if [a\» i iN 2 S| SN 2: S| S Nae 2 ay,*S| a 1 Calle gate y<~>)= S.“as A| Vorthaw Cone Soi-m ———| oS \\ ‘\ Fe an | oe Udy, 7 amit XS © HAS lately been discovered tn this Dyru é \ \\ 2 Sok, <\ YY 7 1 YX NW iilhex; Cry. £ UM? NM iaules S Tenth Long if —>= yy: oe e ve x, ge U1}, Y)- 5 we == 4~—s Z = Rw slade = ime White Webs Gate > Phonridge Mea Lodac 9 White Webs Farm Sr|> PPP a A\ Fast Lodge LD) Nib hee non == Great Lawn\ ee noi. S age: 2\ pe ee we F\ LZ a:\\ ne rae S i: y gy ns) Soe\\ gee See ee\ i Nood he, ZN \&) RY, Montecy Mead~>>>>>2--_- AG Ss ae ye \ SX A af tt CT:“Sess oa met<= SS\= Weft Lodge REELREN CK w+ c Obelisk ae 2 6\\ e191 Linfield Moonent colord S ig Praales“4 lit VE“il tif. Mb d f 40 fo& Vp a“Y‘i Camlet WAV blue siliject to Tithes ~ Canlel FP, Trent\p Farm = Niipstone, fy. Vale Mrhiuhisttls 99 CONTAINS= 32.26. 2 Ola Fark allotricelorat oraroge Clear of Tithes Y? Se ONO AED green subject to Tithes. 1252. 2.6 \ 3 Ldmorton allotmieolorit \ 4 Hadlev allooncoleria =) brown clear of Tithes... ul e-0o CW LAT x | x ao< 4elor the Tithes of Hadley A eftOle-- x© 3 | wre Oe‘|) grid\ COUN= 24.0.0 > y 7"7 7 Y ed\. ard= : iN The olh We( oO ats\°o Soutii Mims alletnent A Wy ey Norra a‘,»< colord vellow clear of* s Cock p- sans‘\ N Tithes eee ae G p> ps f a G(CoS[ere. y 5 Wt 4 Fy,= ae= er= 092-3. ©> sf.:?:?, i, oF a ¢ re‘ 4. Ty Y co+L OF LU L eS O,< rT, GOUIVEY He 7706 ASUICHIICIE Wet Farm NG SAE Yep: US TLRS| e 7 ae Ny Se= ic Jfinse allotment....... 5-1-0 OF eu Lievorr 6 Adoiunt t Old Fold ENFIELD CHWACE\ ee Boo A As Oa A AWN. Wa Tithos-- 06-3_ 24 2 3 a Zor the Tithes..4g.0-16 41.0.0 > 7 ,n 2g ¥ wn the Count oS eA\ 27 Mdotment to the =\ o 46° ho 3850-2.20\ | YIP) j y AY OY ey x Jou 2 a H | Vi DDLE 3H X. aS‘ Lodge 7 2 8 AWotinent fo dwchage es Ny y); Y the Chace fron Tithes,| Shouing the boundartes thereoz; and the lines& quantities Bolun pai‘ fexcept Lined and; hp ee ge the peieral(s ee aa Tarronton allote£,. 513 0.3 of he allotments proposed to be set out t tee several. U"Rol oré;} Lidimonton allotiz C i Lancepler; iv the niornlhs of Augut& September 1776, SS By Franas Rupselt, is Magiys Survevor fer the South Ne ox 5.“>:.=“eS parts of the said Duchy,& Rich. Kichardsor, Land— S 2, : 5 Ds JSurvevor, his Deputy.: aS 7. \ Ze 2& Sout Pt Cale aS) VB SS 1 :| SNeele feutp* Strand! — it== ae= Ss aT st= ENFIELD-CHASE. 533 NO. X. LETTER FROM“J. WIGSEON, ESO.-TO- THE AGUP OR. 9 Robi A VE al© si OE S@ iol AONE CULTIVATION OF ENFIELD-CHASE, SIR, I can only furnish you with an account of the soil of my estate, and the lands contiguous, situated on Enfield- chase, which is cold, springy, and unpromising in the extreme, as is the case with many hundred acres circum- jacent with my park, now belonging to the parishes of Enfield and Edmonton, and very properly used as commons, Jor the growth of young stock. I have cultivated several spots in my own park, at a great expence, having invari- ably found it necessary to lay out as much as the fee simple of the /end was worth, in order to render it capable of bearing a crop of corn. How far my future labours may be rewarded, I know not; but I am convinced, that the whole of Enfield-chase is znfinitely more appropriate to the feeding and growth of young stock of every description, than the plough. I amg¢ Sir, Your obedient servant, J. WIGSTON. Trent-place, Enfield-chase, Sept. 8, 1796. L13 NO, XT, =——-— 55~ a Se———______———__, OF AN ORCHARD. NO. Xi. PLAN PLAN OF AN ORCHARD: <> Se) WwW NEWBURY PEAT ASHES. 525 NO. XII. ON NEWBURY PEAT: ASHES. DN CACCUED@ER TO"WHE Aa ORE SIR, THE ashes are a guinea per hundred in the place. The freight to Kingston, Surrey, will be a guinea and an halt more. /Ve dress our clover and new sown grass seeds with Fibs Pe Ae 1S= ev ae= Sy pen hers Alay] Apr grryre hh 7 aif QS/1CS, ANA SOW about ten or twelve bushels per acre, Tey Witt also do for meadow land;[have known them sown on wheat; but they are very apt to blight.‘They do very well on vetches. I am your humble servant, Rov GROCKFORD., Englefield, Feb. 9, 1794. INIOy eT Is ON] SOOTS MAL E=DUST,&e. IN A LETTER TO THE AUTHOR. RESPECTED FRIEND, Tue usual quantity of soot sown per acre, as top- dressing, 1s about forty bushels. I think to increase it to sixty;.1f land is poor, it may be done with advantage to Ee the ——————————S—~<“<—iC*S a 26 SOOT, MALT-DuST,&c. Fr the crop. The time of sowing I believe, cannot be better fixed than the latter end of this month, or the fore part of the next; although some farmers are of the mind, that a little later is better, as they believe frost is detrimental to soot; and if land lays much on a descent, it is more hhable to be drove away by floods. The quantity of kiln dust that I make use of, is from fifty to sixty bushels per acre; but generally use it for barley; if for wheat, about the same quantity, and the usual time of sowing is the same as soot. I have some- times sown malt-dust at the time of sowing the wheat, but in a mild winter it is apt to work too soon; of course leaves off too soon also. I have had but little experience with respect to grass land, but 1 am of opinion both soot and kiln-dust may be sown with advantage. Have heard that soot made use of on clover, answers very well.| have this year sown three hundred and twenty bushels of soot with the wheat, and ploughed it in at the same time, on about six acres of poor land, after a summer’s fallow, and new land drained, but cannot see any effect from it at present.‘Che remaining part of the piece is dressed with other manure from London, viz. a part squib, and a part mince-meat, at about the same expence per acre, but appears far the best at present. Conclude with respects, thy sincere well-wisher, pis we as: Brickendon-bury, 2d Month, 11th, 1794. Sees, FATTENING CATTLE WITH MOLASSES. 537 Tein Dette ra Nyt pa 1 that N Or DOYS MODE©F FATTENING cA ELE WITH MO- LASSES. By«2. MibiENG LON. BS@.)=IN A: —~ ‘from LELIER£0, SIR JOUN: SINCLAIR, BART. some- S] R; An 1; As you did me the honour, yesterday, to request that i would put down on paper, the substance of some little observations I had made on the fattening of cattle expedi- tiously, by the addition of molasses to their J foe 3 common 100d, heard I now sit down to do SO, but with great difidence. It I L has been my practice, and pretty generally that of my els Of neighbours, to give from half a pint to a pint of molasses, time, twice a day, to a very poor ox, that has been worked for 26 AL Voyuy a SAT Be rene xe ce ela tee or pudding-like substance,’ called by the negroes in Bar- AS ee ee ae eee eee eee Bey Cen 3 say " badoes coocoo. It is well stirred with a long wooden , spoon, till nearly cool, to prevent its burning to the side: CAS pOon, tli nee y cococi, to preven s DUTNING CO tie sides ) a Soe AJ}~ 1 SA Bee ae een WW of the iron pot. When cold, it is made into balls, o1 juinps, of about a pound weignt. Half of these balls is given to an ox morning and evening, dipping each int the molasses, which, after a few days, is eaten with great avidity, and very quickly fattens the ox, with the addition sHachieleban mor een fodder nob too succulent or Of a littie hay, or atv green fodder, not too succulent o1 nful or two of salt is generally diss flatulent. A spoo in the water. When ground corn is not used, the dry — OO 538 ACCOUNT OF A DUTCH DAIRY. food, such as cane tops, tedded or withered in the sun, dried guinea grass, or oil-cake, is well wetted with the sane quantity of molasses, diluted with as much water, and some salt dissolved in it. With great respect, Iam, Sir, Y our obedient humble servant, LANGp. MILLINGTON. Berners-street, April 3, 1795. NO. XV AN ACCOUNT OF. A. DUTCH DAIRY. BY THE REV. MR. TICKELL, SIR, THE economy of the Dutch, in the management of their milch cows, being recommended in one of the I} t~s a9| 4 egies T Agricultural Reports, as an object worthy of enquiry, I take the liberty to send you such previous information on the subject, as my cursory notes, made some years since onthe spot, furnish me with, on the inspection of three great cow-houses, at Utrecht, Harlaem, and Amsterdam, which were constructed on an oblong square, and of a moderate height, with a slight floor over head, for a cer- ain occasional quantity of hay cut out of a Dutch barn adjoining the cow-house.‘The building within was airy and luminous; its length determined by the number of the cows, which might amount from forty to sixty, or more, and from three to four feet allowed to each cow—its breadth from ——:= ee——— - 4 < ~c Se 1alied =-:-== ie—————-~- ee = een—>~- 2>—~— §40 ACCOUNT OF A DUTCH DAIRY. drink, as it glides gently down before them in the said channel; and in very cold weather, the pump water is%) tempered with hot water. In order to remove the excre- ments in the gutter before-mentioned, a square board, fixed ina long handle, the exaét breadth of the clinker- paved gutter, is used, with which they are pushed down the gutter, and through an opening at the extremity of the house, into a deep pit made to receive them; and afterwards, by means of a long spout, water is conveved from the pump into the gutter, which is washed perfectly —.1 clean, twice, or oftener, in the day; as also is the channel in front of the cows. As the cows remain constantly tied up, from the time they return from pasture to their winter quarters, in November or December, according to the season of the year, tili they go to grass in April, it is sur- prizing, from this arrangement and economy, with what facility and thrift a great number of cows are taken care of by a very few hands; and also with what neatness, though they are allowed no litter, but what little refuse hay is left by them. The eye of the master indeed is always upon them, for at the upper end of their house he also has usually his abode, divided only bya running curtain, but fitted up with every convenience, and in the neatest manner, for conducting the dairy, as coppers for boiling water, and the various: messes for the cows,&c. In short, no people on earth(the Chinese not excepted) study and practice the“ multum in parvo’ more assidu- ously, and with greater success, than the patient, indus- trious, frugal, provident Dutchman, among whom many ingenious contrivances in all arts and professions are to be found, worthy the imitation of the most enlightened nations. When the cows go to grass, they are clothed, (at least those which are tender, or have lately calved) with a coarse hempen jacket extending from the shoulders to ACCOUNT OF A DUTCH DAIRY. 541 the a », and half way down the ribs, and fastened by he ex ngs under the legs; the intention of which is to guard AG Xtra. fe ¢ e those which ate tender,&c. after their winter’s confine- ment, from the perpendicular dews, which are very i heavy in their low, deep, rich meadows, and likewise to 0 coWwn:; i ie?:: increase their milk, which warmth very essentially con- em\ of rs i tributes to. The same precaution is adopted, I under- M5 and::: 2 Leg stand, in winter, before they return to house, if the Any SA en CY. 71° Ss weather is severe, or when a cow calves late. While; 2 ) erledhly grass, their keepers avail themselves of every opportunity to supply them with brewers wash,&c. which from habit they drink greedily, in preference to such unpalatable (if not brackish) water as their dykes usually afford. After the cows quit their winter quarters, their house 1s cleaned with the greatest niceness, and even the boards I.. 2) what washed, and scoured with hot water, sand and soap; but “care notwithstanding all this neatness, and the constant care and attention of their owners, it sometimes happens, as in 1772 and 1773, that they lose the greater part of deed ts their stock: the bowels were generally first attacked, and it house that so violently as to prove fatal in a few hours. This running distemper then prevailed not only in the cow-houses, but id in the i pursued the poor animals to their pastures, in one of fo which half the herd would be sweRe off in a few days, mete and all escape perhaps in that adjoining; while in a third cep neighbouring pasture the distemper raged with equal vio- lence as in the first. No less various was the condué& 5 tile of the several proprietors on this occasion—some consi- Ff dered the distemper as a judgment from heaven, and n nat; pe thought it in vain, if not impious, to attempt any means re tobe a. siseeay: for their recovery. Others, less superstitious, adopted fhe the most celebrated remedies, and left no means unessayed to oppose the virulence of the distemper, but with little red) ‘ia mane It is ret soaistal othapnheemnccce Flander ae he success. Jt is remarkable, that the cows in Flanders are Iders tp generally #3 as Fp a— en— Eee eS Sst ee 542 ACCOUNT OF A DUTCH DAIRY. 1 generally very healthy, notwithstanding they. lie on their dung, more or less, the year round. The Flemish peasant keeps his cattle rather in a cave, than a cow-house, and instead of carrying out the dung, fresh litter, and dry sand, or earth, is added‘daily to it, so that before this cave, or cow-house, is cleaned out, the cattle stand six feet or more, higher than the floor. His milch cows(as well as horses) are housed every night, even in the sum- are fed with trefoil, or clover, or vetches,&c. and Jet out to feed in the pastures early in the morning, and brouglit back to house about ten; have trefoil,&c. till four in the afternoon, and are then turned out till eight; by which means an immense quantity of the richest manure is raised in Flanders during the whole summer, which, by cattle being kept in the fields in that season in all other countries, becomes the food of flies, and the sport of winds. Fatting bullocks alone are permitted to he abroad day and night in Flanders, otherwise they would not fat in very hot weather. In winter, the Flemings feed their cows with hot messes,&c. nearly as the Dutch do. Such is the substance of what I have been able to glean from my very imperfect notes, hastily penned down, respecting the economy of the Dutch in the management of their cows. It is very probable, that I may have been mistaken in what I saw; and mis-informed in the en- quiries I made; I can only answer for the purity of my intentions—a desire to add my mite to the treasure of agricultural information now collecting, and to rende the situation in winter, of that most useful animal the (London) cow, more cleanly and comfortable, and to enable her to afford a more ample supply of that neces- sary and most wholesome article of milk. Considering the most ruinous consequences which fol- lowed lately at Ratcliffe, from so trifling a cause as the boiling 9) Sees‘ =-= a “Spee ee aren? opi? Lo See ————— ee Spt neste —— Eee=- 7 g _ ze——== PREVENTION OF TAR CAULDRONS BOILING OVE ER.$43 le On th. D they ' 3 HI G+f| ees 7 Iza 9! oO 7 Ih pers poling over of a cauldron of tar, I shall make no apology Adal} o~ 4‘S ae SAS.: Pe ne mae pe ed house} XOr troubling you with an easy precaution, long adopte MUU, and eee, Hob: 5 ant| Dy the Dutch, to obviate a similar misfortune; your » Ad dry J 2 ene Fa) ES Se A Sk iL Pee atari patronage and recommendation of which, would ensure Clore this its adoption in naval vards, to the great advantage and | security of the community. Over every tar cauldron is ; fixed a large wooden hutch, cased(or at least it should ]{he sum.: apg th ke Ee ts Spee be) with thin iron plates; this is filled with fine sand, ches,& eae: esi which, 1n case the tar happens to take fire in b¢ iling, the > Morning; ego man who[ape the operation lets out by means of re| (CIO, OC: ay be, a trap(or sliding door), and the fire is insta ntly subdued bv a He uge of sand—the tar, though combined with the sand, still remaining equally serviceable for a variety of a inferior uses. This contrivance I observed in the rope- ‘Season in yard at Amsterdam, belonging to the Dutch East India and the Company. Adjoining to the cauldron, which was fixed qa+ ee- acne“ ae mj:-~- 4 me ed to lie in strong brick work, is a long room, divided from the y would cauldron without by a thick brick wall, in which is fixed Ta larve ir Gye AGN Cee he roc ings feed a large iron stove(advancing considerably into the room) nich do. to heat the tar cauldron, which~throws out a oreat fo) le to glean heat in the room below, and up into a chamber above, ied down, which, instead of a regular floor, has only thick dea Rea spars, three inches apart, nailed down on the beams. anagement I Bt ah Here, and in the room below, a great quantity of cables, have been? ate and ship tackling of all sorts, is celled up and dried, before vesaaptee they are tarred. The cables and ropes are not worked up nity of my J: ‘aie i so tort, or tight, as with us, in order to render them more UCdouie Yi: ii, elastic, and not so liable to strain or break in heaving the fo rehdct tie anchor, and the ropes less apt to strain the yards and top- an! mal fit J masts In wef, tempestuous wea her. ae 4 have the honour to be, Sir,&c.&c. J: PICKELL. Wry Ver by Wargarave, Dec. 1794. boiling THE ee a Ses Seseepsanlas s: 544 MAKING BUTTER IN HOLLAND. THE METHOD OF MAKING BUTTER IN HOLLAND. BY MR. R. P. CAREW. Having milked the cow, the milk is not put mto pans till it is quite cold. It is then stirred two or three times a day with a wooden spoon, to prevent the cream from separating from the milk; and if it can be stirred till the spoon will almost stand in it, it is deemed so much the better. When it is found to be sufficiently thick, it is put into the churn, and beat for an hour. When the butter begins to form, a pint or more of cold water, according to the quantity of the milk, is poured in, to separate the butter from the milk. When the butter is taken out of the churn, it is washed and kneaded till the last water is perfectly clear and free from milk. By this method, a greater quantity of butter is made from an equal ae of milk. The butter 1s firmer and sweeter. It will keep longer than that which is made in the ordinary mode, which is in use 1n England, and the butter milk is thought prefer able. N. B. A churn is thought better adapted to the purpose, than a barrel. JOBBING OF CATTLE. tr” > tra NO. XVI. CUTTING-BUTCHERS. The committee to whom the petition of the cutting but- thick. chers was referred, in the winter of 1795-6, reported to When the the House of Commons their opinion thereon as under. It appears by the evidence of several respectable cutting- butchers, that great part of the evil complained of, origi- nates from the practice of jobbing.‘The jobbers buy cattle of the farmers and graziers, which would come from them to market, were they not prevented by these people; that more than half the cattle, particularly beasts that come to the Smithfield market, are jobbed—TVhat a Mr. a L. and Co. of Norwich had, during the spring of 1795, jobbed upwards of 1000 cattle, by which they must have cleared at least 2000]. It appears also, that there could no inconvenience arise from entirely abolishing this prac- tice, as there are drovers for the purpose of bringing the beasts to market, who call regularly for the stock, and bring it to the London markets. It appeared that the jobbers vode about the country, and if they found a erazier ¢ not inclined to sell them his cattle, But determined to send them to Smithfield himself, they frequently tempted him with the offer of prices more than they were really worth, in order to get the stock into their own hands. That the salesmen are frequently bid a very good price for cattle by the butcher, which they are compelled to refuse, as they know the jobbers had been with the graziers and offered more.‘That the road up to London is so infested with wp. AV Mm the 5 IE Anos ee rc a meen » e ie Sn—, nol, tal as sa Se SNPS eee ae~ SS ne §46 JOBBING OF CATTLE, the jobbers, that it is with the greatest difficulty th 7 graziers can get their cattle to market, alt hough th ce @ drovers have positive orders to drive them thither. That itis the general opinion, that three-fourths of the cattle that are sold in Smithfield‘are jobbed before they come there; and that not unfrequ ently they are jebbed three or four times previous to their arrival at the London markets. That sobbing is become now so prevalent almost all over the kingdom, that the jobSers have obtained the command cme over the graziers, and can enhance or depress the price at‘their pleasure. That it is the particular wish of the salesmen that the pradtice of jobbing were totally abolished, as it occasioned such confusion in the country; and if they could have the cattle immedia disek from the grazier to the market, the price would be much reduced. That the jobsers make use of this argument to the graziers— that the stock would fetch more then than if kept 9 five or six weeks eit that if they eae the graziers still disinclined to sell, they tempt them by a vss far more than they even intend to give; the consequence of which is, that when the stack comes to Smithfield, the salesman not being able to get as much for them as the graziers were bid in the country by the jobbers, the graziers are by that means induced to part with their next lot at a price certain, lest they may be a second time disappointed at the London markets. That sheep which are offered for sale, are frequently with-held from the butcher till the jobder has had the refusal; after which they are sold, not on the grazier’s, but on the yobber’s account. On the examination of several eminent salesmen, this testimony was corroborated, with the additional circum- stances, that the enormous price given for Jean cattle, is entirely owing to the practice of sobbing; as likewise the great addition to their price in all the country fairs; that the | On Marke: NQLAC g We NOst all over © Command 1 .. that 55 Ula the f SOS a ee ee JOEBING OF CATTLE. 547 the jebbers make between two and three pounds per head of cattle; that it has been customary for cattle to be bought on one side of Smithfield, and immediately tied up for sale on the other, by which an advance is‘ob- tained of two or three pounds per head in a short space of time; that great quantities of cattle are sold at Houn- slow, Knightsbridge, Islington, and other resting places for the cattle, where they are met by the jodders, and pur- chased the day before the market-day. That before the practice of sobbing, the markets were as well supplied, and at a lower price. This practice was fully proved by the evidence of several drovers, one of whom said, that out of eight hundred sheep which came from Mile End, above six hundred were sent to the carcass-butcher, wituout being driven to market. That it has happened more than once, that cattle have been bought in a ficti- tlous name, and sold again the same day, in the same market, Another unfair practice tending to enhance the price of veal, was proved by the clerk of Smithfield market, who said that it was customary‘ to bring calves into the ‘¢ market the evening before the market-day; that they ‘* are taken in carriages down the inn-yards, where they «¢ are sold without ever being brought into open market, ‘* to the amount of 1000 to 1500 a year; and that he, «¢ as clerk of the market, has no right to notice them, the «© inn-yards being no part of the market.” Enormous as it may appear, the following evidence was given:—‘* That the sobbers frequently boasted of their “ profits, which one in particular declared, amounted in ** one instance to no less a sum than seven pounds upon «© one bullock!!i”? Upon consideration of all which circumstances, the committee have come to the following resolutions: Mm 2 e. l ab ~= em 548 JOBBING OF CATTLE. «< y. That the practice of carcass-butchers, 1n monopo, sé gc 66 66 66 G6 66 6¢ 66 66 lizing Smithfield and other markets, is one cause of the dearness of butchers’ meat within the bills of mortality, which practices have of late years much increased, and therefore the trade of carcass-butchers ought to be regulated. That the pradlice of jobbers and others, who buy cattle and sheep on speculation, which are afterwards sold at advanced prices, several times before they are purchased by the cutting retail butchers(by which several unnecessary profits are obtained between the farmer and consumer) aie principal causes of the dearness of butchers’ meat within the bills of mor- tality: these practices having increased of late years to an excessive height, ought to be abolished. That forestalling and regrating tend greatly to en- hance the price of meat; and that these practices having increased of late years, to the great detriment of the public, ought to be more effeétually prevented by a summary mode of conviétion,” aiterwardg €(ey are U y W hich to. en- rachices XVile ee ae| >> Zz, ie: ~~ ” ry re O No. XVII. NAVIGABLE. CANALS, y.—THE first advantage of canals is, that they tend to émploy capital that would otherwise lay detmant per- haps in the Bank, or in the coffers of bankers, or, which is indeed more probable, might be sent fo other countries, in purchasing the stocks or the landed property of other nations, or in carrying on speculations or improvements there, either in manufactures or in agricul ltureé 9.—The next advantage is, that the making of canals & gives employment to a number of industrious persons, who are not shut up in close unwholesonie rooms, which is the-case with manufacturers in general, but who are employed in the open air, in the healthy labours of the ¢ 3.—A third advantage 1s, that it carries down industry and capital to remote and distant ccrners of the country, and indeed puts the whole kingdom on a footing of equality in regard to the raw materials of manufacture; every species of provision, every sort of manure, and, } above all, fuel, without which no country situated in a northern climate can possibly flourish. 4.—The superior cheapness of conveyance 1s an incte- dible advantage. The expence of bringing goods on - ro) ike roads, is one shilling per ton per mile; whereas by canals it costs only about two-pence or three-pence*, * The carriage of bulky articles over a turnpike road, costs from a shillir to fourteen or fifteen pence per mile; by canals, from one-halfpenny to three- halfpence.++- 7. MM, Mm 3 Phe §50 CANALS. The saving of three-fourths in the expence of catriage, particularly in bulky articles, and raw materials, is an asto-~ nishing advantage both to trade and agriculture. 5.-—In a commercial country, diminishing as much as possible the land employed in maintaining horses, is of great advantage. It is commonly calculated, that it requires from eight to twelve acres to make a mile of canal*, and that on such a canal one horse will drag a barge, with from forty to fifty tons; whereas, on a turnpike road, a horse does not draw above three-fourths ofaton. Suppose, however, that the Saving is equal to forty horses; each horse, it is supposed, will require the produce of six acres at an average, to maintain him in hay, oats and beans; consequently, in the first place, two hundred and forty acres may be dedicated to rearing the food for man instead of horse. If each horse costs thirty pounds a year for tear and wear and maintenance, there is thence a saving of 12001. per annum, in addition to which, there is the saving of the tear and wear of the carts, of the roads, the expence of drivers,&c. It is certain, that if Holland was to carry in carts and waggons all the goods which it transports by canals, the whole terri- tory belonging to that country would not be able to raise food sufficient to maintain the horses to do the duty required. 1 Lastly.—A number of other advantages might be men- tioned, as the cheap conveyance of lime, and other ma- nures, for the cultivation of the soil: the conveyance of timber for His Majesty’s navy, from the most interior parts of the kingdom; the advantage of watering the ground in the neighbourhood. Canals may be divided into three different sorts. The first, when it is done entirely by the people of the country * Jt is unnecessary for a mile of canal to occupy more than four acres.— Benttt through Ls hry CANALS. 55t Ato. through whose grounds the canal passes. Secondly, when it is done partly by the country, and partly on speculation, Nuch a Thirdly, when it is done entirely on speculation. Of 11 of these, the second is in general the most useful to the hat je country. When canals are executed by the inhabitants | mile of the neigbourhood, they are in general planned on a Will small scale, and pee Sey Bees but when under-~ On taken by persons who do it with hopes of profit, it is done urths in the best manner, and with a much better chance of suc- al to cess: indeed the people of the country itself, have seldom re the either spirit or capital to do justice to such undertakings. Lim In The obje€tions which have been made to canals, on the , two score of gambling, can dean= removed, by regulations ing the respecting subscriptions, éc. thirty As to the objection on the score of its injuring the Hate coasting trade, nothing can be more ill-founded. The aD to foasting trade has been increasing every year since canals f the have been so much multiplied: many articles are carried ie from one port to another, that would never have been brought by sea, had it not been for those canals. For instance, the stones employed in the ries of the e terni- streets of London, are in a great measure brought from a TNA YIU.. ad the interior parts of Yorkshire red Many persons are prejudiced aaa canals, on account of the exorbitant profits which some of them have pro- eT ma- i : duced; but they do not consider how many there are, nee Ol which, though highly profitable tothe public, vet produce VIC, TOUR I gm1y fT ITLTADAE C i pt IC, VE proauc ytenior,! 1 /, little advantage to the adventurers, who perhaps may be yo the eaualleeConceaed ini lhosembich aeurogas; 1g equally concerned in those which are profitable and those vi ieee are otherwise; so that the one is necessary to make The t] 2 Ine} s: pipeeehae t 1 rR si he up the loss that is sustained by the other. Besides, people try do not consider the many accidents to which navigations are liable, by blowing up, by a change of trade in the place, and, above all, by the rising up of rival canals, Us Im 4 N XVIII, Pi 4 —--=— ee at. 3— aS a. S53 STEAMING OF GRAIN. NO. XVIII. ON THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF STEAMING GRAIN. BY JOHN LIGHT BANGER, ESQ, OF MADEIRA. EXTRACTS FROM SUNDRY LETTERS. 13th July, 1794.—" You will remember Mr. P—’s proposal, that we should each take a given quantity of the same cargo of grain, and that at the expiration of a certain time, his method of preservation should be found superior to mine. It is now six months since we com- menced our experiments, and upon weighing an alquicre (a measure used in the island of Madeira, 24 of which make an English bushel), the weight of his was found to be 17lb. 1540z.; of mine 20]b. 2702. But the essential difference was in the quality, as the grain kept by him was unsaleable, and mine better and sweeter than when I received it.” 24th September.—‘* 1 was much obliged by your ac- Mi n count of the produce of the island of St. Michael’s; but I omitted, when you left me, to request that you would inquire into the manner there practised for keeping grain. I am anxious for intelligence upon this subject, from ob- serving that grain from that island cannot be preserved so long atime as what is imported from any other country: of this, I have recently obtained sufficient experience, by having ordered a part of a cargo of grain to be placed in a store which had lately been used with island wheat, and —————— STEAMING OF GRAIN.$53 anid oe ee cause, in a very short time it ts become » weevil. Mr. V. who purchased a part roy x same Cargo, is, from a similar Cause, a fellow erer. I am not, however, anxious respecting it, as Esq, the grain I purchased from Mr. P. and steamed once on sah oo Sass: the ist January, and again on the Ist June, 1s now in perfect preservation, and free from weevil. The Indian corn that I purchased from Mr. M. in March last, at which time it was very full of inse@t, is at present free And(Here Clade Geceeon cancel(atcnda hoes and pei rect Without a second ne ating. intena, NOWE€EVETL, h passing it again, as soon as| have fixed my copper in stone work, and make no doubt of its keeping through the year. I am examining with great attention, a par- ucular tendency that the grain lately arrived has to the oe generation of inseét; I imagine it to proceed, in some laid upon American vessels Té6,. irom. 1tae embargo eee were= ra Tied Seas! ems.=>+ quiere having obiiged the merchants in the different sea-ports to whic} pies| Ree 2 pei ee C1]} ko ae which keep their granaries so full as to have heated the grain; ind to but I have some reason to think, that the months of ar ey a Sarlleaics Abo n senitial March and September are attended with peculiar circum- Qa:} yy hin stances respecting weevil. Bei: Skt Seed Tees xa We ao Rape ce ie A c t wher‘¢ Since you leit me, 1 have weighed the quantity of coal consumed oe a day by the kitchen portable steam apparatus you sent me, and find it one hundred pounds. “Our ace With this trifling copper I can steam three moys(or | bit seventy-two bushels) in the common hours of work of 93 one day. u would y oral 5 ¥ moe, Spy Ae ae S| ES Soh oth December.—“* My experiments with steam succeed ae well: I have lately steamed a granary of sixty moys(or 1440 bushels) in about three weeks, I find the waste of grain, not badly infe€ted with weevil, to be one red per cent. in weight in one month, and the increase so ia rapid, that if proper precautions are not taken, in less aala 4< 4 i han and 4 =_ Biers Sige ==—— 54 STEAMING OF GRAIN. than six it will be rendered totally unfit for use. In the West Indies, I am satisfied from my own experience, that three months will be equal in destruction to the grain, to six in this temperate climate. Perhaps no part of the world would experience so much benefit frorn the use of steam as a rice country: I have several rice experiments at present under my observation, the result of which[ shall transmit to you.” asth January, 1795.— I have the pleasure to inform you, that I have at last succeeded in procuring tubes suf- ficiently tight, by changing from tin to copper, and although Z do not apprehend any dangerous consequences from this use of copper, yet to prevent any observations heing made upon the possible injury to the health, 8c. F have ordered the tubes ta be tinned. I think copper a better metal than tin for my purpose; but it is probable that you or your friends may be able to point out some- thing preferable to either; for you will remember that economy induced me to begin with tin, though my afters wards adopting copper has,[ believe, increased my expence at least five-fold. «< My experiments with rice succeed well; they re- main free from dust. I believe I have already mentioned to you, that I apprehend steam may be rendered very serviceable in separating the husk from the grain, as barley, rice,&c. and I do think it may be extended te flax, and many other things, It has escaped me to relate to you a circumstance’ that has lately particularly attracted my attention. Having sown some grain that had been steamed, I found, to my surprize, that it grew: I accordingly repeated my experi- ment, and it was attended with equal success.“The very flourishing state of what is come up, and my own obser- vations, ez‘A eee [ie Vatlons &c, f Dper& ome- that Ua afters IUUiC in 1% billy dd dor+ JULY LY STEAMING OF GRAIN. 555 vations, lead me to think that blight in wheat might be materially prevented by steaming it previous to its being sown; for if, as the French farmers imagine, the disorder which they call /@ carie{and which I believe is nearly the same as what in England is termed the smuz) proceeds from the egg of the insect, or from any thing in the grain before it is deposited in the earth, there is no doubt in my mind, that steaming it would be an effectual preventative. have latel v fen an alquiere of wheat that had been steamed, and HENS that had not. On sending them both to the mill, I find an increase of near five per cent. in the bread Laie from the wheat that was steamed. Ido not at present certair inly know if this dif- ference would have arisen, if the latter had been dried in the sun, or in an oven, as is sometimes practised here; it is a system that is not, I believe, common in England; 9 and even here is attended with considerable trouble..The ia Se aM ge bom sprees ill es RN hed cea,(eR Cue ana, Page best bread made here, is a mixture of fine American nour ea= PAY ge gilda! Palle Ree aEe and island wheat; and I apa e no doubt, that if a baker made use of steam, he might, in the proportion of wheat & eis epee da LAeG anion he(See an airs= in the quartern loaf, save from five to ten per cent. AT} 7 aes eee 3[ave in aners alse: When I am a hitle at leisure, I shall try the advantages to be obtained’ by steaming seeds to be sent to foreign Sipe| De rs Paes a Pe wee countries. Biscuit,[ am convinced, may be kept any space of time; but from its size, the operation of steam- oat ete ee i eet SR yeah oe ing it 1s considerably more difficult than shun in gene- qat the wheat purchased than when I re- of Mr. M. in weevil; ass also a part ceived it. The Indian corn from perfect, and free fi of the cargo brought by Capt. Hogg. Sixty moys of the “ Fas} ~ prize wheat is now selling easily at 700 dollars, at the same time that Mr. V. who purchased a part of the cargo, has with difficulty been able to obtain 650 dollars.” 28th 556 PARISHES IN LONDON: 28th March.—* The flourishing state of the wheat sown after being steamed, surprizes every person to whom I have shewn it, and I think it an object well worthy attention.” WO. Kix. THE PAPER ALLUDED TO IN PAGE 3, AS NO. Is OF THE APPENDIX. Tue parishes of Middlesex, so far as they have come to my knowledge, are as follows, VIZ. ist, Ninety-seven parishes within the walls of the city of London.: St. Alban, in Wood-street R Alhallows, Barking V Alhallows, in Bread-street R Alhallows the Great R Alhallows, in Honey-lane R Alhallows the Less Curacy Alhallows, in Lombard-street R Alhallows, Staining R 9 Alhallows, on London-wall R Cw Ai BW ND Ww 10 St. Alphage, near Sion-college R rr St. Andrew Hubbard R 2 St Andrew Undershaft R 12 St. Andrew by the Wardrobe R ~~ fs (Gp) t. Ann, within Aldersgate 8S ¢ St. Ann, in Black-friars R t. Anthony R 17 St. Augustin, alias Austin R p) fm md NY op) G Come US Oo oS ‘in BW DN w o> fa£9) Uo 5 ew 5 \O Oo a SB B —™ O PARISHES IN LONDON. 557 St. Bartho¥omew, by Exchange R St. Benedict St. Bennett, Gracechurch R St. Bennett, at Payl’s-wharf R ee age a a R Bennett, sverehogg X — tolph, at Billingsgate R Christ-church V St. Christopher’s R St. Clement’s, near East-cheap R St. Dionis, Back-church R St. Dunstan in the East R St. Edmund the King R St. Ethelburga’s R St. Faith, under St. Paul's R St. Gabriel, in Fenchurch-street R St. George, in Botolph-lane R St. Gregory, by St. Paul’s R St. Helen, near Bishopsgate Wy St. James, in Duke’s-place St. James, at Garlic-hithe R St. John Baptist, by Dowgate R St. John the Evangelist R St. John Zachary R St. Katherine Coleman R St. Katherine Cree-church V St. Lawrence Jury V St. Lawrence Pountney Curacy St. Leonard, in East-cheap R St. Leonard, in Foster-lane R St. Magnus, by London-bridge R St. Margaret, in Lothbury R St. Margaret Moses R St. Margaret, in New Fish-street R St. Margaret Pattens R 52 St. Mar ee PARISHES IN LONDON. g2 St. Martin’s, in Ironmonger-lane R 3 St. Martin’s within Ludgate R §4 St. Martin Orgars R 55 St. Martin Outwich R 56 St. Martin Vintrey R 57 St. Mary Abchurch R 58 St. Mary Aldermanbury R 59 St. Mary Aldermary R 60 St. Mary-le-bow, in Cheapside R. 61 St. Mary Bothaw, at Dowgate R . Mary Colechurch R » Mary Hill, near Billingsgate R St. Mary Magdalen, in Milk-street R . Mary Magdalen, in Old Fish-street . Mary Mounthaw R . Mary Somerset R t. Mary Staining R t. Mary Woolchurch R t. Mary Woolnoth R . Matthew, in Friday-street R . Michael Bassishaw R . Michael, in Cornhill R . Michael, in Crooked-lane R . Michael, at Queenhithe R Michael-le-quern R . Michael Royal R st. Michael, in Wood-street R it. Mildred, in Bread-street R . Mildred, in the Poultry R . Nicholas Acons R . Nicholas Coleabby R . Nicholas Olave R . Olave, in Hart-street R Olave, in the Old Jewry Vv 36 St. R Olave, PARISHES IN WESTMINSTER. 559 86 St. Olave, in Silver-street R 37 St. Pancras, in Pancras-lane R 88 St. Peter, in Cheapside R 89 St. Peter, in Cornhill R go St. Peter, near Paul’s-wharf R gt St. Peter-le-poor, in Broad-street R 92 St. Stephen, in Coleman-street Vv 93 St. Stephen, in Walbrooke R 94 St. Swithin, at London-stone R g5 St. Thomas the Apostle R 96 St. Trinity ne 97 St. Vedast, alias Foster RR 2dly, Eleven parishes without the walls, but constitut- zng part of the city of London, viz. z St. Andrew, in Holborn R 2 St. Bartholomew the Great R 3 St. Bartholomew the Less V 4 St. Botolph, by Aldersgate R 5 St. Botolph, by Aldgate Curacy 6 St. Botolph, without Bishopsgate R ~ St. Bridget Vv 8 St. Dunstan in the West V 9 St. Giles, by Cripplegate V 10 St. Sepulchre’s V 11 Trinity, inthe Minories making together 108 parishes within the freedom of the city of London. Ne as Rr Sp ae eee Be:: gdly,‘Yen parishes or places within the city and liber- ties of Westminster, viz. zr St. Ann 2 St. Clement Danes R 3 St. George’s, Hanover-square R , 4 St. James Wey se 560 PARISHES IN MIDDLESEX. 4 St. James R 5 St. John the Evangelist R 6 St. Margaret’s R q- Ot. Martin in the fields V 8 St. Mary-le-Strand R The precinét of the Savoy et oO St. Paul, Covent-garden athly, Enghteen parishes, situate out of the said cities and liberties, but within the bills of mortality, viz St. Ann, Limehouse R Christ-church, Spitalfields R po St. Dunstan, at Stepney R 5 3 4 St. George’s, Bloomsbury 5 Ot. George’s in the east R 6 St. George’s in Queen-square 4 St. Giles’s in the fields 8 St. James, Clerkenwell 9 St. John, Clerkenwell 10 St. John, Hackney Py 11 St. John, at W apping R 12 St. Katherine, near the Tower 3 St. Leonard, Shoreditch V 14 St. Luke, Middlesex re St Mary, Islington V TD 16 St. Mary, Whitechapel«4K 17 St. Matthew, Bethnal-green 18 St. Paul, Shadwell Ail the foregoing parishes, amounting to the number of 136, are comprized within the bills of mortality. To these are usually added ten parishes within the county of Surrey; which makes up the whole number of parishes lying within the bills of mortality, viz. 146. PARISHES OUT OF Tie BILLS OF MORTALITY. Names of the Parishes. Houses. ‘ 1/5t. Peter’s, in the Tower Aéon(R.)-- Zarnet Friarn- srentfotd:\.-<- 3 6\Chelsea(R.)- 7\Chiswick(V.)- | Relea | ln. r | ciBaling(V.) | { ese lion if giEdeware(C.)- r1/Enfield(V.)« } | | | |:2l Finchley(R.)--- Hammersmith- Silent nie eee / 3 4 LS] 6 r7|Hadley--- 18)Hampstead-~- 19/Hanwell(R.)- 20|Harrow(V.)_- | j21/Hayes(R.) ead |22)/Fendon(We)= | i23\Efeston(V.)«= pny 2 117 ae ip\ 26) Kensington(V.) [29 Kingsbury(C.) |28 Marybone- 29|Stoke Newington(R.) . 3o|Northall(V.)- 211(§orwood-- 32/Paddington-- (Paneras{V.).= os) LS) 26|Str Teddington-- XT ig nha\ Tottenham(V.) WW Le com 40|West Twyford- 1/Wilsdon.(V.)_- Bromley, St. Leonard’s | ls~.~. |t Exclusive of the burials at the | Hospital, which average Fulham(R.& V.) Greenford, Magna 16|Greenford,‘Parva(R.) | 1;Stanmore, Magna(R.) atford-le-Bow(R. 39| wickenham(V.) Total No. of{ No. — H wo Wr oO 920|——| mH ON O20 7G ON- Urie Ory aN Aree DOSE 118 580 470° Ont BAS I I 130|—— ee No. of|Waste Nur- Inhab | WN Ble he corn land is frequently sown with garden vegetables. =| Dttwoy, —|1250 acres are inclosed; 580 in common fields; 96 wood-land inclosed: the soil clay. —|Uhe soilis, for the most part, clay; in some parts gravel —|The soil, chiefly clay, mixed with gravel. Leo Cvo me ~ Nv |About one-half pasture and meadow; 260 more cultivated sometimes for corn, sometimes for garden The soil, principally clay. OS 2S ER. A eel ONS| [To face p. 560, St. Peters Advincula, within the Tower, is not a parish church, but aroyal chapel, belonoing to the carr}‘er of' 1€ greater part arable; the soil, towards the eee a stiff claw, rds Tae: auch pao ae meine Tosesy o| Pandan, lhe land mostly meadow; the proportion of arable very small; the soil a stiff clay. The soil various; clay, gravel, and loam.: Che soil, for the most part, gravelly. In: tua: i i i i 2664, from an aétual survey, by James Hamilton, it contained 630a. viz. gardens,&c, about the manor house ga. or Op of houses, eardens, 3. Cs NS AA2(y, 7p. park goa. glebe 23a. Ir. 3$p. arable 3004. 21. 8p. meadow 38a. 3r. 22p. pasture 128a. rr. 1 eae 3 ine 7p. and a detached parcel of 137a. of clay in grass; the soil of the rest sand and gravel. Ten or twelve dane are Exclusive of parks and paddocks; which, with private gardens,&c, make up the remainder, hs gravel toa rich loam; but, even in the best land, gravel is to be found near the surface. Che soil various, viz. clay, gravel, and loam, or brick earth. The soil, clay. The soil varies from a light sand and [The soil, in general, is a good loam; in some parts gravel; in others clay and moor earth. °«‘ ayvplite)>>> 1‘ j Contains 6430 acres of land, exclusive of the chase; the soil, except on the marsh, is a good loam.—In 1777 an act passed for di ridin ai i ara iy Fa 1 sakes; Ze_5 aoe /// aSse) ahi viding Enfield-chase. Including the roads, lodges and encroachments, the chase contained 8349a. Ir. 30p. which was thus allotted ; fate; z.; e a i a is;( 5 ne. es. a AUS aiiO 5 ae: the King Fae a BeBe To the lodges 3132. or. 3p.—to be enfranchised 6a. ar. tp.— To the tithe-owners§19a. Or. 32p. LO]‘ e ONO EWS ME kts ead By e- 1: hy: ih cr*} S I j ie e manor of Old Ford 36a. APSA ia 10 the proprietors of the old park 30a. or. 15p.—To the parish of South Mims 1o20a, or. 3p.—To the parish of Hadley 2402. or. op.—To the parish of Edmonton 12312. 29. 6p.—To the parish of Enfield ys i Tp] a 4 G A fray kel:)- j j j S j Pai ee 17324. 2r,.Op.—The allotments to South Mims,&c. were added to the respective parishes; which leaves§924a. in the parish of infields- oT} SP EER a: ae alvese é his pari IZ. 1£20a.). remai PW CHES@ Enfield. The pleat part of the chase allotment belonging to this parish(viz. 1530a.), remains as waste land; on which the inha. vitants have right of common.—zooa. are cultivated, and, on an average, worth 30s. an acre.—One-half the produce 9 i E ae eis ated to the reduction of the land-tax; the other half to the reduction of the poor-rates.—T bis part of the allotment is tithe- ppropri- 9 a "ee Le U f|Contains about 1950 acres of land(exclusive of the common), 1soacres of wood: the soil various, but princ pally a black loam. The pau common(two-thirds of which is in this parish, the remainder in Hornsey and Friarn Barnet), contains ror10 acres of land r The soil,-very various: loam, clay, bog-earth, gravel, 8 OFC 9° |——|-—| The soil, clay; the Grand Junction canal forms its western boundary. —-—|—/[he soil, for the most part, clay, in some places sand and brick-earth. (32 1 ci i 1 r e° 1‘ |f|3160 acres of land, exclusive of houses and gardens. The common-field land, included in the above statement, is 161 vor soil, on the north side, is a strong clay: onthe south side loam, on a deep bed of gravel. ——|—|About 120 acres of wood-land; the soil, mostly clay, with a mixture of gravel. f i y. Fives 7%= s I: A ms: i: ____|f|8t acres wood; and 686 acres of common, including a considerable part of Hounslow-heath. Soil, in general, a strong loam, which produces particularly fine wheat. ——|—|About 120 acres of wood; thesoil, for the most part, clav; about Highgate a sandy-loam. Contained, in 1635, 2377 acres of lands of which gto were arable; 939 pasture; 43 wood; and 494(of which 437 was part of Hounslow-heath), waste. The gardens are mostly cropped with raspberries for distillers? use, and sent to The soil, various; sand, gravel, and a rich loam. [Own 1n swing-Carts. he«nil arial ary he SOL, various, Clay, Len 3 © G la loam, and brick-earth._—Hot-house fruit declared to be titheable in 17014 132 acres wood-land. The soil, chiefly clay. gravel; onthe north sideclay. Marybone-park, from an aétual survey, contains$6434. or. 17p.—About two-thirds of it in Mary- 7 1 ips Py nclisive 794) InCciusive. The soil, mostly gravelly: the Grand Junétion canal passes through this parish. 84a. 2r.29p. arable and garden-ground; the remainder meadow and pasture. Thesoil, in the neighbourhood of the village, princi- pally faétitious; onthe east side of a little brook, which runs by Kilbourn and Bayswater, the soil is a thin clay upon adry bed of gravel; on the west side of this brooka deep clay; the springs lying very far beneath the surface. 2700 acres, including the scite of buildings; the proportion of arable land very small, scarcely 59 acres; the soil, various, clay, gravel, and loam. ! L t \ The remainder pasture and marsh land. The soil, various, loam, sand, and gravel. Exclusive of commons. Thesoil, is, for the most part, light and sandy. About one-eighth arable, the rest grass; the soil, various, clay, loam, and brick-earth. There are 293 acres of marsh land. Forty acres wood, and 690(extending a considerable way upon Hounslow-heath), common.—Famous for fruit-gardens,—Soil, a sandy loam. Che soil, clay.—T he new canal about to be made from the Colne, at Uxbridge, to Paddington, will pass throu The quantity of arable and pasture constantly varying: but the proportion of grass land much the greater.‘The soil, in the low lands, mostly clay—in the high lands, mostly gravel. N. B,—The account of the last forty parishes in this list, is extracted from the Rey, Mr. Lysowns’** Environs of London.”? * Of which only 1150 are occupied, BAPTISMS. 61 Having dispatched: letters to the officiating clergymen of so many parishes as I could procure the names of, re- questing them to favour me with accounts of the number of baptisms registered in their several parishes during the last ten years, I was obligingly, and readily answered by every one of those gentlemen; and I am, consequently, enabled to subjoin the following statement of the names of the parishes, and the annual average number of baptisms within those parishes, for the last ten years, ending with 1796. No. 6f Babi -1_ Ashford, a hamlet belonging to the vicarage of Staines, 2==== ae 444 2 Bedfont, a vicarage,- i-“ 14,9 3 Cowley, a rectory,---- as 4 Cranford, a rectory,=--- 753 5 Feltham, a vicarage,<= z= 16,4 6 Hampton, a vicarage,-== 3454 7 Hanworth, a rectory,=“ a:= ou, 8 Harlington, a rectory,-= s 13,7 g Harefield, a curacy,-~ a& 24,4, 10 Harmondsworth, a vicarage,- ie 22,5 zi Hillingdon and Uxbridge, a vicarage,- 116, 12 Ickenham, a rectory,==- a 8,6 13 Laleham, a vicarage,<=&= 9, 14 Littleton, a rectory,== i 6,8 15 Riselip, a vicarage,~== ae 35,4. 16 Shepperton, a rectory,= fo- 22, 17 South Mims, a vicarage,- es 2051 18 Staines, a vicarage,-==: 46,8 19 Stanwell, a vicarage,-= zs= 28,4. 20 Sunbury, a vicarage, 2 3 s is 39, 21 West Drayton, a vicarage,-= 10,4 525 Nn In SS 562 POPULATION. cn= vel- In these 24 country parishes, or places,=§20,5 In the afore-mentioned 41 parishes, or places, A437,3 The total annual number of baptisms, in these 62 parishes, or places, lying out of the limits of the bills of mortality, are--- 4937,8 whereof the five parishes, or places, of Mary- bone, Pancras, Chelsea, Paddington, and St. Peter’s in the Tower, average~- 2827.5 And the other 57 parishes or places, average, 2600, —-——__—_—_— Or total ey tie 03750 ae eke NO. XX. la ee ee LETTER“FROM THE REVs JOHN“HOWLETT TO DHE, Avie ORSON PO PU Ay EON. SIR, { was not at home when your very obliging letter of the 15th arrived here, or I should have endeavoured to have answered it sooner. And now I am set down for that purpose, I will begin by correcting my own errors, with respect to the population of the kingdom, and that of the metropolis in particular. The former, in my examination of Dr. Price’s essay, &c. I made to be between eight and nine millions.‘This estimate was formed upon principles so extremely un- founded, which I did not then know, but very soon dis- covered, = EEE—————— eee POPULATION. 563 covered, as rendered the final result utterly erroneous, From a more minute, and accurate investigation of the subject, about fourteen or fifteen years ago(which I in- tended to publish, but did not, and I believe never shall), I am nearly confident our population did not then amount 49378 en to seven millions and a half, and that at present it docs not exceed eight millions. It is somewhat extraordinary, that the fallacy which misled me, neither the public nor the keen penetrating eyes of Dr. Price ever saw. The Doétor indeed pointed cut a misapprehension which he 000, I} 1 i supposed me to be under; but that wasentirely groundless. ae With regard to the number of inhabitants within the 4937.8 London bills of mortality, I confess I felt no small degree ae) of confusion, upon finding I had asserted they were be- tween 8 and in: having long been inclined to think that they have never yet amounted to 700,000. I have aaa to the passage in which I have given my estimate of 8 or 900,000, and find the reasoning upon which it is founds ETT ed, too vague and precarious to be safely depended upon. In my examination of Dr. Price’s essay on the popu~ lation of England and Wales, I have stated the annual deficiency of burials in the metropolis, as given in the bills of mortality, at 11,273; which, added to those then in the bills, 20,668, makes the toral of annual burials ate if 31,941. Dr. Price very justly observes, I have made oured to * That the deficiency of burials registered in the bills has been considere am{Ae own lol ably increased since the year 1780, is, I believe, notorious; and that this in« n errors, crease is now at least 1000, is, I presume, by no means an extravagant ind thet estimate. The burials in the bills for 1795, were 21,179; thatis, 511 more ‘ than those of 1780; adding these to the thousand, the increased deficiency of burials, together with the allowed deficiency in 1780, and we have 's esaf 31,511 for the present total deficiency of the bills, which multiply by 20, As{the acknowledged proportion of the inhabitants of the capital to its burials Lig. 1 l , EH being nearly as that number to 1), and there comes out 630,220 as the a@tual iy Un Proportion within the bills; and by making the proper dedua tions and ade a itions, that for Middlesex 634,200. 1 dS f Ni 2 na vere): “=— eee 564 POPULATION, no allowance for the numbers annually brought from the neighbouring country villages to be interred in London, as I ought to have done, and as I adtually did with re- gard to those carried out of the city, and buried in the country, to the amount of 2000. Now, making proper deductions for this, and some other particulars that might be noticed, I think it requisite to reduce the 31,941 stated above as the total a€tual number of burials annually within the bills of mortality, to about 30,000. Dr. Price has shewn, with great plausibility, that the annual mor- tality of the city of London is about 1 in 20 of its entire population; multiplying its 30,000 burials then by 20, we have 600,000 for the entire number of inhabitants within the bills. The population of Middlesex may be computed, by ascertaining the proportion between the number of taxed houses and the number of people in an adequate number of places. This method of calculation Dr. Price himself pointed-out, which is unexceptionable; and had Mr. Lysons given us the number of taxed houses only in those parishes of which the infinitely greater, but necessary trouble was taken, actually to enumerate the inhabitants, we should have been able to make it for the county of Middlesex with tolerable precision. And even now, we are not totally destitute of data for this purpose. But before I proceed to calculate upon them, it may not be amiss to say a few words upon the nature of the Tax- office returns. Now these returns are of two leading descriptions: the first contains the number of taxed and taxable houses; the seeond, the number of cottages excused on account of po- verty. These returns, for the year 1781, for the whole king- dom stand thus: Number POPULATION, 565 Om th ve N umber of houses taxed and taxable- 728,699 wh‘ Ditto of cottages excused on account of poverty 277,111 In the: Tas eet ; Rotal 44>../- 1,005,810 proper might Were both these kinds of returns perfectly correct, the 194 population might be easily settled; but this is far from Ui being the case. The taxed and taxable houses are re- rice turned by the distri€t surveyors upon oath, and are there- mor= fore tolerably accurate; but as to the number of cottages, ntire no oath is required, and seldom, if ever, are any returns ¥ 20, made by them for particular parishes, and those for whole tants distriéts are mere lumping random conjectures, most asto- nishingly defective. For illustration of this, take the |, by county of Essex: xed The return of taxed and taxable houses for 1781, is 18,422 ber Ditto of cottages excused on account of poverty 9,664' aself Mr. Total-~. a2o,00p those a essary This proportion of cottages, one would at first sight be ‘tants inclined to think, would be amply sufficient; for it is more than a third part of the whole return, But upon full inquiry, how different turns out the fact. My parish W, Wwe Re of Dunmow contains above 300 houses, out of which not atl 120 are returned as taxed and taxable; and in the parishes Tie of Bocking, Braintree, Halstead, Coggeshall,&c. the deficiency 1s greater still; and throughout the whole lie county, I have a sufficient number of a¢étual enumerations eh of the inhabitants of parishes of every description, fully abe to authorize my concluding, that our population, com- t of po-:: pared with our taxed and taxable houses, is above the ratio i of 134 to 1. Were the same proportion to take place in a: Middlesex, multiplying the taxed and taxable houses, aa Nn. 3 VS Gn 566 POPULATION. 75,171, as returned for that county for 1781, by 134, we make its number of inhabitants about 1,004,808; it we adopt 76,527, the number sent to you for the year 1796, and use the same multiplier, we raise it to about 1,033,114. But this cannot be admitted, because the proportion of houses excused on account of poverty, is not nearly so great in Middlesex as in Essex, that being a manufacturing county, and its manufacture greatly declining. I have the number of inhabitants and taxed houses in Uxbridge, and three country parishes in Middle- sex; the former amount to 4,487, the latter to 522*; this gives a proportion of persons to taxed houses of Scarcely 8 to 1+; which is certainly as much too low for the whole county as the other 1s too high, and would give us only 612,216 as the total population of Middle- SCX. The number of people in the parishes of Mortlake, Putney, and Wandsworth, in Surrey, by Mr. Lysons’ enumeration, is 8,614; of the taxed houses which I pro- cured trom the parochial duplicates, 755. Jn twelve country parishes in the same county, the inhabitants are 3860; taxed houses 416. To these add the four parishes in Middlesex, as just above given—Per- sons 4.487, taxed houses 522, and the total amount of the nineteen parishes in the two counties, is 16,961 inhabi- tants and 1,693 taxed houses; which yields a proportion of the former to the Jatter, of something more than 10 to 1]. Multiply therefore the‘Tax-office return sent you, 76,527 * The.accounts of these parishes were sent mein the year 1781; and likewise tweive country parishes in Surrey. t This should be 8 6-10 to 1, which, being applied to Middlesex, would be 76,526 x8 6-10==658,133.—F%. MW. || These observations oi My. Howlett’s can only be applied to the country by part of the county.— 7. Jf. _ SS—EE~ cae POPULATION. 597 F 13h me c ve by 10, and there comes out 765,270%> for the total popu- 2 A layon of Middlesex. This,[ am inclined to think, is not Tet very short of the truth. Perhaps you maya pproach some- is what nearer, if you obtain, as I suppose you easily might, tthe from the parochial surveyors or colleGtors of the six very, parishes of Hayes, Heston, Isleworth, Teddington, that Twickenham and Twyford, the number of taxed and really taxable houses in their several parochial duplicates, each respectively. ut Of the several calculations I have hazarded, I think the dle. last by much the best, and nearest the fab. I presume ze not, however,.to place entire confidence in ite) Oe ses of this, however, I think myself nearly certain, that the Ww for population of Middlesex has never yet amounted to vould 800,000; I keep my mind, however, entirely open to lle. conviction, upon the appearance of adequate evidence. PanmSin,€2c. JOHN HOWLETT. ake, © 7. ee) 9 44h4x7/ 92 ons Dunmow, April 23,.1797- | Did. vt * If we combine the three computations, and take the average, we have y, the about 631,316 for the total population of Middlesex; which, for any thing I Yo Mi oe. gertainly know to the contrary, may be nearer the truth than any one of se add*hem separately. 1 should be happy e the matter more clearly investi them séparateiy. should be happy to see tne mattey more Citary Inyestle< gated. mA eaM Jy 54] 3; nd ould quntry Nn 4 NO. XX 568 PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. INO 3. xe PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BY DR. i| PRANECIS|HOME. AN SA Slee TER s- TOs SiR in OHN SINCLAIR BART, i 5) SIR, Iw a conversation which I lately had with you on the subject of agriculture, the improvement of which you are a so zealously endeavouring to promote, I said that an ex- perimental farm would be most conducive to that end. You desired me to give you some general view of it: I am very willing to give the least assistance to your Jaud- able endeavours; but my time is so much occupied at present, that I can trace the outlines only of such a plan. Agriculture seems to be one of the mixed arts, depend- ing partly on mechanical instruments, and partly on a yrocess of nature depending on chemical principles. Both } Oo i | } ee I | ;: fi | of these foundations make its improvement the objet of experiment, as the mechanical powers are entirely subject to us, and the chemical are as much in our power as in any other chemical process. Accurate experiments alone, therefore, can improve the art, and give the facts stability. Instead of that, we have hitherto relied, in general, on vague opinion, or on more certain observations, but which died with the observer, whose faéts ought to have been\ ascertained, and handed down to posterity. We do allow, however, that this method of improving husbandry is more dificult in this art than in any other, for many reasons; but chiefly for these two: Ist, experi- ments in this art are the most tedious of any. In the me- . chanical PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. 569 chanical arts, the experiment is soon finished. In the chemical, such as dyeing, brewing, baking, bleaching, &c. they take a longer time; but they seldom exceed a as, few days, whereas those in agriculture take a year, and STR most of them many years, before the facts can be cer- tainly established.‘The medium time of one man’s life is scarcely sufficient for bringing a few to a conclusion. Hence the reluctance in private persons to engage in such. But there can be no objection to the activity of a state, who pursues a plan to be pursued through ages to come. n the 1, There are a greater variety of circumstances occurring bale during an agricultural experiment, capable of affecting wos and altering it, such asa variety of soil, heat, tempera- tend, ture, noxious vapours,&c. more than in any other art; it: I each of which must vary the issue. There is no other aud- art aS the difficulty of agricultural experiment in this at way, except clinical experiments. But such, we have lan. Jately shewn, are capable of being executed. Perhaps ent. agricultural experiments may be more difficult, as they are On a exposed through much longer time to the agency of cir- Both cumstances. This cause, though it renders a more fre- eck of quent repetition of experiments necessary to the certainty ubiett of the result, yet is done away by the succession of differ- an ent lives. alone, Such a plan, I have been informed, has been carrying on for many years in Denmark,&c. It is a shame for us, that other countries should take the lead, when corn -ahith and cattle is so great an article of our trade. I shall point at out a few of the experiments that at present occur to be a made. a Ist Section, of an experiment. It appears necessary to he have a set of standard experiments, to which all the others ie may be referred, as to their product and value. The - fittest that occurs to me at present, is to follow in these , the §79 PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM, the same method that is used in general in the county where the experiments are going on. One or two acres on different soils may be sufficient for this. DIFFERENT SOILS. 2d Section. Experiments on the effects of different soils, clay, loamy, sandy,&c. on different grains. These may require four or five acres of different grounds. 3d, Effes of different altitudes of these different grounds on the same grain.‘This will require at least four acres. 4th, On the comparative effects of the plough and spade, by digging, trenching, in different soils. One acre may be sufficient for this. sth, The effects of drill husbandry on different grains, such as wheat, beans, peas,&c. in different soils, com- pared with those of broadcast.‘Chis will require six acres at i¢ast. ON DIFFERENYF MANURES. 6th, Effects of different manures on all the grains in different soils, such as dung, loam, chalk, clay marl, shell marl, compost dunghills, refuse of soap works, pigeons’ dung, soot, rags, ashes, burning the soil, shavings of horn, sea salt, kelp,&c. Ten acres may be required for these. 4th, Effects of summer fallow, and of the soil formed into dykes, compared. One acre may do. SOWING. 8th, On sowing at different times, before or after the common time of sowing, observing the budding of differ. ent trees at that time, to fix the best general time. Three acres to this. SEEDS. YLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. 57t -COunty WO ars SEEDS. oth, On sowing the different varieties of the same seed in different soils, that we may ascertain the fittest for par= ticular soils, climates and altitudes. Six acres. fren roth, On the effect of different pickles on different Thess seeds, when steeped in them before sowing, such as liquor of a dunghill, pigeons’ dung, salt-petre, sea salt, lime ferent water,&c.“Two acres. t leas 11th, On the effe& that the different rotation of crops have in different soils, as they are pra€tised in different h and counties or countries. This may require ten acres. ne acre 12th, The effet of the preceding experiments on dif- ferent grasses. orains, The above is a short specimen of a few of the experi- an ments that may be made; and those used to such a method they of discovering truth, will allow that new ones constantly arise out of the preceding. It must happen, that many of these will be inferior in produét to the general standard; but at the same time we must observe, that a negative ain ih truth is often as useful as a positive one. shell To render the conduct of such a plan more completely gears useful, a distinct listof the experiments, and the mode of he conduéting them, should be made out a year before exe- Tetha cution, and submitted to the approbation, corrections, oe and additions of the public. After a certain number are made, they should be pub- lished every year, with observations on them, that the world may reap the advantage, and the public perceive the 1. utility of the institution. It is a book of experiments, and not of reasoning alone, that is wanted on agricukure. she of diitel The How great would be the utility of such a plan to the country! It must be of the greatest use to the farmer or: improver, to point out a proper plan for him to follow, and SEEDS: S72 PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM: and the only method to improve himself. At present, he must follow the common prattice he has seen, wheth good or bad. Crops are probably much more defective than they might be. Individuals suffer directly, but the country suffers at last, and loses much in this most essen- tial and primary manufacture, It must be of the greatest utility to a professor of agri- culture, who acquires leading faéts from such a plan. A professor of agriculture can no more teach that science without an experimental farm, than a botanical professor teach botany without a garden. To carry such a plan into execution, a government fund will be necessary; but the expence must be very much inferior to the advantage and honour that the coun- try must reap from it. Let us view the different articles of expence. A farm consisting of at least seventy acres, will be ne- cessary; fifty of which may be occupied in tillage, and twenty in grass, for the maintenance of four horses to manage two ploughs. Little can be depended on the product of the plough for their food, as many of the ex. periments may be unsuccessful. Such a farm may stand 120]. a year. Four horses must be bought and kept up to manage two ploughs, as every experiment must be made in exaét time. Besides these two ploughs and their harness, there are drill ploughs, harrows of different kinds, different carts, &c. necessary on all farms. Besides the common instruments, all those should be got that are used with advantage in any country, and all those that have been suggested as useful. Two ploughmen must be kept, one of which must be capable of measuring accurately the different portions of land nment e very ere are ne carly, | 1 uld Dé , and a PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. 573 Jand set aside for the different experiments; of keeping distin@t accounts of what is done; noticing the weather, &c. His wages must greatly exceed the common. Buildings will be necessary, such as houses for the ser- vants, sheds for the instraments, stables, barn, and par- ticularly houses to keep the rode of the several experi- ments separated.“here are many other articles of ex- ee pence, some of which occur in the beginning only; such oO as the purchase of horses, instruments, buildings. For these 5001. may be requisite, and 3001. for the annual ex- r pence. I x hough this ce appear a considerable expence, yet it is but a small sum, compared to the advantage aris- ing from an increase- the great article of the first neces- sity, and which other countries bestow for the encoulage- gnent of arts of less value. fam;&c.&c.&c. Fed mbur gh, 20th Dee. 09) 93- ) NO. XXII. PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTA! FARM. BY ROBERT-ERASER, ESQ.— IN A VETTER£0 SIR, ACCUSTOMED to mathematical investigation, I find my mind naturally inclined to search for principles, in any science to which I have occasion to bend 1 ny attention. In all branches of natural philosophy, of which apricul- ture 574 PEAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. ture is one of the most important, principles can onlv be known by experiments fairly made, anda deduction from these experiments. Looking at the publications on agri- culture, there appears a great number of facts; a number of maxims, some good, some bad; but nothing like an attempt to place agriculture in that scientific form which may lead to regular advancement in the knowledge and practice of the art. The three branches of natural philosophy most imme- diately connected with this great mistress of human life, chemistry, botany, and natural history, made little progress until within this last half century. They are now advanced to a degree of perfection which is without doubt astonish- ing in the history of the progress of human knowledge. By what has this acceleration of knowledge been caused? By this single circumstance—of forming a general lan- guage to express the different objects of these branches. of philosophy, and to convey clear ideas of the discoveries made in each, Agriculture, in the strict sense of the word, is applied solely to the cultivation of the land, in reference to the various plants that are used as food for man, and for the animals which are made use of for food, pleasure, or con- venience. At present, I wish to confine the considera- tion of the knowledge of this science to this definition— “The knowledge of cultivating land, so as to produce certain given plants.” This implies the preparation of the soil previous to the depositing the seeds and plants; the management after such deposition, and the proportion between the expence ef such preparation and management, and the produce of the soil consequent thereon. A manufacturer takes a pound of flax, the produce of the land, and having a given quantity, he can with ease and PLAN OF AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM. 575 1 Only be ae lon from and perfect ae calculate hcaasien of forming 2 this given quantity, from the state in which he takes it ce from the field, in its oon applications, from the fabric ae of the coarsest linen to the finest lace. He can by that tt knowledge form his calculations exactly, with regard to os a the profit’ of his trade, upon a given capital laid out on dve and: ria such a material. Is it not possible to go a step further? ale Let there be a soil of a given quality. The elevation 0 Mf, in the atmosphere, and the climate given, to find the rogress quant: ity and nature of the manure require d, and the mode vanced of preparation to afford the greatest produce of a certain stonishs given species of plant. How is this problem to be solved? wledge. ertainly by experiment, aused On a given quantity of land, I lay on manure {ne which costs 3]. From this I have a produce equal to 0s of 20]. But if Ilay on one-third more of manure, I have a eres produce equal to 301. It I] lay on double the quantity of manure, I still have only a produce equal to 3ol. applied How then is the exact ratio to be determined, so as to to the enable me to proceed with a certainty in cultivating a for the given soil? This appears to me to be still wanting in the or con science of agriculture. nsidera- In order to approximate to this branch of knowledge, niton— it appears to me that it would be of great use to have a produce public experimental farm, under the direGtion of a com- mittee of the Board of Agriculture, where every experi- 13 to the ment should be registered, and the result ascertained. Let ; this farm be from a ree to five hundred acres, and in the expect neighbourhood of the metropolis. Let there be a weekly a calendar published, of all the operations, the weather,&c. nt alter as an example to the rest of the kingdom.‘The experi- mental farm might be taken up by subscription, like the Ince of dace; Veterinary School; the calendar formed into a news- ith ease paper, and SS SSS ea mates 76 YELLOW FAT OF MUTTON AND BEEF. paper, and filled up with other agricultural informa~ tion. This idea has occurred to me, and I give it to you in its rough form, to consider of it.| shall also digest my thoughts on this subject more at large. The different breeds of sheep and cattle would also be tried, and their comparative excellence ascertained. I submit it to your better understanding; and am, Your obliged humble servant, R. FRASER. Landon, Sept. 8, 1794. NO. XXIII-¢ The following observations, on the yellow colour which is sometimes observable in the fat of mutton and beef, and the method of discovering it while the animal is living, are the substance of a conversation which the author had with a Smithfield salesman on that subject. Tue colour of the fat of a sheep may easily be known by making an incision, of about two inches in length, through the skin and fat of the tail of the living animal, and by spreading the wound with the side of the knife at the time of cutting it, which will shew the natural colour of the fat, whether it be fair or yellow. Lambs and calves should always be tried in this man- ner, and such as should prove, on trial, to be of an un- promising colour, should not be kept for breeding. If this method was always pursued, the grazier might be able to warrant his steck to die of a fair colour. Cattle LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR.$77 Intoti, Cattle whose fat is yellow, fatten as kindly as those 0 You in whose fat is of a fair colour, and they are said to be less igest my subject to the rot. different The yellow colour extends through every part of the nd their fat, but it is not, on that account, disliked by the tallow to your chandler. The flavour of the meat whose fat is of this colour, cannot be distinguished from that whose fat is of the fairest colour, and yet it is sold for three-halfpence or cER two-pence per pound less, and is, therefore, mostly put : off by candle light. This defegt must be hereditary; as no pasture, or par- ticular food, can either produce or remove it. Sheep which have been tried in the manner here de- scribed, and found yellow, have been sent to the hames marshes, kept there a year, and, when slaughtered, have gate proved as yellow as gold. oul The foregoing observations apply as well to beef a + mutton, living,‘ author NO. XXIV. e knowe a lenot EXTRACT OF JA LERMLER WRITTEN BYe THE nimal, AUTHOR TQ SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, SAR. > nite at fal er al colout Y seta Lambeth, 13th May, 1798. DEAR SIR, Lorp Somerville’s address to the Board of Agriculture informs me that the finances thereof are rather low.{[, therefore, hereby relinquish every demand which I might \ Q 0 ether- SUN. ae eee— s erie 3 cena fa a aE RGAE sists ea 3 id 578 LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR. otherwise have on it: happy in having contributed my mite towards promoting the views of so useful an institution. I observe, with infinite regret, that the plan of conti- nuing the County Reports is likely to be given up; or, at least, that it will not be pursued with that energy which can alone advance the science of agriculture to any great degree of perfection in our time. If the Board would wait to receive most of the zmproved County Reports, and then employ some person, of com- petent skill and judgment, to sels the most valuable parts, from the mass of information which would be contained in them; and to condense and arrange such parts into the form of a complete bedy of practical agriculture; a great point would be gained. This work might, while in this z7fant state, be printed and circulated, one seCtion or chapter at a time(in the same manner as the first County Reports were), in order to obtain such additional observations and remarks, as practi- cal and enlightened agriculturists might be disposed to make. These would, probably, be all circulated and returned to the Board in two or three years: and, from these ma- terials, a complete treatise on the science of agriculture might be composed, printed, and published by the Board, in about five years from the present time. ‘The work might be comprized in two or three volumes oétavo; the price of which’ need not exceed a guinea. Such a valuable and cheap work, would be universally read, and the improvement of the country would, conse- quently, make a gigantic stride towards perfection. After the completion of this grand objeét, the Board might, very properly, restrict their future publications to a small volume once a year; imto which‘nothing ought to be admitted but such improvements as had taken place subsequent to their former publication, Tam q mM y thite Ly tution, 1 of cont DS aOny at BY which any oreat improved Of com. | Ne parts, ined ONlaINed Rate le $ into the aie rey 4] 4 pleat LETTER FROM SIR JOHN SINCLAIR.$79 I am so fully convinced of the eligibility of the forego ng plan, that, rather than see it given up, I would sub- scribe one hundred pounds towards carrying it into effect. And am, dear Sir, with much esteem and regard, Your very humble servant, JOHN MIDDLETON. Sir John Sinclair, Bart. Whitehall, J}’ To which the Author had the satisfaction of receiving the two following answers, which could not fail of being highly gratify ing to him. —_— Whitehall, 18th May, 1798. DEAR SIR, Your favour of the 17th current, informing me that ]? S you declined accepting of any recompense for the valuable Report you have drawn up, of the Agricultural State of Middlesex, and your liberal and public spirited offer to ubscribe one hundred pounds for completing the County Reports, has given me much pleasure. I wish, most sincerely, that the proprietors and farmers of this country felt the same zeal that you do on this occa- sion; and united an ardent anxiety for acquiring a know- ledge of the principles of the art of agriculture, to that practical skill and experience which, in so eminent a de- gree, you possess. IJ remain, with much esteem, Your faithful and obedient servant, JOHN SINCLAIR. Fohn Middleton, Esq. Lambeth. 002 Boare £80 LETTER FROM LORD SOMERVILLE. Board of Agriculture, 32, Sackville-strect, 28th May, 1798. SIR, Sir John Sinclair having laid before the Board of Agriculture a letter from you, addressed to him, inform- ing him that you gave up any idea of remuneration, with many very handsome expressions of your good will to- wards the promotion of the national agriculture; and this letter being read to the Board at its last meeting, I am requested to inform you, that we have a due sense of so liberal a condué&t. There is no intention in the Board, of entirely giving up any plan of operation that has been begun. We only wish so far to suspend them, as to have time coolly to consider, not only the best mode of proceeding in future, but also what our funds will permit us to execute, l remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, SOMERVILLE, PRESIDEN. Mr. Middleton, Lambeth. INDEX. , Least i pn eh, + 1798, it N D E oard of Lees ark soe informe 1 with ilo A nd this PAGE “Tom A BUSES which call for a speedy remedy— 463 ae; among the retailers of milk—_ 337 € OF$0 Acres, the number of, in Middlesex=== 2 Board, in South Britain= 487 ae occupied by each species of crop Hs ech in ditto ee=. 482 I, a8 fo Aéts of parliament, the unreasonable expence of pro- node of curing them esas p lenge Ome— 457 2 After-grass, how disposed of in Middiesex aa 243 perm Agriculture, the number of persons supported by it 11E cannot be much improved so long as farm- ers are compelled to endure, the several grievances enumerated— ASS Agricultural legislation and police—= 458 capital of South Britain a 435 ne produce of ditto—— 1b, A inhabitants, the number of, in South Bri- ai. tain——_— 436 Albion-mills, some account of them_— 178 Alderney cow had a calf by a buffalo— 344 Allotments, in lieu of the common-rights attached to houses——=== 44, Animals intended to be fattened, how they should be kept———— 346 foreign, account of, at Earl’s-court= 341 Animal food, the quantity of, consumed in London 413 the quantity consumed in Middlesex, ,and the value of it—_ 488 the quantity consumed in South Britain, and value of it— 488& 489 the quantity consumed by each inhabi- tant—=— 389 the price of, how increased s<<; 300 Annual produce of land in South Britain— 4.90 how it may be doubled— 498 Appendix os—— aoe 01 00 3 Artificers, INDEX w= oe a a Ste RG alii~— 582 INDEX. PAG® Artificers rural, the charaéter of, in Middlesex_ 54 Arable land, chapter on—_-— 138 the produce of, in Middlesex— 217 the method of Jaying it down to grass de- scribed_—_ a 234. the quantity of, in South Britain— 484 Ashes from peat, at Newbury, Berks, account of 298, 313& 535 Average deficiency of corn for the last eleven years 481 quantity, and price of corn, per acre-— ib. B} Bakers, strictures on-—~—_ 177 Barley, the cultivation of__ a 180 the sum produced per acre by it when converted into beer and spirits__ 184 the number of acres cropped with it, and rye 485 Banks, Sir Joseph, his experiments with Spanish and English sheep——— 350 Beans, the cultivation of——— 188| Bees, section on_—— 379 a Beer, the quantity of agricultural produce annually con-| verted into it, in South Britain—~— 483 consumption of, in Middlesex——— 390| Berkeley, the Earl of, on aéts for inclosing, and on waste lands——— 457& 516| Bills of mortality for ten years, ending with 1796 448 the great decrease in the number of| deaths registered in them, within the Jast twenty-nine years— 449| Bogs, the method of draining and cultivating them 287 Board of Agriculture, observations on the effects likely| to be produced by it—~— 498| Bread, observations on_—— 197 Bread corn, the quantity consumed by each inhabitant annually—_——_— 482 Brewers of porter, an account of—=e 440 Bricks, the quantity, and value of the earth converted into them———— 24| Bridges. Observations on Blackfriars, Putney, and Kew 408| Bucknall,‘I’. S. D. Esq. on hay.making— 2G| on grass lambs— 359 on cultivating the commons 506 Bullock-hunting, observations on—— 472 Buffaloes, an account of those at Earl’s-court— Ss Bushey« INDEX. 593 Butter, observations on— ]{ ann sii Sel 1Y method of making it in Holland— 1 3 ,A 44. Butchers’ petition to parliament, on the jobbing of cattle 545 Byng, Ge sore, Esq. M. P. his method of cultivat iT 1g Enfield-chase, mentioned a— T2426 122, Cc Cabbage, the turnip-rooted mo— 218 Canals, observations on—_— 401, 497& 549 Canine madness———— 474 Carts————— 94. Carriages, observations on———— 399 Cattle, general observations on_— 324.& 327 the number of, sold at Smithfield-market— 409 observations on the practice of jobbing in them 545 node of fattening them with molasses—_ 537 Charity-schools, make a distinguished figure in Mid- dlesex--——_ 68 Chase, Enfield, observations on—— 99 116& 522 Changing seed, the effects of oe— 165 Chalk,= a manure, observations on—: 303 Ch eRe, an account of building fifty in 1740—_ 440 Church and college leases——— 80 Chicory, observations on— aes ee 218 Cities, the number of in Middlesex—= 3 how injurious to population—— 497 Clay, observations on_—— 20 Claric dge, Mr. on west country downs and sainfoin 233 Clitherow, James, Esq. extraét from his letter to the Author—-——- 2 Climate, section on o—— 14. of most countries may be improved by art— 16 Clover, red, the cultivation, and produce of“- 226 Coal, the quantity annually consumed in London— I4 further observations on-—— 391 Cole, or rape, observations on——_ 217 Cole, Mr ie observations on the feeding of horses in London=——— 366 Colours, for dyeing====—— 212 Commons, section on—_—— 98 how they increase the misery of the poor 69& 103 the drainage of, wholly neglected; the only remedy for the evil pointed out—_ 288 are a harbour for gypsies and thieves 103, 104, 273 00 4 Commons Cae mm ae re RET SSS eg—— 584 INDEX. PAGE Commons are defettive in point of labour—_ 109 depastured by a miserable breed of sheep 346 the quantity of in Britain m 456& 487 the portion of them which must be cultivated, before the necessary supplies can be raised to support the inhabitants of Britain 482 observations on their cultivation, by T. S. D. Bucknall, Esq.=— 506 Common fields, se€tion on—_-— 114 prevent the more valuable plants being generally cultivated—_ 226 the farm-buiidings generally at too great a distance from them— 40 Commerce, seétion on oo_~— 4.19 observations on_— 498 Committee on corn and flour in London, account of 178 Comparative husbandry——= 479 Consumption and supply of South Britain, se€tion on 480 Conclusion——_——_ 499 Cook, the Revs James, on paring and burning— 2098 on implements of husbandry Sor Copses, se€tion on= a ss 273 Corn-crops too often repeated, the ruinous effets of 156 market——_—— AIS trade———~— 424 the exports and imports of——- 427 Cottages, section on— ea aes 42 with gardens attached to them, their utility 66 the rights of common appertaining to them 43& 44 Cows, general observations on them— 227) 0.325 Reena the sort of hay preferred by them—— 225 Crops commonly cultivated, setion on—_ 164 Crockford, Mr. Richard, letter to the Author, on peat- ashes——__ eis Cultivated land in South Britain, quantity of—— 48 Culley’s, Messrs. observations on sheep feed and clover 231 D Dairy, observations on—_—_ 327& 338 account of a Dutch one, by the Rev. Mr. Tickell 538 Deficiency of corn annually in South Britain, and a state- ment of the quantity of waste land which must be cultivated to supply it—_ o—— 481 Delapidations, general observations on oo 496 Distilleries, and the quantity of agricultural produce an- nually converted by them into spirituous liquors 438& 483 OS, 1 480 INDEX. sss PAGE Dogs, se€tion on——__— 73 Dorset ewes, the only breed made use of in Middlesex for producing house-lambs— 355 the breed mostly made use of in Middlesex for producing grass-lambs— 358 Downs, or sheep pastures, seCtion on—_ 127 how they are ruined——_ 5° the husbandry of them in the south and west, of England compared with Norfolk— 479 observation on the manner of Jetting them 495 Draining, se€tion on——- ae 285 Dung, the superior value of that produced from fat cattle 305 half of it wasted by mismanagement~- 306 the value of that of a sheep per annum_- 348 hills, management of them by gardeners and farm- ers in Middlesex——_ 259& 303 Dyeing, colours for—-—_ a= 212 E East, Mr. his observations on the effect which commons have on the poor—— 69 his experiments on a blue earth— 312 Edmonton allotment on Enfield-chase, account of 123 Enfield allotment on ditto ditto— ib. chase, the method of cultivating it— 122 parish and chase, section on= 116 chase, the quantity of it still uncultivated 99 Enclosures, hints respecting the size proper for different situations———— 16 Estimate of the agricultural produce of South Britain 482 of the value of agricultural property stolen in the neighbourhood of London— 461 Estates, and their management, section on— 34 i observations on—$4 the proprietors of them advised to occupy a farm in the best manner, as an example to the te. nantry—_——— 496 Evaporation, the effects of, on the soil— 495 Extent of Middlesex, seétion on a— I Expence and profit, section on_— 8z of hay-making in Middlesex so 245 of marling an acre of land on Enfield-chase 310 of feeding draught oxen and horses 362, 373& 374. of conveying goods on the Grand Junction canal 404 Experimental farm, observations on 38, 39, 568& 573 Xefe eee——— eee Pee i t) } 1 586 INDEX: PACE Exercise, injurious to animals while fattening_ 346 Exports and imports of corn from and to. the port of London——_—— 419 F Fairs, section on—_—— 408 Falck, Mr. John, on stocking canals and ponds with fish 33 Fallowing, section on Jise cs seg 149 Fallows, the great quantity of agricultural produce an- nually lost in consequence of them— 154: tlie quantity of land supposed to be under the system od—— 4.84. Farms, the size of, seftion on_— 48 Farmers, their character——-- gi what will make good ones_— 54. of strong land in Middlesex, are the best in the kingdom_“—— 54. are impoverished by exhausting’ the soil they cultivate care—— 1g8 how they may be enriched— 165 suffer much by depredations on their property ——-— 461& 462 share less than one-eighth of the annual produce: of the land they cultivate_ 4gt of dry soils, a hint to them— 496 Fartiery, society for the improvement of— 468 Fertility, how it may be produced—-— 163 Feeding, seétion on——— 20% Fences, section on co—— 132 Finchley-common, observations on— 98& 100 Fires of London, the quantity of coals consumed in them 14 Flannel-waistcoats used on fat sheep—— 348 Floors in a barn are expensive, and do not answer so well as thrashing mills-——— 42 Floods, in autumn, valuable for irrigating poor land 319 Food, less will fatten a quiet than a restless animal 34.6 Folding sheep, under the present system, reprehended 348 Fordyce, Dr. account of London= x 4 Franklyn, Mr. observations on the commons of Middlesex 99 FriGion, in wheel carriages, observations on— 399 Fruit-gardens, seGtion on=—— 254 number of inhabitants supported by them 256 Fruit, value of what is consumed in London— ib. Fuel, section on==—= 3Q1 Game ig= INDEX. 537 They 348 Ol G 419 PAGS Game and vermin, section on—_— 476 how injurious to farmers— 71 Gardens, fruit, section on—_—— 254. kitchen, section on——— 259 408 quantity of land in South Britain occupied by sl 33 them=== woe 48 149 at the Neat-houses, observations on— 261 . Gates, a——.— 37 1S4 Gleaning, se¢tion on—__—— 472 e Goat, the shawl, at Earl’s-court—_— 342 484 Gordon, Dr. on colours for dyeing--— 212 43 Grain, the beneficial effets of steaming— 552 cI Grass land, chapter on---—— 219 aay quantity in South Britain— 486 in how ruined——-—— 50 154 the second crop how disposed of ae 243 ey tough old sward, the proper method of break- egy ing up= Bek ees 496 be the portion of its weight lost by drying into : hay a==== 317 cbt Genes(see feeding) a== DEA. 327, “ granite, a proper material for roads—— 400 : iat Green food, a list of, calculated to support stock the if year round——_ 161& 162 4p’ 103 H 25k 131 ag& 100 Jampton-court os—_—= 318 them 1 Hanworth-park, some account of— ee 317 t-~-& ae"> Hanway, Mr. Jonas, his efforts in the causeofhumanity 449 ered Harrowing, observations on—— 93 ek Hawkers of fruit and vegetables, their importance 268 a9 Hay-making, seCtion on es—— 237 ub clover, the method of curing described— 228 ted 348 how the price of it would be reduced— 115 oa barns, their merits described__ 242 ree tat markets-—==—= 416 eee Heat and cold, the degrees of, in Middlesex— IS heh Heriots, section on———= 470 en! Hedge-rows, as nurseries for timber, their importance 275 are copses, and woods, the quantity of land -‘f occupied by them in South Britain 486 Cine Hedge. ies ee nef ee sos.:~ COTE Rie Wad 538 INDEX. ; PAGE Hedge-rows might be made the principal supply of our shipping_—_ 496 the effects of, in exposed situations— 495 Hills, those in Middlesex described——— Fie Hogs, section on—-—-— 275 Hops, description of a cheap instrument for cleaning the rows————— 97 the quantity grown in South Britain— 486 Horses, section on———— 360 compared with oxen, for the use of farmers 367 number in South Britain—_ 4.84. the quantity of agricultural produce consumed : by them-—_— 484& 487 Hounslow-heath, observations on— 98, 100‘& 517 Houses of proprietors, section on—_— 38 of the farmers, and their repairs, se€tion on 39 their rights of common and allotments— 43 number of, in Middlesex=—_ 444 House-Iambs, the management of—_ 355 Hundreds, the names of those in Middlesex oe Zz Hunter, Mr. John, account of foreign animals belong- ing to him——~s— 342 Howlett, the Rev. John, on population 447, 451& 562 Hyde-park, some account of“=-— 30 Hydrophobia, how it is encouraged— 473 if Imports of corn into the port of London 419& 480 Improvements, chapter on——— 283 by whom they ought tobe made 284& 285 at Stanwell, by inclosing— 126 excited by well drawn leases_ 72 the means of, chapter on—_ 492 Implements, se€tion on——— 86 an account of, by the Rev. James Cook Sor ditto, by Mr. M‘Dougall— S04 Inclosing the commons, the very great advantages of 106 a letter’ thereon,‘by"i: S$: D: Bucknall, Esq.— 507 the common-fields, seétion on= rig Inclosed land, the produce of, in Middlesex—_ ry Inclosure, general, great increase of animal food which would be occasioned by it—— 325 Inhabitants, number in Middlesex out of the limits of the bills of mortality— 447 Inha. INDEX. 589 PATE inhabitants, number in Middlesex qurthiz the limits of the bills of mortality—~-- 452 number in the whole county of Middlesex 452 number of in South Britain wholly sup- ported by agriculture—— Ill number of in South Britain a 8 the quantity of bread, animal food,&c. consumed hy each—-- 437 inns on the road sides, of the low kind, encourage theft 384 Inoculation for the small-pox, favourable to population 110 Insects, an account of—__—= 478 {rrigation, observations on= 307, 316& 318 Isle of Dogs, an account of=_— 223 J Jays, remarks on— a— 477 james,- Esq. on the draining of Enfield-chase, on paring and burning, on marling, and a bad rotation of crops=—_— 293,294& 311 Jenkins, Mr. Edward, on the sale of turnips, the ma- nuring of clover, on draining, and draught oxen 211, 228, <= ae_— 286, 305,& 372 Jobbing of cattle, stri€tures on—— 545 Justices of the peace being brewers ordistillers, reprehended 333 K Kenyon, Lord, observations on the common.rights of cot- tagers oo mo no oe 46 Kitchen-gardens, section on—— 259 Kirwan, Dr. on paring and burning, on manure, and on the quantity of water absorbed by vegetables 297s 305, 317 Knight, Mr, reference to his excellent paper on tithes 455 iF Labour, the produce of, in agriculture— A34 Labourers, se€tion on—_=—_ 80 the aversion of, to new implements, described 55 Lambs house, the management of, described= 3 6c grass,- ditto~—~— 358 §G0 INDEX. Landlords advised how to proceed with the pollards gett their estates——== 276 advised to restrain the too general use of lime 308 Land-steward, his qualifications described as 35 Leases, section on—— ans 71 further observatious on them Zins ZOAy 2OKs 20g a==— 298,& 496 of farms, how, and by whom, they should be drawn—— ae 81 Lessees from year to year, exhaust their farms with impunity——== ee 3 Lemon, Mr. on the effects of feeding clover= 230 Leicestershire husbandry, compared with that of other counties——— oe 479 Ley land, its general bad appearance described— 157 Lime, its good and bad qualities described—— 307 stone, of what principally composed a 309 water, its great serviceableness described— 350 Liquorice observations on a pe eet] Live stock, chapter on——_ pee 324 improvements therein during the last forty- five years—— oe pcos 412 further observations on—— 495 F,oam, cold tenacious, the cultivation of described 142 medium ditto—_— co ae 145 London, Dr. Fordyce’s account of— a 4 the quantity of fruit and vegetables consumed in it— a— 267 Lucern, observations on—= eae 217 Lucas, Mr. James, letter to the Author on top dressings 535 Lysons, the Rev. Daniel, on population—— 446 M Machine, the importance of one to raise water for the purposes of irrigation, described—— 322 Malt liquor, consumption of, in Middlesex— 390 dust, effeéis on land——— esr Manufactures, section on——— 434 Manafa@tories, large, contaminate the morals of those who work in them—— soos 64 Manure, seétion on——— 301 a cheap and effeCtual method of raising large quantities——— 306 the great joss occasioned by laying it en shelv- ing ground--——_ 307 Manuie ———— INDEX gg4 PAGE Vianure of sheep, the value of== 348 Wlarkets, section on,— a— 408 how affected by a scarcity of vegetables 390 Marl abounds in Middlesex, used for making the best bricks——=— much used as a manure, on Enfield-chase.— 309 clayey, caution as to using it—— 312z Marsh, Mr. John, oa turning dunghills— 305 land, observations on—— 20& 147 Marshall, Mr. on laying arable land to grass— 236 Materials proper for mending roads—— 400 M‘Leay, Mr. Alexander, on dray-horses— 364 Meadows, section on=—— 219 watered, the mark of perfection in grass land 323 the produce of— a 317 not watered, the produce of—— ib. Mealmen, strictures on_-—— 177 Means of improvement, chapter on o-— 4092 Middlesex husbandry, the superiority of— 480 the advantages it possesses— 2 Middleton, Sir Hugh, canal—==— 29& 402 Miles, square, the number of in Middlesex— z Milk, the quantity, price,&c.—— 33 retailers of, their nefarious praCtices described 33 Mills for thrashing, recommended ao ae 95 Minerals, se¢tion on——s— 26 Mole plough, for making drains, described=: 289 Moors between Staines and Longford, observations on 10k Molasses, for feeding of cattle, observations on, by L. Millington, Esq.——— 537 Mutton, the superiority of that bred on the South Downs 347 observations on the yellow colour of the fat of it 577 N v4 Neat-houses, the gardens at, the management of described 261 x Newbury peat-ashes, an account of the— 314& 53 Name of the county of Middlesex, what derived from 35 Night-soil, its great effects as a manure, and the loss occasioned by great part of it being carried into the ‘Thames—— a B01& 316 Seer aer i: Norfolk, observations on the sheep and agriculture of 347& 479 Nursery-grounds, section on a— 269 Oats, = O PAGE Oats, the cultivation of, and the number of acres occu- pied by them———_—. 186 Obstacles to improvements, chapter on— 455 to wheel carriages, on the roads, enumerated 39g Offal of animals, the great quantity of, under the present system-~—— a 413 Oxen, compared with horses, for agricultural purposes 367 Oziers, the cultivation of———~ 278 P Paring and burning, section on—— 294 additional observations on T24, 1205 oo Se 127, 131& 496 Parish poor, the expences of, at Enfield— 118 Parishes of Middlesex particularized—_ 556 Parks, how disfigured—_—— 274. Pastures, section on——— 21g stocking of, observations on— 117 Paved roads, their superiority described——— 40% Peas, the cultivation and produce of 193& 265 Peat, in Middlesex——-— 21& 313 earth, cultivation of——— 147 ashes, of Newbury, Berks, of what supposed to be composed——— 298 Peace, the principal cause of increasing wealth— 497 Pigeons, section on——— 37 Pilfering, observations on— oo— 472 Plantations, the situations proper for— 130& 27¢ Pleasure-grounds, the quantity of ground occupied by them——==— 486 Ploughs, and ploughing, observations on 86, E40& 315 Pollards, the great waste committed in making them 7d Ponds, how they might serve the purposes of irrigation, &e.=———— 321 Poor, and rates for their relief, se€tion on— 63 pastures, the effects of_— 346 Population, seftion on*——— 440 of Middlesex——— 452 of Britain——— ib. of Britain and Treland—— ib. how affected by inclosures— IIo ‘ Popula- INDEX. 593 PAGE Population wholly supported by agriculture in England and Wales—— a TOIAE the increase of, friendly to agriculture 4.97 oeey. ae letter on, by the Rev. John Howlett— 562 —. 1% Porter, the quantity produced from a quarter of malt 184. breweries in London, an account of— 440 rated 5 Potatoes, the cultivation of-——— 197 mest I Poultry, section on——— 378 Prices of labour in Middlesex—— 380 7 413 Privys, the soil of, the richest manure ever laid on land 301 0865 367 Produce of land in Middlesex“= a 317 —~ 28 the quantity consumed by each inhabi- tant in South Britain_- 487 annual agricultural, of South Britain 434 Proprietors of landed estates advised to occupy a farm by way of example to the tenantry—— 496 F- Profits of farming, section on=a_ 82 1a oh Proportion of the inhabitants to the soil—-— 452 pees Provisions, and their prices, se€tion on— 387 Tj!& 496 Public-houses, section on—---— 475 ie the ruinous effects of“— 70& 383 50 Pulteney, Sir William, on a beverage for labourers 385 274 Puttock, Mr. James, of Rudgewick, Surrey, ona large 219 breed of hogs oe oa os— 376 Ny — 40 193& 265 R 1& 313 — If que> ; Rabbits, section on—-—— 377 posed(0 Rain, in Middlesex, from what poi f tl ie ‘ se ain, Midd: at points of the compass ie the greater falls come——— Ig Wes Rape, or cole, observations on—= 217 z an Red clover, the cultivation and produce of— 226 Be ak: Receivers of stolen property, observations on— 458 130. 47f Religious establishments in London, in 1710— 441 upied by i Reid, Andrew, Esq. letter from him to the Author, on - 40 Enfield-chase,&c.——— 522 36, 140& 515 Rents, section on ss oo ees 56 them Lis Rental of Middlesex, its amount—— 57 rigation,._ of South Britain, its annual amount—— 491 = jl Retailers of vegetables, the exorbitant profits of—~ 387 een Ah of milk, strictures on a lig as 325 AEST Revenue arising from barley=-- 184 Eade|! Rich food, its effeét on animals—— 346 ite Rivers, seétion cn—— pins he: 27 ae Roads, section on——— 393 ey ae Pp Roads, 110 5 Popil 594. INDEX. PAGE Roads, further observations on— 67& 497 Robinson, John, Esq. account of his farmery,&c. at Wick-green_~~ vo 40& 192 Rollers, observations on a—— 93 Roofs, of various kinds, compared—— At Rotation of crops, se¢tion on——— 151 for sheep downs, recommended 13 for strong land, as practised in Mid- dlesex, the best in the kingdom= 154. additional observations on= 496 Rot in sheep, how it may be prevented—- 349 how it may be cured——- 348 Rural artificers, their charaéter—— Russell, Francis, Esq. his improvements on Enfield. chase, mentioned———— 121 Rush, Dr. his account of a beverage for labourers— 385 Rye, the cultivation of—_ vo“— 179 S) Sainfoin, recommended for calcarious soils— 233 Sandy land, the cultivation of—— won 144. Scuffle for cleansing land, described—— 96 Schools for teaching poor children, recommended 68 Seed, hints as to the choice of,&c. 141, 165, 165, 226,& 495 Servants, section on—== a 380 Shawl goat, account of one at Earl’s-court— 342 Sheep, seétion on— ae a 345 the number sold at Smithfield annually— 409 the number in South Britain_— 489 downs, seétion on——— 127 how impoverished—_ 5098“2219 being inclosed and cultivated, the bene- ficial effets of—— 50 Shells, observations on—_-~~~ 309 Situation and extent of Middlesex, section on— I Smithfield-market, account of— 409& 488 Smoke, observations on——— 313 Soil and surface of Middlesex, section on— 16 the poorest, how it may be enriched-— 163 Societies, section on.“=—~— 465 Soot, observations on—_- 1g yes South Down sheep, the merits of— ms 347 husbandry, compared with Norfolk 479 Sown oo- ed 12] in Myd 4NliUe od S99 233 _ 144 “ — go \ Q 68 0, 226,&(04 49) — 280 = 34) j_ 409 — df ] alga aff $0 w 129 ho hen 4, the bene “4 = 40 An —$09 n_[ Vib An 400& 4b) — 4h) 10) fy 31h H))) = iA] rok N\on0l: INDEX. 595 own grasses, Se ction on_——— 226 Springs, the method of draining them described— 286 Sp: anish sheep, experiments on, by Sir Ir seph ae Bart. 350 Sina well inc ne section on—- 1: 1Z0 further particulars a:— 295 Steeping seed, observations on—_-— 141 Steward, land, the proper qué alifications of one described 79 Stocking of commons, observations on.—- Oe Stock, live, chapter on——— 324 Stolen property, the annual amount of in South Britain 462 Strata discovered in several wells dug in Middlesex, de- scribed oo—_— ao 22 Straw-markets, observations on--—- 418 Straw cut, and mixed with roots, its use a 174 the produce of per acre, and value per bushel 176 Surface of Middlesex described— a 22 Suckling calves, observations on—— 224 Sutton, Six Richard, Bart. M. P. on the improvement of commons, on the management of se: grass, On manure, on grass-lambs, and on draught oxen 104, 112, 224) 3155 == at a 358& 373 Sutton-court farm-buildings, the peo of— 40 Supply and consumption of South Britain, se¢tion on 480 Sweep for getting in hay, the importance of-— 96 r LT a ares, the cultivation of—_—— 108 ‘Tenants from year to year, the ill effects of 52, 53,54, 75& 76 "Tenures, section on———— 37 Thieves, observations on— 273, 399s 453 472& 473 Thrashing mills, account of— 42; 95°& sou "Tickell, the Rev. Mr. account of a Dutchdairy— 538 Tillage, se€tion on— ooo== 128 ‘Tithes, section on——— 58 Travelling, the expence, and expedition of— 394 Trees, general observations on Bt! 86£9G Trench pious hing, recommended for certain purposes 205 Turnips, the cultivation, produce, and m nethod of pre- serving them-— 204& 266 rooted cabbage“——— 218 the Swedish_~~ ao ib, al =" ed ee ee oR SERN EEY oe 596 INDEX. Vv PAGE Vegetables, the quantity annually consumed by each individual———— 390 Vermin and game, section on—— 476 Veterinary college— a ase 468 Vidtualling-houses, seétion on—— 475 Voluntary contributions in some instances injurious 68 Vyse, the Rev. Dr. observations on inclosure bills 457 W Wages of journeymen mechanics, observations on 384 Walker, Dr. on hay-making——- 24.7 Walks, sheep,(see downs)_—— 127 Wallace, Mr. John, account of a piece of cloth from Spanish wool-——— 353 War, its ill effeéts described—== 453 Waste land, or commons, chapter on— 98 further observations on== 495& 497 on the cultivation of, by T. S. D. Buck- nall, Esq. aa—— 506 Water, section on—_ oe— 27 mineral, in Middlesex, account of so 33 furrows, observations on—= IAr mills, ditto——— 458 how it may contribute to enrich the land 307 what proportion of, in the weight of grass 317 Watering,“section on— aaa er 316 Weather, the changes of, in Middlesex— 7 Weeding, section on—— oo 315 Weights and measures, section on—— 470 Wells, depth of several in Middlesex described— 32 Wheat, the cultivation and produce of ass 166 the quantity consumed by each person—~ 389 the number of acres cropped with it in South Britain—— a 485 Wheel carriages, observations on—— 399 Wigston, John, Esq. letter to the Author, on Enfield- chase——~-—= 533 Willows, the cultivation of,&c.—— 278 Wilkinson, Dr. his valuable communications to the Author,&c. on green peas, turnips, manure, paring = CoO Dor- ae OM “Oo INDEX. 597 P and burning, and on the general cultivation of Enfield- chase——— 196, 211, 314& 526 Winds, what are the most prevalent in Middlesex— 7 Woods, chapter on— oe— 273 further observations on—— 496 Wool, the clip of, in South Britain—_— 489 Work-houses, when crowded, the ill effects of_— 65 FN 1S. ZS “ 5 eR AE TGA LE :“ 7 REN STE: ‘= £ f ’= ETE LIE LOR GG TED? OIE EERIE ERD

Z pee: ee jue 7 ‘¢ but he observed, in. breaking tl ¢ , ie Clie| ao lv hHeae_qnarte) xTithA Nnanicr pitty Saas Smee anc part Vy three-qualrers, Wiltil Opanisn, were put into :<< wool, called“ picklock,” is estimated at 2s. 8d. a :‘ pound; which he did, and reported as follows:‘ s : ¢¢ teen South-down-and Spanish fleeces weighed 47|b.;: “ were worth to the manufacturer 4]. 12s. 10d.”—or 1s. 114d. per Ib. A t 1~-- Sonn Wim vicdaly al VAT pcere 2 at Y cace ; SDV AVEESSHs. Buxton, YOSSESS oi the wool~ 4s «* stapling business in Bermondsey-street, late Bell, be- 4 Oo d ;— fhe empties fA| ele Reka 1 by ai ry Be mag a Be ME ee ot a 1, cc fween- tCWeEnty HEEEES OF IN ottin Nam LiFe- ror 4 6682] Ao a er aa- Ce aa pees Re iG and the same number of tMeil prt senv Dy £6 4 Balawionioitan siiclace nian! ram bDelon¢ Ing to Olt oseph banks lair ims t d SELES AU eT a in oe Raat ear: d, that the wool of the twenty = Sa Been jE a ee I Pee AO pa lb. and was worth to the manufacturez a n a n a . a» ra ns Pa tal n 6s » ” 6é ~ . a n ~ n~ n 4 352 SHEEP. 3]. 10s. rotd.; that the wool of the twenty half-bred Spanish weighed 83lb. and was worth to the manufac- turer 61. 7s. 113.d.—value of-forests 1s. 44d. per Ib. of half-bred Spanish rs. 63d. *« In the year 1793 Sir Joseph having made a variety of experiments, all of which tended to prove that Spanish wool had not degenerated in fineness, even on his pasture at Spring-grove, though particularly unfit for sheep, determined to part with his wool, which had been kept for the purpose of comparison from the year 1788; and accordingly he sent the whole collec- tion to Messrs. Buxton; not expecting to hear any more concerning it, except by receiving a fair price, which he was certain, from the liberality he had observed in the dealings of those gentlemen, would, in due time, be remitted to him: he was, however, agree- ably surprized, on the 11th January 1794, by the receipt of a note, of which the following is a copy: Wecced! uso crecene tai iecee ae aan *« Messrs. Buxton present their respe€tful compliments to Sir Joseph Banks, and beg his acceptance of a piece of cloth, produced from three grey Spanish fleeces, weighing together 8lb. and received by them from Sir Joseph Banks. Messrs. Buxton are informed from Mr. Wansey(the gentleman from whom they received the cloth in its manufactured state) that it is an excel- lent piece of cloth; but being made wholly of undyed wool, of its natural colour, the manufacturer is of opinion it will fade in the wear. “ Bermondsey-street, had“ Bedford-street, Fan. 18th, 17946 |, in Ses ds ree~ cc| eG had the favour of your note, and have ex- the«¢ amined the cloth you sent for my inspection, ve ry mi- rs** nutely, and find it in every respect very excellent. The «¢ wool is remarkably good, though I have cloth, which, nents‘¢ In my opinion, is made of rather finer wool, though piece** that may admit of a doubt, as judging from the feel of «« the cloth depends much upon, the dressing, and cannot “* be sa correct as from the woolitself. The spinning is +‘¢ very fine; and upon the whole, it may, I think, be 1 TON’ d an*¢ ranked with the best superfine cloth manufactured in VUNLY RU *‘ England; if I except a few pieces made at a very high ay CXCEL- tree=: ‘* price, and merely out of curiosity, I find it stoute:\ mndyed::=~ 5 ee“¢ than our superfine cloth in general, and.am of opinion 18 of “4 that such cloth is well worth nineteen shilling gs a yard, ‘* or more. JI return the cloth by the bearer; and have 4 the honour to be,&c.&c. ‘© JoHN WALLACE.” 354 SHEEP. «© The first grey lamb bred by Sir Joseph, was dropp in the year 1789, and clipped in 1790, at which time the ‘© Spanish breed had been five years in England, and four- teen years out of Spain. This lamb and another, both males,were kept for castration, which is known to ameliorate the wool; but Sir Joseph did not chuse to n wn obstruct his experiments, which were carrying on in several parts of the kingdom, by castrating white lamb n “ ” n of the pure Spanish blood. «©"The deduction from this experiment, that cloth may n a be made from the wool of sheep fourteen years after the val a original stock has been imported from Spain, as fine a “ at least as that usually manufactured from imported “a n Spanish wool, appears evident. For the arrangement «¢ of it, we are indebted to the Ae discrimination of «Mr. Wansey. By the colour of the fleeces, all suspicion of Spanish «¢ imported wool being mixed in the cloth, is done away, «© for no coloured Spanish wool is sent out of Spain, and «© moreover, the fleeces being only three in number, all «© idea of a small portion of very fine wool having been “© carefully selected from a much larger quantity of in- ferior quality, is precluded.”—P. Foot. A NOTE FROM ONE OF THE RETURNED REPORTS. “¢ At Finchley, the farmers buy many ewes of the Wiltshire breed, as “¢ their nature seems better adapted for the common, being light, and biting & on less compass. ‘© The rot in sheep in these parts, is generally thought to proceed from 6 an inse&t ina web, the resemblance of a spider, witha white back part, “¢ which frequently comes on the earth, more particularly on the commons 6 of Middlesex, about the middle of September, when the sheep can scarcely * avoid picking itup in feeding; and those farmers that are acquainted of the “© danger, generally take off their sheep the latter end of August, and put 6¢ them in their inclosed grounds. I have frequently observed, they most infect the earth in a dry September.”? HOUSE-LAMBsS. 355 ter being butchered, are held in the highest esteem, which TOnned Opped: imett Fouse-Lambs.—The ewes are always, without excep- AY ALTE~ a Hee tion, of the Dorsetshire breed, and even of these there are had not more than one in three that will lamb sufficiently early “45 DOT: WO t for the purpose of house-lamb. 0 : The early lambing ewes are sought for by the breeders Use to ae: ee: ee;: : of this county with great diligence throughout the county On In P© eae of Dorset, and at the fairs where such stock are usually lambs ea RO: sold.‘The prices vary, from 35s. to 42s, ' Such lambs as can be warranted of a fair complexion af= XY may: F : us those bought promiscuously in Dorsetshire, or at the fairs, > me cannot be: this preference induces those breeders and sucklers aoe who are in the secret, to sele rams which they can depend on, agement Jor getting lambs whose meat shall be of that quality. On Of The sucklers, salesmen, and butchers of London, are aware that such lambs as have sharp barbs on the inside of i spanish their lips, are certainly of a deep colour after being butchered; away, and all those whose dards are naturally S/unt, do as cer- n, and tainly produce fair meat. er, all This knowledge has been the occasion of many lambs ¢ been of the latter kind being kept for rams, and sent into Dor- y of th seishive, expressly for the purpose of improving the colour of the flesh of house-lambs. Lhe issue of such rams can generally be warranted fairs PORTS and such meat always sells at a higher price: hence arose the mistaken notion, that Middlesex rams were necessary bet to procure hoyse-lambs, , and d1ting The sheep which begin to lamb about Michaelmas, are kept in the close during the day, and in the house during the night, until they have produced twenty or thirty lambs. These lambs are then put into a lamb-house, which is kept constantly well littered with clean wheat straw; and and put chalk*, both in lump and in powder, is provided for them #6* The chalk is, usually, previously baked inan oven,"—Mr. Code. Houses Z2 to A § HIOUSE-LAMBS. Tam 4 oP) % ED NTESESY to lick, in order to prevent looseness, and thereby preserve 1=+ nye eR Fas ra Ba ene a ae the lambs in health. As a prevention against gnawing the 1° 1 9 OFA| boards,’ or eating each other’s wool, a little wheat straw + B ved=e)!= Ge a| eee Te Seen pes ON RE ee see a ee td is placed, with the ears downwards, in a rack within then reach, with which they amuse themselves, and of they eat a small quantity. In this house they are kept, with great care and atten- tion, until fit for the butcher. «© The mothers of tie lambs are turned, every night at ¢¢ eight o'clock, into the lamb-house to their offspring.— « At six o’clock in the morning these mothers are sepa- «¢ rated from their lambs, and turned into the pastures;” and at eight o’clock, such ewes as have lost their own lambs, and those ewes whose lambs are sold, are brought in, and held by the head till the lambs by turns suck them clean: they are then turned into the pasture; and at twelve o’clock the mothers of the lambs are driven from the pasture into the lamb-house for an hour, in the course of which time each lamb is suckled by its mother. At four o’clock all the ewes that have not lambs of their own are again brought to the lamb-house, and held for the lamb suck; and at eight the mothers of the lambs are brought to them for the night. If a ewe gives more milk than its lamb will suck, the superabundance is given to the twins, or to any other lamb whose mother may not be able to furnish it with sufficient food. The shepherd must in this case hola the ewe, or she would not suffer the strange lamb to suck. From their timid nature, it is extremely essential that they 204 ssa should be kept free from every species of unnecessary dis- turbance. This method of suckling is continued all the year. The breeders select such of the lambs as become fat enough, and of proper age(about eight weeks old) fo1 slaughter, and send them to market during December, ang GRASS*LAMBS, 357 i and three or four succeeding months, at prices which vary RB from one guinea to four, and the rest of the year at about tw tineas each. This is severe work for the ewes, and f, ee ae ee Sea te ee Pench an SIG meuer some of them die under excess of exhaustion. However, care is taken that they have plenty of food; for when } sen food(viz. turnips, cole, rye, tares, clover,&c.) be- pe 2ins to fail, brewers’ grains* are given them in troughs, 4.] 1 oe ND AE Se ll te Fe the ewee and second-crop nay 1M raCKS; aS WEil tO support the ewes, 1t 4k-“4 1-“77 one st a as to supply the lambs with plenty of m/k: for if that eS should not be abundant, the lambs would become stunted, in which case no food could fatten them. atyiyad. 2) rial 1 2 S sae UTES«¢‘The ewes should be free from the foot-rot and ar own*¢ scab; and if they have any pitch mark on them when Tepe"'. CE eee F>> as brought«« they lamb, it must be cut off before the lambs be taken k them‘¢ into the house, or they will eat it, and thereby greatly twelve‘¢ prejudice their future Gainers m the«¢ A lamb-house, to suckle from 166 to 180 lambs at a urse of«* time, should be 7o ae long and 18 feet broad, with \t four‘¢ three coops of different sizes at each end, so constructed wn ate‘¢ as to divide the lambs according to their ages. TN 2 1 ae an(eee ep Fa The ewes, when separated from the lambs, ought to . ousht cCBbe SO cee sed as to enable the lambs to find their mo- 1 1 1 Pa WW ‘¢ thers without trouble; and for this purpose deal hurdles Neat«¢ are used, placed about the middle of the sheep. house. ees C Dp i)=>©=e+ i=+ 7 ats“* Punctuality of time in letting the ewes in to the lambs, Ail) t «© and keepii-house very cleanly httered, are <<“very flece tions.” A friend of mine, who is well acquainted with the sub- ject, says the farmers of Middlesex do not now rear half that Wie‘ F E: so many house-lambs as they did about twenty years ago. ete In Surrey they are likewise falling off The suckling ) all the=~ Le ae emicsre re system is removing to a greater distance from the metropolis, ome 3 iid) for* These were first given to ewes by the/late Mr. Naylor, of this county. at He also was tl st person who pulled out all the remaining front teeth of a Ut 1 1 broken-mouthed ewe; observing that they fed much better without teeth allt with the loss of one or two. Z 3 to f Sas me res. on oi as os aceasta+ aes Ete 2 —- a————— a=— a SSS ES,= TT Sie 353 GRASS-LAMBS. to which place many fat lambs are now sent alive, in light four-wheeled covered carriages. Grass-Lambs—T he vicinity of Smithfield-market, makes early grass-lambs an object of considerable importance to the farmers of this county. The Dorset ewes are chiefly selected for this purpose. They are purchased at Wey- hill, Kingston, and other fairs, forward enough to drop their lambs in January. The price from 30s. to 35s. The breeders keep the ewes and lambs principally on tur- nips, and second-crop hay. They sell the lambs in the months of April and May, fat, at from 25s. to upwards of 35s. each. The ewes being dried early, are fattened and brought to market about Michaelmas, and sold at the same prices. The wool is about three pounds, which, at 10d. amounts to 2s. 6d. The whole of the stock is cleared within the year, and the profit or loss thereby ascer- tained. The account in general is as follows: Hpac act ihe lamb sells for===“=* 110.0 ‘theewetor’== SSS) 1 1e OC ‘Phe wool at 2s-6d. or=*--“- O° 2° oO Together mb mah aces 1g fh S2. co oO Deduct prime cost---- I 12 0 Remains, the increase of aewe ini year£.1 10 0 NOTES. “© About twenty years ago, I bought Dorsetshire ewes from Weyhill-fair ¢¢ at about Igs.to 23s. at the highest, and sold my lambs at Easter(which, & being a feasting time, was a time of most demand, whether a little earlier 6 oy later) at 27s. or 28s. without weighing, and the inferior ones at 6d. a ib. ¢¢ turned out from 22s. to 24s. The ewes are certainly now higher, and I should at the lambs, from the general rise of provisions, must be so 66 00. a is Lao} © “ @ yee) Lee, —— ae 2 : GRASS-LAMBS. 359 I light ° eaned in the turnips at Walton on Thames, and Rich. I» sheep, are bred in this county, and fed for the ; makes so near the metropolis, and where consequent)} ted, extensive breeding is not tobe ANCE to* bt great number of ewes are kept in this county, more particularly chied 6. about Hendon and Finchley, for one of the most lucrative purposes, and Wey.© which perhaps is carried on to more advantage, and ona larger scale herey /‘6 than in any other part of the kingdom. It wille isily occur to the reader, drop‘6 that I mean the breeding and fattening house-lambs for the London mar- ) 2¢5, 6‘ kets; a traffic which there is reason to believe, originated in Middlesex, vs‘6 and begins now to spread itself over other parts of the island. It is not N tur<* i my power to enter into so full a detail on this subject as is necessary to in the“© be done, but in an agricultural history of this county, a very decided <‘© attention ought surely to be paid to it, as it involyes not only a very pro= fitable branch of farming, but also furnishes a market for the after-math “ of the county, when made into hay.; which, if got in in tolerable order, is roucht 6 aid to afford a food very proper for the ewes during the time of suckling. &‘© And if the season proves so unfavourable that this second(and I believe ICES.<6 sometimes third) crop of grass is not fit for the above use, it is sold in 10d,© Tondon for packing china, glass, and other goods, for which the softness «6 of its texture makes it a proper material.’’—Note iz one of the returned ared Reports. cere“ The suckling sheep are apt to look very thin, which might be in part prevented, if they were, during suckling, kept upon dry ground, and had ‘© an over abundance of food; the remainder of which should be given to “¢ Jean stock, a few of which might be kept near at hand for that purpose. “© Where there is a great exertion, the stomach is apt to be delicate, and an “© attention should be given to it. From this method, the ewes, after the 66 Jambs are sold, would fat sooner, from being in better health. To turn )<¢ the penny as soon as possible, is the great object in agriculture.’—7. S. D. Bucknall, Esq. Memorandum of a pra&tice in France, for improving the breed of sheep. —‘¢ There is a kind of sheep called beron, or perrot, in the mountains of a <¢ Languedoc, which are reared ina peculiar manner. From the time they €¢ are born they are frequently bathed in cold water, which makes them “© very hardy and robust, and gives them an extraordinary appetite. Their 0) 0 0 ‘© principal nourishment is the meal of wheat or barley, mixed with milk. ‘* Owing to this nourishing food, they soon become larger and fatter than “ other lambs of the same age. The meat is excellent, and much sought “© after; and the fleece is longer, thicker, and finer, than others of the same Scobieea- “© As an additional proof of the efficacy of the above practice of bathing << Jambs in cold water, it is proper to observe, that it is now found of the anit‘ greatest use, when young turkies come too early, or when the season is UD 6 cold, to bathe them every morning in cold water, for eight or ten days, ould 65 and to give them a pepper-corn every day.’? be 90 {00, Zz 4 SECT: AND THEIR USE IN HUSBANDRY COMPARED WITH THAT OF OXEN. « Numer of horses in the cities of London and « Westminster, and in the county of Middlesex. Horses paying Horses paying the duty of Ios. 2s, duty. «London---- 2,944. 1,183 «© Westminster--<6 55003 1,630 « Middlesex-~~ 20,709 9,896 &¢ 18th March, 1797- 18,266 123709 ae ie‘ «© Few horses of any excellency are bred in the county of Middlesex. The farmers in general employ the pro- g psoy I ae 1 duce of their land in a more profitable way, and supply themselves with cart-horses, which are compact and bony, at the different fairs in the neighbouring counties, and at the repositories and stables of the several dealers in Many of the horses used in the business at the metropolis. of husbandry in this-county, as we| as those used by the brewers and carmen in London, are bred in Leicester- aie A 4% 1 ¢=; fi Ce in> er: T shire, and the adjoimimg counties. They are generally bought by country dealers, at two or three years old, and sold by them to the farmers of Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Berkshire, who work them gently the first year, and keep them on until they are about five years old, when they sell them to the London dealers(who are always looking out for horses for the brewers and carmen) at very high prices, being then of a proper age for constant work.” “ The draught-horses in the possession of the brewers l and distillers, are, as to strength and figure, scarcely to be equalled.” «« Many HORSES, «< any of the saddle and coach-horses are bred in Yorkshire, and brought from that and other counties by VITH the dealers. 2 at? me) Peony ts Ihe: B Pies ar- Boeedine.—lf the s object be draughi, any mare and that is noted for a gaick walk, and powerful draught, and Cae:; carrying much flesh, should be kept for breeding, and sh) a horse possessing the same qualities. mr. Oe r: ae: 55) ees (heir offspring should not be crossed, without full c-~+}> Vo a Se ee- an 7 proof that such other breed has the same qualities in at least 3 6 is to SEA ee ar San ee sere ea aa eee PSS awe y) 4110 proecuri= of{famous EG) tails LLOL SC Se the ias piro-= é q= Z perty may be supposed to possess much merit, the breed a night be raised from such a stock as that of a mare pone ICV migot be Faised trom Such a stock a Ne< are poney O= of Messrs. Cook, Southwark, which trotted ten mile C. ey| es= TR se SA a a x aie a AeA ly from the Borough, towards Sutton, which is by no means id a level road, in thirty-two minutes and an half. ‘y 7 T WY%° f Farm Eorses—Rye, and early sown winter 3 j 1 ma|"p2 ae tares on land highly manured, will be ready by the first yO oO- 3 J he day in May, and may be daily mown, and given to horses < 1 Ere:<7~ z- es in the stable for three months, with halfa bushel of oe Vi; Roar<«wzrpecl 30] Loree ro 1a sme till the fi el= ally per week each horse. Krom that time till the first of Y| Ea 2 2} Srsye oA Vs sys)! A iid November, they may le in the grass closes that have been all a~ . ry 1} 1 1~ cleared of the hay, and be allowed a bushel of beans each ie ae; ep horse per week.‘The weather will then be growing too AUC> c " cold for hard-working horses to lie out; they must be ney 7 i taken into the stable, and be allowed chopped tare hay, as cing.: si te | much as they will eat, mixed with three pecks of beans igh:; i and a bushel of horse-pollard, and be racked up with tare aoe ao} Be OES ee en x> Ihatedicuas yree= hay at night, for six months, when the rye and tares will re<< Le. A}° a Roe : be again ready. According to this mode of feeding horses, v tares must be grown quantity to supply them g cgi Seer SHS, ates apo ; all the year, or: tl must be made up with y é J Lg ove! ‘’ 362 HORSES. clover hay. For want of both tares and clover(though no good farmer should be without plenty of both), un- thrashed oats may be cut into chaff, of which they must have as muchas they will eat; be racked up with the best hay, and have about three pecks of beans weekly. By the former method one horse will eat thirty-nine bushels of beans, and twenty-six bushels of pollard, which cost something above 7. Some persons feed with oats and beans, in the propor- tion of six quarters and an half of the former, and one a: the latter for a year, which amounts to the same sum. With the first of these feeds, my horses have gone an hundred miles per week, generally loaded both going and returning; and with one or other of the latter feeds, the horses of Middlesex do as much labour all the year round. Most of the Middlesex farmers agree in the maxim of ‘© feeding highly an d doing much work.” The expence of a bani horse in this county, including his harness and proportion of implements, if he le out three months in the year, is about thirty-five pounds; oF if he lies in the stable all the year, it is full forty pounds; particulars as under Every £.s. d ® After-grass three months=--== io IC Hay of tares, clover, or meadow, four load, at§l.-- 20 0 86 Oats, six quarters and a half, at 18s.- Se Se cal Beans, one quarter-------= PO's.¢ Straw for his bed, one load.-===--= TelounG Shoeing-==- ahs==-- toe Farrier, and accidents-°-----} 06 Proportion of first cost, decline in value, and interest of first cost. 3 0© Proportion of new harness, mending, and interest of first cost L250 Proportion of carts, ploughs, harrows, decline in value, repairs, and 2:‘ interest--=-===-= Bes 5 (foe IG, Deduét the value of his dung, at Is. a week, for 3 quarters ofayear 2 0© Remains the annual expence of each horse that lies out 3 months£.35 9 or full two shillings and six-pence for every day he labours. ’ ropor- ONE of consumes about HORSES 363 }]} 1(OS Si I A i Ee Every horse employed by the farmers of this county, t uce of four acres of land. Those of brewers, distillers,&c. being of larger size, and much higher kept, require the produce of six acres.‘There are many horses in Britain who do not work so hard as in this county, and are of course kept on a lower diet. The mail-coach, and other horses of that description, are al- tts as they can eat. On an average, each 7 J ¥ 7, s does probably me the produce of jour Ain re fa. ay, straw,€Fc.* The Brought forward~°=-~- Sa! eS aK If he lies in the stable all the year, the extra straw used for his 1€ bed, and his worse health, will more than equal his dung, and 5 0 0 he will consume more hay by-~-=- ——— A farmer’s horse, one year in the house, costs--= LA0 Oo or three shillings for each day’s labour.— 7. M/Z. * The following paper on the feeding of farmer’s working horses, was re= ceived from Mr. Gretton. ‘* There are many methods to keep working-horses, as by bran, beans, “ oats, clover hay, meadow hay, grains, cut chaff of clover hay and straw, «6 or wheat and oat chaff, buck-wheat, and barley eyles, or sprit. And the method of feeding is varied according to local situations, and provincial ‘* customs. For example, in the isle of Thanet their customary feed isa “© little sainfoin or clover; say one truss of fifty-six pounds weight per horse 1 ah} { ey call rack meat, and the rest of his food is made up of 6€ Der week: this t *€ the small Essex, or French bean, cut chaff of clover, beans, pea haulm, *€ and wheat straw; the proportions one quart of beans, to two pecks of “© chaff, so cut, Of this a horse will, and usually does, consume one *¢'Lushel chaffed, and two quarterns of beans, ina day of twenty-four hours. 6€ Oats they seldom give their working-horses in that island. Refuse ** barley, or what is called tail, they do, but that is only whenit isin ** greater quantity than the fowl walk will consume. This method of keep ** generally, on an average, amounts to nearly nine shillings per week per ** horse, labour include-== Ss£20:-92.0 *€ One truss of straw===»= a ocr SR AG oie 9 g 6¢ In very many parts of Kent, this method obtains; but when sainfoin is *§ not grown in proportion to the meadow or upland hay, the latter kinds are 8€ most used, in the following proportions: 6° Two 364. DRAY-HORSES: The following letter, on the treatment of dray-horsés London, was received from Mr. Alexander M‘Leay. ~ I co SiR « Having, agreeably to your desire, endeavoured to ‘ learn* whether the dray-horses in London lie on boards ‘© without litter, at any or at all seasons of the year,” i «© have now the honour of laying before you the result of ‘© my enquiries upon that subject. «© The brewers in London are chiefly supplied with € nm horses by the Berkshire farmers, who buy them young 6 n from Northamptonshire, and work them two or three € nn years before they sell them. “© The brewers’ stables are floored with stone or brick, 6 n and are daily cleaned and littered, by men whose busi- ¢ ness it is to attend them night and day. I cannot learn 1 ta } s¢ that the horses of any brewer in London lie on boards & Two truss of 56 1b. to each horse, per week of 7 days, at is. 9d. Leo 36 86 Two bushels of oats, eight-gallon measure, per week, at2s.6d. 0§© #6 Ffalf a bushel of beans at 4s.~~~“ 0/43 6 o Io 6 6¢ One truss of straw 2~ 2 2 ra oo 8 folk 2 & J have estimated the tables upon an average of the last ten years price of “© horse fodder. Some gardening farmers near London, feed with bran and “ beans only, for manger feed; with hay or clover for rack meat: their d q< <‘ horses work very hard, by drawing heavy and frequent loads of garden “ stuf to market, and dung back. The brewers feed with grains, beans, “ clover or sainfoin. The stage-waggons and other roadsters of this class ‘¢ with beans, oats, hay or clover. Stage and post coach-horses, feed chiefly “ on oats, beans and meadow hay. Yet notwithstanding, I believe it will “‘ be found that these different methods will stand the consumer in nearly © the amount of the above tables. As to the quantity of land necessary to ‘* produce a sufficient feed for one horse, that, in my opinion, is not by any *€ calculation to be fixed even to a probability. Lands vary so much in good- ness, local advantages and tilths, that they produce from one quarter, to a 33 ‘© ten quarters of corn, and from a dozen truss, to loads per acre. DRAY-HORSES. 365 Who} the - an| ler tAe} M'Len€ without litter. On the contrary,{ understand the val, 5 s¢ pay the greatest attention to their being well littered a « all seasons; for they consider it as highly necessary t i ecctie eas should be kept as warm as possible in the ures 4 4: md< stable, after having been heated by the hard work they ) boards <¢ are usually kept to out of doors.‘This is certainly rea- ‘ sonable, and I believe the health of the dray-horses «« depends as much on such treatment as on their food. «¢ Currying has generally been co onsidered as of the utmost «¢ importance im the management of horses; but dray- young‘s horses are curried but very little. Indeed, having fre- r three«« quently no more than six hours a day for rest and « feeding, it cannot be supposed that there is much time brick,<< employed in currying them. They are, however, well bust.<< rubbed down after they come in from work. The learn«« racks are always kept full of hay, so that the horses oards«* have as much as they can eat. They get corn(oats) «< before they go to we rk in the morning, and again 3 6«¢ about half an hour after they come in from work, x« but not sdoner. Beans are not generally given; but| ie‘ know not for what reason. It was customary some to 6‘ years ago, for brewers to give grains to their horses; ay!‘¢ but they= find that horses so fed, rotted, and died in the 1p‘© course of a very little time; and upon dissection, large eo!<¢ stony concretions have been found in their bladders. «¢ At: present, no grains are given, at least by the princi- os s¢ pal brewers. easy«© In the course of these enquiries, I was told that in we«© Sweden it is usual for horses to lie on boards; but as I 6° was not informed that they lie without litter,[ am in- «* clined to believe they do not; for it bein «© it is for the sake of warmth they have substituted 6¢ boards for stones in that cold country, it would si in- et,(0 6* consistent to exclude litter, without which, I think 6&¢ even at Gé Gé ¢ n Ge Ge 66 366 HORSES. even boards would be too cold a bed for a horse heated and fatigued by work. « That a less quantity of litter would be necessary with boards than with stone, is certain; and it would perhaps be a great improvement, to have all stables floored with plank. « T have the honour to be, ‘¢ With the greatest respect, 66 ae) 1k,-CCC; « 29th Dec. 1794. Avex. M‘Lray. Sir‘John Sinclair, Bart.” Observations by Mr. Cole, respecting the feeding of horses in London. «© Query 1.—How do you like hay made of rye-grass 66 Ge a nw ° a nw and clover? “< /nswer.— With respect to rve-grass and elover hay, it is good food for horses in the winter months; but a‘ter Lady-day, this kind of hay loses its virtue, and becomes harsh and dry. Hence horses, particularly coach and saddle-horses, do not thrive on it. «© Query 2%.— What is the best hay for horses, and why? « Answer.—Meadow hay for coach, or saddle-horses, is certainly preferable; the moisture remaining so much longer in it. Draught-horses may do on hay made of clover or rye-grass, but it is not suitable to horses of greater speed. «© Query 3.— Whether do you prefer beans or oats? «¢ Answer.—Good oats I presume to be the best food for coach, or saddle-horses, being cooler. Beans I have always found prejudicial to them. They are certainly useful for draught-horses, being mixed with chaff, as the latter kind of horses are not so liable to, be heated in their blood as the former. =) cry HORSES IN COMPARISON WITH OXEN,. 367 Deatey F-: «& Query 4.— What do you think of barley for horses? a“© Answer.—As to barley, I think it too hot food for with Shai a: « any horse, even of the draught kind, having known it Thapg“‘:: aoe .‘‘ bring on violent surteits,&c. in consequence of its With,= sh *¢ creating thirst. “© Duery 5.— What colour do you prefer? Quer j “© Answer.—The brown bays are in general hardiest. ‘¢ The blacks are a very good colour. With regard to ‘* greys, the only objection to them, is their eyes, being Y.‘¢ apt to grow blind. Next to them, chesnuts have that << defect. ¢= 178 bs mh eee ac 7 AP) «© QDyery 6.— What is the longevity of horses in London? i xf the feet o! cen render 1 7 39 7 7 AL€ Z BLOUT/ flé€ ary ITS OF BILE ROLLEI on al Lay / aS 5 O4 L CLAY» : i é wa 1 fe and other adhesive soils, While the e wet, or at least not Jerr syenr that=} Sumiciently. di to prevent that Clinging, mortaring and J 4 o oF oOo poaching whit h on such land oucht to be 7O ide d hw DACTINTID 5 VNICO, ON sucl ana, ougint EG avoides DY J Suter SPRL Eo. GSR e: tyio Dy BS A ye ee eee all possible means. In short, they are as much inferior to bh ¢» if oF) fo I; 14d) nN+7, P OY 19 LU} Jy Git E WEL 3$ je L/leé Pur po) AS tL/ S GFE€ ! - the pur“pose of WIA MLL p] swimming. Mic= ah igre: Ratt: Gee Bh ey PEI ER ed fh IViOSE as the meadow land m England, Is generauy ce J much too rnoist, to bear the salutary ee of bush- Be nee ees co att| ralling Aw oven 2x0 rel] eae|] a Ry es, flat LOVY WS anc POMS DY oxen SO Well aS W thi NOESES. Tt must be allowed on ail hands, that oxen are by no means equal to horses on turnpike roads, which being usually mended with flints, stone, and other hard and cutting sub- stances, injure their feet so much, that they would scarcely hold out even for a few short journies; and they must be still less proper to be used in such teams as are half, or more of their time, on these roads, as is the case with most of the teams in this county. The division, or parting of an ox’s foot, most probably weakens the part, and consequently renders him less able to perform constant labour of any kind, so well as a horse of the same weight is found to do. In hot weather also, it is particularly observable, that oxen are much more fatigued with exertion than horses are, for in every hot day they must be allowed to stop oc~ casionally erally bush- HORSES IN COMPARISON WITH OXEN. 369 casionally, for the purpose of recovering their breath; and as this season is usually a busy time with farmers, horses must then have an obvious advantage, as they do not require to stop so often in the course of their work. I have also noticed a fly in summer, which oxen are not able to endure, and they are infinitely more ungovern- able, when so attacked, than ae t-horses are. There are some grounds for sappone that oxen were formerly much more generally used by the farmers of Eng- land than they are at present; and it seems fair to suppose, that they had substantial reasons for discontinuing them. Oxen, probably, first gave place to horse-teams in all work to be done on roads covered with hard materials; and next, for every purpose where the work required either active exertion, or continued labour. I apprehend that, from their inability for these purposes, and from its being found that in constant work they must be fed nea if not quite, as high as horses, both masters and servants were ultimately induced to give a preference to the latter. [In all cases where the journies are particularly long, herses have always deservedly taken the lead. The ae of great towns, likewise, has a tend- ency to create constant employment for the teams of farmers in the vicinity of such towns, in the carrying their produce thither, and returning with manure. In such situations, horses must be allowed to have the pre- ference. Large farms have more constant employment for teams than small ones; and as it is allowed on all hands, that the number of large farms increased, horse-teams would of course be most likely to suit the general purposes ef such farms. The modern improvements in agriculture have also a considerable tendency towards increasing the number of Aa draught- 370 HORSES IN COMPARISON WITH OXEN., draught-horses at the expence of ox-teams, by reason of the much greater quantity of labour and exertion required in carrying on an improved system of farming, than was usually thought necessary under a less spirited course of husbandry, It is probable also, that the ultimate destination of an ox, to serve asthe food of man, will forever prevent his being kept longer than till he has acquired his full growth, conse- quently he will be sold just at the time when his strength is such as to make him equal to the task of performing the different works of a farm; and it is not to be expected that the farmer will keep his oxen after they have attained this age, as they uniformly decrease in point of profit from that time. Indeed providence seems to have intended horses to per- form the labour, and promote the pleasures of mankind; and oxen to form a principal part of their food. 4 The butchers inform me, that the flesh of an ox that has been much worked, is as hard as brawn in every part that has been pressed by the harness; and I apprehend that every sinew and muscle of his body will be tougher, and less eatable, in proportion to the quantity of labour he has performed, and the number of years he has been kept at it. Both oxen and horses are nearly equally unfit for con- stant and severe labour until they are six years old; and in case oxen weie worked during all their prime, or until they were twelve or more years of age, I cannot suppose that they would then turn out to be very prime beef. Two oxen have usually been, and still are, estimated as only equal in draught to one horse, by forty-nine farmers in every fifty. This perhaps has been one of the means of introducing horses in the place of oxen; though(in a £ paper of this kind) it is fair to acknowledge, that in com- paring AON, of 10 Wag DUISE of an Ox, 8 being a CONSE» reneth Iming pected \ttained f profit to per= at Labour vis hoor Las DEEN HORSES IN COMPARISON WITH OXEN. 3qt paring the powers of an ox for draught, with those of a horse, the former has very seldom had justice done him, otherwise tlie disparagement would not have been so con- siderable. The comparison has usually been made with oxen from three to five or six, against horses af six or f age: as well might it be expected that a more vears o calt should be as powerful as a horse, or that a boy should carry as great a load as a man. Further, it must be confessed, that an ox has more time to lie down, and rest his limbs, than an horse can have, en account of their different modes of feeding: but this advantage is nearly balanced by she present mode of feed- ing horses with chaff. Observe too, that during the summer months, when they both lie in pasture, the dung of an ox is more valu- able than that of a horse. If oxen have the advantage over horses in any other respects than those just mentioned, I think it must be on small farms; where there is not business sufficient to keep one or two teams in constant daily work. Some such situations there undoubtedly are, and it is probable that, on all such days as the team is not wanted, oxen might be kept in pasture, or on grass, with less disadvantage than horses; but under an improved system, very few such days as these will occur, even on small farms; and on Jarge farms, scarcely any. Again, although oxen are not allowed corn, but are principally confined to a diet of hay, and when out of work, to straw; yet it should be considered, that they are universally put to do the most easy works of the farm, and which do not require dispatch, consequently it is found that hay,&c. is sufficient to support them under such moderate labour. ARISON WITH OXEN, h| It is by no means determined that horses could not per- form the same moderate degree of labour with as cheap a food; but it admits of no question, that neither oxen nor horses can support so much labour when fed with hay alone, as they can do with the addition of better keep. As horses are constantly put to do the heaviest work, and such particularly as requires dispatch, it should not excite SUY PT ie, that in order to perform such increased labour, they should require a more hearty and nutritious diet. The busy seasons of secd-time, hay-making, and harvesting, require a much greater degree of speed and activity than 1s at all compatible with the slow and solemn pace of oxen; and although it must be allowed that horses must be highly kept, in order to enable them to perform what may be called severe labour with adlivity, yet oxen, let their feed be what it May, cannot, from their very nature, perform any labour whatever with equal facility and dispatch. Upon the whole, I am of opinion that the very few advan- tages which oxen possess, are not by any means of such con- sideration as to compensate for the aQtual and considerable damage which their being used would do upon some kinds of land; nor are they, I conceive, so proper for ihe general pur~ poses af a farm, as horses. ‘+| kept two teams of oxen for about two years, and on the most attentive © comparison between them and horses, am decidedly of opinion that, in- ‘* cluding all the different seasons and kinds of labour to be done ona «© Middlesex farm, horses are entitled considerably to the preference.’’— nkins. ¢}} 7“ T e 28th of May, 1796, I attended the ploughing at Mr. Logan’s On tl (Cheam, Surrey) with two ox ploughs without a driver. The land had been fallowed all the last year, ploughed quite flat, strike furrowed, and left all the winter drowning in water, being a very tenacious loam on yellow clay. Hedge-rows full of elms; two ploughs at work, with one pair of stout oxen Ly ‘+ XDet. hp= iD 4 should AY Hn ney I 15 at lie ws al puis ah SS= a a eas HORSES IN COMPARISON WITH OXEN, oy ineach. One pair about eight years old; } Small’s chain ploughs—one of them w board; the other, anelm b a furrow of eleven inches, b half—the cast-iron bright as silver. Their pace was 440 yards in seventeet minutes, three times tried; constant going out between seven and eight hours; deduct for stoppage and their constant draught, will be about six hours: in which time, atthe said pace, they ploughed 2 roods 16 perch per day, or 3 acres, 2 rood, 16 perch per week of six days.‘The soil was quite free from stones, and worked very tough, and was evidently too severe la bour; so much so, indeed, that the younger pair had turned themselves ut of the work, the men said, at least ten times the day before. One of my ploughs, with two horses, would have done as much work as both these, and vastly better, as six-inch furrows are better than eleven. The mer d, that if they were to take a narrower furrow than eleven ee b] © o O oO < o ® they should do almost nothing, as the oxen would not bear being drove much Fey Wevarciclaai aac hie) Pees bes faster than the very slow pace at which I found them. erence in the price of hay and corn,~-as articles of food in the keep of horses and oxen, upon which so much reliance is placed by the ad» vocates for oxen, ona fair comparison, will be found to turn out totally different from the conclusions they draw.‘This will appear in the followin 4 short statement, namely: TI now sell my hay at 5 1. tos. per 18 cwt. which is per ton Le O28 6 2.6 Every body knows dia oats contain more nourishment than hay, and be« And buy my oats at 17s. 6d. per quarter, which is per ditto ing at the same price per ton, it is obvious they are the cheaper feed. Those gentlemen, for of farmers.there are none, who are advocates for the use of oxen in draught, should breed them without horns, with great gth of body, of a quick walk, and without a division in their feet, My obser those of Sir Richard Sutton, who says,‘* when I had a farm twenty-two or vations on the feeding of them(oxen) correspond nearly with 6c twenty-three years ago near St. Alban’s, I procured four fine oxen out of *¢ Sussex, with a man perfectly tee to them, and afterwards four more of 2 S¢ lighter active breed out of Pembrokeshire. I found that my oxen, though ty eer td ~ ~~ oS 5 F] ~F mJ "THE only rabbit-warren that I know of, in the county is on Uxbridge-common. In various other parts of aa county, indeed, there are enow of them in the fields to be troublesome to the farmers, who take some pains to destroy them; but in this they have not altogether suc- The soil of this county 1s rendered too valuable, by its connexion with London, to be profitably employed in the rearing of rabbits; but in more distant counties, and on very poor, sandy land, I have several times had proof that no other stock could have returned so much money for the scanty herbage on which Me fed. There are many places in and about London, where ling and rearing of tame rabbits Oo poor people make the breex rable article of profit.“They generally feed them with grains oreied from the small-beer breweries} 7 A llard, cabbage- eaves, parsley, turnip-tops, and the re- eta po fuse of other vegetables, with now and then a little clover hay, of with y are particularly fond. When they are of a sufficient age, and in proper con- dition, they sell them to the poulterers, who supply the tables of their customers with this article of luxury at all seasons of the year, but more particularly when wild or warren rabbits are out of season. a Se eee i at cea as 378 POULTRY. PIGEONs. Shei Vl OU ee RaNc. ConsIDERABLE numbers are raised at the country- houses of most men of fortune, and at the houses of many farmers; but more generally on the corn-farms, where they are useful in picking up corn that otherwise would be lost, and also worms and slugs in the fields near the farm-house. On farms employed purely in the growin of hay, they are less common—sometimes none. As ii ra} such cases, the mowing ground comes close to the house, there is no pasture, and it is difficult to restrain the poultry from the fields during the growing of the crop, in which they are found to do much mischief.‘To buy provision for them, would be certain loss. It is clearly ascertained, that ducks might be kept in such numbers on corn-farms, as to prevent any sensible loss or destruction in their crops by worms, slugs, and caterpil- Jars, and yet we are always hearing of great losses ac- casioned by those vermin.‘The support of a hundred or two of ducks on a farm, is a trifling expence, and might be considered in the light of ensuring the young crops against being cut off. It is thought that many a farmer receives more damage to a crop in one season, than would support a sufficient number of ducks to give perfect se- curity for twenty years. SEC.) Ville P iG EONS. I po not recolle&t more than one dove-house in the county, and yet many are kept. A dozen or more pigeons are very Commonly to be met with at a gentleman’s villa, in the gable end of a stable, or in an empty wine-pipe set upon BEES. 379 ww (es upon a post, fifteen or twenty feet h ugh, which preserves them from vermin, and in some sort from being stolen.— A few are likewise kept by many journeymen-tradesmen, ae&cc. in the character of Puen oneress in every poor part iy of London, and in all the other towns and viilages in the ee county, which must make the number in Middlesex ould very considerable.“Their merits, however, in an agri- ‘the cultural view, are very problematical. ing Sin ea Ouse, ultry SECT. VIIt.—BEES. YaICh- Tere are no bees of any consequence kept in the (S10 county. We rarely see a hive at a farm-house, and per= haps not ten cottages in the county have any. Ir 1s la- ich mentable, that these most valuable insects should be so OF much neglected.“They are probably not kept to one- il hundredth part so many as they might. Every farmer, C= and every cottager too, ought to be furnished with a few or hives. ght If I can trust my own observations, bees are kept ia TOPS greater numbers in the wild and poor parts of England, rmet than in the well-cultivated and rich districts; but they woud might, and ought to be found in all. Cottagers might pay O sp. their rents from the produce of their bees, ae require very little attendance, and less provision.‘Their whole increase, wax and honey, is very nearly net profit; and they are also supposed to be very serviceable in promoting the increase of beans, peas,&c. Judging from the great number of hives which I have seen in the gardens of poor people in distant counties, I Ee think it not avery difficult matter for a prudent cottager to raise and keep a stock of bees, whose produce would be nearly equal to his own earnings. ¢ set CHAPTER LABOURERS AND SERVANTS. OrbA PAR Iv: Rina ECON OW XY. SECT. I.—-SERVANTS, LABOURERS, HOURS OF LABOUR. THE wages most generally paid to ordinary labourers in husbandry in this county, is ten shillings a week during the winter half year, and twelve shillings a week during the summer half year; but on most farms, there is one handy, confidential workman, at twelve shillings a week all the year round.‘Those who are only employed during hay-time and harvest, are paid fifteen shillings a week; they are occasionally allowed beer, and sametimes a dinner, which makes it equal to their being paid twelve shillings a week the year round. In summer, the hours of labour are from six o’clock in the morning till six o’clock in the evening; and during the winter months, from light till dark: but half an hour of rest is always allowed at breakfast, and an hour 2t dinner. A great deal of labour, perhaps a moiety or more, of the whole, is done by the piece. Here follow some of the prices: Mowing grass for hay, from 3s. to 6s.—average 4s. per acre. Mowing, making, stacking and thatching, teams and straw included, per acre 203. Mowing se P DOUrers luring oO wing Oo one LABOURERS AND SERVANTS. 381 Mowing clover the first crop, 3s. per acre. Ditto the second crop, 2s. 6d. Mowing barley and oats, from 2s. 6d. to 38s, 6d.— erage 3s. Hooking peas, from 3s. to§s.—average 4s. Ditto, or mowing, tares, ss. Reaping oats, 8s. Bagging wheat and rye, from 1os. to 183.—average 12s. Ditto beans, from 6s. to gs.—average 4s. 6d. The prices vary according to the bulk of the crop 3 whether it be standing or lying; and also in proportion to the distance from town. The said prices include the value of the usual allowance of beer, and also the labour of binding the crop into sheaves, and setting them into shocks, which two last operations are done in a very loose slovenly manner. By bagging, the straw is cut more closely to the ground, than is possible to be done by hand- reaping. It is performed in about the same time, and procures as much more straw as is worth about 7s. per acre. Much thrashing is done by the day; more by the quar- ter, and some by the truss.‘These various methods are resorted to in order that the labourer may be well paid, the corn clean thrashed, and pilfering prevented—but without effect. Oats and barley are thrashed at per quarter 2s. Beans and peas, at ditto 1s. 6d. Wheat and rye at ditto 4s. or sometimes at 2d. per truss. Tares 4s. Straw of every sort, is weighed and bound at 1s. per load. Hay is cut, weighed and bound, at from 1s. 8d. to 2s. per load: a quick hand can bind two loads per day in summer. Turnips i RN RE LR 382 LABOURERS AND SERVANTS. Turnips are hoed the first time, per acre at 7S. Ditto the the second time, 5s. Nurserymen are said to have their labour done cheaper than the farmers and gardeners. The number of women(mostly from North Wales} who are employed by the farmers and gardeners round London, during every summer season, in weeding and making hay, in gathering green peas and beans, in pick- ing fruits, and carrying strawberries“and other tender fruit to market, is astonishing. Their industry 1s un- equalled in Britain, or perhaps in the world. The fruit- women will labour several hours in the garden, and go to and from the London markets twice a day, though at from four to seven miles distance. Their ordinary hours of labour are from eight till six, for which they are paid one shilling a day in summer; and from eight till dark for ten-pence in the winter. Their working so much in the open air, gives them a hale, brown complexion, the sure index of good health: just the reverse of which, are the complexions and health of those women in other counties, whose occupation is knitting, or lace-making. Fruit is gathered by measure, and carried to London by the journey. Green-peas are gathered at from 1s. to 1s. 6d. per sack, according to the size of the pods, and the abundance of the crop. Beans at half the said price. « Onthe whole, it cannot be said that the price of « Jabour is high, for a county in which the metropolis of ‘¢ so great an empire is situated.” One great grievance which the industrious poor labour under, is, the imposition of the lowest shop-keepers, ot whom they(the poor) are, from local situation, obliged to LABOURFRS AND SERVANTS. 383 7~ oan e+ ey ats eat Teg ePtah. te buy their provision. In the article of vegetables, such great evil is, that eae 1 pe(eee ee ees many of this cl; SS ot shop- keep ers aiSO deal in Spirituous scandal, and had advice. The increasing number of public-houses* is equally to ¥}} L Sa PRESS oe ie f. eA ay) Ggeaiers ftregie the marret y eS PS 2igu Jy be deplored. There the Peet and thoughtless are irresisti« bly tempted to squander their money, in bad beer and spirits, to the manifest injury of their constitution; whereas a substantial meal at foe with a little good ale, would ensure that health and vigour so essential to persons who must earn their bread by the sweat of their brows. I cannot here omit to mention, that the Ue tea- public houses is, in my Opinion, more ruinous to the lowest orders of society than all other evils put together."The dey ravity of morals, and the frequent distress, of_ poor aie if traced to their true source, will be found, mostly, to ori- ginate in the public-house. On the contrary, where there is not such a house in the parish(and some such parishes there still are, though in distant counties), the wife and children of the labourer, generally speaking, enjoy ed piness, compared with those where many public-house are seen. They are also less disposed to deceive and pilfer are better clothed, more cleanly, and less impudent al impertinent in their manners and de eportment. Lhe labourers of this coun ty are ruined in morals and cons stitution by the public-houses. Itisa general rule, that, the higher their wages, the less they carry home, and conse- quently, the greater is the wretchedness of themselves and their: families. Comforts ina cottage are mostly found, J * The number of these houses is wonderfully increased in this county, and in Surrey, by reason of mar ny of the brewers and distillers being gin the commission of the peace.—. AZ. pb apiece their pernicious effects on labourers and otherseesee Glous ster Report, p. 25. i er ie> 384 LABOURERS AND SERVANTS. where the man’s wages are low, at least so low as to re- quire him to labour six days a week. For instance, a good workman, at nine shillings per week, if advanced to twelve, will spend a day in the week at the ale-house, which reduces his labour to five days, or ten shillings; and as he will spend two shillings in the public-house, it leaves but eight for his family; which is one less than they had when he earned only nine shillings. If by any means he be put into a situation of earning eighteen shillings in six days, he will get drunk on Sunday of, and Monday, and go to his work stupid on Tuesday; and, should he be a mechanical journeyman of some genius, who by constant labour could earn twenty-four shillings or thirty shillings per week, as some of them can, he will e drunk half the week, insolent to his employer, and to every person about him. If his master has business in hand that requires particular dispatch, he will then, more than at any other time, be absent from his work, and his wife and children will ex- perience the extreme of hunger, rags and cold*. The low inns on the road sides are, in general, recelving- houses for the corn, hay, straw, poultry, eggs,&c. which the farmer’s men pilfer from their master.; Gentlemen’s servants are mostly a bad set, and the great number of them kept in this county, 1s the means of the rural labourers acquiring a degree of idleness and jnsolence unknown in places more remote from the metiopolis. The poor children who are brought up on the borders of commons and copses, are accustomed to little labour, but to much idleness and pilfering. Having grown up, *(¢ Tf preater wages are given, they will be given for expences in articles ¢: widely different from the necessaries of life—they will be given for the é encouragement of idleness, and for the increase of the excise revenue. 66 Jdleness is the root of all evil—articles of excise are the moisture which & nourishes that root.’—Ruggles.& ang unday ; and, DENINS Cara) WIRE shirt Wihictt pean ne Predt nenlenrea QUIVAY 10 Lids 4 T rm a‘ T q T AT oF? Q LABOURERS AND SERVANTS. 26¢ wv S] Mati ncasla tiie) become a part of their ; e| r qua become a part of then’ na- ty; t\ Wo 1:94 ¢ irmers as servantc ar [ tne] ltl AU ickhilivUio> s€rvants OF al se;)+ > 7~ fry laARAIT wher wWricr Lait EUIEC¢ CLV lard tabour, and?} tY, NOUSLY J J J ~'“pari a k.} rat thea“ aa lh? Lh 7 74 A 5} J Oi j é 6d5 ALU UdILV DECal += 4 is t a fe’ . x m1): Sony: es bi c i Y o i l aU 1Lering Sel NTS,< EGG I a UV IN cavour Onesty. o J f n ler Nonest d ind ECO» aS-it We a yar} 1’ a ach no tHe 1+?—p } Att( C nat Ol UCTI In Li) J ce A fy eal Deer ee sea eh of Spee were then sold at 8d. are now tod. per lb. Boiling and :, age eal a: aaa roasting pieces of beef, weighed together, which were, at the former period, to be had for 5d. are now 7d. per Ib. Mutton is nearly at the same rate as beef. House-lamb is from Is. to 2s. 6d. per lb. Grass-lamb 1d. per Ib. higher than mutton. Veal is 2d. per lb. higher than beef; and pork a halfpenny or penny per lb. higher than veal. The prices of meat are at the /owest from Michael- mas to Christmas; and at the Aighest about March or April. Vegetables are uncommonly cheap at the first hand, in the markets; but the distance at which the great bulk of the inhabitants reside from’ the markets, makes it neces sary for them to buy these articles of the retailers in their Bb2 own PROVISIONS. 1 own neighbourhood, at about three times the origina cost*, The farmers of this county live, as they are entitled to do, as well as any other set of men of the same fortune. The servants who are boarded by the farmers, frequently consume more animal food than their masters. There is no certain rule, but perhaps something like the following routine may be near the truth, viz. bread, cheese, and fat pork for breakfast; coarse joints of beef boiled, with cabbages and other vegetables, or meat pyes, meat pud- dings,&c. for dinner; cold pork, bread and cheese,&c. for supper; and with every meal small beer. It is evident the expence of such a diet must be very considerable; and the waste which the servants of this county make, is shameful. This, together with their rude manners, induces most farmers to pay them board-wages, especially as this me- thod greatly lessens the trouble of the mistress, and fe- male servants of the house. They will then eat fat pork, and bread and cheese, three times a day, and drink water; but when the farmer boarded them, the beer, meat, cheese, and indeed every other thing which he provided, was complained of, and said to be inadequate to their services. When they are on board-wages, if, by collusion with a favourite female servant in the house, they can pilfer half their provision, all goes on very well; otherwise, after a sufficient trial, they frequently ask to * For instance, turnips—an acre of good turnips are sold to the cow- keeper by the farmer for ten guineas, which produces five of their waggon- loads. The same crop produces fifteen market cart-loads, which the farm dener sells at market for three guineas each, or forty-five guineas for the whole. The retailers, out of this quantity make up as many bunches as, at five-pence each, will produce 1351]. Thus the consumers are paying the enormous sum of 135]. for what the farmer sells at ten guineas, and the gardener at forty-five guineas.— 7%, MM, return iy{ nal Fy) title wu Ithed tg fortune, led, with 1 4+} Meat pud- 119 => } Nace Aa{at otiy aek th LiLky Goh 6 rerntTn pelea ]= e= b ed 7 I<‘~ return to their old table again[his request is sometimes ? 1= ao a} a 1 to, with respect to a ant who is much re- bf ro|+t+ 9a Dut not SO W tne rest. Che antity of pork eaten by the labourers of this ear eT et= a, cou! 1S Ve reat, and indeed the quantity of animal eee Loa gees were Se eeegee oe| een food of all sorts, which is.consumed in Middlesex, 1s amazing. Even, regard being had to the population,& oOo Lo~ © apprehend it is much more considerable than the averag proportion per head of all England. Suppose a family which consists of six persons, viz. a man, his wife, a female servant, and three children, to be y) a talt average samy le of the better regulated families in the country part of this county, such a family consumes of animal food about 4lb. per day; which amounts to thirty - s f=[ie a+h,\ re+ he! or stone and a half(of 8lb. each) foreach inhabitant per bp uwan ay”y 7 P) r Sp ee ce es he quantity of wheat used, where bread is entirely made of it, as it is in the south of Bar land, and includi other applications of fine flour in pies, puddings,&c. and he wacte Rae pyar ishele for every inhahitent+ the waste, is about eight bushels for every inhabitant t. YY 3» In a section on supply consumption, I have endeavoured to shew, that on an average of the inhabitants of all ages in this cour including the luxurious and wasteful cities of London and ee a each consumes near thirty-nine stone of animal food, which costs about 3!.—F. + A family of five persons, eating much animal food, consumes seven tern loaves per week, and as much flour in ather purposes, as would rtern loaf, which together is equivalent to eight quartern another qua loaves per week. This is a small fraction more than six b shéls per annum to each inhabitant. There probably may be one-fifth of the inhabitantswho 1eat in the proportion of=-~-~& bushels’each. And I think there are 2-sths who use 8 bushels each, or 16 bushels.* And 2-5ths more who principally live on bread, and con-> 18 bush sume 9 bushels each, or 7s~~== together 40 bushels: which sum divided by§, gives 8 as the average number of bushels of wheat yequired for each person of all ages and conditions.— 7%. JZ, Bb 3 OF PROVISIONS. Sd Of potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, cabbages, savoys, cauliflowers, lettuces,&c. I suppose each person to con- sume about one ton per annum. The diversity in the consumption of smail beer, ale, and porter, is astonishing.‘There are some‘persons who do not drink malt liquor at all: most people of fortune and fashion use it very sparingly; while great numbers of the lower orders, particularly coal-heavers, anchor-smiths, porters,&c. drink it to great excess; even, it is supposed, to the amount of five hundred or one thousand gallons a year each. Upon the whole, I apprehend the quantity of malt liquor consumed in the county, would almost average a hundred gallons per head of all ages and condi- tions. As to wine and spirits, the commissioners of Excise and Customs could furnish an account, the amount of which would astonish the rest of the kingdom. A scarcity of vegetable food for the fattening of cattle, from whatever cause it may arise, whether from a drough- ty summer, or a severe winter, uniformly produces full markets, and a consequent fall in the price of the cattle thus prematurely forced to them. This temporary great supply and low price is, as certainly, quickly fol- lowed by a corresponding dearth of fat cattle, and consi- derable advance in the price of animal food.‘Vhis cir- cumstance, therefore, though it first lowers the price to e- low, and then advances it to above, par, has a tendency, on the whole, to augment the prices; because at such a time, the beasts and sheep are sent to market with much less beef and mutton on their bones than they ought to have. Hence a dry, burning summer, glut the market with cattle less than half fat; four or five months later the markets are very thinly supplied, and then of course the prices rise to an extraordinary height. Every sudden, and great: vance in the rate of animal food, may, primarily, be traced ‘ quantity 1a \d almost ind condi. of Excise nount. of f cattle, lrough. es full e cattle mporary 4: FUEL. 3ot to this cause. There are, to be sure, other causes which tend to produce this effect, but they are of slow operation; such as the increasing prosperity and opulence, which enables a greater number of individuals to live on butcher’s meat than formerly; while, in the opinion of some people, the present war has greatly increased the number of per- sons who subsist principally on animal food. But[ think that a prosperous peace would have advanced the price much more, by means of general industry, and the con- sequent increase of wealth, SE Ci lil hh Ups. Coals are in general use for the fires of this county, The exceptions are only on the north side of it, in cottages and small farm-houses, where the expence of coals, and the carriage of them, induces the use, of wood fires. The quantity of coal brought by sea from the counties ef Northumberland and Durham, and consumed in this county, may possibly be about half a million of chaldrons. Tt is understood that there are upwards of 100,000 chal+ drons more brought from the same pits to the port of London, which are consumed in the counties of Surrey, Essex, Kent,. Berks and Bucks. There are no natural appearances in this county, that do in the least indicate coal, and the flatness of the surface is very unfavourable for discovering the strata, by which alone any opinion can be formed, as to the probability of its containing coal, or other minerals. They, however, may be hidden in the greatest profusion within the bowels of this county forever, if more effectual Bb 4 trials trials to discover them, should not be made than have hitherto been, which have not exceeded the depth of the Fas Ph W CilS,‘ ¥ e 7 e 7 y° Coals and other minerals cannot in this, as they do in mountainous countries, lie exposed on the surface, which, aided by well-digging, has bee igin of mi every country. It is well known that there are coals under St. Leo- agnout thirty-three mues trom Sh cet oO: Fan oar Emery Den rhe SC) fat renee a Rear z London; and I have been told of coal haying been found near Cranley, at about the same A canal following the. border: Leatherhead and Dorking, and through by Crawle y TO yd be the ertay 1 mean| eee)[pe ey DY aewicy, wouid be the certain means of WOrkKINg these mines to the great emol AMENC of every person concerned. A note}' Gael aseacaaeyal IP Be UE ope Si ¢ 4) NOt 1M. One. or-the: TEbuRneG SX EPOTTS SAN Sete I am Se(ie oh Cal aos Z cys a. 1.: «¢ informed there are coals on Finchley-common, near 6 Muswell-hill,” RCADS,. 393 / AS CONNECTED WITH, OR AFFECTING AGRICUL} ~ TURE Cty vo i= 1 found SIDR 5) DARA BS Mole, by eine THE turnpike roadsin Middlesex bear evident marks Ae of their vicinity to a great city. Scattered villas, and the manner of a continued, and rather ae ite village, are erected on one, or both sides of the roads, for three, five, or seven miles out of London. ‘he foot-paths are thronged with passengers, and the car- riage-ways with horses, carts, waggons, chaises, and gen- tlemen’s carriages of every description. This county is interse€ted by the three most frequented turnpike roads in the kingdom, namely, the great western road, the gre‘eat north road, and the eastern, or Harwich road; as also by many others of less note. oe 1g Be eee ee most perfect repair, is an obje of the highest importance: fr until canals, or inland navi« gation, become general, the supply! the markets, and the price he ee 4 Fs pl f S77 eae> Of}€VEFYyY ATLICLE, Wilk DE in Some measure Pro portioned to the state of the reads over which ti, ey‘hes we to pass in their way Bad roads require a greater number of horses to draw any given weight over them, than would be necessar ry for the conveyance of the same wv eight over good ones; which extra-draught must be saa for by increasing t the price of the article to the consumer, The PTER Ne 304 ROADS. The same number of horses which, over Jad roads could only bring a scanty supply of the produce of the country from a small distance, it on good roads, con- t vey amore abundant supply, and from greater distances: which will reduce the price of the necessaries of life in London, rather advance them in distant counties, and have a happy tendency towards equalizing the prices be- tween town 2 and country. 1 ep£| Re| On a nS Ea Rees i Oo tne improvement or tne roads(comparea with the state they were 1 forty or fifty years ago), may be buted the present s Se e, cheap, and expeditious conveyance in mail-coaches, in which Britain is: In the ance of passengers, London excels Alle other ils ACES. The rate at which the coaches travel, including alf their stoppages, Is, for the heavy ones, five miles an hour*; the Gatien, six; and mail-coaches seven.‘The differ- ence is not occasioned so much by swift driving as by the constant going on of the mails, contrasted with the useless number of stoppages made by the other coaches. In travelling by any of them, the advertised fare amounts to about two-thirds of the entire expence.‘he other third consists of a variety of small expences and imposi-~ tions, under the name of gratuities, which are demanded of the passengers in such a way ie they in general sub- mit, in order to avoid being grossly affrontedt, The whole expence of this mode of trav he is about six-penc a mile each person.‘The expence of a post-chaise, Stink will carry one, two, or three, amounts to about one shil. * That is, two hundred miles in forty hours, and so of the rest.— 7. AZ. + Mail-coaches are much more free from this charge than the others, though the whole expence of travelling by them is rather higher than the aieey este— jj. rOQ S a rons ¥U Ch “A natal Ot+ t the COn » LU]}~ Ne Ad| ) he Ups 1 he Ve CG in the Nnve< , Cre Most of the parish Nghways in this county, are supe- tior to any other of equal extent, that I have ever seen, They are hard and clean in every sort of‘weather; so / much so, that gentlemen may ride along them, even direCtly after rain, and scarcely receive a splash. The turnpike roads, on the contrary, are, gene rally, very ae although at the toll-gates of this coun ity there is col- ted a very large sum of money, probably not less than es a year; which Is uselessly expended in sinking wells, erecting pumps, building carts, and hiring horses and men, to keep the dust down, by watering, instead of more wisely scraping it eff. By the folly of this prac- tice, the roads are kept many inches deep in mud: whereas, if they were raked and swept clean, winter and summer, there would neither be dust in such quantity as to offend, nor any of the eae obstructions.‘There is now double the draught necessary for conveying g every car- riage on the roads, along a ich there is no riding even in boots and horseman’s coat, during half of the year. The mud indeed is so very deep all ie winter, and so fluid after rain, as to render it unsafe to meet horses, owing to their feet throwing the me not only over an horseman’s clothes, but also into his eyes* The eae road from Eudley through South Mins, is insufferably bad, and disgracetul to the trustees. ‘Lhe es road is of the same description. No ce are taken to lay it dry: all is flat, not a tenth part sufficiently scraped: mud four inches deep after every heavy rain in summer, and nine inches all the winter. ‘The ech gravel is always laid on the e slop, consequently * This is no exaggeration: I have repeatedly experienced the truth of it, —F. M. 3 the mp] A 39? first cart cuts it into ruts, and it remains so all the year round. The only possible means of a carriage get- ting Nees is Py fide in-the ruts. This road has a bea) rustees, w ae seem to a get oe Ae public ae a eh to require, that the money which is taken from them at the toll-gates, should be laid out with economy a The road from Tyburn through Uxbridge, is supposed to have more broad-wheeled waggons pass over it than any other in the county. Therefore, if broad wheels were | wantocenn mn BR ey oe fo) Be eS(|: ne aoe als advantageous to the roads, this would be in high condi- § 5 tion, as it certainly is sufficiently rolled; and it has also + 7 Cae Pena? 1»); he advantage of lying on a bed of gravel. But these, 1 orhe recer> In320eMmM\+“2 emtsrieaNn t I7 eer wf tft na tne present management, are insuficient to keep it in repair. there was but aes JESS TNan Six geet wide, and was eight inches deep in fluid mud. All the rest of the road was from a foot to ei adh 1esive mud. 2 Dri Ray eee oe aeE So t finany£= | hia track was thronged with waggons(many of them < Be Faecal ne[esas and m= h y Een as Nee ees arawh by ten 110i SES, and most of them Navy Ns Droad as) a+ ee Se RR aS] ee BPP bx Se aa PRU ER yaa wheels, even to sixteen inches wide) and farimers’ six- inch-wheel carts, which occupied almost the hae of eRe RY©. Pa Rep Oe sd i ee ET) irae Pe ep ese MR rip a ot this confined space. Tt was therefore with preat dithculty, and some dan OEY that horsemen and licht Car riag g ges could Ouas} o pass pass. poe ROSEN Seer fe ek wn pee Tae ee access eR ees he the whole winter half year. No exertions were made ete iS=: 2a) irae b 1+ SEE Sawaiak towards cleansing it, although an expenditure of such a trifle as twenty pounds, inthe employment of a read-scraper, drawn by one horse, would have effectually kept it clean and dry; and would also have prevented the unnecessary destruction of upwards of three hundred pounds worth of materials 7 haw Se a ¢ ex f3 an] a pred ny, baw q oan! emt 1 oy i re 14 tc= has}—‘) D ba co a[@) Pom! i a px wid at 2 4 rt MH 7 oO. e r} 1 o 3= 5)~: w,“ Ls| rey,~ 2 3 eB$ gs e " i~) J- Ven‘ 4 oy S))—& oral 3 4 ~— a KA> s 5) Ea bY i ¢ ead eri a8) Cl 24 mt r(:D)> Soe“oO AR D} im_C‘@): o-“2=< ee 7 aq ea©| aa Of) es 4[aj-“ G fan}’ S et Pa$* ax a‘a oO& ta a co} + ane= A iat 4=} O CZ) Lach Mrs~ its —«D)‘=- o~=) aarp Os ure| c= ig ot‘oer J a 2 Oc sd Se) Pe 4- a) 72) C 5 Of“~ cc& O c a 59 my 2: 3@ VY O 2 ct 4 7 4) wo* ha tH t 2~ fess,+- os an ae Wetec v‘ Fear a a f estes Par fs Aa“ rm) ay~ hes} 4 i. Ks 3) S) ¢~ ct+ dk r&S—~ a aA 4_ a)\—> rn a Las|{~~ my.©) cs pm a= i J ad=)- A) om co+ a).‘« . ¢= ad) a e A as ja Por 21} hl ~ as-(i Le) Pas Ls 3: Ma Cc 2 a ¥y )—~% ¢ cs s Ma ee.)" an] Pa) a+<) De e ct$ 1 oe pice cs E J#) ye a) tJ:;| © cs@ ao‘ 25) ly a: iy) O> 0) 1)= rf< t ane oe.| of om Ld‘)— 4 4 4) co ad a~~ Q 4 7+ 4‘“~ 2)} x 1— am) p)=< 4.}‘ pecs~ -=,) 2>" ay 7/ 4 cS ae 6= ta e ¢ 5 ax} q) Q 4 R[| ;)=—» > ox c 4 4) 3 r\<— a) bad s[o) = od/.)> ca vant et ESE> 4) pas N-- d oS{ rR~ agar Aa© Fc a a 4) b> B) = Oo-> Nae cy Arg= rae Ne ar a pA as ee>° bey ts~Y Bae ng«+ P are+ 3 rs U iy Fay ope B)=) cs ‘- ¢ rea:’ en As= Ser f 4 to~ 5 a mee~-) F =~©) at t ey a holed rm)=‘+f q) cg ¥(am.) Br ry) ee’ bn f 7 ro) 4 a, y J cles 5) 2 c 4_ J S,>{ 4 3 oad c not“s~ oe| =—>—— 4_€ j > OM f S. ae 22. 9,> oO P. J' 4 X cS ay e ont) D ‘ ae lots pas& 3 a va& C+3‘< S> ts Ne' y ce: a a)> g!=> :=<_- c ee sedan us 4 oy@©— ae) Sean 2)_ * 2:) He d/ N x mem AB) 7° y. r 1B]~_.* Te,) ww P Y BS Sia) das Se Mae $y B) Set atest et eee ar SUS 1 Se SO Te ~~ 4— aw co-< we her les 5“ 4 a 1 ;= on a~ 4 m bt“A ee So 4 7 f=~~) 4 ¢ i f. 4= e pom)> be ey>—. - t 4 CS pnt 2) 4 3 Ee a A) .} 2 a) 4= e 4 ¢‘- Oo pac om>: ee id“det> 4 4 i be whe%+ o> a 98 ROADS. Oy 1 } Highgate and Hampstead hills are a tax, of one horse in every team, on the farmers of Finchley and Hendon side of the county, who are obliged t o drag every load up either one or other of them. It isd ah able too, that every horse and carriage which has to go as far as Barnet, should still be under the necessity of passing in the worst line possible, up the hill to Highgate: it is the more so, as a level line of road, and of less distance, might be made from Islington, passing a little to the east of Hornsey, by Nightingale-hall, along the borders between Middlesex and Herts, rather to the west of East Barnet, so as to join the present turnpike road near the ten-mile stone. Such a line as this would avoid all the hills in the other road, would consequently be travelled in less time, and with more ease to the cattle. Ligh/ hedges and trees adj of the roads, keep them constantly deep and filthy; and should not be } 3 permitted, even in pleasure-grounds. But they are not only suffered in various parts of the ie) ounty to grow 7 Z, ASE foes, a aee y 4 x tile fheages next the roac oO ;: , but to stand on the borders of the road, between the fence and the carriage-way, encroach- zu2 on the DASSO and Gripping over it. Every live hedze (s vi o} iG} J, fs awe) q a q ND, J adjoining@ road ought to be clipped, and no wood allowed Layp) tpt higher than fot UY or jive feet me No plantation ought to.be placed so near the roads as to occasion wet and damps, by preventing the sun and wind = 7 z ieee Lae ex I its mola Pas are from MaAUINE tHlelr aue C/{CCLS. IN€ar London, planta Ti0NS &} ee BS peg os PAM ocd| Os Caner eee Ny ees Up close to, or at only a small distance from the roads, afford eat Jie ci SS eae hide BA aes=: a harbour for highwaymen and footpads, until they have a YL~ ais A a, i ining county, namely, at Streatham, avery large old elm ndsin the center of a turnpike road, and others on each side of it; and, vas not sufficient, the road is unnaturally raised, and illshaped, as alia if it were intended to complete the nuisance. See East York, quarto, p. 25, and the Rey. Bate Dudley’s letter, in the Appendix to Vancouy proper hh.) Se 3 P: act wfonN]-‘ aad Ape BrOper ¢ yp rtunity fo rush out on thell 3; ana jo : MOUSe-( Alyse Aems 2 oak" ¢ r 4 x), Ree J/ 4 fd-‘ 7a Lh aos ay Oo Seeatatt j\r t7 ti1] i f1E OP Ttunity o1rers Tor fak i 5 4) IP er} VC PE&' fi mineee AIL CaS£ Vr) LAC MLOUTS:€? a 1 1 VW 7} sys= a V+ Xt f yt‘ lixr ¢ 1++ ah i ne writel on Whéel-cartl 5 USUALLY Treat That SUD- weer 9 eat]=} ey Seer a Lo] L Eo FOGE Sas: da 1€ Ol C69| Ofit W C Ot od DY AT iC=- J> J } 1 1 j tion bet: the DOX and axie-tree. r“7,.) 7 + 1 wees of Pn er So a rag be tt LL Le i WeVEls ill I qalirerent manne tne mmMon Wi iS appears fo be Of 1 1 CO LT i iit ia A wl» to - Se nee« Y Pal int> € I iEGoas LION aione I( wou 1i0St pro- four can ¢ the usual roads*. ' cs} 1 ore quar tel OLE. GEG 2 Z V1 by ATC L/ OL/ILEY L/1Kr EE ae“toye q ECs oP Mm Shia nate s%~ x a er I Seri| Guarters aTIS€e{trom the oa cles, SO COMMON ON Most oj; the BRAG ren eee een ten abn Duiot eienn James er tapes r 7, reaas in the south rNCMAaANC, J} MUA, GAUSE, LOOSE SGKA be done, as before c hinted, by well scraping them both in summer and winter. If the roads near London were men Vit 1 SA my ms SS with ironstone, * On the waggon-ways belonging to the coal-works in the north of land, one small horse usually« a Waggon containing 2 tons, 13 cwt. of coal; which is more th he same] could do over the turnpike roads of this county.— fF, JZ, or Z Pc BEL? eg a eee: ee a 400 ROADS. Or granite, or even with some kinds of limestone, one good coat of such materials would, in a short time, render them almost eee etrable to wheels moderately loaded, and the ey would suffer but little injury from the grinding A) a. Pes) oO h fs—e nen) Be apa pact SN A Sm oon ey rare 3 of wl ICCiS more heavily buy ACHEaA. Consequently the roads made in this-manner, would be nearly clean: both in 3 y 5 SHIMMEr ana v6 winter, and VETY little scrapine be HECESSGTY. 1 rey: Every y hear y showey WOU 1 WaS/i Liem Clean, and QHL CO; z Tigacy bs), 17 7 To tg eee Lewin ein oey Bay AY ee Firs Mie(HOS Pa) nee fident the at tivo florses Would be able to do all the 7 oad Work tngine apy aie tpn st OUY UNAEY THe present } 7 y that CaN DE Aone oY Roads regularly formed, and coated with such materials, almost everiasting in their nature, and provided with a sufhcient drainage to convey the water that will, fron Heir striy} c adily rn SE epoulA f~/on19 their cons aacbon: SO reaaguy run off, would be clean and pleasant in all seasons: add to this, a general use of single-horse carts; and road horses would soon, very soon, be reduced to less than one half their present num- ber. With regard to the expence of procuring granite,&c. (which I would observe, ought to be broken into pieces of about the size of hens’ eggs, before it be spread on any road) it cannot be any very serious object in places accom- modated with either a salt water, or river navigation, nor to countries where they have had the superior sense to introduce canals; and where the persous concerned are obstinate enough to restrict the Ps: tion of canal navi- gation, they ought to be compelled, at< ents, to make their roads good, and BP them seen. the former can only be done by emplc ye ing such substances, as: granite, ironstone, limestone,&c.; and the means I have above specified will ensure the ee such roads, will oe) ~ $ $3 The great original expence of 1 be sufficiently counterbalanced by their much longer dura- tion, h ‘oak ra RIVERS AND CANALS, 401 tion, and the trouble fully compensated by the superior pleasure in travelling over them*, SECT. If, RIVERS AND CANALS, THE river Thames is rendered famous by the port of London, in every commercial part of the world; and js navigable, for ships, to London-bridge, and, for barges, along all the southern borders of this county. The Lea, on the east, 1s navigable from the Thames near Blackwall towards Tottenham, about eight miles, where a canal navigation quits that river, and runs nearly parallel to it through the meadows of Totten- ham, Edmonton, and Enfield, accommodating the whole eastern border of the county with a water-catriage to Hertford on the north, and London on the south. This canal is generally understood not to bea very profitable concern to its owners, which may easily be accounted for, by its being entirely deficient in side branches, of which it ought to have one to Tottenham, another to Edmonton, and a third to Enfield, in this county. Also one to every town and large village near to either side of it. Possibly, indeed, it ought to be extended to'a much greater distance into the country, as the best means of * For the manner of working granite, and the durability of it, see Dr. Anderson’s Report of Aberdeenshire, p, 209,&c.—Dumbarton, p. 9; and let it be remembered what large quantities of it have been used in the paving of London streets, over which, I well know, the draught is less than half what it is on the roads of Middlesex and Surrey.—%, J, cg accom- | Saas 402 RIVERS AND CANALS. accommodating the public, and of enriching the pro- prietors. The river Colx enters this county on ide extreme horth- west corner, and on the borders of Hertfordshire, in two or three natural channels, in which manner it gently flows along the west side of the county to near Longford and Colnbrook, where it is subdivided into six branches: the three principal continue their separate courses along the west border of the county, till they join the Thames a short distance west of Staines. A fourth branch winds its way from near Longford, by Staines through Little- ton, to the Thames‘between Shepperton and Sunbury. A fifth branch from near Longford, till it joins the river Cran, near the powder-mills on Hounslow-heath; and a sixth, from near Longford, passes near Stanwell, over Hounslow-heath, through Hanworth, Bushey, and Hamp- ton-court parks.‘The three last He branches, flow through a large traét of level barley soil, at only from one foot to five below the surface; which might with perfect ease(as far as water and proper levels are concerned) con vert all this distri€t into water-meadow. The river Brent rises in Hertfordshire, and winds through the very centre of this county to the‘Thames at Brentford. The Cran, a small river, again divides the western half of the county nearly in two equal parts. There are many other rivulets and small streams, all of which are suffered to quit the county w ithout contributing to the support of cattle and man by irrigation. Sir Hugh Middleton’s canal, called the New River, takes its rise in a large bason of wholesome water at the foot of. a chalk-hill, almost close to the turnpike road between Ware and Hertford, nineteen miles from London, in a straigl ne RIVERS AND CANALS. 403 straight line; from which place it winds its way in an extraordinarily circuitous manner, through East Middle- sex, and arrives at London after a course of thirty-six miles. e Exclusive of the great quantity of very excellent water ut which this canal supplies to the inhabitants of London, NM it also does the same to houses the whole of the way along fe its borders, and is the chief ornament of this side of a the county. It has, by its. beauties and use, contributed i greatly to increase the value of all landed property adjoin- C- ing to, or near its borders, which is now mostly occupied i by genteel villas, and pleasure-grounds, to the extremity of ue the county, and in a much greater proportion than any da other part of it. It probably has trebled the value of many rer thousand acres of land, by its inducing wealthy citizens p- to become purchasers of the ground through which its W waters beautifully glide. By enlarging this canal near e Ware, so much as to receive most or all of the water + which now runs to waste down the river Lea, and gra- \< dually reducing it all the way to Islington, and by having proper water-gates to accommodate the occupiers of As neighbouring lands, many thousand acres might be irri- 5 at gated between this canal and the river Lea, which river would be a natural and effectual drain to carry off the half surplus water. The Grand Jrm@tion canal, just finished to the extent Hof of this county, from Brentford passes through a rich corn Bie district near Hanwell, Norwood, Harlington, West a Drayton, Cowley, Uxbridge and Harefield. It is al- ie ready of great importance to the lands through which ‘4 it passes, and particularly to the market of Uxbridge, i” and’ will daily increase in its consequence as it ex- : CCa tends —!.=. 3— eae eren eae— TT 404 RIVERS AND CANALS. tends, till it reaches Braunston, in a length of ninety miles*. * The first lock is at Brentford, and the rise= S20 The second at half a mile-----] 8 The third at half a mile further-:-- Tegepce ———~- ft. in Denny) The fourth at three quarters of a mile fur a ‘The fifth adjoining the last----- fae The sixth ditto--~--- ToserO ‘The seventh ditto---- L- Io“0 Theeighth ditto---=. to. fo The ninth ditto-=--== eae The last six are placed nearly together, and rise 32..¢ The tenth at a quarter of a mile, and rises-= i eaat ‘The eleventh very near ditto---- fe TG he twelfth at Cowley, six miles from the last, and rises 6 0 The thirteenth at Uxbridge, two miles further-- 5 6 119.1 G The fourteenth at Harefield-moor, andrises== TIE The total rise in Middlesex is Tele a. Farther on, the locks are placed nearly half a mile distant from each other. Time—eight hours to Uxbridge; and six hours on the return. Vessels of 7o tons have passed, hut 60 is the s ated size—drawn by two horses. From Heston to Cowley, a perfect level, the canal is about 3o feet wide; under the bridges only 15; the path 7.—Slopes and banks from 30 to$0, or about 50 feet on each side: together 137 feet wide. five feet in depth, on loamy he cut shewed the soil to be a most fertile loam of from one t o 8 flinty gravel, six or eight feet; then blue strong earth; the timber mostly elm; some oak, mostly pollards. “6 The following tolls are payable on the ma ‘¢ Time and limestone one‘halfpenny per‘ton per mile.—Cattle, sheep, swine, and other beast; sand, fuller’s-earth, pig-iron, pig-lead, and coal, one penny per ton’per mile—Coke one penny-farthing per ton per mile— Flint; and other stones, bricks, tiles, slates, ironstone, and all kinds-of manure(except lime), three farthings per ton per mile, a RIVERS AND CANALS. [his canal seems to be on a very ;* Si ogee| pensive ntity of earth ew ea| ep it 1s also l¢ TE ail oo C40 AkhoU 10 pnd hv tha aPane donec oreat deal aid DY that means does a great aeéali it has been left of farmers have sloped he top, which in 1 rat 1(le 7= eee es|. lessens the loss of land. It is as wide again YL : en seeis Ne ee eT. as at tn DIIages. Of coul SC 5 all the 1 Ts 7 WS| A et ba si BA boats that can pass under the bridges have room enough 7 3 1 to go Dy each othe c J money expended times more I than they will be in the present case} and t might have had about three times as much interest for their money as they will now have. Again, they might have made their canal, for one fourth of the present ex “* All other goods, wares and meichandize whatsoever, three halfpence per ton per mile.—Fra€tions of a mile taken for a whole mile. In addition to the e, one halfpenny per ton is payable to the com- ny for every article passing from the Thames into the canal, or from the ““ And a further additional toll of two-pence per ton, is payable to the y for all articles passing upon any part of the varied line of the canal, Watford, and within the parishes of Abbot’s-Langley, K ing’s-Lan Rickmansworth, in the county of Herts. ““ When any goods shall pass any lock at times when the water shall not such lock, the company are authorized td “Cattle, sheep, swine and other beasts; sand, fuller’s-earth, pig-irony pig-lead, and coke, three halfpence per ton per mile.—Lime and limestone; coal, flint, and other stones; bricks, tiles, slates, ironstone, and all manure (except lime), one penny-farthing per ton per mile.—Besides the tolls of one two-pence per ton, for to and from the Thames, 2 rt 20(n Bricks are every where ready(being made near the sides of the canal), penditure, wo 406 RIVERS AND CANALS. penditure; of sufficient dimensions to do an hundred times more business than it has now on hand. Canals, calculated to navigate much smaller boats than any which have fallen under my observation, even down to ten tons, might be made at a very reduced expence; and after certain leading ones were executed, every man of considerable landed property would find it to be his interest to make a small canal through his estate, at leas capable of floating boats of five tons, which would be equally convenient for bringing manure, and to carry away the produce. In all the marsh and fen districts, most of the present sewers would only want a little cleans- ing to fit. them for this purpose. The extension of canals may become the most powerful means of promoting general cultivation. Good roads are certainly very essential, and I think canals are at least equally so, in an agricultural view. On the best roads, produce and manure can seldom be carried more than ten miles with profit, at the present price of horse-keep: but 2f canals were as numerous as roads, corn, hay, manure, Ge. could be sent to every part of Britain without using more road than the towing paths, and to ten times the former distance without increasing the expence. A general canal scheme, would tend to equalize the price of every article in life more than all other things put together. It would afford the cheapest, the safest, and speediest conveyance of every article that might be too bulky and heavy for stage and mail coaches.‘he bene- fits would be universal in this island. The inhabitants of London and its environs would be infinitely more plenti- fully and cheaply supplied by canals, than by any system of roads whatsoever.‘The remoter parts of this, and every other county, would be placed more on terms of equality with those that are near, and every other part of the 1s a cs ee Sa fT RT OR Has=a Toa RIVERS AND CANALS. 4079 the island might reap advantages which may be foreseen, but which are much too great for calculation*. Canals and irrigation m1 igh it be made the means of f cultia tt vating every inch of this island, except rocky ground and mountain tops, and these ought t 9 be planted t. I shall only further observe on this head, that of two methods of raising the money for making canals, the one which seems to deserve the preference, is the mode by which turnpike roads«are usually provided for, instead ef entrusting it to the management of intereste sd companies. The latter method is exceptionable, from its creating a perpetual charge on all goods sent by that conveyance, without regarding the money expended, or the interest it may ultimately produce, which is a very imprudent bar gain for the public in this country, where population, trade, manufactures and commerce, are so much upon the increase. * Since writing the above, I was happy to find that Dr. Smith corroboe rates my opinion, as follows: “© Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expence 6 of carriage, put the remoie parts of the country more nearly upon a levek ¢* with those in the neighbourhood of the town. They are, upon that aca ‘° count, the greatest of all improvements.’’—Smith’s Wealth of Nations. +‘© The encouragement which has of late been given to the opening new 6¢ communications through the country, by making navigable canals in dif. s¢ ferent parts of it, tends very considerably to facilitate the improvements of “© waste lands, and all poor soils, for they introduce abundance of lime, «© chalk, marl, and manures, to all places through which they run.” In such a county as Middlesex, the canals are equally beautiful and useful; even the prolonged course of the New River is the means of increasing the beauties of the county.— 7. M. It is probable that canal navigations will be improved and extended so as to supply London with milk from more distant places than have yet been thought of for that purpose: it is now brought in carts from distances of two or three miles; it may then be brought in boats from places of ten or twenty miles.— 7. 1. For more, and for the best method of making canals, see Dr. Anderson’s Report of Aberdeenshire; and Mr. Fulton’s Treatise on Canals. cc 4 Had 408 FAIRS. MARKETS, Had Blackfryar’s-bridge been built over the Thames by é an interested company, the toll would have continually increased; and would probably by this time have drawn from the public thirty per cent. per annum. But, more wisely, it was built by borrowing money at five per cent. all of which has been paid off by the tolls; and the bridge has been free from impost during the last eight or ten years. In this manner canals ought to be made, and in- creasing traffic would soon make them free. Putney and Kew bridges, I believe, have been built by interested companies, are created the freehold of the parties, and of course the tolls are a perpetual charge on the pub- lic, and increasing annually. On the cther plan, these bridges would have been free many years ago, SECT. III.——-FAIRS. THERE are about ten fairs held in this county annu- ally, at various places, from the beginning of May till the end of November, for the sale of cattle; six for the hiring of servants; and four or more for the sale of toys. / SECT. I1V.—MARKETS. Iw the country part of this county, there are nine weekly markets held, namely, at Barnet on Monday morning; at Southall and Finchley on Wednesday; at Uxbridge, Brentford, Hounslow, and Edgware, on Thurs- day; at Staines on Friday; and at Enfield on Saturday. At Uxbridge-market a great deal of corn is sold, and there is a large public granary over the market-place, for the a PETS MARKETS., 409 the purpose of depositing it from one week to another.— At Hounslow-market there is a considerable show of fat cattle; such of which as are not disposed of there, are sent on to SMITHFIELD-M ARKET, in the city of Londen, which is famous for the sale of bullocks, sheep, lambs, calves and hogs, every Monday; and again, though in a less degree, on Friday. On the latter. day there is also a market for ordinary horses. This is the only public market within the bills of mor- tality, for the sale of live cattle. The following is an account of the number of black, or neat cattle, and sheep, annually brought for sale to this market, from the year 1731 to 1795, being 63 years; which I have divided into seven averages of nine years each, namely, Years. Cattle. Sheep. 1732 46,21 514,700 1733 80, 169 555050 1734 43,310 566,g1¢ 1735 53,394 599,979 1736 87,606 537,420 1737 89,862 607,330 1733 87,010 589,470 1739 86,737 568,980 1740 84,810§01,020 Average 83,906———564,650 1741 wat. 530,180 1742 79,001 503,260 1743 79,475 408,120 1744 76,648 490,620 1745 44,188 563,990 1746 415502 620,790 1747 71,150 621,780 Years. mere SpE AIO Vears. 1748 1749 Average 1750 ¥75I 1752 F753 5754 E755 ¥756 F757 1758 Average 1759 1760 1764 1762 1763 1764, 1765 1766 1767 Average 1768 1769 1770 r77t 1772 A113 1774 1) 1776 Average MARKETS. Cattle. Sheep. 67,681 610,060 72,706 624,220 740194 559,891 72795 656,340 69,589 631,890 435408 642,100 759252 643.440 79437 631,350 74,290 647,100 77257 624,710 82,612 574,960 84,252 55,930 75935% 623,091 86,439 582,260 88,594 622,210 82,514 666,010 102,831 772,160 80,851 653,110 75,168 556,360 81,630 537,000 759534§74:790 779324 574,050 83,432 615,328 79,660 626,170 82,131 642,910 86,890 649,090 93573 631,860 89,503 609,540 90,133 609,740 90,419 585,290 93,581 623,950 98,372 671,700 89,362——-—-627 Sos Years. I MARKETS. ALS 1744, 93,714 714,070 1779 97,300 658,540 1779 979352 676,540 1780 102,383 706,350 1781 102,543 7431339 1782 101,170 728.970 1783 101,040 701,610 1784 98,143 616,110 1785 99,057 641,470 Average— 99,285 687,583 1786 2,270 665,910 1787 94,946 668,570 1788 92,029 679,100 1789 93,209 693,700 1790 103,70¢ 42.9,660 I7Q1 99,938 729,800 1792 107,263 752,559 1793 116,488 729,010 1794 109,064 717,999 Average 101,075———707,450 1 have not been able to procure an account of the nume« ber brought to Smithfield in 1795 and 6, but I am pretty sure it must be greater than that of the preceding year, on account of the unusual advance in the price of animal food having occasioned a very large quantity of lean cattle to be prematurely sent to market. These have, for the most part, been bought up for the supply of the national Vidtualling-office. In the above account it may be seen, that the supply has been advancing with some degree of regularity both in the number of cattle and sheep, during the last forty-five vears."Lhe number of cattle now sent to market, is more by 412 MARKETS, by 26,881, than it was forty-five years ago; and of shecp 147,565. And as it is a matter of general notoriety, that the cattle and sheep of En igland have also been graduall ly and progressively Increasing in their individual weight, owing partly to the attention paid of late years to the im- provement of the breed, and partly to their being much better fed now than formerly, and indeed much better than they could possibly have been before the inttoduGion of turnips and clover, it is not perhaps an unreasonable, or unfounded conjecture, to suppose that the increase in point of weight, has kept pace with the advance in respect to numbers, during the aforesaid period. If so, it will fol- low that, including number and weight, the annual in- crease in forty-five years is, in neat cattle, Ep wale of 72 per cent. and in sheep near 53. Upon the whole, I think I can safely affirm, that, including all the other sup- plies of animal food, and considering that they also, as well as cattle and sheep, come to market much better fed, and consequently much increased in weight, above what they were forty-five years ago, the consumption of the metropolis is at this time full one half more than it; then*. To attempt to state the amount of all the various articles produced from the soil, which are sold in this extensive metropolis, and appropriated to supply the daily wants of the inhabitants, would not only open a field for inves gation, far too wide and extensive for the lj: nits of this * The following is a comparison between the weight of bullocks,&c. as it was one hundred years ago, and as itis at the present time, viz. 100 Years ago, Now. Bullocks, at an average, weighed= 370 Ibs. 800 Ibs. Calves, ditto“ache apts are 50 140 Sheep, ditto PT aie AON Ty ae eee 28 80 Patnbs Witton=o. ote ae ee 13 50% M work, i 4 t “st MARKETS. 413 work,| vicht certainly be done to more advantage work, but migat certainly be Gone nore advantage, Sans“ spate ES 1:: should any one have the spirit to undertake to draw up a particular account of the supply and consumption of Lon- don, world by Mr. Maitland, in his History of London, in the in all its various branches, such as was given to the year 1725 ai In this pl may be sufficient for me to state, that Sean ( 1? ace i the annual consumption of London is somewhere about 110,000 head of neat cattle, and 770,090 sheep; and to f add, that any person, possessing some degree of judgment and at the same time the desire of looking at a great variety of live stock, cannot perhaps spend a few hours more satisfactorily, than in examining the market at Smithfield. He will there very soon discover, that, for want of a greater attention to the excellence of breed, both in neat cattle and sheep, a very larve propor tion of the produce é ye of the soil of Great Britain is wasted in producing bones and offal, instead of meat. It is indeed astonishing that men, at jeast in the present day, should with so much difficulty be prevailed on to breed beef and mutton, in preference ta f i 4 7] ZL 4 5 Horns, skins Ana vones. Leadenhall-Market—is the greatest in London, for the illed meat, andis the only skin and leather ] ray ae OR OW eer Sere eer JO ae market within the Dilis OF mo! tality. Newsate-/Market—isthe second great place for country- led meat: and at both Leadenhall and Newgate mar- kets, are sold pigs and poultry killed in the country, to- * My intention was to have dwelt more at large on the markets of Lon- don; but my application to the Lord Mayor(Brook Watson, Esq.) and his officers, procured no information: the former affected want of knowledge 3 nd the latter would not furnish any extracts from their books, without a fee, as well as paying the c pying clerks. - gether oS ee opt“ a sip a LS Spe fe Fi ae:———— a—— — 4X4 MARKETS. gether with fresh butter, egos,&c. to an astonishing amount. The two last, and many other coker, are held ' daily. Smithfield, Newgate, and Leadenhall Market is—supply the butchers round London almost en itirely, and to the distance of twelve miles; partly indeed to twenty miles* It is a general opinion among the butchers, that they can buy live cattle in Sinithfeldichecy ver than af any other place, Zhe cattle exposed for sale at this market, ae been ee until they are empty, weary, wasted, and foot sare, and con= ay shew to a great disadv vantage: so much so, that graziers who have followed their cattle, especially sheep, mithfield, iba do not knew their own stock, and cules they have been shewn to them, they were shocked at the dew teriorated appearance of them. If they should not then be sold and slaughtered, the wasting would continue so much, that it would require several weeks of rich food to raise them to their former fatness. The bullocks and sheep drove to the London markets are not only over-heated by the journey, but they are also often most savagely beaten with bludgeons, goaded with dart ts, and hocked about their legs in the market during perhaps ten hours, and then drove to the slaughter-house(if they have the good luck to escape thieves in the charaGters of bullock-hunters), and kuocked down while their blood is yet an that inflamed state, and their flesh bruised. Such meat must be very detrimental to the health and longevity of man, Much better is that which is killed in the country without * At Seven Oaks, in Kent, and at Hounslow and Islington, in Middle. Sex, are sales of fat bullocks a day or two, weekly, before Smithfield. market, at which many are sold. But they sink to nothing when compared bo the sales at Smithfield.— 5%. AZ, driving, MARKETS. Ais driving, when the animal is in full health, and sent to Newgate and Leadenhall in clean and cool packages. If this could be done by all, it would remove a great nuisance from London, would probably improve the health of its inhabitants, and would certainly prevent many, and some- times fatal accidents. The Fish-Market—is held every morning at Billingsgate, where all the dealers are served very early. First, those who keep shops in various parts of the town; and next, the hawkers, who during the forenoon cry them through every street. This market receives a considerable portion of its sup- ply of fresh fish by land-carriage, from every distance within the limits of England, and part of Wales. Much is also brought from the sea up the Thames in boats: some even from Norway and Newfoundland, as well as inter- mediate distances*. The quantity of dried and pickled salmon, of cod, herrings, and shell-fish, is also very great. The whole probably amounts to about one-sixteenth of the beef and mutton. There is also one Corn-/arket, and that is held at the Corn-Exchange, in Mark-lane, principally every Mon- day, but ina less degree every Wednesday and Friday.—~ I should here have been glad to have subjoined an account of the quantity of grain disposed of in this market; but after repeated solicitations both to the Lord Mayor and his officers, I have not been able to procure such an account, and[ am therefore reluctantly obliged to content myself vith merely stating that such a market does exist, and at which of course an immense trafic 1s carried on; but * Packed in ices with i he ool 4 : ‘ re t 416 MARKETS. with regard to the extent of such trade, or any othe: particulars, I must refer my readers to such persons, if there be any such, as are both able and willing to inform them. The Coal- Exchange stands in Thames-street, where the great dealers buy and sell. But the consumers are not per- mitted to buy here, owing to the dealers having obtained a completely infamous monopoly of the market. The annual quantity sold is about 600,000 chaldrons*. ‘There ave three public markets for hay and straw in this county, namely, Whitechapel, Smithfield, and St. James’s; all of which are held every Tuesday, Thurs- day and Saturday. London is also in part supplied with the same articles from a market held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in Southwark+. Vain Hay is all sold by the load of 36 trusses, each truss weighing 56lb. except new hay, which weighs 6olb. till the 4th day of September; and afterwards 56lb. only: by which regulation a load of new hay, till the 4th of Bf September yearly, weighs a ton, and after that day only 4a tS cwt. Hay is sold daily in large quantities at the different hay- markets in London, Westminster and Southwark; anda regular book is kept by the clerk of each market, for the inspection of the public, mentioning the names of the * A chaldron of coals, as delivered to the consumer, is thirty-six heaped bushels, but it is a much larger measure between the ship:owner and the dealer, and even to such consumers as buy five or more chaldrons at a time: an allowance is then made in the term izgraiz, which increases the chal- dron to full forty bushels.—%. 4. + The barracks on Hounslow-heath furnish a ready market to the farmers in that neighbourhood for their hay, straw and Oats, as well as a fund from which to obtain a supply of manure. In this neivhbourhood some farmers sell their hay and straw to jobbers, who take it at the barn door, alter the weight of the trusses, draw it away in their casts, and re-sell it— 7. MW, ——= epee ese: SF ia x s Seas 417 thy. SE ls y a es 1 Seale 4- 1a rice i if the buyer, the salesman, and the price of i 5: EE LY Te 1¢ best meadow is principally bought for the Lact oie 2 the coach horses, at from Ay ‘-stable keepers, coach- to five guineas. . rm+ 1= r af> ges be Soe|* =“Enis m h intended to secure a fair and ho 3 but it fails, almost entirely, of effecting so good a purpose. it. made by the salesmen to the clerk of the market, and they genegally make =n I s below t they really s it for, of which sums they IS 1 ra t ers 3 for over them the farmers have no other check than the é arent one o1 ing tO EVery buyer to enquire what he gave for such and lay such loads of hay. Tis is impossible to be done; nor would it succeed, ) sf e ; it po ther, the salesm sliver their accounts at the end of the season to the farmer, one, two, or three loads of hay short of the SS aétual number, which they are enabled to do, by daily sending loads of hay , per 9 DAVE DOES] Carl]) 72 it La stop in thé e Chus they defraud f his is they do not enter these loads in his b farmer is deprived of the evidence f of their havi hay.—Hence tl arly wrong him of some of di ti ids: in the farmer 1 eat re The trans« ay eae] Sy ay, pale 2;-” P 2 pla verad a vrite; his memory Sit 72: 7 ft} lace O t Lh LSU IHR if ma ies ppez es in ten L pas co other ré-« s c te j j is load or 1 of hay his y, and be served in the same manner 1 th af the salesmen also 1 the “Bs ge bought by grooms, ostlers, ands take itin 3 t! rom the sales: load, hiicl v them either t nat e 1ount in price to their master, or to itin kind from the r as aped the whole of this rt may, seem t it is ft ell é known at'the Pu office in Bow-st eet ne The convessations which I: have had with graziers and butchers, leave ale no doubt 1 1, of the salesmen in Smithfield being equ: able: an are even much worse. Of the market I hav) experience. : The legislature is the only power which is equal to providing a remedy for 0=:\ this evil. I hope such a measure will , Board of riculture, and perhaps /¢ shou/a t y wed and JOY JAUDTULY CXE S ia pes ) The = ety 5. 7s~ es——=— 3 a mre ee—_ oe—— oe ical«eal a o —— ee aon a Sei SS 418 MARKETS. The hay of rye-grass and clover, mixed, 1s genera bought by coach-masters,&c. for ordinary draught horses. Sainfoin and clover-hay is generally bought for the o oO brewers, distillers, and carmen’s horses, for the rack, and guineas and for cutting it into chaff, at from five to SIX a half. Che straw from different kinds of grain brought to the London matkets, is sold by the load, which consists of 36 trusses, of 361b. each. Wheat straw is generally used in the stables, for bedding of horses. Rye straw is used by brick-makers, to cover their hacks, by collar-makers, and for packing. Barley straw for packing, and by gardeners.- Oat straw is also used for packing, and the winter support of cattle, as saddle- horses in straw-yards,&c. Bean straw serves to litter farm-yards and farmers’ stables. Pea straw and tare straw to feed farmers’ horses in the stables, and saddle-horses in straw-yards. There are the same re — 08 with respect to straw as for some time past, has been from 25s. to 4 riicwt. and glb. COMMERCE. 419 SECT. V.-_-COMMERCE. THe ensuing abstract of the imports into, and the 3 sports from, the port of London, is made up from the th day of Ja- nuary 1795, but differs, with regard to the value, from public accounts for one year, ending the fe 7 accounts; in which the price is estimated on data established many years ago, when the articles of com- >xported were not rated at above halt a i} co Oo ) Ou oO ] the sum they now fetch, exclusive of duty. ‘“« Tc is therefore to be understood, that the following i¢') A oT imate 1s made upon the data of the present value, as nearly as it can be ascertained. It exhibits a very asto- nishing piciure of the immense opulence and extent of the commerce of the metropolis; and accounts, in a very satisfactory manner, for the vast resources of the country, gice mm which have been manifested in so eminent a de a yl Naw i eZ dNG S ~ = ee—— al a—— = é sr zs | De} West Indies fa Me Oritish V¥€st L11Gico oe A. ae oan a3 2RO4.AT2 12 : British American Colonies e BOW A12 63 C Tarcex aS et= Ql 26 I 2, % Jersey 91,93 iis aes --~ 12,044 TO> 6 Pe an Pas Saree LEY ra a:~ ee T0902 ter 2 2 fs OC c Q luding East Indies-- 9,910,950 2 10 ~ i) fe) Carry forward£297 S579 2.94 J~ 4 r) ohn So RT \ +44 e e Countries. Value of Imports into i London. srought forward.-- 10,765,570 9 10 “ é-= 82,107 1) Oo : us“=+1,205:012 157. 6 24 2~=,» 1,070,004 10°© ze a ae= 044,010 3 re) i fi e ae 4.479 16 8 eS.: Sette 0,702" 10. 10 TON G4 nt a= a, 1.00750 ft) Ji wv z Pa nee Toa. ee v2 10 2) PD) s==<%5086,307 19. A eo= a“ T f eter| 9 0 a\ Jo& y/@) ad GRAN ies epee ee SA ie Genera Ue? ry 5 Q PAnVULOMAVald= eds ATO Os 100 i Peery Pe d ports fo Value of Exports Svom the Port of London to Foreign re Paris. S Foreign Merchandize. AIX British ManufaGures. \o (ee) “I w) 19,012 12 6 . 4 4 Q QQ46 72 a 24,998 6 10 O.000 lo 8 Je Pay oO GN I I 9 3. 4 Oo 14 re) 17 A. i {2257 Banh no 6{[.19. cr6e4Q2 4 f+O3 Paid GY 15/ 4,°4499 5°49 9 4*} . bs) Pl SEF Seas Bh IVER London to Foreign Value? Parts. rs /_— R Names of the Countries. Value of Imports into Value of Exports from the Port of London ta Foreign i London, Parts.& | British Manufa&iures. Foreign Merchandixe. 5 Tee Seas ies ss d. le pa Gna i Brought forward 25,410,102, 16.3 C021 ,090 315. 4 LZ, 505409 30 4 , Roland ys wre kine nie= 104,978 10 4 4,022 11 10 G7,007, 2 4 ‘ SVedensaigeee oc) eS 262,727 3-4 3845 5 6 111,457 14 4 % ,j«Russia--~-=a 1)200,000)<0) 6 05,510.70. 6 491,244-9 2 i g Denmark and Norway-- 100;200«1-0 147,340 5 II 545,509 19 8 ie) om 2) 2 ah ar s Greenland-~”- 20 7G UAL = United States of America=a i S1i,611 16 8 2,251,200. 125 1 A20,248 9 8 u Deecete Ain 6 s Florida=- z= 7 16,239 16 oO 28,007" O° 3 Oo55 0 0 Foreign West Indies--- 6,240 52° 0 1,707: 13) 10 Se) fo\ame:| : 2= d included in the ace 4 Prize Goods==-- I,5 2,868 ment){ count of each coun- ‘ try. 5) £120;700,470 175 4 1 01,390,530 83 10... 14,200,025 14 G if a‘ | Lo= ars SS, COMMERCE. 423 : RECAPITULATION. @ »:: oe lee Sueuds N The ageregate value of goods imported into London 1n 5 a ee eee ate men& 29,706,476 37 4 0 one yeat--=- eg See y British Manufaétures exported-£.11,396,539 13 8 N Foreign Merchandize do.--- 14,208,925 14 6 iy 25,605,465 8 2 : Value of goods imported in upwards of gooo coasting vessels, averaged{sco° Oo at sool. each-~= Value of goods exported coastways,? in about 7ooo vessels, at Ioool. eas om) each-=== AS ————- II,500,000 0 0 N N Total aniount of property shipped and unshipped in the gas Geeta 4.6 ‘ river Thames in the course of a year, estimated at 2 ae aS, iN Vy Ca. Deen 7a Tent J= s Besides the numerous smali inland cargoes of coals, 5 merchandize, grain, malt, flour, and other articles, laden 3"“ic: eee: : and discharged in the Vhames and the river Lea; and also the tackling, apparel, provisions, and stores of above = 13,500 ships and vessels(including their repeated voyages), \) 1°.~° N which lade and unlade in the course of a year, estimated xy at 3,188,1001. more, making in all seventy m:llions. iN« It is calculated that above forty thousand waggons, : and other carriages, including thei repeated journies, - arrive and depart, laden in both instances, with articles %,= a. cise=: ia sens of domestic, colonial, and foreign merchandize; occasion-. ys.~ 7 ee ay ing a transit of perhaps(when cattle and provisions sent Shy._ Ce on.. rahe rin yates Oss E ce oy for the consumption of the inhabitants are included) fifty ‘“317° tac f: & millions more, making together a sum of one hundred and y twenty millions worth of property annually moving to or aes from London.” 5«© The resources which can move and keep afloat such S a vast commercial system, have never been equalled in * be| any other part of the world. In this port, the amount 1| pd 4 has rd 4 | P =~ Eee ee eer ee 6 SEE SE i s—~—~-~ —— 3 I SS—— 424 CORN TRADE. has been trebled within the last forty-three years, as it *¢ amounted only to one-third of its present extent in the year 1753, and is now equal to three-fifth parts of the whole trade of England.’ The above account and remarks, are extracted from Mr. Colquhoun’s valuable book on Police; and do equal credit to his industry and ability. CORN TRADE. dat vc es% ri rs C ph o ‘¢ The corn trade, both as a manufacture, and an arti- = cle of commerce, au of all others, on the greatest import- ance to the prosperity of the kingdon Abundance of grain at home, ae at a moderate price, ¢¢ can only be obtained, and secured, by giving such libe- ral encouragement to exportation, as may render the rais- ing of corn the favourite object of industry in the kingdom. Thus, instead of purchasing a considerable part of our subsistence from foreign countries, we may, by extending the sale of corn to elicit, increase the demand; and by cultivating the waste lands, be enabled not only to supply ourselves, but to render our country one of the principal granaries of Europe. It is clear that’Great Britain, under proper laws, is capable of increasing her growth of corn to any degree for which demand can be obtained*.” This being the case, open the ports for exportation, and the demand would be. almost unlimited; allow the com- mons to be cultivated, and the supp/y would be certain. What greater injury can be done to these kingdoms, than by suffering upwards of twenty-two millions of acres of land to die uncultivated, and thus to be of less value fd STN oe 2 a ee Se Mee ay 4 * Dirom and Mackie on the Corn Laws—1796. than a RR ge ot nN tac Lou In a manusc William Pultene the often exposed from it would be know1 ner vear bore to the consun n, and also the| * If the sea flowed over all the space now occuple 1 by the co Britain, it would be of real service to the community, both in convenie: to navigation, and in salubrity in regard to health.-—~F. M. +“ The complete improvement and ‘ certainly is the greatest of all public ac ae mw — SS ee i sone mati 426 CORN TRADE. spect of the ensuing crop. If corn was then wanted abroad, our exportations would always produce greater returns, and all intermediate frauds, as to bounties, would be prevented. At present, we often export on bounty, and are obliged to bring back the same grain a few months after at a high price.” Such precaution, under the present system, would pro- bably have the effect ascribed to it by the worthy baronet; but the commerce of the country, and the raising of corn, would be best promoted by making the foreign market as extensive as possible, and by cultivating our waste lands to supply such zucreased demand. I have subjoined some tables recéived from the Custom- house, shewing the quantity of corn and flour imported into, and exported from, the port of London; and also for the whole of Britain. F PORT CORN TRADE.; 424 PORT OF LONDON. An account of the total quantity of wheat, and wheat “ale ae flout 5 ways, from November the commen From Nov. 15,| LOM CCasly| 791 1792 1793 1794 Foreign Fi fomyae 1,1795 o Nov. 1, 1795 F oreign Total Coast-Office, brought into, and carried from this port, coast- the 15th of November 1791, to the ist of 1795, distingui ishing each year, being from cement of the aét of the 31st George III. or regulating the importation and exporta- Brought Coastways. Carried Coastways. Wheat.| Wheat Flour Selemevuneat at Wheat Flour. | lO; Qrs. Bush.| Ors: Bush. Ors. Bush.| Qrs. Bush. Bae GAQ ns 16,056 5 2,005 4 1,146 7 266,070 6 PEE G07 0 22,656 4 8,989 0 230,676 o 109,300 I 33,466 3 ZS oS a+ c cRQ § 220,4Io 2 130,035 3 43,509% 10,500 4 ) 539525 S , 99,541 4 04,279 5 31,270 a2$5131 6 CSIIs03 TZ 3,388 9 1,05f 0 918,592 3 464,669 6 134,612 2 32,014 3 ———— ee a Custom-House, 2 4 Dec. 15, 1795.> AN : Se aa aE i me OE ene; ne - aan aceanaaemannatl eae i C—O oie i (| os — te aca we aalats 8 AAT ATA SyYTATORN NY TTT ro\ T 4 ATS Ports= pa). 6 N PANS OE UIEING OF THE QUA Na ¥Y OF F tN COR OF LONDON AN: THE LASD TE N IMPO IX N YEARS: Ov 5/905 C 2 C& 2 lao, 3 pene ey QI 20 O 8 Z 92—| 50,901, s 7 QO2-—|! Q le] bel ef 2 re) se=vomctde> Healt: 5 a ted eee oy by Sibel ier alk aay ae 2 | CRTESER SE rece ev OROSDRA I EES Poral 1204,601 I 8 | 04, 19 (ee| SES See + Ty Lnspector General’ s CCOUR ANUVUUL TRADE. CORN WN ACCOUNT OF He OUANTILTY- Cr FROM THE sto OF JANUARY, 1788, LIVES i ce i bus 5 ORTED OF JANUARY, 1795, PARTICU- INTO GREAT BRITAIN 1 ra TY ay 1 8 29 Te AY ATT ES Tpeea\et GaN Valin|, LARIZING THE OUANTITIES IN EACH YEAR.: 1 Years.| Barley.| Oats. Oatmeal, Rye. Wheat. Flour.| | a zoidl sil? oe | pei. oe Bus.| Ay: Bus. Qrs; Bus. Ors 3us, Ors. Bus Cwt. qrs. Ib. \17838—| 1iAyo 92| 56 Ulm oc 34.569 7 Sen oagsss 142,046 4 20,071 Satd | 89—| Til 27 ou7 421,780 4(50, AL 14,844 6| 92,397 7i OOF 735 Bal7 WAD On*I¢. 2 AO y 4 Fed AR o> 4| re) es:=| hope yy [17 je) 29,719 9) 18 905,995 42| Z 0,480 ec ZIsO0R 2.3. 4 S200, 01d| tesa 07,9205, 2-12; | Sir 2A ale! Q D5 nk ro rH 2 5 ALY a$ A by hy pt\ | a| 61,134 3| 7533240 4 phe Gi(Oyese 7,| 59,377 Oi 0430 4100.7-0 Teldec ge sd.» | g2—|[10,5204 934,907. 1 29,000. 5| 130208 97, WOVZO ar 2 Fh 8 3 20] | 93—| 147,169 2| 699,459 Oo Oroo1s 2 Cie OO ccteet) 429,350 4.| 21 2,007, ote Ze{ |} i 5 E 7, sg i K% > 2 Q 99° SH 1 9A 5 c io,\o4 C> 79} | 94—| 128,56 3| 846,022 6| 6,661 4| 24,492 5 POHANG GAN lk 1A, b2G) 0123 eee eerere~——---|__|——_——=—— tory la| ra)|\> f i otal|$07,724 0| A TAOS LOl a7 i| 150,74 2 10S,999 2 1,039,545$05,105 oO 22“y Inspeor General’s Office,? Custom-House,' London. > taken in Enemies’ or Neutral iccount contal yreion Corn oO } na md the above AVERAGE {DIA By Gab Geto IN LS Li De a| VeAtS: abe Sbarro ee eke Q[gies ta Na 2027 int o icaeg se mel ano 4|~2Q ee fx le gece O05 a| at U wit elie ra| 1d fe) Oo ne 2 2)4. Q2— 26,744. ea| 744 Cet Psa Qo IuspeStor General’ gs:: a) Cusiom-LHousey Loudon. f \ ) i ise) Cr) a) AN ACCOUNT] OF 2AkE BRITAIN FROM THE QUANTITY OF FOREIGN CORN EXPORTED FROM GREAT sta OF JANUARY, 1788, TO THE stu OF JANUARY, 1795 PARTICULARIZING THE QUANTITIES IN EACH YEAR. “s Years| Barley. Oats.| Oatmeal. Rye. Wheat.| Flour. x} a ae: j sce aa fi R|‘wt[Seek < Qrs. Bus Ors. Bus. Ors. Bus. Ors. Bus Ors Bus Cwt. qrs. lb. ed 7 One| ago) a3 1,204 I O77. 0 ee Pi.442 2 Oe 1/ zi 89—| B00 70 2,058, 0 2) 194 4 2,718 oO 10,019 4 de SC = s$ 2:‘ Q 2 8 rs| G5 10 1,428 0 320 7[ak ats 12,483 2 18 m4 A, by Oo gi—}—~-— 1,coy 6 4) 6 TOG. O PO of 11,954 3 /7 0| 774«5 10,300 2 67 1 1,542 6 AYES See ene | 93—| 172§ 2,429 1 1,095 0 498 6 32,0260 1 en ada|| aan| 775.0 6927.40~~ iy igil ssn lg 1,032 20m Ml e4recg 4.3 oe eae ae oman rs ios a| rR pS| ranean|:| i oe i eigen&) 19,113 0 1,528 3 71363 3| 190,699©| 113,941© 19| — I i-) ate InspeGor General’ s Office, Custam-House, London. > A INT Vr ene, malian Parenter = c ar. E es 434 MANUFACTURES. SECT. VI.—-MANUFACTURES.“ AGRICULTURE may very properly be considered as the art of manufacturing the soil, and unquestionably ranks the high- est in the class of manufactures; since it not only makes a greater return for the labour bestowed, than all the rest put together, but it is also of the first necessity, the demands for its products being urgent and irresistible*. In this point of view, the seed grain, amounting to about 15s. an acre, may be said to constitute the raw ma- terial. When the corn and straw, produced from this seed, are dressed and sent to market, the greater part of it is then fit for consumption, and may be called a finished ma- nufaciure.‘Yhe additional value above 15s. zs entirely the produce of labour+, and amounts to about 9]. 5s. an acre, or 12331. per cent. on the cost of the raw material. Wheat is still further manufactured into bread; but, exclusive of the operations of the miller and the baker, this is certain- 1 aiid VUL&® e for the produce of the ara I Jy not above the averag J 5 5 Wixi= can Bite IS Ra me TE oe ner and of this county; and some parts of Surrey, Kent, and Essex, yield in the same proportion. rz© Cc 7 pe tes 1 1 The raw material, on an average of the arable of the : c] ae Peay 2 ye whole of South Britain, amounts to about 16s. per acre: which is increased in value by labour, ¢o 51. or 525]. ] er] replay Sree lay Eee per cent. Hence the labour bestowed on fifteen millions three 7 7= PW a Lok. 7 hundred thousand acres, produces a return of 64,260,0001. sterling. *“ Any other manufaétory may be Jaid down at pleasure, but agriculture must be supported, as it is the hinge upon which both our lives and aé¢tions turn; and the ultimate and only certain resource of the state, both for men and money.’?’—D/rom on the Corn Laws. + Atleast,\ in conjun€tion with the assistance of Nature; but as not one shilling could be procured for the natural produéts of the world, without the application of labour, the whole may, therefore, be said to be derived from labour.— F, M1,: The Oo o MANUFACTURES. 435 The cattle and implements may, in a manufacturing point of view, be deemed the stock: the amount of which, on the meadow /and in this county, is about 4]. an acre, and the produce 101. The labour and profits of stock, therefore, are 150 per cent. On a farm purely arable in this county, the said stock would be 51. and the produce 10l. or 100 per cent. There are not any grazing farms in the county; if 1 2 there were, their stock would be greater, and.they would not yield so large an increase. The farming capital of South Britain is§\. an acre, or 200 millions; and its annual produce is about 130, that is, 65 per cent. [ shall hereafter speak of the division of this sum into labour, rent, taxes and profit; and at present shall parti- | cularize the annual produce of the soil. The arable land, as before stated°£. 64,260,000 The hop-gardens make returns to| BOA, eee(C5) apie ome sa eee RR Ss amount Of 201. an acre, for the pro- 1,000,000 duce of labour, on about=—<= 4 ry-grounds produce upwards of} 651. per acre. Deduct the raw ma- terial, and the produce of labour will$ 600,000 not be less than 60l. on 10,000 acres,| 1s er ie eee ee) The frui 1 kitche a| ae Le. The fruit and kitchen gardens are the most valuable resources for labour, and make the greatest return, probably to ae: ee- upwards of rool. per acre, on an ave-& 5,000,006 rage of Great Britain; but I shall only estimate them at that sum on 50,000 ACESS“1505 ee ——-——« .: Carry forward~-=£.40,860,000 ) E¢ 2 Brought en gg 436 MANUFACTURES. Brought forward<£.70,860,000 The grass land and cyder countries, cultivated in South Britain, make re-| S 60,000,000 turns to the amount of 3]. on twenty millions of acres, is---=| The commons eight millions, at 1s. 3d.\ AM ACTON ee eee Total-==/ fe L20,300,0G0 I shall not presume to offer the foregoing statement as one that either is, or can be, made out with accuracy and precision. But, under all the circumstances of the case, £ Pthink I may fairly state the annual agricultural produce of South Britain at one hundred and thirty millions; which must i brought in competition with it, not only as to the gross amount, be allowed to surpass all other manufaéiures that can be but also as to its superior usefulness. Further, if we suppose that there are two millions and a half of persons employed in agriculture, their average earnings will be, for men, women and children of all ages, 521. which is a sum so much exceeding their ex- a) pences, that it is evident this employment must enrich society: and it is equally clear, that it contributes at once ats surplus wealth and population to make up the deficien- cies of the other departments both in men and monev. Other manufactures, it must be remarked, cannot sup- port their own population; but, on the contrary, have a tendency greatly to shorten the duration of life. It is therefore to agriculture’s healthy sons we must look for a supply to make up the loss experienced in manufa@tories, in‘great cities, in commerce, and, above all, in war* Tt 4 he artic nt:< Ss fe 3 * All the artists, manufacturers, and commercialists of the world, are employed on the produce of the soil, and on that only. The watch.maker and MANUFACTURES. 437 / It would certainly be a vain, and, in some measure, an - a manufactures carried on in this : i unty; especially as they are so very numerous, ana in their nature so various, that to do common justice to the than I have ~&, would require more t to bestow on it. I shall therefore only notice three or 12e common 1ey certain nd in need of my panegyric to recommend them. not stan A}: ra|: a on Ea Pa A oe N mary& Se, At ore ea. there is established a new and beautiful = 11 PRS cs tags on oe 4 manutacture o nted Sux, varhnisned linen, clo th, nN. manufacture Of pat J is painted entir ich operation is i 1eaaelcn Goa iance or nine..to’ fourteen. or fafteem vears of: J DY Ylito 120108© Oo] nine, UOz TOL CEN OI Pete En Vears O *) d<< a age: about forty of such girls, and about sixty other per- } 9=] Sice Lane 1 sons, have constant employment ¢ this place mice 1en-’ +] z Po Dandie eas en At the end of Pollard S-row, neal : Pee 3:= Eeclee- a manutfaciory 1s ished, for AVC and the anchor-smith, the clothier and the lace-maker, the goldsmith and in one object, all, and each of them, equally enga namely, thatof rendering the productions of the earth subservient to the use ee nd con ce ofman.‘The stock of every warehouse and shop, the fur- res, niture of every mansion and cottage; allimplements and utensils, may easily be traced to the same origin. Even the books of the scholar, and the ink I and quill through whose means he communicates his thoughts to others, ; derived from the same source as the material on which the naval and civil xercises his ingenuity and skill. The loftiest spire and the smallest are the effects of labour and skill exercised on the soil.— 7.. Ee3 flaxen 438 MANUFACTURES. flaxen pipe-hose for fire engines, the use of brewers, ships,&c. They are wove tubular, without seams, and made to any length, and of any diameter.‘This is yet in its infancy, and at present employs but few hands. A little to the south-east of Colnbrook is a mill, ona large scale, for the dressing of leather, and for boiling glue from the refuse of the leather, which gives employ- ment to a considerable number of persons. To the foregoing account I shall only add, that it is supposed there are eight thousand watch-makers in this county, whereof seven thousand are resident in the parish of Clerkenwell. The silk-weavers are probably as many, and are prin- cipally inhabitants of Spital-fields, Shoreditch, and Beth- nal-green parishes. The poverty and distress of these people at this time(February 1798), are inconceivable; very generally a family in every. room, without bedding, furniture or clothes. The few rags on their backs com- prize their whole property. he coach-builders and harness-makers are rather nu- merous, and have brought their respective works to such a high degree of perfection as far to exceed, in point of elegance, those made at any other place in the world. DISTILLERTIES. The distilleries, as consuming a considerable quantity of agricultural produce, must be considered as manufac- tories of much importance. The following observations on this branch of trade, are copied from a manuscript of Mr. Metcalfe. ««‘The corn distillers cannot work without raw grain, as the expence of the tun, with all malt, and the duty thereon, would far exceed the sum which the produce would sell for, and the work would be no better. DISTILLERIES. 439 «¢ Tt is a mistake to suppose the corn distillers have — ae bottoms to throw away; there being no such thing.\Dhe beer brewers and the compound distillers have frequenuy bottoms to dispose of. « The produce in gallons, and the sum afforded to the revenue by the distilleries, in 1795, were as under: Revenie. fi Snes Names of Distillers. No. of Gall. ¥ Messrs. Hatch-° 3,362;739 119,448 5 2. Metcalfe 3,201,103 117,008 10. 11 2 Cook- 3,261,628 Fi0,0¢1 11-6 4. Gosse- 2,394,398 37,425 16 9 << Johnson= 2,283,984 81,548 10 10 6. Bush.’=~" 2,176,561 7,005 14 2 se Fodgsen"2,219,771 80,658 14 11 8. Liptrap 15 730,934, 61,4104 1% 9. Roberts 1,920,391 69;530.-5..0 10. Booth- 1,349,933 40,277 61.0 ‘Votal...- 2 3,902,992 equal to 14,228 tons. London=.- 1£866,000".0© Scotland and Bristol E Total-={).15000;000.1 0© as Pe housand fat hogs. for bac d 29 and many thousand fat hogs, for bacon and pork.” Ee4 PORTER era<— 4 al | } q Sg rr 440 PORTER BREWERIES. POPULATION. PORTER BREWERIES. The following is a comparative statement of the porter brewed by the twelve first London brewers, for the years 1796 and 1797, ending on the sth of July in each year. 1796. 1797- Whitbread- 202,000 Whitbread- 192,740 Whrale@=.= 137,819 Vhrale" 7-22= 1250p Shum,*~+.“110,700 Shum:=<= 119,820 Hanbury-— 109,170 Hanbury=~~~ 117,19¢D Felix Calvert- 97,550 Felix Calvert‘- 101,760 Goodwyn- 97,580 Goodwyn- 94,750 Weux—=*=*= 103,700 Weux 7-%-- 993.400 John Calvert- 68,000 John Calvert- 70,090 Clowes-= 55,770 Clowes.—_.-- 53,680 Blligot’--=" 58,250 Elliot~%*- 65,000 Cox and Co.- 42,110 Cox and 0.6-“46,160 Stevenson- 45,800 Stevenson-~~ 45,810 SECT. Vil.=-HOOR. SEE CHAP. IV.—SECT. IV. SECT. Vill-—-POPULATION,. NV HEN it was proposed to build fifty additional churches in London and Westminster, in the reign of Queen Anne, it was thought essential, for the purpose of justifying the measure, meee a a RK POPULATION. 441 measure, that Parliament should have some account laid before them, of the population of the city of London, in order to ascertain how far the increase of churches might be necessary, and in what parishes it was more particu- larly called for.‘The account was delivered, by the pro- locaton of the Lower House of Convocation, to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and laid before that house on the roth of March, 1710. Ic is said in the journals, that it relates only to those parishes where additional churches were judged to be most wanted. In this place it may be sufficient to remark, a) respecting the ecclesiastical part of it, that there existed at that time 28 churches, 18 chapels and tabernacles, 26 presbyterian meeting-houses, 23 anabaptists’ meeting houses, 12 independant meeting-houses, 14 quaker meet- ing-houses, and 13 French. Parishes. Families. Persons. St. Andrew, Holborn~- 5000 30,000 St. Anne, Westminster- 2000 12,000 St. Botolph, Aldgate-- 4100 2.4,600 St. Botolph, Aldersgate- 1000 6000 St. Botolph, Bishopsgate- 1676 10,056 St. Clement Danes-- 1834 11,004 Christ Church, Surrey= ee 3102 St. Giles, Cripplegate~- 71 > 00 42,600 t. James, Clerkenwell- 1500 9000 2 ,] ae. 7 i et: a St. Giles in the tields-- 5000 34,800 aN an Cae ee ee ae: St. Martin in the felds- 4000 attoper family, 40,000 q 9 Pp= oe Po} M iry M agdaien, Be i 2000 12,000 mondsey-.-«- a rN 442 FOPULATION. Brought forward 39,027 250,162 St. Paul’s, Shadwell- 2167 I 3,002 St. John, Wapping- 1250 7500 St. James, Westminster 3000 at Io per family, 30,000 St. Leonard, Shoreditch 2200 I 2,200 St. Margaret, Westminster 4000 at7 per family 28,000 St. Paul, Covent-garden 825 4950 St. George, Southwark- 1250 7500 St. Olave’s, Southwark- 2900 17,400 St. Saviour’s, Southwark 2334 14,004 st. Mary, Whitechapel 2000 18,000 Poplar and Blackwall 457 850 5136 Rotherhithe-=e: 1019 5502 Deptford-=- 2000 12,000 65,726 426,356 The seven hamlets in Stepney parish, as under: Ratcliffe--~ 3560 21,360 Limehouse<=) See 1170 7020 Mile-end Old Town- 470 2820 Wapping, Stepney~ 3170 19,020 Spital-fields-- 3570 21,420 Di 8 Bethnal-green-~ 1416 8496 Mile-end New Town- 1077 6462 3 86,598 6 426,35 512,954 ee Tot: beP) joons t ( [oe] 2 es Ga \O The cD POPULATION. 443 The forgoing account is extrac ted from the journals of the House of Commons, vol. xvi. page§42. A very slight inspec Sion of the number of families in the foregoing list, will be sufficient to convince any one, that the greater part of them have been put down without much attention to accuracy. The number of persons ap- pear to have been computed, for the most part, at SIX per family; in some places at ten; and they amount, on the whole, to six and four-tenths nearly. Maitland says, that Sir Wilham Petty, who estimated from the hearth-books in 1685, was of opinion that the number of houses within the bills of mortality amounted to 105; 315. It has been said by Dr. D’Avenant, who also formed iis estimate from the hearth-books, that in the year 1690, a number of houses zm all Miiddlesexn were 111,215. This was only 24 years after the fire of London, and the houses which had been consumed were not hen re-built. A map of London at that time, compared with the present extent of the town, shews that it is nearly its former magnitude; and it is notorious, that every village near the metropolis has increased its number of houses: notwithstanding all these additional buildings, it will presently appear, that the houses in Middlesex do not, even at this time, exceed the Doctor’s number; and that at the time he wrote, they could be little, if any thing a Thane 2@lOo more than 00,000. tert Gara eacaa went tocthisepen alee Forty-seven years subsequent to this period, namely, c} Wy eee oe ie SUIS 1: inthe year 1727, Maitland, by aéfual enumeration, als- covered that the number of houses wzthim the bills of mor- :~ SE ANS. er orat were} sya ESE tailfty were 95:90, whereof 60,122 were in fhe county oS) of Middlesex, which is in the proportion of 90,000 only for the whole county. The 444 POPULATION. The four parishes of Mary-le-bonne, Pancras, Chel and Paddington, are said, by Mr. Lysons, to contain 11,890 houses; whereof 10,000 may probabl = C built within the last thirty years; and, including the whole county, ae should allow that 10,0 have been erected than have been pulled down, within i 5 Viciils the last sixty years, it would give me 110,000 as the total i number of houses in the county at the presen This opinion is corroborated by the number assessed to the house-tax in 1796, as appears by a note received from the Tax-office the 18th March 1797, namely, Inthe city of London-= PS, Go Westminster- 14,205 Wi{lese ee ps At wor Middlesex 45,795 > rath ar= mA agin Together 76,527 ber taxed houses in Middlesex, includes eighteen parishes within the bills of mortality, as particularized in the Ap- a= Bs r= Zee ice} 4 pendix, beginning with Sr. Anne’s, Limehouse A waarrt t S€, and end- : Cire Kad CI Aeany(tees Rye Od ee a eee ah ss ing with St. Paul’s, Shadwell; as well as sixty-two othe Ss 2 tigned ir Ise a rt atthe’ ar parishes mentioned ina subs{ Cquent| part or the same paper. Bs Tf to‘ the forevoino- number of taxed’h ihe BL oe Cie OFrevzo hnumper oOo te c OUSES{ - eattages Q Ax 1 9aCr—OIIN or cottages, c. not payi ing the tax on account é 1C fo alee Ney teats+ eK nie= aes rt pag(EE Ee wee of the poverty of the oeeupiers, and for farm-houses, a ss Se ors a} TEST Co royal palaces,&c.&c. 38,263, which is one half the a vine the tax. and which every perso re ae huimbderF paying tne Lary, ctill Wiicn Evel y|! SOn Wino knows much of the county, will readily; IS a ve Wroe allowance’ i ie Cerne Seaatlt acne! ple See es arge auiiowance for the wumnassessed nouses, it yet oni} makes up 114,790 as tne totai number of houses 1n the iw, 1 1 rus eR Se hia 1]= S55 ee y Lae By]= whole county, and 1¢ 1s hardly possibic they should ex- €eed it. ~——=—=—- € wy ¥ c. Pas epal scl ne&; . Mr. Lysons,. from an ac¢tual enumeration of several parishes within this county, states the number of houses ag in these places at 2,339, and the number of inhabitants at 5&:> i fe ro~ 12,995; he thence infers, that, including empty houses, wl ay ATS: sc or a] St ay ee é 5+ persons to a house 1s a fair calculation”. 10 If therefore we multiply the number of houses 114,790 taf}: Ses(Aa? Sane e See j WES Ae: an al by 51, the product is 631,345, to which I would. add, 1.}~ ts See z= that there are probably about 20,000 houses in the metro- to. polis which would average 6 per house, or 5 person above * The following account will shew, that in places somewhat distant from the metropolis,‘the number of inhabitants are only five, and in manufactur- ing distriéts, five and one-fourth to a house, viz. Houses. Inhabitants. 1. Royton townsh p, in Oldham, 1793 s 450 2511 2. Ratcliffe---= 1709= 399 2032 Bury---- 17473- 463 2099 4. Tildsley township, in Leigh 1793- 162 979 Harlington= a==== 189 082 6. Brassington~----- Io 432,: E 7. Fenny Bentley===== 26 330 &. Tissington 5====- 44 192 g. Chesterfield-= aiken~=- 8of 3626 ; to. Ashton-under-line-=== O41 5097 a 11. Bolton--~= 1973- 1178 5339 ibe a cs?>> 3145 9779 ro ghee ae| 8 a 0949 34,407 pe=~ 1788 5916 42,826 oe ie 1788 5874 26,533 26,058 136,993 In the first eight places mentioned in the foregoing list, the inhabitants are (iI¢ in the proportion of five to a house. Te In the seven populous towns last mentioned, they are in the ratio of 5273 to one. On the whole fifteen parishes and places, they are 53 to one. In five places, the houses are 14,059, and the families 18,416. In nine places, the families are 26,369, and the inhabitants 126,925, or as 4,81 to one. In eight parishes and places, the baptisms are 4652, and the inhabitants 106,206, or one in 22,83. In es, the burials are 3894, or one in 27,274.— 7, AL Sa) la [tse k{ 53 sickly, 4>——— a a———— Se ae ge ER A Tae oe= a a 454 POPULATION. sickly, and short-lived occupations of trade, manufactures and commerce. These, and other causes, as affecting population, are mentioned in various parts of the work. OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT. 455 CHAPTER= XVI. OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT: INCLUDING GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON AGRi- CULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. THE spirited and intelligent agriculturist, whose object is the improvement of the soil he cultivates, has too often so many obstacles thrown in his way, and so many adver- sarjes to contend with, as in the whole to present an in- surmountable barrier; which compels him to turn his thoughts from the means of removing them, towards a situation where fewer of them prevail; to land that 1s in- closed, tithe-free, and of which he can have a lease, drawn in such a manner as to give him an interest in the improve- ment of the soi!. On any less favourable conditions, no sen- sible man would submit to be a farmer. These situations are seldom to be met with; and, consequently, the fact ought not to excite any surprize, of there being only a small portion of land in Britain, which is cultivated in such a superior manner as to approach perfection. The most powerful obstacles to improvement, are the very great and general want of agricultural knowledge in the managers of landed estates; the want of ingenuity and dexterity in the rural artificers; the impolicy of withhold- ing well-regulated leases; and the barbarous nature of tithes*. These shackles cramp and paralize every effort * An excellent paper on the injurious tendency of tithes, may be seen in the Appendix to Mr. Knight’s Treatise on the Culture of the Apple and the Pear.—7. M. i Ff 4 which 456 OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT. which can be made towards the improvement of this science; and so long as the agriculture of this kingdom is compelled to endure them, any considerable improvement ofsthe soil is utterly imptacticable. These, and many other causes, have been already more fully discussed in several of the preceding sections of this work, where they appeared more directly to apply; it is, therefore, unnecessary for me to enla arge in this place; and I shall, for that reason, onl y make the foll owing addi- tional observations. Commons.—In Britain, though a country celebrated for enterprize and industry, we have upwards of twenty-two million acres of‘ land called common hich are, for the most part, absolute n 1ces: the greater part of which would be inclosed and cultivated, if the people were not restrained by the positive law of the land. Thus, under the idle pretence of sccuring a few wretched common- rights, the law operates, in the most effectual manner, ta perpetuate the most ruinous consequences, by repressing the amount of the agricultural produce of the country many millions per annum, below what it might otherwise be, thereby compelling us to depend on foreign countries even for provision, though we might with perfeét ease raise enough on our own island, even in years of scarcity, to supply all the inhabitants; and, in more favourable years, a very large surplus for exportation. A candid and dispassionate consideration of the subject, willin a moment convince every unprejudiced mind, that a comparison of the exportation with the importation of every sort of corn, and the present(1796). enormous price of both animal and vegetable food, afford the most ample and satisfactory proof, that the population of the country peremptorily demands that the extensive tracts of barren wastes OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT. 457 rs wastes which disgrace the island, should be brought into a state of cultivation and improvement, as the only safe and efficient means of preventing the price of animal food from rising to a still greater height; and as the only method of furnishing the inhabitants of Britain with their breakfast, without sending them across the Atlantic to procure it. A considerable obstacle in the way of improving waste land, and common arable fields, is the unreasonable ex- pence attending the obtaining acts of parliament to autho- rize their inclosure. This evil operates very much against applications to parliament for that purpose; prevents the extension of cultivation, and keeps down the agricultural capital. The Right Honourable the Earl of Berkeley suggests, that the fees received on passing acts of inclosure through both houses of parliament, should be abolished; which would reduce the general expence so much as to make the rest a very small object. The Reverend Dr. Vyse observes upon this suggestion of the noble Earl, that the clerks of parliament have obtained the soliciting of every bill through the two houses; and in every case, the acce- leration of the passing of the several acts depends on the address and management of the clerks, who receiving a fee at every step the bill makes in its progress, are excited to exert their ingenuity and industry to obtain this end as soon a3 possible; which is the means of keeping dowa the expence that would be incurred by the long attendance of attornies and witnesses, He therefore thinks, that abolishing the fees to clerks, vould defeat the intended object, by increasing the expence in the attendance of the above persons, and by rendering the passing of acts for inclosure a very tedious, up-hill business. But as the bringing of unprgduchve land into a state of cultiva- tion Se ata a NR Ne At a 458 AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. tion and improvement, is a great national objeét, he re~ commends that the expence should be defrayed out of the national purse, With this latter opinion[ am inelined to agree; and no one can aoubt that the application for Jocal acts to divide and inclose waste lands, would be mul- tiplied in consequence of it. Among others, war is a great obstacle to improvement; for“* men, by giving.way to pride and passion,” rather than consult the peaceable and more likely means of increasing their comforts,“ bring on this dreadful scourge,” which is speedily followed by a general scarcity of money, and not only puts a stop to every improvement, but is. ruinous to most enterprizes of a speculative kind, «NBR, y 7 i} "|| yj t Water Mulls—These are, in general, obstructions to the great improvements that would otherwise be made by irrigation. In flat wet countries, they materially injure the agricultural produce, by damming the water too high. Besides this, the proprietors of, mills universally oppose the introduction of canals, which is throwing one of the most considerable obstacles in the way of agricultural im- provement; as nothing tends more towards effecting an increased production from the soil, than a safe, easy, and cheap conveyance of such product to market. AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE, One great hindrance to comfort in a life of agriculture, and which drives liberal minded men, who are always the best friends to improyement, out of the profession, is the want of laws to put a total stop to the receivers of stolen goods. These are the wretches who encourage servants in AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. 4s§Qg jn agricultuse, and others, to pilfer, by holding out the lure of buying every arucle which such servants can bring, without asking them any questions. Most things which are usually produced on a farm, from so small an article as an egg, to hay, straw, and grain of all sorts, are daily stolen, and sold on the sides of every principal road in this county*. The moral principle of the rural servants and labourers of this county is at so low an ebb, that it 1s supposed not one in a hundred, or perhaps in five hundred, are honest and faithful to their masters. Their minds have been contaminated, and every honest idea banished, 1n conse- quence of being continually ass sailed by women calling for rags, broken glass, and kitchen-stuff; pretended gypsies, itinerant jews, ballad-singers and show-men, strolling from house to house, pilfering every little article they happen to meet with, and tempting and encouraging servants and labourers to do the same, by offering to purchase every portable article.“T’o these may be added, millers, ostlers, and corn-chandlers, dealers in eggs, butter and poultry, plumbers, blacksmiths, and publicans, chandlers’ shops, old iron shops, old clothes shops, and rag shops, low brokers of furniture, and pawnbrokers.‘These are the persons who principally buy the property stolen from farrners, and are only a part of the nursery of three thou- sand which have raised such a plentiful crop in and near London, as fully to justify the author of the Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis, in stating the number of % These thefts are carried on daily at every farm, in a small way, seldom exceeding a truss of hay, or a bushel of corn, by one man at one time; and are generally of smaller articles. When one df these fellows is taken in the 4& of stealing to the amount of a shilling or two, who in his senses would prosecute, sane certain EXpence of 20], in money, and Loss of time?>—ZF. M. persons 460 AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. persons whose pursuits are either criminal, illegal, or im- moral, at 115,000*. The drivers of gentlemen’s carriages are entrusted to buy hay, straw and corn for their horses; in the doing of which, they generally cheat their masters of Ss... each load of hay; of 2s. 6d. in every load of straw; and of 1s. in every quarter of corn. This gives them an interest in the consumption, makes them extremely wasteful, and brings on habits of dishonesty. The ostlers at the inns on the sides of the roads, pur- chase stolen hay, straw, corn, eggs, and poultry. The writer of this is informed by a person who kept a horse several weeks at one of these inns, that in attending occa- sionally to see his horse, he discovered him to be fed with wheat, barley and oats mixed together, and partly in the chaff, which could only happen by the farmers’ servants robbing their masters, and selling the corn to the ostler. The fields near London are never free from men stroll- ing about in pilfering pursuits by day, and committing greater crimes by night. The depredations every Sunday, are astonishingly great.‘There are not many gardens within five miles of London that escape being visited in a marauding way, very early on a Sunday morning, and the farmers’ fields are plundered all day long of fruit, roots, cabbages, pulse and corn. Even the ears of wheat are cut from the sheaves, and carried away in the most * This certainty of being able to sell stolen property without being de. tected, has made thieves of most of the labourers in husbandry within this county. Itis known and lamented by the common farmers; and also by others, who, having acquired moderate fortunes in London, frequently take a farm to amuse themselves during the latter part of their lives, and who are, almost to a certainty, ruined by their servants. Gentlemen of fortune, who have made agriculture their study, and embarked in it for experiment and amusement, are, generally, so fleeced by their servants, ating under the influence of buyers of stolen goods, as to change the pleasures and amuse ments of a farm into a torment and loss.—%, AZ,: dai ing =~ a IM, AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. 461 daring manner in open day, in various ways, but mostly in bags containing about half a bushel each. It has been moderately estimated, that 20,000 bushels of all the various sorts are thus carried off every Sunday morning, and 10,000 more during the other six days of the week, or one million and a half of bushels in a year, which, if valued at so small:a sum as six-pence each, would amount to 37,5001. The occupiers of many thousand acres round London, Jose annually in this manner to the amount of much more than 20s. an acre. And all this is done, as it were, under the eye of 270 magistrates, 1000 constables, and upwards of 2500 watchmen and beadles.‘* Men who are more “¢ attentive to their own emoluments, and more desirous “© of promoting their own interests, than putting a stop «© to these nefarious practices.” I admit that depredations of this kind are not confined to London: they are certainly committed in a proportion- ate degree near every city and great town. I have seen upwards of twenty thieves at one time in a ten acre field of turnips, each of whom carried away as many as he could stand under. On another occasion, one man staying longer than several others, stealing pears, was secured and taken before a magistrate, who ordered him to pay the value of the fruit found on him(viz. 1s.), which he paid, and was discharged. A miller near London being questioned as to small parcels of wheat brought to his mill to be ground, by a suspected person, soon after several barns had been robbed, answered, that any explanation cn that head would put his mills in danger of being burnt. Well may the farmers say‘their property is not protected like that of other men?— which is the more extraordinary, as all the depredations to which’I have confined my observations, are committed on ee Se eins i i} 462, AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND Poitce: on the landed interest, and probably amount to 4s. an acre on all the cultivated lands of England, or to eight millions of pounds sterling per annum. Including game and vermin, as mentioned under those heads, the depredations commit- ted on farmers’ property amounts to 10s. an acre; or nearly to twenty millions annually*. It is by the committing of petty crimes that dishonesty Begins; but it seldom or never ends without proceeding to enormitics. It is a misfortune equally heavy on the poor as on the rich, that every possible difficulty is not created by law to stop dishonesty in every stage of its progression, in order to render the lives and Property of the rich safe, and both rich and poor comfortable. The smallest‘transe gression should not pass without its immediate and pro- portionate punishment. The commission of crimes has spread far and wide, and got to such an height, that« the vilest and most de- ** praved part of the community are suffered to deprive “us of the privilege of travelling upon the highways, ar “* of approaching the capital, or our own dwellings, “© within this county and Surrey, in any direCtion, after *‘ dark, without danger of being assaulted and robbed, ** and perhaps wounded or murdered; nor can we Iie << down to rest, without the dread of having our houses “¢ burnt, or broke into; our property invaded, and our lives 6 Pal exposed to imminent danger, before the morning+.” * The depredations committed on other property in and near London, Mr, Colquhoun estimates at 2,100,000]. a year: including all the rest of England, it is probably five millions, which, added to the sum mentioned in the text, swells the whole amount to the enormous sum of about twenty-five millions a.year.— FM. + Within two or three miles of my own residence, at least one set of farmers’ buildings are burnt down every year. Also, a man continued for a year and a half, armed with a gun, to rob at any hour, before he was disturbed by either the inhabitants or the police.—F%. MM, Surel y a ae= ro AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. 463 Surely these abuses call, with an imperious voice, for some remedy: can agriculture, or indeed any other branch of business, be expected to flourish, while such things are practised? If the legislature would but for a moment forget their political squabbles, and personal struggles for power and emolument, and turn their attention to these things, they would find a tremendous torrent of abomi- nable crimes, that must be effectually stopped in its course, or it will inevitably overwhelm every thing that is valu- able in society. The cure for so mighty an evil, would require a law, enjoining every person annually to state in WEES, by what means he gains his livelihood, to some tribunal competent to scrutinize the information, and punish the party if it be false. At the same time should be formed,@ scale of offences, with a corresponding punishment, beginning at the slight- est misdemeanour, and ascending progressively to the high- est crime. Such a work might be easily performed; and the benefits which would result from it to society are incalculable. The crops of the farmer ought to be secured to him, and his fields rendered as free from pilfering trespassers, as are the warehouse and shop of the manufaéurer and tradesman. Next to the making of laws with wisdom, it is abso- lutely necessary to secure a prompt and perfect execution of them. Without this, the best laws will remain a dead letter... Such, 1s, in’ fact;‘the case, ina great measure,. with respect to several of the very excellent statutes now in force, that were, no doubt, intended by the legislature to operate as a security to the good and the honest, against the depredations of the dishonest and the vicious; and such indeed would be the case with respect to the laws relative to the public revenue, were it not, that in this latter case @ Very 464 AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION AND POLICE. avery proper care has been taken to secure a most exact and scrupulous execution of them. Certainly, however, the safety, comfort, and moral welfare of society, require that the former should be enforced with a degree of atten- tion and care, at least as rigid and watchful as the /atter. CHAPTER TER a.. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS, 465, GEA Poi Vik. - a — rd oy op) MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVA THE ardour for improving arts, and perfecting science, has given birth to many excellent institutions in this county; by means of which the interests of mankind have been eminently promoted, and the sphere of human knowledge very considerably extended. In adverting to these establishments, we cannot fail to discern the astonish- ing efhicacy of opulence and patriotism wzited for the pub- hic good; while at the same time we may form a very just ground of confidence, that the same means will still continue to be exerted for the encouragement and support of every subsequent plan which may be offered, tending to promote the same beneficial purposes. We have already societies for the promotion of most branches of human learning, and for the encouragement of many of the arts; but as it will only be necessary to particularize such as have a more immediate relation to, and connection with, the science of agriculture, I shall Q confine my attention to the two following, viz. the So- ciety for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, and the Veterinary College, both of which are eminently serviceable to the agricultural world.—T he first in order of time, is THE io ai a ge ei a one 5 aa 466 SOCIETIES. THE SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS; MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE, Instituted at London in the year 1754, on the most disinterested-principles, and actuated by the most liberal and generous motives; its main object being the univer- sal benefit of mankind, though with a very praise- worthy attention to the particular and individual in- terests of Great Britain. This society has, by its fos- tering care of, and unwearied attention to, the arts and artists of every description, and by a well-judged and im- partial distribution of reward and encouragement to the ingenious and deserving in every country, rendered the most essential services to this kingdom, and bestowed the most permanent blessings on the world in general: and has therefore very justly merited, and no doubt possesses, the thanks and good wishes of every true lover of his country, and every sincere friend to human kind. The benefits and advantages necessarily flowing from an establishment of this kind, originally founded on prin- ciples so eminently calculated, from their general usetul- ness, to promote the purposes intended, becoming more generally known, by means of the annual publication of a volume, containing some of the more important trans- actions of the society, have very probably been instru- mental in the establishment of most or all of the agricul- tural societies in the kingdom; and remotely, if not im- mediately, of the Board of Agriculture itself. From such sources, it is very fair to expect that the most essen- tial blessings will be derived to the inhabitants of this, and every other country. Among the many objects that arrested the attention, and claimed the notice of this society, we shall not be sur- prized eae =<< SE SS i——~s~= SOCIETIES. 454 fi. mp=} e erie f SPATE be prized to find that improvement in the science of agricu/- t ARTY ture, from which so much good must result, should appear to it an object deserving its most serious regard and encou- ragement; with a view not only to clear away the ob- the mos= saan: Dee 2 stacles which prejudice seemed to throw in the way of Ost liheral 3 a Y‘ ar improvement in that particular branch of science, but e Univers he er: a also to call forth that energy and exertion at all times so Vv ras=.. Fleas necessary to the attainment of any particular obje&t which ‘dual in- seemed to be less felt by the professors of that art than by , ite foe~ ] Its tos. those of any other. Ne ccordingly, we find that they di- = arts and rected their early attention conspicuously to this oljeé?, lee ae. e. ¢ and in and extended their premiums and bounties to candidates Nt(0 the in this class, rather largely; and very extraordinary effects, Jara tha=- nee-= as= 720 dered the in particular instances, were the consequences. owed the I should perhaps have entered more at large into the ‘al: and particular merits of this society, did I not consider myself ISsesses, in some measure precluded by the very general circulation of his of the volume before alluded to, which renders it unne- cessary for me to enlarge on the subject. Suffice it there- ng from fore to say, that the improvements brought about through on vrin- the means of this society, are incalculable! ral nee The following is a general abstract of the pecuniary sine more and honorary rewards given by this society to candidates ag in the different classes, from the commencement of the ye institution to the end of the year 1796. Teh, DE GaN. Balin: Gol. ald.| Sif ver|Gold| Silver. | Greater| Lesser, Yn Acriculture= Bro Ta mat 134 66 In Chemis ne- 1,464©© ae le gar! In Polite Arts-$8058 3)0 44| 64 27| 100 69 in Manufa¢tures- 2,251 16 o 3 12 In Mechanics- 3,372 6 6 13 33| x,| In Colonies& rade vs 2,705 1393 18 2| (ls, ale Miscellaneous- 65247=- 2.6 20{ = mens rg late a iter Zo Total£.28,773 14.8| 237| 27 90 6g ntiols be sul- ;{ Oo 2 TH} prizes: # oe nae 368 VETERINARY COLLEGE. THE VETERINARY COLLEGE. The neglected and degraded state of farriery in Britain, had been long seen and regretted by many intelligent per~ sons; but no means were publicly taken to promote the cultivation of this useful branch of knowledge, until the Odiham Agricuitural Society, very much to its honour, began to interest itself in the business, in the year 1789; by circulating printed copies of their resolutions, in which it was observed,* That it was much to be lamented that ‘< there was not yet in England any establishment ade- ¢ quate to the desired improvement in farriery, by a re- “¢ gular education in that science, on medical and anatomi- ‘< cal principles.” And in addition to this, they repeated their former* intention, of sending two or more young men to France, to be instructed in that art, as soon as they should be enabled to do so by subscriptions or bene- factions for that purpose. Early in the same year(1789), Mr. Sain Bel, an eminent professor, arrived in this country, and published proposals for giving a course of lectures on the construc- tion of the horse, the diseases of that animal, and the science of farriery in general; and in the following year (1790), he presented to the public a plan for the cultiva- tion and improvement of Veterinary medicine.‘This plan was transmitted to the Odiham Society, and appear- ing to them to be calculated more speedily to effect the improvement of farriery, than their intended plan of send- ing young men to France, their committee held several meetings in London, where they were joined by other gentlemen, and the most advisable mieans ascertained, of * This alludes to a resolution which this society had come to the preceed- mg year, permas VETERINARY COLLEGE. 469 permanently establishing the professor’s plan. On the 18th February 1791, they resolved, that from that day n Bi forward the meeting, or BOBIEEy) should be called the Veteri- get pe nary College, London. Mr. Sain Bel was, ey properly, raaile appointed professor to the college; and on the 4th Janu- er ary 1792, he commenced his leCtures.‘There were then a ai four pupils in the college, and the society consisted of 204 ead members. On the 18th February 1793, the members of a 1789 the college were increased to ste and the number of nwhich.:= ae pupils to 14. The number of diseased horses in the in- nted that ted that firmary was 50. ag ale At this time,(December 1797) the number of annual , by a ree subscribers is about 600, and of life subscribers 100; of pupils anatomi« in the college 32; and of diseased horses in the infirmary repeated 44; but they can accommodate 52. Fifty pupils have "Young been examined and approved of by the medical board. 000 as Such has been the origin and progress, and such is the r bene- present state, of this valuable institution. As the proper treatment of distempers in horses and Rel, an other cattle, on true and fixed medical and anatomical nublished principles, is undoubtedly of the highest commercial, as construc well as domestic importance, it is peculiarly incumbent on , and the' the nation to proteét and support a Veterinary School*, in which their anatomical construction may be properly Wing year aaa oN ascertained; the diseases to which they are liable, care- 1e cultires ne, Thi fully enquired into; and the remedies proper to be applied, systematically taught. Such an institution cannot fail of sd annedt= nd appeal fe fad tho effec We an of sett becoming generally important to the nation, as every part of it will gradually enjoy the advantage of possessing en- lig science, on whose skill and attention they may securely rely. htened practitioners, regularly bred to the Veterinary d by ole tained, Of* J mean asa national institution, supported at the general expence; not left, as all works of philanthropy are, to the precarious support of voluntary ; subscriptions and benefa¢tions.—Since this passage was written, this college he preceeee::::; ae has received repeated pecuniary aid from parliament.—7F. M7, pride Gg 3 SECE: 4470 HERIOTS. WEIGHTS-AND MEASURES. DBE 1S 1B EI I IECO) 1 THE manerial custom of taking, at the death of a copy- holder, the best beast, and, in some manors, the best piece of furniture, is a barbarous usage, which ought to be abo- lished. A favourite horse, or valuable piece of painting, ought not to become the property of the lord of the manor on the death of his tenant. In justice and decorum, they should go to the executor, whereas, as things now are, they are taken by the lord of the manor, even in cases where there are not effectsto pay the debts of the deceased. And in every case, they are taken at a time the most dis- tressing to the parties thus bereaved of their property. SECL.. Pili. WETGH US 2 AND MEAS URES. AvoIRDUPOISE weights are the only ones used in this county for the produce of the soil. Of butchers’ meat, 8 lb. are a stone; of potatoes, a bushel is 561b.—for more, ee hay and straw markets, page 416. The Winchester bushel, containing 2150 42-100ths cubical inches, is in general use. Wood is sold by the stack, packed 3 feet by 3, and 12 feet long: thus containing 108 cubic feet. The court leets within this county appoint ale-conners to inspect the weights and measures. Generally, the lower shop-keepers, or publicans, are appointed: these persons have their own business to mind; few of them are furnished with standard weights and measures; they visit the dealers in provision once or twice a year, having previ- TF iG— Sa a=~ a———————w——= WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 471 previously given the beadle a few days notice. The beadle is in fee to let the shop-Kkeepers know the day; he f 8 copy then attends at the time, fully dressed in his heavy great- ine coat(though in the dog days) his laced hat, and large leche silver-headed staff, with the best weights and measures he ; can muster. Each dealer gives them about four-pence or ough six-pence, which furnishes the officers with a plentiful dinner—and all are honest fellows of course! People of property, who take any care to guard against h, they° 50 4 o.6:: es eee imposition,‘measure and weigh every thing as they receive aes‘t. by weights and measures of their own; but the labour ; If, Dy weights and m4¢ asures of their own; Dut the labour- IN cages 3;“: tT 1 ing poor have no such conveniences. They use the low- sie est shops, and are generally cheated by false weights and te measures, in every thing but bread and beer. Of the Us latter, indeed, they are particularly careful to see that they have a full pot. In their bread, they generally have half a pound of water in a loaf more than there ought to be, owing to its being insufficiently baked, to preserve its . weight. Over the weights of their cheese, butter, and animal food, they have no kind of check whatever. wn this Every body knows, that the corn measures of the ostlers 3 meat, do not hold more than half the proper quantity, and that Yr more, their grain is of the worst quality. Weights and measures require the assistance of the 2-100tls legislature, to shield mankind against numerous imposi- tions; and I think nothing short of stipendary persons re- , and 12 quired to try their beams, weights and measures, daily, would be equal to the cure. -conners lly, te d; these them they ving prevle G¢g 4 SECT, as iinntitee= se oe. ——=:» 72 GLEANING. BULLOCK-HUNTING. SECT. IV.—GLEANING AND PILFERING. In the gleaning of corn during the harvest, the first. pilfering acts are committed by the children of cottagers. In winter, they gather dead wood from the hedges for firing. Then turnips, and other roots, from the field; fruit from the orchards and gardens, and being further encouraged both by the language and example of the bad people around them, it soon becomes habitual, extends ta articles of greater value, engenders the thought of sup- porting existence by pilfering, in preference to doing it by labour, contaminates the multitude, and makes many commence thieving as a profession. Mr. Colquhoun says, very truly, that every good man who loves his country, and glories in its prosperity, will speedily perceive that this prosperity can only be of short duration, if public morals are negle&ted, if no check is given to the growing depravity which prevails, and if measures are not adopted to guard the rising generation against the evil examples to which they are exposed. SEC L. V.-- bpULEOCK=-HUNTING. Is a most infamous practice, repeated every Monday, with some few exceptions, and sometimes on a Friday, through the public streets and roads of London, and its environs, by professed thieves.“They make choice of the wildest bullock in a drove, and then enrage the animal by every possible means, till he quits the herd in pursuit of one of the gang. Being singled out, they bid defiance" to the drovers and owners, and run him for many hours, exciting eS DOG§. 473 exciting the attention of the public, while the hunters w steal every thing they can get at. They terrify the people, and carry off their booty. During the short days he hrs of winter, they hunt till it is dark, and then frequently lagers, make prize of the bullock. At other times of the year, 28 for he is generally recovered by his owner, after much trouble held and some expence, but greatly reduced in value, by the urther excessive heat he has undergone. = bad This practice still continues to disgrace the police, ads to though some late regulations have rendered it less frequent t sup. than before, oing it $ many'——— d man SECT... VI.—-DOES. will short TuiEvEs of every description keep dogs, frequently of k is the bull-dog kind.‘They discover, and give their master id if notice, when any person is in the way, who might inter- ation rupt him either in committing the theft, or in his carry- ; ing off the plunder. Thus all the gypsies, and persons who live in tents under hedges, by an union of begging and thieving, are always accompanied by dogs, many of which are as great thieves as their owners, and are as re- gularly taught to hunt round cottages and houses of every description, for small articles of clothes, and other things, fonday, carrying them to their masters, and hunting with as much ney avidity as spaniels and pointers after game. at‘ It is obvious, that every man whose labour is insufh- of th cient for the support of his family, and who keeps one or more dogs, must do it to assist him during the time he is committing depredations. he exemption of dogs of the foregoing description, from the lately imposed tax, operates as a license for thieves, == 1-:.- ol Pace ee ee ee eee ae S| u SElESS GOSS are te PTeatest Ice ImMagihad : STi e; pee:=F ae See eee(ang eae en ee ee Se Peer ees Bl ers ale Canine madness has produced so many lamentable€irecis, Saw Sag ba eee ee 7eVErChnaANPre~ pu ined In the 1Cwspapers, Ol e allowed to ex ¥ 5a Se te eel BESS)| ly(eee ey eee= Munk WwOuid cca Weir Coaldren~. o 1oregoing sentence Ce a eee is i-:.= ~ VWICTUALLING-HOUSE?. 495 Medg I Many;<=. ae SECT. VII.—VICTUALLING-HOUSES. nable, 7 THE ber of public-houses withim that part of tl Toe THe number of public-houses wzt4zm that part of the at).«.-~ re fay bills of mortality which lie in the county of Middlesex, CGY ance ale=~-- 4,021 i Ditto in Surrey~ 943 reds Total 5204. egU- 1S aa ‘i public-houses within the whole bills of mortality. There they: : are about as many in this county; as those added for My,. 5 ¥_; a Surrey, are nearly equal to all such parts of this county as lie out of the bills of mortality.. - t a ‘DENG mre. fy The ale and porter sold yearly at such houses, is stated 835 to be 1,132,147 barrels, which, at 34d. per quart, amounts f a EO ge ee ie raed ee ee-~4r-£- 2,31 1,466 Gin and compounds, three million gallons, at 975,000 Together£,-3,286,466 It is supposed that upwards of three millions of this money is expended by the labouring people only; which is up- wards of 25]. a family on that description of persons, is«¢ An ill-regulated public-house is one of the greatest «© nuisances which can exist in civil society: through this ‘¢ medium crimes are increased in an eminent degree; its “* poison spreads far and wide. It may truly be said to be (a4 SAMMI naAr UAL ReaTtino:“COr1T1e< ACE 39 a seminary for rearing up rogues and vagabonds. Supposing each of those houses to ruin one family every ten years, or one person every two years, it amounts to 2,602 persons annually; and in less tian twenty years, the numbers are 50,000: which number I suppose are now livine HUINg 476 VERMIN AND GAME. living examples of the great distress brought upon mankind by the vidtualling-houses of one county only. Many small country villages can date the commence- ment of poor-rates from the introdu€tion of public-houses, which corrupt the morals, impair the health, impoverish and reduce the poor to the greatest penury and distress: ** they also encourage idleness, promote begging and pil- fering, and are the remote cause of murders and execu- tions more or less every year.” SECT. VIII.—VERMIN AND GAME. EsTIMATE of the damage done by vermin on a farm of two hundred acres, one half of it arable, the other in grass, without sheep-walks. Poe(a: Mole-catcher paid by the year one guinea: notwithstanding which, they will do damage to the-anvount-of half a-cumea-.--*- 72° a ay 6 Rat-catcher paid by the year two guineas, and they will do damage to the amount of a guinea more a ee ee eet re ee Be Reg Mice*, if a vermin-killer be employed, will cost as much as for rats, and the remaining damage will be as great, namely, three guineas. If they are not so destroyed they will do in the buildings, corn-stacks, barns and fields, twenty pounds worth’of damage-- 2°=e G2 :@) ro) o Carry forward-- Lay ~ In the winter of 1796-7 mice ate the outer bark off the ash and crab in many of my hedge-rows; and, what I had not before observed, there was a mouse track through the centre of a large hay-stack. They had been un- commonly numerous the preceding summer. There was much frost and snow during the winter, and the subsequent year they were not more nue merous than usual._— 7, J, Rowse Nene. houses, Werish stress! d pil. xeCU~ Qn VERMIN AND GAME. Brought forward--- Sparrows, and other small birds, employ five boys to keep them off fifty acres of corn:)a fortnight at sowing-time, and another at har- vest, with powder, rattles,&c. five guineas. They damage thatched buildings all the year; they are also mischievous in the gardens, to the amount of one guinea more. In this county, they quit London, and the other towns, vil- lages and single houses, and attack every corn field in flocks of thousands together. If not kept off by rattles,&c. they would clear whole fields; but under the best management, their damage amounts to upwards of one shilling an acre on the whole farm—I shall only say The fields must be watched against rooks, The boys employed in keeping off sparrows, will in a great measure keep these off, but J have only taken the estimate on securing fifty acres of corn; the beans, peas and tares on twenty-five acres will be exposed to these three voracious tribes. Jays are particularly destruc- tive to bean crops near harvest time; pigeons are soto tares, both at sowing and at harvest time, and rooks are so to beans at seed time. T'wenty- five acres in two fields will require two boys three weeks with rattles, powder, pistols, 8c. Magpies, carrion-crows, ravens, kites, hawks, and dogs: every good farmer would be glad to insure against damage by these crea- CIES di a=-- Carry forward z“ Slo 7 477 Uke Se 717 0 6:62.46 22 26.© Gi ame! 6 Brought 478 VERMIN AND GAME, } } | Brought forward-= SATO FIG Game is supported by feeding on all the farmer’s crops: he. is not allowed to destroy it if unqualified; and if qualified, it will cost him three guineas for a license, and one guinea in ammunition, and still, damage will be done to the amount of one shilling an acre, or ten pounds. Hunters and shooters are a larger species of vermin, who prey upon game; and on an average of years, damage such a farm to the amount of upwards of ten pounds; together twenty pounds, or two shillings an acre for Oo a) the article of game* See) fe ee The slug, the turnip fly, the black canker, caterpillar, the black inseét which destroys beans, and the yellow maggot which feeds on the ears of wheat, are of numerous families, and not less mischievous than any of the fore- going. They will once in five years, cut off the turnips, and once in ten the clover and tares, and do five shillings an acre damage to the corn crops. These losses on an hundred acres of arable land, amount to twenty pounds a year, but in that sum I shall include damage done by them to the whole farm, and say only 20 0 o £.58 7 6 #© And man, and horse, and hound, and horn, “© Destructive sweep the field along, ** While joying o’er the wasted corn ** Fell Famine marks the madd’ning throng.’? BuRGER« a Thus, Te,"=.:— bi Se ieee TE== en a Oe ae ms(a, ee eee sas SKETCH OF COMPARATIVE HUSBANDRY, 479 t Thus, the amount is upwards of fifty-eight pounds a rag Serr:: year, or near six shillings an acre, on the whole quantity “i -° ey er a Re 37 of land; which sum wil 98 average the cultivated corn and grass land farms of Britain; and as there are thirty-nine millions of acres, these depredations amount to upwards of ten millions per annum. SIMs ADKo= AL SUSI iat Oe COMPARATIVE s HUSBANDRY. sk farmers have the merit, in common with the farmers of the south and west country downs, of cultivating a small portion of their land in a very superior style; but, as an extensive district, the ge- hi) ke neral cultivation of Norfolk is yet far behind even A AS 5 Vig vg omy gating) Oe Oo ae nr iar the South Downs, for there you are not disgusted with the sight of boggy moors, nor furzy pastures, such as you f SS ee Te erg BCU NO ates eoeg eg Fes IAI iW Leek ar pa frequently meet with in Norfolk*. And it is still further * In Norfolk, the traveller is every where offended with the- appear- ance of the boggy marshes, fens, and(what are provincially called) broads; and by extensive distri€ts of uncultivated upland, ¢lothed with heath and furze; these remnants of the wildness of savage districts. The greater part of these marshy bottoms and fens might be drained com- pletely without the help of machinery, and the rest might be laid dry by the aid of fen mills. I have no doubt but that even some of the broads might be embanked, and reduced to inland navigations, by the system of mill work; and much land might be obtained from the other broads in the same manner. —F. M, This county is little visited by strangers, consequently the inns are not prepared for their accommodation. I have not elsewhere met with many instances of being obliged to continue the same chaise and pair of horses for forty-five miles in one day, without the possibility of procuring fresh ones; and this not arising from hurry of business, but from there being only one in the whole distance; and that being engaged at a village wedding, no other could be procured.— 7. M7, removed 480 SKETCH OF COMPARATIVE HUSBANDRY: removed from the west country downs, where, in ad: dition to the general clean face of the country, the quagmires are converted into luxuriant water-meadows Even these do not come up tothe Leicestershire hus- bandry, where they do not employ sheep as dung carriers, for the purpose of impoverishing two-thirds of their land in order to enrich the other, but, on the contrary, cultivate the whole, and, by dividing their farms into moderate sized fields, and by raising good hedges, to afford shade from the scorching heat of the sun in the dog days, and shelter from the nipping frosts in winter, have prepared the way for improvement in live stock, in which they have already arrived at a degree of perfection alto- gether unrivalled; and both soil and cattle are confessedly more highly conditioned than those of any of the foregoing districts. The Leicestershire husbandman, though standing very high in the scale of perfection, is much exceeded by the very superior management of the meadow and arable farmers, and fruit and kitchen gardeners, of this county; since there is not any land in Middlesex(the commons excepted), from the well protected, and healthy copses at Riselip, to those wonders of their kind, the gardens at the Neat-houses, but what is cultivated, and for the most part, raised to an astonishing degree of fertility. SECT. X.—SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION OF SOUTH BRITAIN. THE excess of the imports, over the exports, of corn, shew clearly, that the annual consumption of this country in that article, has been greater than its produce, on an average EE———— ee sia aati ny An, Ee ee Pe M als ry, the 1€4 ado W ;}=]=]} the errnr meric aa re hne increased, particularly in 1796, when the crop was so very 10 Nis. t i fay i> ‘ 7] nad q uate to the cunnly as to late t 10 na still further d a rr LAC ALw LL Lili ¢ I Y¥9“aa\ O Cc Ue thoy. bir Liil bX arriets, Ejec) mand of 1,177,000 quaiters. If we divide this quantity .‘: i Pag![Paty Gs Seca ry oe S by> ar re by rr, it will vive an annual deficiency of 107,000 quar- i Utlvate J 6 J Fi jh, lor]'¢ the far: re> ath| ters, which sum, added to the former, makes the amount| erate: sgl 4 of the whole annual deficit 694,163 quarters; and, taking q afford pees ae a:. it at three quarters per acre*, the medium produce of 1 € dor- I?| & land on all sorts of corn, over and above the seed, would > Nave:‘ 1 f-00 1= require no less than 231,388 acres more than are now in cultivation, to be cropped with corn.‘To this we must n alto pee te; sre a ¢ “ add a proportionate quantity of land for fallow(1-3d o Faceatl ie=;=: Se eee 231,383 or) 74,129 acres, and‘the like quantity for pong clover and root crops, makes 389,646 acres. In ssi t raise corn enough to support the requisite number of vely horses which would nec ssarily be employed in cultivat- th ing this quantity of land, and also the soil which should able produce the horse-corn(the propor \ ay: horses being 29,350, and requiring two acres each), ‘:‘ é; ,§8,700 acres more will be wanting, which, added to o? ae the aforesaid 385,646, produces the sum of 444,346 acres as the deficit in arable land only. But then these a horses would, as others do, require two acres each of x. The average quantity and price of all sorts of grain, may be thus founds Wheat,- 2% acres, at 2 qrs. per acre, is§3 qrs. at' 46s.= 12 33 0 Barley and rye, 2 ofan acre, at3 qrs. per acre, is 24 do. at jos.- 3 7 6 Oats\iandbeans,23 acres, at 4:do.=- isiodo. at 21s.= Io Io o { OF a— Puce see 6 acres 17% quarters£7.26 106, Divide 174 quarters by 6 acres, gives a bare 3 quarters per acre; and divide 26]. ros. 6d. by 17% quarters, gives a bare 3os. per quarter, 7. e. 3 quarters at 3os. is a full average of the corn, exclusive of the.straw, seed and waste.— ae For the proportion which the number of acres bear in each sort of grain, see , / page further on.— 7. J, on an Hh orass nie ay AS +) a ellie tee nia ee ee‘: rage a————_— ne Se SOS ie semi a: —="——————— 482 ESTIMATE,&c. grass and hay, or 58,700 more; which makes the wliole deficiency 503,046 acres*: the entire produce of which, both in corn and cattle+, this country is in the practice, most unwisely, of purchasing from other nations, and importing into this kingdom at a most enormous expence. It is therefore evident, that before we can raise our own supplies, under the present(though in some measure improved) state of husbandry, we must inclose and cul- tivate our commons to at least this extent|]. SECT. XI.—-AN ATTEMPT: TO ESTIMATE THE QUANTITY'OF ARABLE LAND IN’ SOUTH BRITAIN 5 Deduced from the supposed number of inhabitants, and also the proportion of the«whale quantity of land occupied by each species of crop.‘Together with statements of the pro- bable number of horses and sheep; of the quantity, and mode of consumption of animal food, and the various pro- duéts of the soil; of the weight and value of wool; and of the total amount of agricultural produce. Tue best opinion appears to be, that there are about eight millions of inhabitants in South Britain; and that all those who eat wheaten bread, consume annually one quarter, or eight Winchester bushels of wheat each; % Inclosing such a portion of the commons as would produce this net quantity of culturable ground, would require, for hedge-rows, scite of build- ings, farm-yards, roads, ponds, gravel-pits,&c. 57,000 acres, which ine creases the deficiency to 560,000 acres.— 7. MM. + Irish bullocks, Flemish horses,&c. | This account might be extended to about 700,000 acres, by making-a proper allowance for the commons being inferior in point of quality to the average inclosed land.— 7. MM. which ESTIMATE,&c. 483 4 BRO eee oo Bee ters ee wees nies ts emer Ree of wh’ which mnciuces puddings, pies, confectionary,< 1d Every hic.=. } 1: 2: ticle 500°: indeed other application of wheat in the article of food: indeed l © Dradhic D ICtice, 6 5 5 Oe Ay know this allowance of eight bushels to be nearly correct ONS. and<= Ny QI E ae;: zZ= A P as to some families. This quantity of wheat 1s about equiva- > EXpence i 4 f:: ete lent to the average net produce of halt an acre of land; that © OUF Own. Lee: 2 5 a 2 is, after deducting seed, loss by vermin, accidents,&c. Measure~= tae wee AS ee cae from the gross produce, the remaining net quantity 1s six and cyl ie oe feen busneis per aclie. Those persons who eat bread made from spring corn and rye, will in like manner require the net product of half an acre; as the flour of this sort of grain 1s so much deficient in quantity, weight and nourishment, as fully TE THE to balance the greater number of bushels per acre in the SOUTH produce: therefore, Half an acre each person, is--=---= 4,900,008 I 2dly, Beer—Fora family of six persons, of all ages, will require 25) ind also;: 1| bushels of malt, and as many pounds of hops, annually; which pied by I suppose is about equal to three bushels and a half of barley each he pro. person; but as there are many who donot drink malt liquorat all, \ this would be too large an allowance for all England and Wales:>1,000,000 y, and I shall therefore estimate it at three bushels each, which, for the NS DrO- oe Ss: Se Ms Pro assumed population, is 24 millions of bushels, or three miilion POF)) Ol» and quarters of barley, and, at three quarters per acre(after allowin ’ d j’ 1 P\ g four for seed,&c. see barley) is, in acres-.- ius) Distillers—One-tenth of che last number--.- 100,000 Starch, hair-powder, and other manufactures; loss by vermin,) -:& 89,000 are about damp, and casualties, the produce of---= B) ALU avUUL Corn consumed by oxen, sheep, hogs, poultry, rabbits,&c.-- 40,000 } i] 1”{har 4>.-= IU Ulal dil Hlorses—Consume corn to the amount of the produce of‘from one rally one and a half to three acres each, or on the average two aeres. Way one 1 Ho VSCS. at eacil; Arable land employs about one horse to every fifteen ¥)/ 7 7 292 Lerst<.: 933333 acres, which, on 14,000,000 acres, is-- Grass land employs one horse to every I0o0 acres, 2 ; S 213,000 ce this nt which, on 21,300,000, is-=-- 5 Number of horses used in agriculture=-- 1,140,333 Horses kept for pleasure, and taxed== 200,000 Ditto-‘- but not entered= 40,000 Post-chaise horses, maitl-coach horses, Bape) coach horses, hackney-coach horses,&c. sup- S op;c02 posed to be about==~== Ah Carry forward=-= 330,000 1,146,333 220,0 Willa 559) 1333»~20,000 Spy A: Hh z Brought —— oi a ae——‘ a a mars a ee ee== SSS EE pai ss ae 484 ESTIMATE,&c. Horses. Acres, oe t es 5 Brought forward-= 330,000 1,146,333 5,22b,000 Horses used in waggons and carts, in mills, ca- ] r navicah]“iverss}- nals, and navigable rivers; in caravans, and LOK.= 2 ahs 240,000 for all the other purposes of draught not before described--<> a Cavalry, of all the various descriptions-= 306,000 Number of horses not used in agriculture proper- 669,060 Total number of horses~ 2-- 1,746,333* Which, at 2 acres each, will consume the produce, of) acres. arable land,-- ics--; 3,492,666 Colts, though too young for labour, are allowed a little corn, which I shall suppose to be as much as ted 655334 produce of about---==< Total quantity of land producing horse-corn- Sm Oh gellehiyeres, Land cropped with turnips, carrots, parsnips, cabbages and potatoes, coriander seed for the brewers and druggists, canary seed for birds, and with dyers, physical and culinary herbs; cultivated by ‘ 1,400,000 the plough=== E= as===~ Clovers, rye-grass,&c. one year’s ley, in the proportion of I-loth 1,400,000 £'a//ow—In the proportion of 2-1oths===== 2,800,000 The consumption of the country requires in aration- 14,378,000 But we import corn proportionate to the produce of upwards of= 378,000 Which deducted from the foregoing number, leaves the quantity 2; ae ee- 14,000,000 of arable land in South Britain rather under-+=- S$ PO” ——t In order to discover the quantity of land cropped with each species of grain, I shall adopt the following Aypothe- sis, founded on my own observations, made in most of the counties in England, viz. that, including the common arable fields, 6-10ths of all the arable land in South Bri- tain is cultivated under the old‘system of wheat, spring corn, fallow: 3-10ths is in something like the rotation of wheat, turnips, spring corn, clover: and the remaining 1-10th is in a course of oats, roots, clover. * The commissioners for taxes could probably give a more correct account of the number of horses.—F. Ma, First —— iy ESTIMATE,&c. 48% Bi Total First position, 6-roths divided by 3—fallow 2—wheat 2—oats& beans2 6 Second position, 3-loths divided by 4—wheat 0,75—barley and rye 0,75 2 3 —roots 0,7§—clover 0,75= x= Bs» Third position, 1-Ioth divided by 3—oats and beans 9,5—roots 0,25 he: clover 0,25=--==== General proportion—fallow 2—wheat 2,75--oats and beans 2,5—barley 2- i 4 and rye o,75—roots I—clover I== a 4= B) ; According to this statement, every ten million acres of Tay Se i fee ae rele an} 17 arable land is cropped in the following proportions, viz. W heat 2.%c¢O.000 acres VY tiCd-~-~ bd 49 f 50,090 acres. e. J Oats‘and beans hide) oe 2,500,000 alas= 1 MEG) GG) Darley and rye 2-- 7 50,000 moet)< NS 3,958,009 Kootsis ss ae ae 1,000,000 ‘~ la Clover sia 25 es= Fe 1100, 000 ” 140,000 Fallow=---- rr é=:~ Sy Total 10,000,000 acres, 5> Be ne ee By which also it appears, that the corn-crops, includ- ing beans, are in the‘proportion of six to ten; the green crops in that of two to ten; and the fallow, of two to ten. 14,090,000 Having before shewn that there is at most fourteen —— millions of acres of land in aration in South Britain, we wi must, in order to discover the quantity of land annually cla cropped with each ae of grain,&c. apply the fore- Pe age nee te ee tee ee ee 2,75, so is 14 to bo going postulatum; and say as 10 Is tO 2595,,SO iS 34, to AN 3,850,000 acres of wheat; and as 10 isto 0,75, so is 14 to ie 1,050,000 acres of barley and rye; and so of the rest, es Which shews that the soil of f Engl and and Wales is ually cropped with the following quantities of each — of grain,&c. thus: W heat=©= ee eee Barley and rve eI= Carry forward-« 4,900,000 acres. H h 2 Broucht ef pe Brought 3 ee 486 ESTIMATE,&c. A LAC EG 6 } Brought forward-- 4,900,C00 Osis and Deans.—.'- 2== 35500,000 Clover, rye-grass,&c. 1 year’s ley 1,400,000 Turnips and other roots, as aforesaid 1,400,000 £1,200,000 Fallow, as aforesaid 2- 2,000,000 ‘Together--- 14,000,000 Hop-grounds—On the supposition that ten) million of inhabitants in Britain and Ireland| use 3lb, each, and that rather under 6cwt. Pp 44,000 is the average produce per acre, the total quantity would.he 264,000 cwt. or|- J Nursery-grounds about-=- 10,000 Fruit and kitchen-gardens cultivated by the SPACE. a aie ya ke} Pleasure-grounds— The dressed and ee. able parts only: the rest being either pas-{ 2.0,0CO tured by cattle, or mown for hay—- 14,124,000 Land depastured by cattle; leys of more’) than one vear; meadow of natural grasses,| :| meadow of sown grasses, and water-mea-‘. 21,300,000 dow and orchards on grass land, which includes the cyder countries*,—- J Hedge-rows, copses, and woods-- 2,CQ0,000 Ways; pwalers,> OC) os)+ 8 1400 2,000 ee Cuitivated land in England and Wales 39,027,000 Carry forward--- 39,027,000 * This quantity of grass Jand includes parks, paddocks and pleasure. grounds, that are either mown for hay or grazed by cattle.—7. 4. ee BS) Brought ESTIMATE,&c. 487 Acres. Brought forward-~~ 39,027,000 Commons and waste lands, as mentioned in Sir John Sinclair’s Address to the Board 7,089,000 of Acriculture..=.-..2yie= Total in England and Wales= 46,916,000 0,009 Horse food equivalent to) acres, A 29¢ arses. at Our ee, 1,746,333 horses, at four+ 6,985,332 acres each, is see 44,000 Ditto colts, under the age of- 26} 514,668 Jabour, and horses past labour, eee Fallows te ee se ye ia ie Pe me 2 900,000 ie Ways and water“2°.(s i==. 1,603,000 0,000 Pleasure-srounds©=:-*=.=. 4.> 20,000 Manufactories, vermin, damp, must,&c.- 80,000 Nursery-grounds----=-= 10,000 9,000 Hedge-rows, copses, woods--- 2,000,000 Druggists, physical herbs, roots,&c.-- 10,000 2.4,000 ene 14,02 3,000 @ommons+>==)==| oC g ce ray Together-- 21,912,000 to be taken from 46,916,000 acres, the quantity of land 40,919; 1 y 400,000 in England and Wales, leaves 25,004,000, vhereof the re produce is consumed by human beings in the propor- ge tion of 3 1-8th acres each. By attending to the preced- 027,000 ing part of this account, it will appear that it is divided oe in the following proportions, namely, for bread 4 an acre; I acres; th of an acre; for animal food, near 2 and for roots, greens, and fruit 1-50th of an aere. Should for liquids Hh 4 the 458 ESTIMATE,&c. the commons be included in the quantity for supplying animal food, they would increase that part of the account to 3 48-100 acres. No peison will expect any of these quantities to be er true, particularly as we have no maps of England that can be depended on, for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of land, not even, perhaps, nearer than eight in ten of the atual quantity. This sort of calculation is only meant to furnish the mind wit! some general ideas respecting England and Wales ae There are annually sold at Smit / hfield-market, about 100,000 bullocks and 700,000 she p. here are many sold at several of the towns and large villages near London, of which no account is taken, perhaps equal t¢ to the weer of Southwark, and all the places out of this cot inty that lie within five or ten miles of town, consequently the in- habitants of this county consume nearly as much animal food as is sold at Smithfield, F or Midd al le: SCX. Stone. 100,000 beast, at 190 stone of 8lb. each, is 10,000,000 2 t 4s. isL.3,400,000 700,000 sheep, at 10 stone each== 7,000,000$ Lambs 25, calves 24, hogs& pigs 2, together 7,000,000 at5s.1S 1,400,000 Poultry, game and fish 5-10ths; dairy 6-roths 1,100,000 at 6s. is 220,000 Total< e~~ 25,100,000£,. 5,020,000 Ga! 1 ae ie A sedis Lahey an eee hae er which, divided amongst 648,347 inhabitants, is but litte } neg: wander 39 stone, costing about 81. each person, 5, For England and Wales Stone. One million of bullocks, at go stone each, is o 2. 90,000,000 Nine millions of sheep, at’9 stone each, is=<-- 81,000,000 Lambs 8, calves 8, swine, fish, poultry, game,& dairy, 24; together 40,000,000 "Total- P ae x 4 0tal=@ Py o B a 211,000,000 i which, ana Q ESTIMATE,‘vc. 489 Li PP!Yiniy eens Z 4: rye which, at 4s. a stone(offal included in the price, but not aC COynS; in the weight), amounts to 42,200,000l. sterling per annum; which, being divided among eight millions of ¥d(0D: as“: 1 inhabitants, is 262 stone: and being priced in the same j of: a pe at : manner, amounts to 51. ss. 6d. per head, the meat nea1 y fo 4lb. 10z. per week for each person. ethap PO, ee cheek= aa It was given in evidence, on passing the last wool bill, 1) OFT 7 1° es pa| 5 a si Pl ee 4 that the clip of England and Wales amounted annually With 1 S Pe/ Sinceeg, ea ¢: quis : to about 600,000 packs, or 144,000,000 of pounds, which oa nee sell at ten-pence per pound, and produce 0,000,000]. ster- ling. ae a I take the average yield to be about 3 1b. of wool from 2 Many aera? GPL YAIRI EL ee hon each sheep, therefore dividing 144,000,000 by 33, gives ire, me 38,400,000 as the stock of sheep; and I apprehend ~~ a,| they consist nearly of rf Z 0,000| ing€ 3, which bring as many lambs. The. In- former are killed off at an average of five years old,& 2,900,000 or annually-----~= 24,000,000 other sheep which are killed off at an average of three pik deca pa lec re:° ¢ 8,000,000 Yeats, OF annually---~-- 3©,400,000— ee Total number of sheep killed an: ually== 10,900,000 Lambs slaughtered~-~---- 2,800,000 Lambs and sheep die carrion(principally from the rot) I-20th 9 0,009‘: s 700,000 of the(wo las€ numbers, or--~-- 0 Yearly increase and decrease=°{4,400,000 The mutton, taken at nine stone per sheep, gives t hide 08,000,000 stone as the yearly consumption. The foregoing statement is drawn up from the argu- ]}° ra a c ae ments used on both sides of the two houses of parliament, =.. Shean. ees Ay G.=+ and the evidence given on passing the last act for regulat- ) ing the removal of wool. 00,000 It implies a greater quantity of mutton annually killed f o 1/ 3)> than 1s to be met with in any other account, and a oreater = d> oO is number of sheep than I think there are in South Britain. About 499 ESTIMATE,&Xc. About 2 of a sheep per acre, would probably average the cultivated ground.‘This would amount to 29} millions, and allowing 22 millions for the commons, would make 32,000,000 as the number of stock sheep in England and Wales; which yielding 3 41b. of wool each, would be 120,000,000 lb. or 500,000 packs, at is. per Ib. is 6,000,000 I. sterling. In the proportion of 12,000,000 ewes killed in 5 years, or annually 2,400,000 20,000,000 wethers in 3 years, or annually 6,700,000 32,000,000 Total number of sheep killed annuall= a SREUT 100,000 ’, Lambs ditto-===- 2,300,000 Lambs and sheep which die carrion“ 600,000 Yearly increase and decrease 12,000,000 The mutton, taken at nine stone per sheep, gives $1 g-10ths million stone as the yearly consumption. The medium between the two accounts is 10,000,000 sheep, and 90,000,000 stone weight of mutton. Estimate of the annual produce of the agricultural ca- pital of England and Wales. 41,200,000 acres of arable land in crop annually, at 51. is-£. 56,000,000 44,000 of hop-ground, at 30]. is---- 1,320,000 30,000 of nurseries, at from sol. to lool. say at only 501. is 500,000 50,000 of garden-ground cultivated by the spade, aes : 3,000,000 sol. to too]. say at only 6ol. is-= 20,000 of unprofitable pleasure-ground which cost a? quarter ofa million in labour, and return nothing> 21,300,000 of grass land, at 31. is----* 63,900,000 7,889,000 of commons------* 1,000,000 40,613,000 aie) Carthy onward= a==£,. 125,720,000 Millions. * This part of the account might be varied, by stating the 2 ay-@ 42 2.-Toths amount of animal food at-== a== The wool, at----== 2= 6 The tallow, skin, bones,&c. at-=-== jo Fed by horses,&c.--- 5° a== 6,7 The produce of animals--1oths which is the same amount asin the text.—7. MM. ESTIMATE,&C. 4Q1 40,613,000 acres. Brought forward--=-£. 125,720,000 2,000,900 of woods, copses and hedge-rows, at los.~ 1,000,000 1,003,000 ot ways, water,&c..--== ANd and peat Sap is;::=e ay 44,116,000 Total annual produce ofland=~-££. 126,720,000 wry) pads} ie MOUIC De 2,800,000 of fallow T 1D, 1s 46,91> total Which costs in labour, artificers and horse-keep-~ 56,720,000 Remains net increase in yalue on the produce of the land per ann.£. 70,000,000 Of which the landlords take~--- 42 The state, in taxes and tithes~-.= Od 1 And the farmers are permitted to share the remaining 15 -— which is all they receive in return for interest of capital, bitin skill, industry and attention. , gives If the manufacturing and commercial part of Great Britain were to be tried by this rule, namely, of sharing 00,000 less than one-fourth part of their real gains, as appears to icultural branch of the commu- be the case with the ag nity, they could not exist an hour, under what they ral ca- ir ies La==] ee MOCRINY would term such severe oppression. 9,000,000 \, 0 ,000 000 Ug CHAPTER 492 MEANS OF IMPROVEME Cia AP EE Reva MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. THE following summary will, in some measure, shew that more has been done within the bills of mortality, with a view to beneft and improve the inhabitants, than in a other part of the kingdom. There are five hundred and two places of public ¢¢ worship. Four thousand and fifty seminaries for education(in- “* cluding two hundred and thirty-seven parish charity-~ *¢ schools). Eight societies for the express purpose of promoting €¢ good morals. Ten societies for promoting the learned, the useful, *¢ and the polite arts. «* One hundred and twenty-two asylums, and alms- “ houses, for the helpless and indigent(including the 66 Philanthropic Society for the rec claiming of criminal ** children) ae fi ee hospitals and dispensatories for sick and lame, € “ and for deliver ing poor pregnant women. ‘> Seven hundred and four friendly or benefit socie- e > * ties, and institutions for charitable and humane purposes. “¢ Which several institutions, including the poor’s-rate ra ‘ of about 245,000]. are supported at the almost incre- “* dible sum of 750,000]. per annum*. w For * In this, and two or three adjoining counties, public institutions abound; but there is a great want of economy in mostof them,‘They are, for the reatex MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. 493 * For the administration of justice, there are provided 9 the following courts, offices,&c.. r 4 AN t Senses ets SARS ‘ Thirteen supreme courts. f Fy ie aoe RB OA Fg oe ee Beet eee ‘ Forty-eight subordinate courts(includine quarter. >(=) a a re wee=e Qe Aey & sessions, courts of request, cc.) iy‘6"Thete are ceven thonsand and farty larxiverc ana r There are seven thousand and forty lawyers practis- €e¢ ing in these several courts. ay/«« There are fourteen gaols, and five houses of correCtion. SON arsine cai Samed De Soe gIN otwithstanaing all these, it is a melancholy truth, re) «¢ that vice and immorality are daily gaining strength, ¢= air har Mera aah F:== ‘ 1g their baneful influence over the inhabi- P 3 Be Y C < listrict. t pnni bet I hisieces is: y.— The recove /s in the vreate ion(in ne Ss cing rendered more easy, speedy and certain- ,? aAevVes 10 aS), Speed) Ha CYLGIN 5 ’“<< and of beins reduced to the least expence possible, Ac- vie een Sa Sep| rae es rae“5>} VOPils, ViIO AVAl> OF the ‘ imperfections of the law. gyeater part, verted into expensive jobs, and furnish luxurious support ce P t conve into expensive jobs, a nish Irious support to few individuals, atthe public expence. There is scarcelya treasurer to Its ny public istitution haritable“DO x]>: y public institut charitable purposes, who shews any disposition to iniuse into the administration of its finances, the smallest portion of that eco- nomy which he, so properly, exercises in his own private establishment. Even chaplain to one of them, at this time, costs the subscribers as much as the 1edium income of a dozen country vicars.— 7% MM, “lo =— ae= Se pitted ee_— 404 MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT.& *° To convince the reader that this observation is not hazarded on weak grounds, and that the evil is so great as to cry aloud for a remedy, it is only necessary to state, that in this county alone, in the year 1793, the number of bailable writs and executions for debts from ten to twenty pounds, were§719, and the debts sued for amounted to 81,7911. ¢ Tt will scarcely be credited, although it is unques- ** tionably true, that the mere costs of these actions, «* though made up, and not defended at all, would amount cE to 68.728 1.; and if contested, the expence would be no «: Tess than 285,950. «© Between six and seven thousand persons are arrested 1 «* annually in Middlesex, one half of whom are for debts “under twenty pounds. In the kingdom at large, the ¢* number is not less than forty thousand for trifling debts « in the course of a year.“Phe unavoidable expence, in ** money, and loss of time, at the lowest computation, is *« but little under a million pounds sterling: a most griev- ‘ ous burden, which, on many occasions, sends both “« parties toa gaol, involving the ruin of themselves and << their families. «© The mind is lost in astonishment at the deficiency é . of this important branch of the jurisprudence of the a Pa country. “© Humanity, justice, and policy, plead for the amendment “ of a system so contrary ta reason, and so shocking ta hu- a Pal manity*.” Most of the means of improving practical agriculture, which occur to me at present, are mentioned in the fore- going parts of this volume. In this place I shall, there- fore, only add the following observations. * For the foregoing account I am indebted to Mr. Colquhoun’s admirable Treatise on Police,—F. M. I n i MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT: 405 LON 1S to 1 99 ory In the progress of evaporation, a vast quantity of en- Cesar t riching particles rise, from every putrid substance, into 1902, th the atmosphere, especially where the wind moves with a lebts from quick, or uninterrupted current, as it does on downs, lebts sue hills, and extended plains; from which zt carries off more than it deposits; and thus has a tendency to impoverish such places. In situations sheltered by hills, plantations, &c. stagnant air is produced, which deposits more than it takes up—this difference tends towards enriching low Jand; consequently, if high and numerous hedge-rows, plantations, and lofty trees, were raised in exposed situa- tions, they would interrupt the injurious current, and procure a milder air, which is more friendly to vegeta- tion. Improvements in /ve stock, in a.great measure depend on first improving the produce of the soil. Plenty of fares, turnips, clover, and cole,*may be raised on very ordinary land.‘They will support the best stock, and, pT Iey- provided the soil be sufficiently dry to bear the treading of both cattle in every season, even though the land be either za- es and turally poor, or exhausted by bad husbandry, a succession of these crops being consumed on it, will rapidly advance ficiency it into the productive class. 4 he Mr. Bakewell’s system of improving cattle, should be generally adopted; and, by rearing J c them on such food as may be produced on inclosed arable land, the live stock of I. the nation would be made to equal the best at this time. A similar method of annually selecting the most choice alte seeds, roots, and fruits, should become universal; by fie which means the improvement in the vegetable, would No downs, sheep-walks, or waste land, should be lett with any farm, except on the express condition of its be- rile ing brought into the most perfect cultivation. 496 MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. No tough old sward should be broken up without par- ing and burning. A tares, Hees and wheat, every two years. od farmer, of a dry soil, should aim at having J aa Every proprietor of a large landed estate should occupy one of his own farms, which, being cultivated on the most improved scientific principles; would teach the neighbouring tenantry the best practice, by the most pow- erful of all means, example. An act of parliament ought to be passed, to prevent the conversion of timber plants into pollards, and to enforce the cutting down of all the present pcllards.“This might be so managed as to convert two millions of acres of hedge-rows into nurseries for growing timber trees. le would also be the means of adding very much to the pr of the land-owner; of increasing the beauty of the coun- try; and of providing the most ample support for our ship- ping.—(Vide pages 277, 278) Improvements should, generally, be made by the tenants, in consideration of long leases.“This would secure the rent to the landlord, with other advantages.—(Vide pages 283, 284, and 285). Any contrivance by which the land could be preserved from deterioration, would be a valuable acquisition both to the landlord and the public. Perhaps an act of parlia- ment should be passed for this purpose, requiring, that on the expiration of every lease, a valuation should be made a es LSA of the waste committed on the soil, hedges, ditches, and drains, as, well as on the as and the amount of such valuation to be paid by the outgoing tenant, to the gmcoming one.— 82, and 8 a U 0 ds and plantati 1 f, 7° the beauty of the country} ie climate, and to made to contribute to the wealth of the nation, by being raised only among A| roc KS» SSO Se CR ee MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. 497 yocks, and on such hills, mountains, and other situations, as are unfit for the production of more valuable crops. ; The wastes, Which, in their present state, serve only Minne as a resort for robbers, as the seat of agues in man, and a of rottenness in sheep, and to keep up a worthless breed of Of the cattle, might be advanced, by cultivation, so as to rank with the best land in the kingdom, Canals being introduced in so general a way as to leave few places more than five, or seven miles distant from one; and the roads being kept so clean and hard as to be almost free from every obstruction, would be very im- portant advantages to farmers. An increasing population(as the greater number of mouths to be supplied will create ready markets) must be pn friendly to agriculture. Cities, therefore, being the graves of mankind, reduce this demand much below what ut ship- it would be, if the inhabitants were more equally distri- buted over the more healthy parts of the kingdom. tenants, Peace, as it usually gives much greater energy to the ure the industry of the inhabitants, is the principal cause of in- creasing wealth among the middle, and more numerous classes of society, and, consequently, induces a greater preserved consumption of animal food; which will, as certainly, th require a larger extent of cultivated ground*. It is self- f parlia evident, that, as the wealth of the country increases, the demands on the soil must increase in somewhat of the same proportion; and these demands cannot much longer be satisfied, without inclosing and cultivating the waste Jand+. *“ In times of peace, the busy hand of labour plies, the plough, the ** shuttle, the hammer and the spade. The reward is plenty, rapid ime fe to* provement in the arts, and increasing population.”’’—W. P. + Every acre will support its man well, so long as he continues to live on vegetable food; but only let him change his diet to one meal per day of ng animal food, and he will require the produce of four acres.— 7, MM, f cksy I 1 To 4.98 MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. To finish the account, commerce would be much benee fited, and the wealth of the nation augmented, by carry- ing the surplus products of the soil to the markets of other nations. On the whole, the improvements here enumerated, properly carr ied into effeét, would double the annual amount of the agricultural capital of the country; and, although they are too considerable in number, as well as in magnitude, to be very speedily accomplished, yet they are certainly attainable; and if the gentlemen who com- pose the Board of Agriculture, shoul Id only be the means of putting them in the way ultimately ta arrive at periec- tion, they will deserve the grate>ful thanks of every Briton. That the endeavours of the Board will, in the end, be crowned with success, it would be unreasonable to doubt, since we know that the growth of both clover and turnips was at first reluCtantly adopted by farmers; and fares are still only grown in patches, as clover and turnips ae, were. There is little doubt, however, but that ¢ hey wi soon attain the pre-eminence they deserve. I shall conclude with advising to make experiments on a small scale at first; as, if they were always so made, till they flashed conviétion on the sceptic, the discredit some- times arising from great miscarriages, would be entirely done away.: cONe es+—— CONCLUSION. 499 Ch bens by Carty, S Of Other CONCLUSION. erated, if Ie annual try; and, 8 well a3 IN the preceding work I have endeavoured, so far as yet they my information and ability enabled me, to give a faithful ho a picture of the present practice of the county of Middlesex, he means in regard to agriculture; together with such observations at perfec. and remarks thereon, as occurred to me at the time of ry Briton, writing them; in doing which, and in recommending a he any new system, either from my own experience, or esa the practice of other counties, I have acted from the tip full conviction of the utility of such measures, and the cer-—‘ aa tainty of their proving highly beneficial to the nation at ‘ large. i ie In the discussion of such subjeéts as may be deemed not immediately relating to agriculture, though in some measure connected therewith, I have endeavoured to con- nents on fine my remarks to those particulars only that appeared to nade me most deserving the attention and concern of the landed dit interest in general. Ny I have also, with a degree of earnestness proportioned to the magnitude of the subject, endeavoured to point out some of the most material obstacles to the improvement of agriculture, and thrown out a few hints, for the conside- ration of more able men, towards removing those obstacles. These, I hope, will be received with candour, and with that attention which the interest and importance of the subject itself is more entitled to claim, than the manner in which it has been discussed by me. }1 J have, cone ee a 509 CONCLUSION. I have now only to return my most grateful acknowe Jedgments to every gentleman who has kindly come tor- ward, and given me such assistance as lay in his power. To many of them, I am under very great obligations. JOHN MIDDLETON. Khor We Me for. Pc| AP 2 Pt x. tons, NO. if5 ACCOUNT OF IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. BY THE REVEREND JAMES COOKE, OF RED- LION-SQUARE, LONDON. «© WN my several excursions some years past, for the pur- pose of introducing the drill system, which is now sufficiently understood by practical farmers to ensure its success, I found in this island about twenty plou_hs of different constructions. It occurred to me they could not all be equally rigat, or that, if one out of the twenty was right, the remaining nineteen must be wrong.‘There- upon, the true principle of the common plough became an object of investigation, in which I was for some time misled, by endeavouring to class it, as others had done before me,-with the mechanical power called the wedge. I was not long in discovering my error, and that it was not the wedge, but the mechanical power called the inclined plane, that constituted the true principle of the common plough. «© From the imperfections which I observed in the work of common ploughs, some furrows being set too much on the edge, others laid quite flat(both extremes equally wrong) I concluded that their medium could not : ae: be 502 ACCOUNT OF IMPLEMENTS. be far from being right; I therefore fixed on the angle of five and forty degrees for the form of the fore and hind parts of the plough, with a mould-board uniformly twisted, as best adapted for taking up, or raising the furrow with the greatest ease, and delivering it with the greatest regu- larity. On this principle I had a plough constructed; which, on trial, answered the intended purpose and my expectations. ‘¢ Being satished with the principles of this plough, and that the exact form might be preserved, I had it cast in iron, with the land and furrow sides growing together, which renders it not only strong and durable, but unalter- able by workmen. It is made without wheels; but I prefer wheels, two before and one behind, a deal of fric- tion being thereby obviated, and consequently less draught required. ‘¢ The strongest proof of accuracy in the construction of any plough, consists in every part of the mould-board bearing an equal resistance to the approaching furrow, which is ascertained by every part of the mould-board receiving an equal polish from the friction of the furrow. «© Admitting this plough to be mechanically true, which I trust I am able to demonstrate, and that it performs its work better, and requires less draught than any other plough I have hitherto met with, my hopes of living to see it in general use are, nevertheless, not very sanguine, owing to the attachment of ploughmen in general to the ploughs of their respective counties, and the true principle of ploughs not being sufficiently understood by their em- ployers. Ishall, nevertheless, persevere in the use and introdu€tion of this plough, believing it to be the best, until I can find a better. ‘© The cultivator’? may be considered as an appendage to the drill, being applied to the drill axis when at work. It ACCOUNT OF IMPLEMENTS. 503 € of° hind It is particularly useful in making clean fallows of all te, descriptions at half the expence oi ploughing,&c. Ie with consists of a diagonal beam, with from three to seven a shares of different sizes, for various uses, applied to two us ed handles, by which it is guided laterally, and may also be as forced into the ground to any given depth at pleasure. It il] Cc 7 Oo a is used as a substitute for ploughing and harrowing, by tearing or lacerating the soil internally, without tearing a furrow. The narrow shares or scarifiers, are, in some ast: Rie ee:: cases, used for obtaining a tilth in light soils without itt,::: | ploughing at all, and the broad shears for cutting up a let-= fleece of weeds, and afterwards leaving them to perish on the surface of the land. « In strong compact soils, if land is ploughed once oO before winter, or early in the spring, the remainder of the business, in making a clean fallow, may be performed without repeated ploughings, better than with them, and ¢ at half the expence. By the action of the plough some ' weeds are turned down and buried, others are transplanted: d by the action of the cultivator, they are all brought up to W, the surface, and left there exposed. I cannot here suff- ich ciently describe the utility of this implement, particularly ts in obtaining an expeditious tilth for barley and oats after her turnips, without ploughing. g(0«« In preparing land for barley,&c. after turnips, I ine, cannot consider the plough and harrow of any other use the but to obtain a proper tilth, or pulverization of the soil, ile all which may be obtained by a proper and seasonable use he of the cultivator, in half the time, and at half the expence, onl with the richest and clearest portion of the soil left on the surface for the reception of the seed; instead, as in the first instance, of its being turned down by the plough, out . of the reach of the fibres of plants, and a raw or less fertile soil brought up for the reception of the seed. hick 66 J never —— SS Ere ee Se ea 504 THRASHING MACHINES. «< T never see common harrows at work, but I am pre- sented with ideas of aukwardness, respecting the process and danger both to men and horses; both which are obvi- ated in my practice, by applying a proper harrow to the under side of the coulter beam of the drill. The harrow, in that case, supplies the place of the coulters, and may be lifted up at pleasure to discharge the accumulated weeds, or forced down, so as to overcome the resistance of complete soils: and by being lifted up at the ends of lands, it clears off the ground; and all danger, while the horses are turning round, is thereby done away.” «« The practice here recommended so strongly by Mr. Cooke, is adopted in this county by Mr. Ruberry, of Sutton-court farm, Chiswick; by Mr. Winter of Acton; and Mr. Thorn of Ealing: The first of these gentlemen has experienced great advantages from it, and is sanguine in his expectation, that, if pursued with spirit, it will prove highly beneficial to the arable culture of the lands throughout the kingdom.”—(Foot’s Survey.) NO. II. ON THRASHING MACHINES. BY MR. M‘DOUGAL. Prices of thrashing with the flail, hand-mill, and horse-mill. Vith the flail. Prices according to the wages of the country, from 4d. to 6d. per bushel. Two ca >> c THRASHING MACHINES. 505 per bushel. per quarter. Seta. Oy toe Two men thrash 1 quarter per day,} 43 ;, 5S Rhee) where the wages are 1s. 6d. each, at 2s. each or G£3 By the hand-mill. Sai Two men, at is. 6d. each, is 3. O Two boys, at gd. each, is 1 6 se hee f oO 22 I Qt AG They thrash 20 bushels in ten hours. By the horse-mill. From a survey of East Lothian mill, which cost 801. and is worked with four horses. It thrashes 30 quarters in 10 hours. The expence is statedat-- O Ij a besides building the horse-shed, and requiring a much larger barn to hold the machine. The hand-mill requires no additional building, and the expence of it is less. Eight farmers were present at an experiment made by the hand-mill machine. It thrashed two bushels per hour; and they all agreed, that there would be at least e machine thrashing ~ one bushel gained im sixteen, by tl so much cleaner. Mr. M*Dougal, the maker of the hand-machine, has invented a new method of applying a lever to increase the velocity of a circular motion, by which a man is enabled to thrash 20 bushels of wheat in 10 hours, at an expence not exceeding 21d. per bushel, or 1s. 8d. per quarter. And this method of applying a lever may also be made use of