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THE
RURAL ECONOMY
OF THE
SOUTHERN COUNTIES;
COMPRIZING
KENT, SURREY, SUSSEX;
THE ISLE OF WIGHT;
the CHALK HILLS of
WILTSHIRE, HAMPSHIRE, 8cc:
AND INCLUDING
THE CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF
HOPS,
IN THE
DISTRICTS of MAIDSTONE,
CANTERBURY, and FARNHAM.
By Mr. MARSHALL.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
i'RIN TED FOR G. NICOL, BOOKSELLER TO
KIS MAJESTY, PALL-UALtj G. G. AND J. ROBINSON,
paternoster-row; and j. debrett,
piccadilly.
1798.
t
ANALYTIC TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
OF THE
SECOND VOLUME.
ISLE OF THANET.
Introductory Remarks, 1.
The District described, 2.
Situation, formerly, insular.
Extent, about fifty square Miles, 3.
In Elevation — Upland.
The Surface — tame.
Climature somewhat forward, 4.
Notwithstanding its Exposure.
Its Waters — those of the Sea.
Its Soils — calcareous Loams, 5.
Subsoil— Chalk Rubble.
Substructure, probably a Mass of Chalk.
The Roads good and free, 6.
VOL. II. a
D. H. HNLL LIBRARY
COITIITIi
Townships numerous.
State of Inclosure : — mostlv open.
Present Productions — arable Crops.
Scenery of the Island — tame, 7.
Views from it — most interesting.
Agriculture, 8.
Farms variously sized.
Homestalls mostly in Villages.
Farm Buildings.
Barns of extraordinary appearance.
Remarks on Straw as a Covering of Build:
Beasts of Draft — Horses, 10.
Plow Team — four.
Implements.
Turnwrest Plow invariably used.
Subplows, in various forms.
A peculiar one, in East Kent, N. 1 1.
Objects of Husbandry, 1 1.
Arable Crops, Sheep, and Swine.
The Crops enumerated.
No Hops, in the Island.
Course of Practice, 12.
No regular Succession ;
But a valuable Principle observed.
Summer Fallows abound, 13.
An Instance of their Utility :
And of the Folly of drilling foul Land.
Tillage, 14.
Different Species of Fallows.
Sod burning in good Esteem.
Manures, 14.
Species enumerated.
Composts much used.
Semination, 15.
Drilling is in partial Use.
Common, near Margate, and why, 16.
ISLE OF THANET. Hi
General Remarks on the DrillHusd an dr y, 16.
Harvesting, 24.
Mowing Wheat in Use.
Women employed in Gleaning.
Tithe taken in Kind.
Remark on this Impropriety.
Method of Shearing mown Corn, 25.
Bands laid down, by Children.
Remark on this judicious Practice.
Wheat, 26.
The Proportional Quantity is great.
Very little of it hoed.
Practice of Mowing noticed.
Barley, 27.
The Proportion very great.
Mostly fallowed for.
Mown, as in West Kent.
Drawn, and thrashed, for Bands ! 28.
This would be eligible, for Oats.
Oats, 28.
Proportional Quantity small.
Some drilled and hoed !
Beans, 29.
Proportion very great.
Their Culture exemplary.
Note on the partial Culture of the Bean.
Peas, 29.
A prevalent Crop.
And well cultivated, 30.
Turneps, 30.
Prevalent on the upper Grounds.
In high Cultivation.
Potatoes, 30.
Not seen, as a Farm Crop !
Canary Seed, 31.
The Proportion very small.
Radish and other Garden Seeds, 31.
a 2
CONTENTS.
Sainfoin, 31.
The Proportional Quantity remarkably great.
The Crops exceedingly good.
Its Culture, here, an Object of Inquiry.
An (.xrraordinary Incident respecting it, 32.
Survived the Operation of Sodburning !
Practical Remarks, on this Incident, 33.
Lucern, 33.
An ordinary Crop in Husbandry.
Cultivated in the broadcast Manner.
Clovers, 34.
Mostly red and yellow.
The latter chiefly cultivated for Sheep-
Grassland, 34.
None, on the Body of the Island.
That of the Marshes ill managed.
Horses, 34.
Cattle, 35.
A few milk Cows only seen.
The Breed mongrel.
Swine, 35.
The Number considerable.
The Breed mongrel.
The Spirit of Breeding still dormant.
Sheep, 35.
Sm-11 folding Flocks common.
The Breed that of East Kent.
.ark on this Breed, 36.
Folding.
Watered in the Fold.
Fatted on Clover and Trefoil, folded off, for Wheat ,
An eligible Practice.
State of Husbandry, 37.
Its Rank in English Agriculture.
Some foul bad Farming.
In the Culture of Pulse it excel?.
Its Error, in the Com Cuhure.
In Livestock, far behind, 38.
ISLE OF THANET.
Improvements suggested, 38.
Introductory Remarks.
General Remarks on inclosing the Isle of Thanet.
How far Planting is required, 40.
On laying out the upper Lands, into Farms, 4.1.
Reducing the present Expence of Tillage, 43.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM.
Introductory Remarks, 45.
To the Petworth Quarter.
To the Valley of Farnham, 46.
Situation, 47.
Extent — very small— defined.
Soils and Subsoils vary, 49.
Species of Hop, 51.
Planting Hops.
Preparing the Soil.
Disposition and Distance.
Skreens to young Hop Grounds, 52.
Culture of grown Hops, 53.
Remarks, on the diiference of Practice, hetweco
Farnham and Kent.
Note on introducing Team Labor, 54.
Manure, 55.
Dressing the Roots, in the Spring.
Poles, 56.
Their Species and Price.
Method of Piling them.
Poling.
Number to a Hill.
The Disposition singular
The Distance.
M CONTENTS.
The Season of Poling, particularized, 57.
The Method of Poling ..escribed, 5S.
T
The Season of Tying.
Remark, on tne Spring Scenery.
■her of Vines to a Pole, 59.
The Choice of V.
Remarks or. ect* 60.
The Bands, or Ties, 61.
g up a third I
Retying the Icose Vines, 6*.
!fting Poles, 62.
--.tion and Method.
Setting up an additional Pole.
Spare Vines, 63.
Remarks on their Treatment.
Becking, 64.
The Beck described,
"tendon and 0
Hoing, 66.
la of Hop Grounds.
The Hoes how rariously made ! 67.
-rig, 67.
The Season of Picking early, and vt
The Apparatus of Picking, 68.
. People very numerous, and
:ollected, 69.
: Distribution.
Cutting the Vines.
Method of Picking, 69.
Begin at the Bottom of the Pole I
Sorting the Hops, -z.
•. most of them, singly.
Prices of Picking, -1.
-suring.
Chiefly, by Estimation !
VALLEY OF TARNHAM. VJi
Keeping Pickers' Accounts, 72.
By Tokens, and Tallies.
The finishing Frolick, 73.
Drying, 74.
The Kiln, Fuel, and Coloring.
An extraordinary Drying House.
A good Construction of the Kiln.
Method of" Drying, 75.
The use of two Floors.
Packing, 75.
All packed, in stamped Pocket?
Markets, 76.
Chiefly Weyhill !
An Apology for this Practice.
A Regulation of Weyhill Fair.
General Remarks on the Farnham Prac-
tice, 77.
Wastes Land, Manure, and Labor, 78.
But is profitable to Proprietors and Planters ;
Though, perhaps, injurious to the Consumer, and
to the Community.
HEATHS OF SURREY, &c.
Means of Information, 81.
Situated in four Counties.
Extent about ioc,ooo Acres, 82.
Elevation various, 83.
Surface much diversified.
Soil of the worst Kind, 84.
Produce chiefly Heath.
Livestock inconsiderable, 85.
Vlll CONTENTS.
Cattle — dwarf longhorns.
Their History - -med.N.
The longaorr cd Breed terminate, here.
Sheep few in Number, 86.
A Branch of the ancient Breed ?
Rabbits not seen, on these Lands !
Fish an ordinary Species of Stock !
The Fish Ponds noticed.
Remarks on increasing them, 87.
The present State of these Lands unprofitable.
Means of Improvement, 88.
Propagating the Larch, for Ship Timber.
WEALD OF SUSSEX, kc.
Means of Information, 92.
General View of the District.
Situation well defined.
The Heaths of East Sussex and Kent noticed, N. 9$.
Extent about 200,000 Acres, 93.
Elevation low, 94.
Surface uniform.
Waters singularly circumstanced, 95.
Gives ri-.- to three Rivers.
Soils pretty uniform, 96.
The highest Grounds tlSe best.
•arks on the Accumulation of Soils.
Subsoils retentive, q~.
il Production, Q~.
Shell Stone.
WEALD OF SUSSEX* II
Roads, 98.
A few public Roads are good.
The more private ones very bad.
Ill judged Attempts to improve them.
A judicious Mode of keeping Roads, 99.
Townships large, and why, ico.
State cf Inclosure.
The appropriated Lands wholly inclosed.
Bur many open commonable Lands.
Remarks on leaving Woodland Belts, 101.
Present Productions, 102.
Chiefly arable Crops !
Yet best suited to Grass.
The Scenery of the Weald, 10^.
Management of Estates, 104.
Property much divided.
Tenancy mostly that of Leases.
Buildings chiefly Wood.
Farmeries old and fortuitous, 105.
Corn Barn described.
Hay B?.rns prevalent, and useful.
Hedges mostly Coppice Belts, 106.
Method of guarding Hedge Banks.
Gates of an old Construction, 1:-.
Method of hanging also pristine.
Woodlands and Hedgerows, 108.
Introductory Remarks.
The Subject arranged, 109.
Rise of the present Practice, no.
Its Outline, or general Economy, in.
Tim rimate object, 112.
Coppice W->od a Mean to i:.
Timber train? d from Seedling Plants ;
An Grove Timber.
Hence, the Wool Trees are straight Plank Timber.
In the Hcdgen-^s, some Knee; and Crooks, 113.
CONTENTS.
The Method of Training is judicious, 113.
The Yeomanry fern Clubs, tor this Purpose.
:. on a Point of Practice in Training, 1 14.
Remarks on the Effects of Societies of this Nature;
And the probable Advantages of public Semi-
names, 116.
On Pruning Timber Trees.
Wood Timber left untouched.
Hed-erow Timber pruned.
Remarks on pruning Timber Trees, 117.
General Remarks on the Sussex Practice of
training Timber Trees, 118.
N :e on " Seedling Oaks," 119.
On draining Woodlands, 121.
Age of felling Timber, 121.
A: present v.
One Reserve of Timber now making, 122.
Selling and valuing Timber, 122.
The Sale is by private Contract.
Method of valuing is most accurate, 123.
The Measuring Strap described.
Marking Hatchet, 124.
Method of taking down Timber, 124.
Invariably sawn off, by the Ground.
Remarks on this Practice, 125.
Method of Barking, 126.
The B-j-k well managed.
Application of Weald Timber, 127.
Converting Timber.
Coppices, 128.
Species of Woods.
Age of Felling — ten Years.
Wares of Coppices.
Hoops 129.
Gunpowder Charcoal.
A new Method of charring Wood, 130.
Note on Vegetation, 129.
These Woodlands are chiefly IN Hand, 131.
Remarks on the Disposal of Woodhtnd Produce.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. XI
Agriculture, 132.
Farms.
Their Size is of the middle Class.
The general Plan mostly good.
Their Characteristic arable !
Farmers, 133.
Yeomanry and Tenants.
Many of them poor and spiritless.
But some able to improve the Country.
Workpeople.
Few, for an Arable Country.
Not equal to the Work to be done.
Beasts of Draft, 134.
Oxen and Horses nearly equal.
Oxen decreasing, and why.
Of the Sussex Breed.
Worked in Yokes, 135.
Age of Work — decreasing, and why.
Horses are of the heavy Cart kind.
The Road Team.
Four to six Horses.
Six to ten Oxen.
The Plow Team.
Three to four Horses.
Four to eight Oxen.
Ox Cart drawn by four.
Oxen driven with the Goad, 136.
By the Yorkshire Language!
The Muzzle in Use, here.
Nets as well as Baskets.
Implements, 136.
Waggons tall and run wide.
Broad wheels in Use.
A Suggestion, respecting very broad-wheeled
Ox Waggons.
The Plow clumsey, 137.
The Plow Sledge primitive.
Remarks on its Uses, as a Roadmaker, 138.
The Roller, with a Pole, for Oxen.
The Sliding Yoke, ingenious, and useful.
Xll CONTENT S.
Plan of Management, 139.
O
Crops.
od of cultivating Furze, Note, 143.
:e;$ion.
Tillage, 1.::.
The Summer Fallow.
How rr.uch depends on the Method of conduct-
7 L
Manures, 142.
Lirr Manure.
Chit - aUL
::om a Distance.
Limekiin on ev.n.' Farm, 1^5.
: Wood.
Remarks on I Is.
Modes of app. _: — ery improper, 1^4.
Cattlej :
mber sir
The Breed that of 5 :ssex.
Lambs'. 146.
Size of Dairies.
Dairy Produce.
Butter: no Cheeses.
Sheep, 146.
Very few, except on the Comrrc
The Breed, probably, the ancient Stock or the
C
be of H:. - , 147.
Detailed, from my Journals.
Improvements suggested, 152.
Extendi? Carriage.
To Horsham and Dorking.
To G ; 5 .
Lord Egren dec Canal.
Forming: traveiable Roads, 154.
By Und^rdraining the Lanes.
By B-rrelling the Soil.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. Xlll
By making Waggon Paths, 155.
By forming h ru Barrel Roads.
Inclosing Commons, 156.
A Comm.ssion of Shores, 157.
A total Change of the piesent Husbandry.
Change the arable Lands to Grass, and the Grassy
Commons to arable.
A mode of Leying proposed, 158.
On Deepening the thinner So'ls, 162.
Converting the thinnest to Woodland.
Improvement of the Common Lands, 163.
Convert the worst to Wood :
The best to Arable Lands.
An Apology, for these Suggestions.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH.
Means of Information, 165.
The District described.
Situation defined.
Its Elevation, 166.
Its Lands particularized.
Mostly a light sandy Loam.
Remark on Sand-hill Pebbles, 167.
Some Plots of colder Soils.
The " Maam " Soil described.
Mostly in a State of Inclosure, 169.
Present Productions.
Its Claim to Ornament.
Agriculture of the District, 170.
Farms well sized.
Farmers, 171.
MV CONTENTS.
Beasts of Draft.
Oxen and Horses.
The Ox Plow-team enormous.
Note on the Petworth Prize Plowinc.
A Two-Ox Swing-Plow bore away the Prize.
Implements, 172.
The Waggon well constructed.
The West Sussex Plow described.
The Objects of Husbandry, 173.
The Crops in Cultivation.
The Succession of Crops, 174.
Tillage, below Par.
Remarks on Treading light Lands, with the Plow
Horses.
Manures in Use, 175.
Two Species of Marl described.
Their Analyses ; Note, 176.
Proposals for grindinc Chalk Rvbbish, 176.
Lime, 179.
Method of burnikc, with Wood.
Expence of this Method, 183.
Analysis of Duncton Chalks — Note, 183.
Analysis of Petworth Stone — Note, 184.
Opinions respecting Stone and Chalk Limes, 184.
An improved Method of Burning, 185.
Bricks and Tiles burnt, in Lime Kilns, 186.
Wheat, 187.
Instance of Sowing it, after Turneps, without
plowing.
Another of Growing it, on very light Land, under
roost rational Management.
Rye Herbage — a common Crop, 188.
Clover prevalent.
Seldom stands more than one Year, and why.
An Improvement suggested, 189.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. XV
Sainfoin, 189.
An Instance of its growing, on Sand, which had
been Limed.
The Soil and Substrata examined.
Hops not uncommon, here, 191.
The Management that of Farnham.
Orchards partially distributed, 192.
The Apple Bushes of Bury noticed.
An Instance of the Hardiness of the Apple Blossom.
Horses, 193.
An Instance of Spaying.
The Effect.
The Tenants of the Petworth Estate have the Use
of valuable Stallions, gratis.
The Policy as well as the Liberality of this In-
dulgence.
Cattle, 194.
Prefatory Remarks.
Lord Montagu's Breed noticed, 195.
Opinions respecting its Origin.
Lord Egremont's Improvement.
Its broad Basis, 196.
Exhibitions, and Rewards.
The Public Shows of Lewes, 197.
On rearing Calves.
The Sussex Practice peculiar.
Reared as Lambs, at the Teat.
A singular Practice or Weaning Calves, 199.
Allow them no Water, at Grass, and why.
Sheep, 199.
The general Economy is peculiar.
The Object is early Lamb.
The Breed — that of Dorsetshire.
The Place of Purchase — Weyhill, 200.
The Time of Lambing is before Christmas.
The Food, arable Crops.
The Time and Places of Sale.
The Price of Lambs, by the Pound, 201.
The Disposal of the Ewes.
Either give them the Ram ;
XVI CONTENTS.
Or sell them to Middlemen;
Who sell them to House-Lamb Farmers.
Remarks on this Routine of Practice, 202.
Swine, 203.
Here a Species of Pasture Stock.
They nre summered on Marsh Lands.
This Practice described, 204.
Remarks on Swine, as Pasture Stock, 205.
Not'., on Grass Pork.
A commendable Practice of Cottagers, 206.
Gather the Cowparsnep for their Hogs.
Note on the Cowparsnep, as an Object of Culti-
vation.
Deer, 206.
Here, a Species of F3rm Stock.
Fatted, and sold, as Sheep.
Rabbits, 207.
Not a Species of Farm Stock, in the Southern
Counties.
State of Husbandry, 208.
Characterized, by Foulness of Soil.
Improvements suggested.
Reclaim the Lands from their Foulness.
Some LTnderdraining wanted, 209.
By Watering, much, probably, may be done.
Granting Leases is the first Step to be taken.
Proprietors should set Examples.
Motives for withholding Leases considered.
Tenants require some Certainty, 211.
An Evil of Leases, for a Term certain.
A Guard against this Evil, 212.
A new Principle of Tenancy, 213.
A running Lease from three Years ra
three Years : and the Tenant allowed for
the Remainder of Improvements.
The Advantages of such a Lease, 214.
To the Tenant ;
To the Proprietor, 215.
The Covenants requisite, 216.
Ever)- Estate requires a separate CoDt of Re-
gulations.
CONTENTS. XVII
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX.
Means of Information, 218.
The District sketched.
Situation described.
Extent estimated, 219.
Elevation inconsiderable.
Note on the Isle of Selsey.
Atmosphere, probably, putrescent, 220.
Surface Waters, 221.
Soils are deep, rich Loams.
Subsoils various.
Geological Remarks, 222.
On the Productions of this Passage of Country.
On a Phenomenon, now belonging to it, 223.
Its Defence, against the Sea, described.
Partly, by a Natural Fence, 224.
Remarks on the Formation of Beach Banks.
In Part, by an artificial Guard, 226.
A Hint towards facilitating this public Work.
Further on the Formation of Beach Banks, N.
Tide Mills, 228.
How ofren neglected.
Method of obtaining them.
A Natural Consequence of them, 229.
Remarks on the Evils of River Mi lis.
Water Carriage common, 229.
Roads equally commodious.
Townships small, and why, 230.
State of Inclosure.
Mostly inclosed.
A valuable Point of Practice, in conducting the Bu-
siness of Inclosures, observed, 231.
YOL. II. b
XVIll CONTENTS.
Present Productions, 231.
The surrounding Scenery.
Agriculture, 232.
Farms of a desireable Cast.
Farmers of various Degrees, 233.
Servants.
The Impropriety of changing, at Michaelmaa.
Beasts of Labor.
Wholly Horses.
Implements, 234.
Objects of Husbandry.
The Crops in Cultivation
Tillage well performed.
The usual Plow Teams.
The Soil discriminately laid up, 235.
Manures, 235.
An extraordinary Instance of Neglect, or Want of
Discernment.
A Treasure developed, incidentally, 336.
Remarks on the Use of Science, in detecting Fos*U
Manures, 237.
A further Instance of its great Utility.
Wheat, 238.
The Proportion singularly large.
The Produce equally extraordinary ! 239.
Grasslands, 239.
The Species various.
The Grazing Grounds peculiarly fertile, 240.
The " Slipcs," or Sea Mud-banks, noticed.
Though overflowed every Tide, they do not cause
the Rot, in Sheep.
Cattle, 240.
The Number of breeding Cattle, few.
The Breed mixed.
Fatting Cattle bought in, and sold at the neigh-
bouiing Markets, 241.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. XIX
Sheep, 241.
Ewes and early Lambs, as in the Petworth Practice^
Swine, 242.
The Breed that of the Southern Counties.
Here, a Species of Pastu re Stock !
Remarks on this extraordinary Fact.
State of Husbandry, 243.
The Lands clean, with moderate tillage.
Remarks on this Circumstance.
The nature of Couch considered.
Improvements, 244.
Few to be made in its Husbandry.
Its Healthiness, perhaps, improveable, 245.
A compleat Drainage proposed.
The probable Advantages, 246.
ISLE OF WIGHT.
The Routes of the Survey, detailed, 248.
The Island geographically described, 249.
The Situation generally known.
The Extent 1 10,000 Acres.
The Elevation remarkably great.
The Surface strongly featured, 250 ;
And interesting in the Detail.
A general View of the Surface.
The Back of the Island, 251.
The Eastern Division.
The Heights of St. Catherine, 252.
The broken Grounds of St. Laurence.
A Subject of Geology "and Natural History, 253.
Note on the Association of Objects.
XX CONTESTS.
The Climature forward, :
Effects of the Sea .
The Waters, chiefly, two Bro:
Soils and Substrata, 256.
Detailed from the Journals of the different Route*.
Inhabitants few, 260.
The Exports of Corn accounted for.
The present Inhabitants respectable, 262.
Townships very unequal in Size, 263.
The Towns noticed.
The Roads travelable, and free, 264-
An easy Mode of torming Quartering*.
The State of Inclosure, 265.
I e Chalk Hills mostly o: -
) The rest chiefly inclosed.
The Fences mos:'.; H :f6.
Instance of Privet, as a Hedgewood.
Also of the E".
Hedges frequently pruned, ;
Many cut with the Winds.
The ordinary Field Gate is simple.
Present Productions, 167.
Mo?: - reps, and Sheep Down.
T . . V. cod land confined to one Quar:. : : I .
. Timber stunted and m.
The Views detailed, 268.
The ir.ttrnal Beauties of tbc
The
Reflc 1 viewing the .
Its probable Advantage, to - ^
:riculture, 274.
:ns characterized.
The Size recc ~e^«
Reflections on aggregating Farrr s, *~ ,-
A plurality c: ..-..proper.
ISLE OF WIGHT. XXI
Servants, 276.
Further on changing, at Michaelmas.
Beasts of Draft, 276.
Mostly Horses.
The Reason for not working Oxen is ill founded.
The Plow Team unsufferable.
The Road Team five Horses, 277.
Implements, 277.
The Plow is that of Wilts and Hants.
Refle;tions on the Varieties of Plows.
The Waggon that of Wiltshire.
Objects of Husbandry, 278.
Crops in Cultivation.
Marketable Crops.
Farm Expenditure.
Sheep Down.
Turneps, 279.
Clovers.
Tare Herbage, and Black Oats.
Sainfoin not in Cultivation ! 280.
The Particulars of Management not detailed, and
why.
Cattle, 281.
A Medley of French and English.
Remarks on breeding Mule Cattle, 282.
The Description of Cattle, in Use.
The Dairy Produce, 283.
Remarks on the Wightish Practice, with respect to
Cattle.
Sheep, 284.
Two Breeds and Descriptions.
Breeding Flocks of Hill Sheep.
Early fat Lamb Flocks, 285.
As in the Petvvorth Practice.
Time of Lambing.
Management.
Folding much in Use.
State of Husbandry, 285.
Detailed from my journals.
*MI COKTESTS.
Improvements suggested, 290.
An Alteration in the general Economy.
An Abridgement of the Plow Team, 291.
The C improveable.
In Live Stock, much may b.
sh breed of Cattle, for
Tn; Southdown breed of Sheep, for the H
CHALK HILLS
01 THE
SOUTHERN COUNTIES.
Their Outline irregular, 293.
: Extent 1 . y great.
-omewhat in Soil.
Lie in separate P_
sd into] . _
WESTERN DIVISION
OF
THE CHALK HILLS.
Prefatory- Observations, 295.
:.ve fcr giving this Precede r
Means of Information.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. XX1U
A general View of the District, 296.
Situation defined, 297.
Extent 1200 to 1500 square Miles.
Elevation similar to other Chalk Hills.
The Surface described in Detail.
Remarks on artificial Surface, 301.
Note on Sheep, as mountain Animals, 302.
Climature backward, 302.
Surface Waters peculiar to the deeper Vallies, 303.
Soils, 303.
General Remarks, on Chalk-Hill Soils.
A Detail of those of Wiltshire, &c.
Subsoils mostly Chalk, 306.
Substructure wholly Chalk.
Writing Chalk of Sudbury Hill, 307.
Analysis of this Chalk.
Townships described, 307.
Roads good, 308.
State of Inclosure, detailed, 308.
Inclosing on the Decline !
Remarks on this Fact, 309.
The State of Appropriation.
Many Common Fields.
Present Productions, 310.
Well adapted to Soils and Situations.
Ornamental Appearance, 311.
Remarks on Chalk-Hill Scenery.
Views from the Wiltshire Hills, 312.
Management of Estates, 313.
Farm Buildings.
Partake of two Departments.
Barns, on Pillars, common, 314.
Remarks on these Barns, 315.
Field Fences, 315.
The old Hedges on Mounds.
XXlV CONTESTS.
The Modern Live Pledge.
The Guards of youne Hedges.
Remark on the Beech, as Hedgewood, 316
The Dead Fence of Haxel Rods.
Hedgerow Timber, 316.
Some O-k-, i North Hampshire.
Eln-j- \ common.
Remar/v oa Willow Pollards, 317.
Woodlands and Planting, 317.
Sorre Woodlands, in North Hants.
Coppice Plantation! wanted.
kcmarks on propagating them, 318.
Agriculture, 318.
Farms.
The Plan :n some Measure given.
Perhaps, lay out H;ll Farms, 319.
T * Siz.s extre ntly var.< us.
The Characteristics cesireable.
Beasts of Labor, 320.
Universally young Horses, trained for the Metro-
polis.
An Evil of this Practice.
The Plow Team tour Horses.
Implements, 320.
The Waggon well adapted to the Country.
The Plow of a singular Construction, 321.
The Form of its Share noticeable.
The " Drag Plow" described, 322.
Markets, 323.
Numerous and good.
Plan of Management, 323.
The leading Objects.
Arable Crops, 324.
Course of Practice, with Remarks.
Soil Process, 325.
Tillage inconsiderable.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. XXV
Sodburning of long standing, 326.
Its probable Use, in the old Husbandry.
Manures, 327.
The Species, in ordinary Use.
Lime burnt, on the Western Margin.
Extraordinary Form of the Kim !
A Remark on the Lime Furnace.
Management of Dung.
Used crude from the Stable !
Remarks on this Practice, 328.
Wheat, 328.
Time of Sowing early.
Trodden irith Sheep, 329.
The Wheat Ricks noticed.
Sainfoin, 329.
The Quantity inconsiderable !
Remark on this Fact.
Sheep Downs, 330.
The Propo; tion very large.
Mostly Miiden Sward.
Their Herbage noticed.
Water Meads, 231.
Prefatory Re narks.
Nor prepared lor Analysis.
The prob .ble Origin of the present Practice.
A Journal detail of it, 332.
The lo.g-grass Mead or Urcheston described.
Further Remarks on the Origin of Flooding 342.
The general Economy of Watered Grounds, 344.
Sheep, 345.
The Number very great.
The Breed.
Its probable Origin.
Its distinguishing Characters.
Note on BlacK Sheep, 346.
Objtctions to it, 346.
The South Down Breed contending with it.
The Flocks.
Most.y breeding Ewes.
Economy of the Ewe Flock sketched, 3 f;.
XXVI CONTENTS.
The Sheep Fold described, 349.
A Sheep Rack described.
•« Town Fiocks," and their Management, 35*.
Cattle, 351.
The Breed longhorned.
Kept in common " Town Herds."
Custom belonging to them.
State of Husbandry, 351.
The Outline judic.
The Execurion very unequal.
The Lands in general Foul.
Improvements suggested, 352.
Clean Tillage.
Binding the Soil with Grasses, not Coach.
Breaking up the Sheep Downs considered, 353.
SOUTHERN DIVISION
or
THE CHALK HILLS.
The District described, 355.
Situation defined.
Extent 200 to 300 square Miles.
Elevation that of other Chalk Hills.
Might be e-sily ascertained.
The Surface.
A sii.gle Ridge.
Dissected by V allies.
Gr logical Remarks, on the Formation of the
Earth's present Surface, 356.
The Surface of Ekcland instanced, 358.
A Geological Map suggested.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. XXVll
Means of Information.
The Soils.
The Substructure Chalk, 360.
The Quarries of Houghton described.
Analysis of Chalks.
The Quarries of Duncton, 361.
Analysis of " Maam Soil," N. 361.
■ — of " Marl Flour," N. 362.
of the Marl of Deans Wood, N. 363.
of the Sea Coast.
State of Inclosure, 363.
Present Productions.
The Scenery, 364.
Resembles that of other Chalk Hills.
An extraordinary Point of View.
Woodlands, 365.
The Extent not great.
The Species chiefly Beech Timber.
A remarkably fine Timber Grove.
The Ware mostly Rails, for the Colleries, 366.
Remark on the proper Timber Tree, for Chalk
Hills.
Agriculture, 366.
Prefatory Remark.
Farms, 367.
Various in Size.
Some very large.
Two fine ones noticed, N. 367.
Farmers, 368.
Some of the highest Class.
Beasts of Draft, 368.
Implements, 368.
Turnwrest Plow prevalent.
Plan of Husbandry, 368.
The main Object is Sheep.
A Distinction between this and the Western Division.
1XVJ11 CONTENTS.
Sheep, 369.
The Number exceedingly great.
The Object of the Sheep Husbandry.
The Breed varies, 370.
The West Down Breed noticed.
The South Down Breed described, 371.
Uneven, as to Quality, 372.
Their propable Origin.
Attempts to improve it, 3-4.
The proper Principle suggested.
An unfortunate Contention noticed, |
Further on the Line of Improvement.
The Description of Flocks, 376.
Chiefly breeding Ewes.
A few young Wedders.
The Ewe Flock.
The Size about 500.
The Rams ill attended to.
Time of admitting the Rams.
Time of Lambing varies, 3--.
Mostly single Lambs.
The Foods of Ewes and Lambs.
Foldirg them.
Felled on Sward, while young.
An Instance of Superior Practice.
An extraordinary Instance of the Stoutness of
the South Down Sheep, 378.
A peculiar Poi;it of Practice noted, 379.
Shepherding.
The Ewes rerulsrly trirrrmed.
Time of Castrating the Lambs.
The Shepherd's Dog, 380.
Active and intelligent.
His 9 re and Duration short.
The Shepherd's Crook in common Use.
Time of Weaning t)*e Lr.mbs.
Their Treatment varies :
The Wedckr Lambs, for Sale.
The Ewe Lambs, for Stores.
Improvements considered, 380.
Few great ones obvious.
In Tillage, something may be done, 381.
SOUTHERN CHALK. HILLS. XX1K
A Deficiency of Sainfoin.
Reflections on this Circumstance.
A Suggestion on this Subject.
Water Meadows impracticable, 382.
Unless in the intersecting Vallies.
The Sheep Downs a doubtful Subject, 383.
EASTERN DIVISION
OF
THE CHALK HILLS.
The District described, 385.
The Situation.
The Extent 500 square Miles.
The Elevation pretty uniform, 386.
Highest in the Middle.
Note on the Site of Knockholt Beeches.
The Surface various, 386.
Divided into Compartments.
Means of Information, 387.
The Climature varies, 388.
The Surface Waters few, 389.
Periodical Bourns.
Continual Springs.
Remark on the Water of Chalk Hills, 390.
On th-- Depth of the chalky Stratum.
On the Origin of Chalk Masses, 391.
The Soils differ from the other Divisions, 39 r.
Much strong Clay on the Hills.
The Slopes and Skirts chalky Loam, 392.
XXX CONTENTS.
Those of the Southern Steeps vary.
te on the Tumwrest Plow.
The Subsoils enumerated, 393.
The Public Roads good.
The Country Roads narrow.
Remarks on " Bell Teams."
The Townships variously laid out, 394.
The State of Inclosure.
The upper strong Lands mostly inclosed.
The lower chalky Lands open.
Remarks on these Facts.
The present Productions, 395.
A 1-rge Proportion of Wood.
The rest chiefly arable Crops.
Some little Grass.
-rge Plot of Heathland.
The Appearance, 396.
Interior Scenery.
A View of the Vale of London.
Estates and their Management, 397.
Property much divided.
:i Buildings.
Materials chiefly Wood, Thatch, and Tiles-.
Method of laying plain Tiles.
Tiles described.
Drinking Pools, 398.
Method of forming, on these Hi.
Field Fences, 399.
The old Hedges grow on low Mounds.
Conjectures on their Origin.
Injured by the White Climber.
Modern Hedges of Hawthorn, 400.
Their extraordinary Treatment.
Remarks on this Practice.
A mineral Remark on established Prac-
i ices, and a Caution requisite in making
/ tf rVMMtti , - 1
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. XXXl
Woodlands, 401.
The Species.
Timber and Underwood.
Also " Shaws," or small Coppices.
Their eligibility.
The Wares vary with their Situation, 402.
Hop Poles, in Kent.
Fence Woods and Fuel, near London.
Agriculture, 403.
A General View, of the Practice of these Hills*
Farms.
The Size most desirable.
Beasts of Draft, 404.
Wholly Horses.
Implements, 404.
In the East, those of Kent.
In the West, those of England.
Remarks on the Kentish Practice.
Its probable Origin monastic, 40^
The Limits of the Turnwrest Plow,
Further on its good Properties.
Outline of Management, 406.
The Objects Corn and Sheep.
Marketable Crops.
Consumptional Crops.
Course of Practice.
Tillage, 407.
On using the Turnwrest Plow.
Remarks on the Stubbornness of the Hill Soils.
A Mean of lessening it proposed.
Hints on holding the Turnwrest Plow, 408.
Manures, 409.
Sheeptold the chief Dependence.
Yard Manure of a weak Quality.
Chalk used, on the stiff Lands.
Perhaps a Cause or" Flints.
These Lands a Subject for Geological Inquiry.
XXX11 CONTENTS.
Semination, 409.
Practices in Kent and Surrey are totally different !
Harvesting, 410.
A similar Difference in Practices.
Those of Kent and Cornwall more alike !
The Culture of particular Crops.
The Turnep Culture well conducted, 411.
Tares a prevailing Crop.
Different Modes of Consumption.
Sainfoin.
A prevailing Crop.
Grown on the strong Lands.
Its Duration, in Surrey.
Cattle, 411.
The Number inconsiderable.
The Breeds various, 412.
The Hills of Surrey are a Boundary, between the
long and middlehorned Breeds.
Sheep, 412.
The Description of Flocks.
The Breed.
Formerly, wholly Wiltshire.
Now, in Part the South Down.
Age of Purchase.
Places of Purchase, 413.
Economy of the Wedder Flock.
Shepherding.
The Size of the Fold.
An alarming Incident related, 414.
Swine, 415.
The Breed— the " Tunbacks."
Particulars of Practice, in fatting.
Salting their Food.
Feeding them with dry Flour.
Poultry, 416.
The Dorking Fowls described.
|W g* f>,
V'"
o
V
the
The
WESTERN DISTRICTS
OF THE
SOiTHERN COIXTIES.
THE ISLE
OF
T H A N E T.
Introductory Remarks.
IN MAKING the excursion in East
Kent, mentioned in the Introductory Re-
marks to the last District, I appropriated
some days, to the examination of this cele-
brated Islet ; — every acre of which I pro-
bably saw (except a small portion on the
northern coast), and passed over the several
parts, which distinguish its soils and culture.
First, in my way, from Canterbury to Mar-
gate; next, in making a circuit, through the
Island, and ascending the higher grounds, in
different places ; afterwards, in crossing it,
VOL. II. B
D. H. HILL LIBRARY
North Carolina State College
DISTRICT.
lo Ramsgate; and, finally, in taking a view
of the southeastern margin, and the Marshes,
in my way to Sandwich.
These examinations were made, in the
beginning of September. The harvest (in
a very backward season) being then in its
height. I was. therefore, able to form a
pretty accurate idea of its soils, and their
cultivation ; excepting, so far, as relates to
the rniautice of management, in putting in
the spring crops.
THE
DISTRICT.
THE SITUATION of this District is
peculiar. There can be little doubt of its
having been, heretofore, in reality, what it
is now denominated ; the sea having, it is
more than probable, flowed between it and
the main land ; and occupied, at high wa-
ter, the space that is now filled, by the
ISLE OF THANET. 3
Marshes, which connect it, on the east and
south, with the rising grounds of East
Kent.
EXTENT. Considering its oval out-
line, as a circle, and estimating its mean
diameter at eight miles, it Contains, near
fifty square miles of surface, or more than
thirty thousand acres.
In ELEVATION, on the north and east
sides, it is considerably above the sea; which
washes it on these . sides : and some rising
grounds, in the interior of the Island, swell
above the sea cliffs. Nevertheless, in ap-
proaching it, from the west, the rise is so
gradual, that its elevation appears much
less, than it really is. Seen from the higher
grounds of East Kent, it meets the eye, as
a broad plain ; or, at most, as (what it may
with propriety be called), a- gentle chalk-
down swell.
The SURFACE is remarkably smooth,
and unvaried ; especially in the central and
western parts. The upper grounds shelve
gently, as it were, beneath the Marshes ;
and rise, with an easy ascent, to the central
heights. The eastern parts are more broken
and rugged ; but, even there, the quantity
B2
4 DISTRICT.
of surface, too steep or broken, to permit
the plow, is inconsiderable : so that almost
every acre of its surface may be said to be
fit for the purposes of cultivation.
The CLIMATURE, of this small plot
of country, is somewhat earlier, than that
of the District of Canterbury ; owing,
probably, to its lying out of the reach of
the influence of the hills, that rise to the
south of Canterbury ; whose base is na-
turally kept cool, by the moisture which is
necessarily lodged beneath it*: an influence,
which, from the cases under notice, appears
to be greater, than that of the bleakest ex-
posure. The Isle of Thanet is exposed, to
every wind that blows : and those from the
north and east are poured In upon it, im-
mediately from the ocean.
The WATERS may be said to be those
of the sea. To the south, the river Stower,
in its passage from Canterbury to Sandwich,
winds through the flat of Marsh lands, on
that side of the Islet : the area or body of
which is, in a manner, free from surface
• See Yorkshiei, Vol. I. Article Cliuature,
•n this subject.
ISLE OF THANET. 5
waters. The entire substructure being, in
all probability, absorbent, the rain waters
are drank up, where they fall.
The SOILS are, pretty universally, what
come under the description of calcareous
loams ; and are mostly of extraordinary
depth, for soils of that nature. On the
lower margins of the swells, and on some
of the flatter parts of the area, they are from
eighteen inches to two feet deep. Even
on the very summits, of the central and
western heights, there is ten to fourteen
inches of free culturable soil ; and this
incumbent on loose calcareous rubble !
Taken together, it forms, by far, the best
soiled plot of chalk hill, this Island pos-
sesses. On the uppermost stages, of some
of the more broken heights, towards the
northeastern margin, the soil is thinner,
and more flinty. But I know no tract, of
equal extent, with so large a proportion of
good, and so inconsiderable a share of bad
land ; either on the Wolds of Yorkshire,
or on the Downs of Wiltshire, Dorsetshire,
Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, or Kent.
The SUBSOIL, as well as the entire
substructure, is probably chalk.
6 DISTRICT.
The ROADS, in general, are good; and
what renders them more agreeable, to the
traveller, they are free.
The TOWNSHIPS are numerous, and
well distributed.
STATE OF INCLOSURE. Inthis,as
in other respects, the Isle of Thanet re-
sembles the Wolds of the northern, or the
Chalk Downs of the southern provinces ;
and is, m reality, one of the latter. The
whole country lies open ; excepting the
immediate environs of villages. Those of
Birchington, Minster, and St. Laurence
have, perhaps, the greatest quantity of in-
closed lands. The towns of Margate and
Ramsgate may be said to lie open to the
Downs. In one or more instances, here,
as on the Wiltshire Downs, I observed the
remains of neglected hedges !
The PRESENT PRODUCTIONS of
this favored spot, if we cut oft' the Marsh
lands, which are mostly or wholly in a state
of grass, may be said to be arable crops.
Oi' perennial sheep walk I find no notice,
in my Journal, nor do I recollect observing
a single instance ; and of woodlands, and
hedge timber, nearly the same may be
ISLE OF THANET. 7
said ; except a few masses, or shaws, of the
former; and except some hedgerow elms,
in the neighbourhoods of St. Laurence and
Minster ; on rich deep soils, sheltered from
the north.
This nakedness,. conspiring with the na-
tural tameness of surface, in giving a simi-
larity of SCENERY, the Island, itself, is
productive of no other beauty, than what
other passages of bare chalky downs afford.
But, as a place of view, the Isle of Thanet
is capable of gratifying the liberal eye, in a
superior manner. — From the southern decli-
vities, the rich and beautiful rising grounds
of East Kent are seen hanging, as a picture,
before it. And the views northward, and
to the west, are equally interesting. The
Isle of Shepey — the Nore — the coast of Es-
sex, with the almost incessant throng of
vessels, which in the busy sea roads to the
Thames, are seen stealing upon the view,
and passing away, as by a charm, into im-
measurable space, furnish a broad, but de-
lightful prospect. The eastern view is still
more striking ; as including, in its offscape,
an object that few points of view, in this
Island, can command, — the Continent of
Europe.
[8]
AGRICULTURE.
FARMS. In traversing the country,
several capital farms are seen, detached from
the villages ; the buildings large, and the
pieces extensive. But too many of the far-
meries are gathered together, in villages,
or hamlets ; in the manner of other open
arable districts. Towards the east end of the
Island, the farms appear to be smaller ;
and the lands to be frequently intermixed.
FARM BUILDINGS. Dwelling
houses are mostly of bricks, or of flints,
and covered with tiles. The barns, com-
monly, of weatherboard ing, and thatch. On
the larger farms, the barns are of extra-
ordinary size ; very wide, with a range of
hovels or sheds, on either side ; the same
roof covering the whole; reaching from
the ridge of the barn, to near the ground,
as in West Kent. Some of these enormous
buildings, when seen end way, or caught in
particular points of view, have the appear-
ISLE OF THANET. 9
ance of Egyptian pyramids, rather than of
English barns.
Remarks. The excessive consumption
of straw, which these immense roots ne-
cessarily incur, is doubtless a serious evil,
in a country, that is situated, beyond the
reach of town manure. If, however, we
recollect that the decayed thatch, as it is
washed from the roofs, by heavy rains, is
much of it deposited in the yards, and, by
this means, reaches the dunghill and the
field, and that, the old thatch finally follows
it through the same path, the actual loss,
which the land eventually sustains, is not
great. Nevertheless, the temporary with-
holding, of an immense quantity of vege-
table matter, from the arable lands, is itself
an evil ; beside the actual waste of decaved
thatch ; which is liable to be carried away,
by the currents of heavy rains, and to be
blown, by the wind, into places, from which
it never returns to the farm. The danger,
which thatch roofs are peculiarly exposed to,
with respect to fire, is another reason, why
thev should be discontinued. And,shouL
country continue to prosper, and improve,
during the next century, as it has, during
io AGRICULTURE.
the present, it is probable, that, long before
its close, the practice of covering farm build-
ings, with the materials of manure, will be
wholly laid aside; not in this Islet, only,
but in every culturable district of the Island
at large.
BEASTS OF DRAFT. These are, in-
variably, horses ; of a heavy breed ; but
not of the heaviest. Some of them arc in
n good form, for the farmer's use. Four
of these costly, expensive animals are the
plow team; — on land which a north-coun-
try farmer would plow, with two ; I
these, of little more than one third of the.
cost and expensiveness of the Thanet team ;
would work the lands of the Isle, at
than half the expence, that is bestowed upon
them, in the present practice.
IMPLEMENTS. The heavy turn-
wrest plow is the only one in use ; -
on the flattened surfaces, and the gently
sloping lands of the Isle of Thanet ; and
even in working the fallow grounds, for
which this Island well deserves celebrity.
In subplows, "shims" or "broad-
shares" — for cleaning the surfaces of pulse
grounds — " pea and bean grattans" — for
ISLE OF THANET. n
wheat, or spring crops, this Islet exceeds
even West Kent ; especially in the va-
riety of construction. One, with a straight
edge, four feet long, and of proportional
strength, which was hung behind a pair of
cart wheels, struck me the most. Surely,
land in which such an implement, as this,
can be worked, requires not four horses to
ploiv it ! *
OBJECTS OF HUSBANDRY. On the
body of the Island, arable crops, and
sheep, with a due portion of swine, are the
leading objects of the Thanet husbandry.
In the Marshes, many cattle are seen; but,
upon the arable farms, a few cows, teddered
* On the thin chalky soils of East Kent, in the
neighbourhood of Barham Downs, I observed instances
of subplows, with shares on a construction, different
from any I saw, either in the Isle of Thanet, or in
the District of Maidstone. Instead of a straight blade,
or shim, as in the Island ; or a crescent, or broad share,
as in Middle Kent ; a large prong, with three or four
broad flat tines (resembling those of the common po-
tatoe fork, but perhaps four times as large) is drawn
horizontally, with the points forward ; thus making its
way among the flints and chalk rubble, which, in a
manner, constitute the cultured stratum of these lands,
better than a continued edge.
i* AGRICULTURE.
on temporary ley grounds, are the only
car tie observable, — in the autumnal season.
The arable crops are
Wheat, barley, oats ;
Beans, peas, tares, turneps ;
Sainfoin, lucern, clover, &c.
Canary seed, radish seed, &c*
The COURSE OF PRACTICE. No-
thing which arose to the eye, in travelling
over the arable lands under view, nor any
information I gained respecting them, dis-
covered what is sometimes called a regular
system of husbandry. Indeed, where sain-
foin is a common crop, and where a variety
of garden crops are grown, there is the less
opportunity of adhering rigidly to a fixed
routine of crops.
But although there may be no regular
succession of crops, in the Thanet hus-
bandry, there is a principle of manage-
ment, evidently observed, here, which is
much wanted, in the central parts of the
county ; and, more or less, in almost every
district of the kingdom ; namely, that of
* There are no Hors cultivated, in the Island ;
though much of its soil appears to be well adapted to
their culture.
ISLE OF THANET: 13
clearing the land, for spring corn and ley
grasses, rather than for wheat; a prin-
ciple which cannot be too frequently, or
too strongly urged ; as the superiority of
modern husbandry, over the old com-
mon field practice, hinges almost wholly
upon it.
What struck me most unexpectedly, in
examining the Thanet practice, was the
quantity of fallows, that everywhere ap-
peared. In part, pulse grounds, that had
been plowed between the rows, while the
crops were growing, and afterwards shim-
med, or underplowed,to rid the surface from
running weeds, that had got footing in the
rows. But many, or most, of them sum-
mer fallows.
On expressing my surprise, at so unex-
pected a sight, in the Isle of Thanet, I
was told, by an intelligent farmer, who
was attending to his harvest work, that
" land must have a holiday," — and that
" it is always better to be a year too soon,
" than too late, with your summer tilth •/'
supporting his assertion, by shewing me
a piece of stubble, the intended crop of
which bad been drilled) on land that ought
i4 AGRICULTURE.
to have been fallowed. The consequence
was a crop of weeds, rather than of corn :
the surface of the ground being carpeted
with hog weed ; polygonum aiiculare.
TILLAGE. The summer fallow,
horse-hoed pu lse-ckops, and the TL I
fallow, are the means whereby many of
the lands of the Isle of Thanet are kept in
a high state of cultivation. In the autumn
of 1795, though the season was backward,
the fallows, in general, were beautifully
clean. And many of the stubbles, as well
as the clover and turnep grounds, showed
the soil to be in a state of cleanness and
tilth : while some stubbles, and crops then
uncut, especially those of wheat, were foul,
and the land out of tilth, to a degree, that
would disgrace any district.
Sodburning appears to be in much use,
and good estimation ; especially on sainfoin
leys, previously to their being broken up ;
whether for wheat, oats, or other crop. See
the Art. Sainfoin.
Remark. This is one of the purposes to
which sodburning is peculiarly applicable.
MANURES. The principal extraneous
manure, that I perceived to be in common
ISLE OF THANET. 15
use, is sea weed ; but with some sea sand ;
and, on the land sides of the Island, what
is called " marsh mud" is seen collected,
These are mixed up, with dung, and mold ;
every thing appearing to be formed into
compost : — a practice, which is common to
the well cultivated districts of Kent, and has
probably been instrumental, in raising the
fame of the Kentish husbandry.
SEMINATION. One of my induce-
ments, to view the Isle of Thanet, was the
celebrity of its drill husbandry. Either
through misrepresentation, or misconcep-
tion, I expected to have found no other,
than drilled crops. The fact however, was,
that, for one acre otcorn (wheat, barley, and
oats) in rows, three were seen at random.
And, of that which stood, or had stood in
rows, not one third wore the appearance
of having been either drilled, or hoed; the
rows appearing to be merely the effects of
the grooves, or seed seams, of the stricking
plow: (see District of Maidstone, Vol. I.
p. 11 8.) with the straggling plants, that had
risen from the seeds which happened not
to be buried in the seams, still standing in
the intervals.
16 AGRICULTURE.
In the immediate neighbourhood of Mar-
gate, the crops appeared to have been prin-
cipally cultivated in rows, and most of them
to have been hoed. There, town manure is
plentiful ; and if the farmer can keep the
head of his corn above the tops of the weeds,
it has to contend with, he ensures a crop, —
of straw at least, — by the force of manure :
no matter as to the state his stubbles are
left in ; or how unfit his land is, to be
laid down to herbage, or for the ordinary
purposes of husbandry. But such slovenly
practice we see, in the neighbourhood of
the metropolis, and other great towns : the
strength of stable dung being the town far-
mers dependence.
GENERAL REMARKS on the DRILL
HUSBANDRY.
If it be necessary, or proper, to sow corn,
on land that is too foul, to permit the crop
to rise, with advantage, by reason of weeds,
or the seeds of weeds, in the soil, at the
time of sowing, it becomes prudent, to put
in the seed in such a manner, as to be able
to check the growth of the weeds, without
destroying the crop : and, in this point of
ISLE OF THANET. 17
view, the practice of the Margate farmers is
preferable to that of the garden-ground
men, in the neighbourhood of London. But
what farmer, in the country, who has no-
thing but his skill and industry to depend
upon, would wittingly, and in pursuance of
a constant practice, sow (no matter how)
clean corn on a bed of weeds ? For who
would not as soon mix corn and weeds to-
gether, in the seed box, as in the soil ?
If (to use the common language of slo-
vens) a soil were so " given to weeds," as
to be altogether irreclaimable, a good excuse
would be had, for crouding the roots of
corn together, in rows, and cropping the
ground, partially. But what man would
voluntarily mix the seeds of corn crops with
those of weeds ? at least, until he had been
as anxious to clean his soil, as his seed corn ?
Who, seeing a farmer mixing the seeds of
thistles, docks, poppies, charlock, and clea-
vers, among his seed corn, would not take
him for an idiot, or a maniac ? But is it not
equally devoid of reason, to mix seed corn,
among weed seeds, of the same description ?
Yet true it is, that not only driUists, but
plain professional men, and even those who
vol. 11. C
18 AGRICULTURE.
rank high in the profession, will winnow,
skreen, sift, and perhaps cast, their seed
corn, with the greatest anx'.ety, until not a
weed seed is discernible ; and immediately
throw it over lands, which contain three
times, ten times, perhaps an hundred times,
the quantity, of the very same seeds, as those
they had just been separating, with so much
solicitude !
With respect to the advantage of hoing,
we have seen, in the culture of hops, that
forcing the bine, in the early stages of its
growth, has a probably bad erlect ; by
throwing the vigor of the soil into stem
and foliage, instead of fruit : and, it is pos-
sible, a similar erlect may be produced, by
stimulating the strtizv of corn, without
being able, when every exertion is wanted,
to mature the grain, to render it further
assistance. It is true, that where there is
a great strength of soil, and when, added
to this, a favorable season happens, extra-
ordinary crops of corn, as well as of hops,
are grown, under this treatment : and these
incidents, well set forth, give eclat to the
practice. But, in soils less powerful, and in
seasons less prolific, we have seen the hop
ISLE OF THANET. 19
dwindle, without any apparent cause; and
the " loss of crop," which has, probably,
terminated the career of the drillist, from the
day of Tull, to the present time, cannot
perhaps be accounted for, in a more satis-
factory manner. (This by the way.)
Beside, one instance has been mentioned,
in which hoing the narrow intervals of a
corn crop, was unable to prevent the weeds,
from gaining full possession of the soil ; and
many instances, of a similar nature, were
observed, in the Isle of Thanet : so that
hoing the narrow intervals of corn crops
appears, in the practice of the Isle of Tha-
net, to be altogether inadequate, to the
cleansing oi foul soils, for future crops.
It is nevertheless true, that, in the Isle
of Thanet, I observed several instances, in
which the crops were ample, and the soil
clean, after the drill and hoe. But in these
cases, the land had evidently been fallowed,
for the crop : and had it been evenly seeded,
and left undisturbed, in the early stages of
its growth, the produce would, it is possible,
have been still more ample : the saving of
seed, and depositing that which is sown, at
an equal depth, being, in my mind, the only
C 2
M AGRICULTURE.
rational motives, for drilling corn in clean
fallowed ground.
Judging from the experience I have had,
and the observations I have made, in diffe-
rent parts of this Island ; and, particularly,
from the attentions I have bestowed, on the
semination and growth, of the ordinary
crops in English husbandry, I am clearly
of opinion, that culmiferous plants, that
CORN; namely, wheat, barley, and
oats, which bear their fructifications and
seeds, on the tops of the stems, should cover
the ground: that the soil should be wholly,
and evenly, occupied by the crop : that the
roots of the plants should grow distinct, from
each other ; in order that each of them may
enjoy, as much as may be, its separate field
of pasturage, — as the roots of grasses, in a
meadow, or of trees, in a forest ; and that
they ought not to be matted together in
rows, and be placed, from their earliest in-
fancy, in a state of conflict with each other.
If these positions are right, it follows of
course, that the plants of corn should stand
in triangles, or regularly aquincunx, as trees
in a well planted orchard. And a machine,
or implement, to distribute their seeds, in
" ISLE OF THANET. a
that manner, would be a valuable acquisi-
tion to agriculture.
Dibbling in the seed, in the Norfolk man-
ner, comes the nearest of any established
practice, to this desired mode of distribu-
tion ; and, for unbroken ground., a better me-
thod will not, perhaps, be readily invented.
What is wanted, for broken ground, for
barlev most particularly, is a machine rhat
will distribute the seed, sufficiently regular,
and at an even depth, (as one, two, or three
inches, according to the species of grain, the
nature of the soil, and the season of sowing,)
as the nurseryman sows his tree seeds, and
agreeably to the Norfolk practice of two-
furrowing ; * so that no seed shall be wasted ;
and in order that the whole may vegetate at
the same time, and rise in one crop.
On the contrary, PULSE ; namely, the
pea and the bean, which throw out their
fructifications, laterally, or from the sides of
the stems, and down to the ground, if not
obstructed, require wide free interspaces;
as hops, filberts, and other fruits, -f Hence
* See Norfolk, Min : 43.
t See Glocestershire, Vol. I. Sect. 18, for far-
ther remarks on this topic.
32 AGRICULTURE.
a practice of Glocestershike, in which
peas are " bunched," or planted in tufts, is
an evident and effectual way of obtaining
the end required ; and, were it right, not
only to plant, but to clean peas, by band,
this method might, under due regulation,
be eligible. But it falls far short of the
practice of Kent ; in which peas and beans
are cultivated, in rows ; with intervals,
wide enough, to admit the plow, or horse-
boe : thus rendering them most eligible
fallow crops. For the interspaces, which
arc requisite to the due fruitfulness of the
crop, of beans especially, are converted
under this practice, when properly per-
formed, into sum ME it fallows, and are not
only cleaned, but ventilated, and prepared for
a succeeding crop.
Crouding the roots together, in rows, is
doubtless an objection to this practice. But
the roots of pulse, particularly of beans, arc
of a nature the most different, from those of
culmifcrous plants : the root of the bean
strikes downward, with a strong tap, and
throws out a few straight lateral shoots,
horizontally, at different depths; does not
form a mat of fibers, near the surface, like
the gramineous tribe of plants.
ISLE OF THAN'ET. 23
Beside, pulse crops, it is asserted, receive
much of their nourishment, from the atmo-
sphere ; and this (if true) is another reason
for growing them with wide interspaces.
Again, by reason of wide intervals, and
by using the plow in cultivating them, the
evil effects, mentioned, of hoing the narrow
intervals of corn crops, early in the season,
are avoided : for if, in plowing, during the
infant state of the crop, the soil be turned
from the rows, into the middles of the in-
tervals, the plants are rather checked, than
stimulated, by the operation : and, by re-
turning the attempered soil to the rows,
previously to the season of blowing, the
plants may be said to receive every advan-
tage, that reason and art have to give them.
Further, by the stiength and firmness of
their roots, beans, though they are crouded
in rows, and the intervals be cultivated to
near their stems, do not lose their roothold,
and fall over, into the intervals, like corn,
when cultivated with wide interspaces.
In fine, there is not, perhaps, anv two
classes of plants, in nature, less analogous,
in their structures and habits, than those of
corn and pulse. And to attempt to subject
24 AGRICULTURE.
them to one and the same mode of culture,
or to reason, implicitly, and indiscriminately,
on the ci.lu.re of the one, from that of the
other, can only tend to involve the general
subject of cultivation, still more obscurely,
than it already is, in the clouds of ignorance
and error, under which Agriculture has been
too lone gro )ing its way ; and it is more
than time that the lights of science and na-
tural knowledge, which have rapidly in-
creased of late, should be brought to its
assistance ; in order to enable the practi-
tioner to distinguish the different paths of
his profession.
HARVESTING. Several varieties of
practice are observable, in this part of Kent ;
and will appear in their places. That of
mowing a considerable part of the wheat
crop, is the most striking.
This practice is some excuse for the many
able women, who are seen gleaning, in
this thinly inhabited corn country !
Several instances were observed of tithe
being taken, in hind !
Remark. How improper to continue
this ancient custom (instituted, no doubt,
in a sort of necessity) in the present state
ISLE OF THANET. 25
of society ; when a circulating medium is
current, and while a spirit ior improve-
ments in agriculture prevails ! Very little
more impolitic would it be, to continue to
take rent in kind.
The method of sheafing mown corn,
here, is similar to that of the District of
Maidstone, but not the same. The handle
of the rake is more eroded, and the head
turned more inward ; the teeth standing
almost parallel with the upper part of the
handle. In using it, the workman keeps
his left foot forwaid; treading upon the
middle of the swath ! and his right, close to
the buts; so as to assist in regulating them ;
working in a stooping posture, and drawing
the swath after him, or lifting part after
part, with the teeth of the rake, until a
sheaf, or rough bundle, is collected. Even
wheat, I have seen gathered in this uncouth
manner ; with the buts uneven, and fuH of
loose ears.
A child attends the workman, with ready-
made bands ; giving them to him, singly,
as he wants them.
Remark. This is an admirable minutia
pf practice. The bands are made at leisure
26 AGRICULTURE.
times, and the child is thus early rendered
useful, ar (light a degi ee o'i subordination
and attention , without being subjected to
labor above his stl ...gth.
WHEAT. A large proportion of wheat
is grown, in this Islet; almost every acre
of it being adapted, under proper manage-
ment, to this grain.
But judging from the crops of 1795 (not
a good wheat year), the wheat culture is
by much the worst part of the Thanet hus-
bandry. In that year, many of the crops
were not only thin, but foul in the extreme ;
particularly with Mayweed, or corn cam-
mom ile. And what appeared most extra-
ordinary, the hoing of wheat was less ob-
servable, than that of oat$; or of barley,
even after fallow ! If any one com crop
require hoing, more than another, it surely
is wheat ; in as much as it occupies the
ground longer than any other.
The practice of mowing wheat has been
mentioned. I saw it applied to the thin,
ravelled, foul crops, above noticed ; but with
the most unworkmanlike effect. For wheat
which is clean, and stands tolerably fair,
mowing is most eligible; particularly when
ISLE OF THANET. . 27
the straw is short. But it should not only
be laid down straight, with the sithe ; but
be gathered, neatly, into sheaf, and be set
up as reaped corn.
I observed an instance of wheat being set
up, in single sheaves (a sort of gaits*) ;
bound near the middle; and placed in short
rows, of ten sheaves each ; as if for the con-
venience of tithing.
BARLEY. A still greater proportion
of barley, than of wheat, is grown " in
Thanet:" the soil being equally, or still
more peculiarly, adapted to this crop.
In 1 79.5, the crops were large and mostly
clean ; being chiefly after fallow, or
fallow crops; as turneps, beans, peas, 6cc.
and generally succeeded by cultivated her-
bage : a principle of management, as has
been intimated, which, in the present state
of society, in England, cannot, perhaps, be
exceeded.
Barley appears to be, universally mown
into swaths, and laid upon beevors, as in
West Kent. The method of binding, or
putting it into rough bundles, has been
mentioned. And it only remains to notice
* See Yorkshire.
cS AGRICULTURE.
a peculiarly, respecting the bands, made
use of for barley ; especially when the straw
is short. In this case, the plants are drawn
up, with the roots ; and the corn and dirt
being thrashed off, the straw is made, at
leisure times, into bands, to be distributed
by children, in the manner above described.
The advantages gained, by this practice, are
the additional length of band, and the pre-
venting of a waste of corn ; in making
using the bands ; or by their growing, in
wet weather.*
OATS. Many oats were observable.
1795; and the crops mosrlv good. But
the proportion was much below that of
either of the preceding species.
In one or more instances, I observed the
oat crop in rows, with hoed intervals!
Surely, a crop, which requires so large a
proportion of seed ; which does not spread
as wheat or barley ; and which, to ha
full return, requires that the stems should
* tor oats, that are too ripe when cut, thrashing
the bands would prevent much waste. In the 1
bourhood of Canterbury, I obsened oats bound
hops bines.
ISLE OF THANET. 29
nearly touch each other, is ill adapted to
the drill husbandry.
BEANS. The proportion grown, in this
District, is extraordinarily large; greater, to
general appearance, than that of wheat or
barley.
In 1795 (a pretty good bean year), the
crops were in general good ; and many of
them very clean ; cultivated in the very
best manner : while others were foul and
ill managed : the intervals out of tilth, and
the rows unearthed up. Upon the whole,
however, the Isle of Thanet stands high in
the culture of this crop.
PEAS. This is also a prevailing crop ;
but not so prevalent, perhaps, as that of
beans.* In 1795, they were mostly har-
vested, before I went over the ground ;
* Pulse. The whole line of country, from Ro-
chester to the North Forel-nd, abounds with these two
crops. In the autumn of 1795, a very considerable
portion of the arable land had been occupied by them ;
with little, if any, regard to the nature of the soil !
While, between this county and the western extre-
mity of the Island, scarcely a bean is cultivated ; let
the soil be what it may ! Does this contrariety of ma-
nagement arise from an essential difference, in soil or
3o AGRICULTURE.
though some still remained in the field ; in
reaps or bundles.
The ground was in general clean : and
the rows, in most cases, had the appearance
of having been earthed up. But, in ge-
neral, the subplow was at work ; or had,
alreadv. passed beneath them.
In the culture of peas and beans, as
fallow cRors,the practice of Kent, I must
here repeat, may properly be recommended,
as a pattern.
TURN EPS. These appear to be most
prevalent on the upper grounds ; where
extensive plots are seen ; and mostly in a
high state of culture. In 1795, the whole
were broadcast. I did not, at least, observe
any in rows. The crops were in general
clean and good.
POTATOES. I did not perceive, even
a single plot, of any extent, in the Island !
A few patches, about villages, and here
and there a head land, were all that ap-
peared, at a season when even a small plot
could not easily be passed unseen.
climature ; or from situation with respect to markets t
or is it merely the effect of custom; originating i.
lidtnt, and persevered in without reflect:.
ISLE OF THANET. 31
In the quantity of CANARY SEED,
grown in the Isle, I was still more disap-
pointed. In traversing it, as above described,
there did not twenty acres, of this species
of produce, fall under the eye. There is,
however, I understand, a sufficient quantity
grown in the eastern parts of this county,*
to supply the markets, domestic and foreign :
its culture, therefore, is not an object of ge-
neral attention. It may be arranged among
garden, rather than farm produce.
Of RADISH SEED numerous small plots
were observed ; especially in the eastern
parts of the Island ; where those and other
garden seeds are raised, for the London
seedsmen.
SAINFOIN. No other part of this
kingdom, of equal extent, has so many acres
of good sainfoin to show, as the little Island
under view. Indeed, every part of it, even
the higher swells, appear to be singularly
adapted to this valuable species of herbage.
There is no part of the Thanet hus-
bandry, whose minutiae I should enter into,
with greater solicitude, than that which re-
* In the neighbourhood of Sandwich, I observed
several pieces of considerable extent.
3* AGRICULTURE.
lates to sainfoin : for although much, doubt-
less, is derived from the soil and substrata,
the prevailing excellency, that almost every-
where appears, is in part, perhaps, owing
to principles of Management : no other spe-
cies of cultivated herbage requiring so de-
licate a treatment.
In the first week of September, horses
and cows were seen teddered, on the after
crop of sainfoin leys; but no instance of ge-
neral feedage had then taken place.
The only interesting fact I caught, re-
specting this crop, arose from a piece of
old sainfoin ley, that had been pared and
burnt, as a preparation for wheat ; the
ashes being, at the time I saw it, standing
in heaps ; which were partially hid, by a
luxuriant crop of sainfoin ; notwithstanding
the operation !
The plants appeared to be sufficiently
numerous, to stand on, for a crop ; and its
owner seemed to have no other objection,
to giving it a trial, than the probable de-
ficiency, that he conceived would accrue,
from the hillsteads ; which, he took for
granted, were " killed."
ISLE OF THANET. 33
Remark. This is not only a most eli-
gible way of breaking up an old worn out
sainfoin ley, (and is, as has been said, the pre-
vailing practice) but appears to be an ad-
mirable expedient, for cleaning one, that is
foul with surface weeds ; and of giving it,
perhaps, fresh vigor, by means of the ashes.
Judging from the incident under notice,
there is little danger to be apprehended,
from such an expedient. The plants were
luxuriant, even to grossness, and beautifully
clean ! If the sainfoin should not be suffi-
ciently relieved by the operation, the soil
would be in a fit state, to receive any other
crop.
LUCERN may be said to be, here,
AN ORDINARY CROP IN HUSBANDRY. Upon
the open Downs, it appears to be univer-
sally grown, in the broadcast manner ;
as sainfoin and clover; agreeablv to what
may be called the Kentish practice.* I
observed only one piece, in rows. This
was a pretty large inclosure, on the eastern
coast ; and, in the middle of it was a mound
of earth, inhabited by rabbits !
•See the District of Maidstone, Vol. {. p. 152.
VOL. II. D
3+ AGRICULTURE.
The other species of CULTIVATED
HERBAGE, observable in this Islet, are
red clover and trefoil. Of the WHITE
clover, or of raygrass, I saw very little,
if any. Indeed, in an open arable country,
where little livestock is kept, and where
the temporary ley is chiefly intended to
stand only one year, red clover, alone,
or, when intended for sheep, with a mix-
ture of trefoil, is perhaps the most eligible.
And many clean full crops, of these valuable
plants, were observable.
GRASS LAND. On the body of the
Isle, I saw no instance of old grass land,
or natural herbage. The Marshes are
chiefly in this state. But judging of them,
from what I saw, in crossing them to Sarre,
and in going from Ramsgate to Sandwich,
they do not appear to be under any very
accuse plan of management. In the latter
part, indeed, they may well be said to lie in
a shameful state of neglect ; and to call
loudly for improvement.
HORSES. I observed none, but heavy,
team horses,— either at work, or teddered
on the ley grounds.
ISLE OF THANET. 35
CATTLE. Upon the Island, a few
milking cows, teddered on the leys, and sel-
dom more than two or three together, were
the only cattle. The breeds chiefly mon-
grel ; with some Welch. In the Marshes,
the same motley collection was observable.
In a country where arable crops are the
principal object, livestock are generally
seen in a state of neglect and degeneracy.
SWINE. Many herds were seen, tended
on stubble grounds. The colors, and breeds,
various, and mixed. Mostly thin-carcassed,
ill bred creatures. This is the more remark-
able, as the number kept is considerable,
swine being a requisite species of stock, in
an arable country. But it only shows that
the spirit of breeding has not yet reached
the Isle of Thanet. i
SHEEP. Several small folding flocks,
of a hundred or more each, were observed,
on the upper swells. Mostly two-shear
wedders, of a poled breed, and middle size ;
but variously faced ; as if they were a cross,
between the Romney Marsh and the South
Down breeds : or rather the Marsh breed
of Kent, slightly mixed with the South
D2
36 AGRICULTURE.
Down ; and diminished in size, by upland
pasturage, and folding. Their faces mostly
white, but some of them grey.
Remark. These appearances, however,
only serve to show, with additional strength
of evidence, the origin of the Kent breed :
which has doubtless sprung from the same
source, as that of the South Downs. See
Romney Marsh, page 378, of the last
Volume: also the Southern Division of
the Chalk Hills, in this Volume.
The wf.ddlr flocks, which I saw in the
Isle of Thanet, were probably bred in the
Isle of Shepey, or other part of East Kent ;
not in Romney Marsh ; they being of a
smaller frame, and more colored, than the
breed of the latter district.
On the hills, to the north of Canterbury,
I observed a Mock of a still smaller size ;
yet apparently of the same breed.
Folding. I remarked an instance, in
which a barrel cart was employed, to carry
water to the fold i where it was given to
the flock, in narrow wooden troughs.
The folds were chiefly on clover and
trefoil leys : which were folded off, as tur-
ISLE OF THANET. 37
neps, or tares. Trefoil is a favorite food of
sheep ; and sowing it with barley, to be
folded off for wheat, on wheat land, in an
open country, and in situations where the
dung cart has difficulty of access, is evi-
dently good management.
STATE OF HUSBANDRY. From this
view of the Thanet practice, we may safely
rank it, among the best cultivated districts
of the Island. But this is as much as can
be truly said of it. It has no claim to that
exclusive right of superiority, which cele-
brity has given it ; and which it may, here-
tofore, have deserved. The quantity and
quality of its crops are to be ascribed, prin-
cipally, to the natural advantages of soil and
manure, which the Isle of Thanet enjoys.
That the natural advantages of situation
are seen, and well attended to, by men of
spirit and judgment, here, as in many other
parts of the Island, is evident. But, even
in a cursory view, much foul bad farming
is observable.
In the management of pulse, as a fal-
low crop, the Isle of Thanet farmers may
claim great merit ; and, perhaps, in their
having, unfortunately, generalized the
38 AGRICULTURE.
idea of the row culture ; extending it to
corn crops ; and placing the same kind of
dependance, on hoed wheat and barley, as
on hoed beans and peas, for cleaning their
lands! — may be found the source of the
foul bad husbandry, which is seen.
With respect to livestock, whether as
to quantity or quality, the Isle of Thanet
appears, in a general view of these king-
doms, at a distance, in the back ground of
modern husbandry.
IMPROVEMENTS. In any one, who
has not a general knowledge, of the seve-
ral departments and branches of the rural
science, and of the different practices, which
time and circumstances have established, in
these kingdoms, it might be rashness to
propose alterations, in the established prac-
tice, of any district, without better informa-
tion, than a few days inspection could afford.
But the Isle of Thanet being the last, of
the more celebrated districts of ibis kin^r-
dom, that I have examined, — or, to speak
with somewhat greater latitude, having
seen every thing that is right and wrong,
in the several established practices of the
Island, at large — I feel myself the less em-
ISLE OF THANET. 39
barrassed, in suggesting the few improve-
ments that occurred to me, in my cursory
survey of the Isle of Thanet.
The inclosure of the open lands, of
which the body of the Isle may be said to
consist, is probably the first improvement,
that strikes those who turn their thoughts
to the subject.
The propriety of inclosing Chalky Downs,
in general, will be considered, in speaking
of the West Division of the Chalk Hills,
in this Volume. But the thin soiled, wide
spreading Downs of Wiltshire and Hamp-
shire, the principal part of which is best
adapted to sheep walk, are very differently
circumstanced, from the fertile plot of coun-
try, now under notice ; every part of which
is in a state of aration ; and every acre fit
for an alternacy of grain crops, and tem-
porary herbage ; and, consequently, capable
of supporting livestock in great numbers,
and of every description.
Were the Isle of Thanet properly in-
closed, and put under the course of modern
husbandry, in which grain and herbage,
cattle and sheep are made subservient to
each other ; agreeably to the practices of the
4o AGRICULTURE.
Midlan 1 Counties, and various other parts
of the kingdom ; and the different breeds of
livestock, properly chosen, and duly attend-
ed to, there can be little doubt of the aggre-
gate value, of its marketable produce, being
rendered much greater than it is at present.
But so long as it remains under t lie pre-
sent plan of management — so long as it is
considered, merely, as a matrix of grain,
it might be wrong to inclose it. The cele-
brity ol the Thanet seed corn, — (parti-
cularlv of its barley, — ) and the fairness of
its samples, whether as to body or color, —
may not be wholly owing, to the soundness
and fertility of its lands, but, in some con-
siderable part, to an openness of the coun-
: which not only promotes a plumpness
of grain, but preserves, during harvest, the
brightness of its color. And it remains with
the proprietors of this favored spot, to de-
termine, whether fame or profit is more
estimable.
The extreme nakedness of this plot of
country aptly suggests the improvement of
<sg. But the lands, in general, are
much too valuable, for the purposes of hus-
bandry, to be converted to a state of wc ..-
ISLE OF THANET. 41
land. Nevertheless, there are particular
spots, as the steeper hangs of the hillocks,
towards the eastern coast, and the worst of
the flinty heights, which, if plants were pro-
perly chosen, and set thick enough, might,
notwithstanding the bleakness of the ex-
posure, be raised to the growth of coppice
wood ; and be at once useful, as such, and
give a degree of shelter, which, even under
the present plan of management, is wanted,
in these bleak, exposed situations.
But the most obvious and valuable improve-
ment, which presents itself, relates to the
lay ing out of farms. At present, though
there are some capital farms* properly placed,
in the areas of the lands that belong to them,
farm houses, and yards are, more common-
ly, crouded together : mostly, on the out-
skirts of the Island, and on the lowest sides
of the arable lands ; and this, while there are
numberless situations, on the midway of the
rising grounds, where farmeries might be
erected, with valuable effect. A want of
water can no longer be brought, as an ob-
jection, to placing farm buildings in upland
situations ; even where wells cannot be sunk
with propriety. By means of cisterns, tanks,
42 AGRICULTURE.
or water cellars, the rains, which fall on
the roofs of a farm house and offices, are
found to be abundantly sufficient for every
domestic purpose.* And. by means of pools,
properly placed; and properly forme J. wa-
ter, for every 'purpose of stock, may, in a
common season* be secured. -\- Nor can a
want of shelter be a good objection, against
distributing farm buildings, over the farm
lands of the Isle of Thanet, or any other
district, under similar circumstances. If sites
were chosen, in those dips or hollows, which
generally are to be found, in the midway
stages of uplands ; and if, when the foun-
dations of the buildings were laid, skreen
plantations were judiciously placed, such
situations would not only soon become more
convenient, and profitable, but more pleasant
and wholesome, than low damp grounds ;
liable, perhaps, to the pernicious effects of
the putrid air of marshes.
With respect to the quantity of improve-
ment, to be expected, by these means, there
will be little risque in saying, that, by placing
farm buildings, within the areas of the lands
• See Yorkshire, Vol. I. sect. Farm Buildings.
t See the same, Section Drinking Pools.
ISLE OF THANET. 43
that lie to them, and by inclosing, and
skreening such lands and buildings, many
of the upper grounds of the Isle of Thanet
would be rendered nearly twice as valuable,
to a farmer who knows how to profit by-
such advantages, as they are, in their present
state.
The most obvious, and perhaps the only
great improvement, to be made, in the Tha-
net plan of husbandry, as it is now conducted,
relates to its tillage. To continue to plow
free soils, even in a state of broken ground,
with four horses, and with an implement
altogether improper to be worked in broken
ground, is a crime, which it would be cri-
minal to let pass, uncensured.
I know not what rent the Thanet far-
mers pay for their lands (not having a suffi-
cient opportunity of ascertaining it); but I
well know, from a length of experience, on
different soils, and in different and distant
parts of the Island, that, by an obvious im-
provement, in their present mode of tillage,
they might afford to pay, from five to ten
shillings an acre, more, than they can at
present.*
* See the District of Maidstone, page 6c,
for the merits and demerits of the turn\rr£st plow-
44 AGRICULTURE, &c.
By conquering this prejudice (which I
perceived to be deeply rooted, or I should
not censure it, in the terms, I have here
deemed appropriate) and by discarding the
notion of keeping lands, in a proper state of
cleanness and tillage, by hoing the narrow
intervals of corn crops, the husbandmen of
the Isle of Thanet might well be celebrated,
as the first arable farmers in the kingdom.
THE
VALLEY
OF
F A R N H A M.
Introductory Remarks.
ANY ONE, who had been long striving
with a difficult work, that too a public work,
and with the knowledge of numbers, who
were capable of forwarding his design, yet
without furnishing the least assistance, would
naturally feel superior gratification, when
at length he found a man, to whom no court
had been offered, nor any interest made, and
this man of the first rank, and highest cha-
racter, coming forward and offering his as-
sistance.
46 HOPS.
Such has been the liberal conduct of the
Earl of Eg r em on t, towards the work I
am executing.
In March, 1 791 , by an invitation as pleas-
ing as it was unexpected, I had the honor of
paying my first visit, at Petworth ; where
I spent the spring months, and part of the
summer and autumn, of that year.
From this central situation, I made ex-
cursions to the surrounding districts : to
the South Downs and the Sea coast of
Sussex ; to the Valley ofFarnham, the
Heaths of Surrey and Hampshire, and
the Weald of Sussex.
Since that time, I have been repeatedly
indulged with opportunities of renewing my
observations, in that quarter of the Island.
And if the facts, there collected, should
prove in any way useful to the public, or
interesting lo the promoters of rural know-
ledge, to the Public Spirit of the Earl of
Egremont they will be indebted for them.
IN Till-: SPRING, and the early part
of the summer, of 17^1, I made repeated
excursions, to this District ; with a view to
examine the culture of the hops, for which
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 47
it has been long celebrated. I was the
more anxious to see the spring manage-
ment, here, as it was the only part of the
hop culture, that I had not made myself
fully acquainted with, in the District of
Maidstone. I therefore took three dis-
tinct views of the Farnham culture: namely,
in the early part of April, the early part of
May, and the beginning of June. And, in
September, I made this District in my way,
from Devonshire to Sussex, to attend the
picking.
The SITUATION of this Valley is on
the northeastern margin of the Hampshire
Downs ; which, in this quarter, divide into
points, or depressed ridges, that shoot into
the low vale lands, by which they are
bounded. Basingstoke is seated on one of
these points ; Odiam, at the foot of anor her ;
and a third forms the northwest side of the
Valley of Farnham.
The EXTENT is small. The hop
grounds are confined, principally, to the
parishes uf Farnham, Wracklesham, and
Bentlly; but spreads into those oi Trayl,
Holy burn, Alton, &c. &c. In descending
the Valley of Tistead, from Petersfield to
*8 HOPS.
Farnham, hop grounds are first seen, a few
miles above Alton. About that town, there
are manv plantations ; also about Bentlev ;
and there are likewise many plots, scattered,
on both s'des of the Valley* down to Farn-
ham ; which is situated at its lower extre-
mity. But the Farnham plantations lie,
more particularly, on the northwest side of
the Valley ; on the chalky lands : the gra-
velly soils of Holt Forest pressing down, on
the opposite side, to near the base of the
Valley.
The hop culture, therefore, extends, in
length, from ten to twelve miles. But its
width, even on the north side, of the Valley,
at Farnham, is only a few hundred yards
(a quarter of a mile at most) ; climbing up
the side of the Valley, no farther, except in
small plots, than where the chalk lies near
enough the surface, to give the requisite
absorbency and fertility to the soil ; which,
higher on the slope, becomes a cold reten-
tive infertile clay; resembling, in appear-
ance, and product ions, the southeastern quar-
ter of the District of Maidstone. And,
above this, on the top of the ridge, is a
barren heath.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 49
On the south side of the Valley, opposite to
Farnham, in the parish of Wracklesham,
the hop grounds are scattered, among arable
and grass lands, the base of the soil being,
on that side, a flinty gravel, on sand ; while
the chalky lands of Farnham, are wholly
hop grounds, and some of them old, beyond
memory.
SOIL. This is a further evidence, that
hops are partial to a calcareous base.*
For although they are grown, and on some
particular spots endure, on the southern
hang of the Valley, there is every reason
to believe, that the lands they flourish on, are
in some degree calcareous- The gravelly
subsoil is flinty ; and probably of calcareous
origin ; and what corroborates this idea,
sainfoin flourishes on the same lands. We
may therefore conclude, that it is either na-
turally calcareous, or has been chalked. On
the north side, some of the soil is mixed
with flinty gravel, similar to that of the
south side ; which, probably, has a like
mixture of calcareous matter : the two sides
being separated only by a narrow flat of
meadows.
* See Districts of Maidstone and Canter-
'BURY.
VOL. II. E
So HOPS.
The prevailing topsoil, on both sides of
the Valley, is the same : a rich strong loam :
resembling the coomb of West Kent. The
undlrsoil, on one side, is chalk or chalky
rubble, on the other, flintv gravel, in some
places of great depth: the substructure,
of the one, is calcareous strata, of varied
composition ; of the other, sand rock : a
a substratum common to the sandy wastes
of Hampshire and Sussex.
But hops, here, as in the neighbourhood
of Maidstone, are grown on soils of diffe-
rent qualities : in the upper parts of the
Valley, the ordinary top soil is a much
lighter loam, than prevails about Farnham ;
and, at the lower extremity, they arc
tended over the margin of the sandy wastes ;
on lands not worth, for any purpose of hus-
bandrv, five shillings an acre. This, how-
ever, is merely in pursuance of an established
practice, — is only falling in with the fashion
of the place, — and probably does not repay
the contingent expences.
In the neighbourhood of Odiam, I ob-
served some flourishing plantations of hops;
and wherever there is a rich deep loam, on
a loose calcareous base — wherever sainfoin
is observed to flourish and endure, there it i*
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 51
more than probable, hops may be planted
with safety and profit.
SPECIES. There is, I believe, only one
varietv in cultivation, here; which is known
by the name of the Farnham hop.
PLANTING. In 1791, the plantations
of Farnham were increasing ; the passion
for hop grounds having, then, risen to a
degree of rage.
The preparation of the soil, until late-
ly, I understand, has been that of ?' trench-
ing," or double digging. Now, pits are grow-
ing into use! owing, I was informed, to a
mere incident of practice, in which they
happened to succeed ; and, being less ex-
pensive than double digging the entire soil,
this incident may possibly give a turn to
the practice ; — whether a good or a bad
one, a few years experience will probably
show.
In the disposition and distance of the
hills, the practice appears to have varied,
and to be still varying. In the very old
grounds, in the immediate environs of Farn-
ham, whose origin, I understood, is not
now to be traced, the hills stand irregu-
larly; not in straight lines! In grounds
Ea
52 HOPS.
of a middle age, they are in rows, with wide
intervals, one way (as seven or eight feet)
and with the hills, three and a half to four
feet apart, in the rows. In one instance, I
observed them, nine feet by three. At pre-
sent, six feet, square, appears to be the
prevailing distance.
The skreens of hop grounds, here, as in
Kent, are trained thorn hedges ; where the
lands are inclosed. In a few instances, I
observed lime trees planted, in close rows,
and trained for this purpose.
But. the grounds of Farnham are in a
state of open " field" — having doubtless
been a common corn field ; the pieces being
distinguished by narrow lines of grass.
However, in 1791, several young hedges
were training; for the intention of " break-
ing off the blights;" which are understood
to come in the form of mist, or riving clouds,
scudding over the surface of the ground ;
and, it is thought, that tall skreens assist in
checking their career, or in breaking their
force ; so as to lessen, at least, their mis-
chiefs, as far as the shelter of the skreen
nds.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 53
CULTURE OF GROWN HOPS. The
outline, with respect to the soil, is this:
manure, in autumn : dig the intervals, a
full depth, in winter: open the hills, and
hoe the intervals, early in the spring : break
them up, a few inches deep (in the manner
that will be described) about the beginning
of June: round up the hills, at Midsummer:
and give the whole a superficial hoing, be-
fore corn harvest sets in.
Remark. It may here be observed, and
is an interesting fact, in the history of the
hop culture in this Island, that the practice
of Farnham, and that of Maidstone, are,
in many respects, so very different, as to
leave no doubt, on the mind, of their having
had different origins; or of each having
groped out its own way ; the central parts
of Sussex forming the division between the
two practices. In West Sussex, about Pet-
worth, where hops are in cultivation, the
Farnham practice prevails : while, on the
eastern side of the county, about Cranbrook,
the practice of Maidstone is followed.
In the western practice, now under view,
there are no implements in use; no shims,
subplows, or harrows, drawn by horses ;
54 HOPS.
the whole being performed by manual la-
bour ;* and, in performing this, many of the
tools, in use, are so perfectly different, in
shape and operation, as to show them, de-
monstniblv, to have been separate inven-
tions. The soils, — if we take the coomb
of Maidstone, and the strong loam of Farn-
ham field, — on which, it is more than pro-
bable, the two practices were first intro-
duced,— are very similar. Perhaps, that of
Farnham is somewhat more stubborn ; and
the tools, there in use, are best calculated
for such a soil. But they also are used, on the
lighter lands. There is scarcely any trace
of the two districts having copied from
each other ; except, in digging the inter-
nals, with three pronged forks, instead of
spades ; a practice which is common to both.
* I was told, that team labor has been tried ; but
that " it would not do." It may therefore be admitted,
that cither the soils of this district, or their cultivators,
are of too stubborn a nature to admit of the practice :
perhaps, the former.. It, however, the intervals, or
" allies," were to be laid up, in dry beds, before win-
ter, there can be little doubt of their being, thereby,
rendered mellow enough, to be worked with team im-
plements, the ensuing spring and summer.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 55
The MANURE of this District is dung ;
which is purchased, at an extravagant price,
— " a guinea a load" ! fetching it out of the
country, on every side, where it is to be
procured : thus impoverishing the whole
neighbourhood. Woolai rags are not much
in use, here, as in Kent ; but xvool (the dirty
locks, or trimming, &c. of sheep) is used.
These differences of practice arise out of
situation : woolen rags are conveyed to
Maidstone, by water, at an easy expence ;
and wool locks are the produce of the
Downs, in the immediate neighbourhood of
Farnham.
In DRESSING, (namely, opening the
hills and cutting off the old vines), the
only variation, which appeared, was that
of the crowns of the roots being more ge-
nerally left bare, in the Farnham, than in
the Kentish practice ; under the idea — as I
was told by an intelligent hop-ground man
— that " the sun draws them out the better,"
when they are exposed, than when they are
covered with mold. This, however, may be
a mere popular idea. The fact is probably
of more importance, than the reason given
for the practice.
56 HOPS.
POLES, here, are chiefly of ash ; (but
some of alder, sallow, and fir!) culled from
the neighbouring woods, and plantations.
The price, in 1791, was about a guinea and
a half, a hundred, in the wood.
A method of piling the poles, in winter,
differs from that of Kent ; though part of
them are set up, in the Kentish manner.
In the Farnham practice, they are laid along
the ground, horizontally; and formed into
triangular piles. To preserve the form of the
pile, and prevent them from rolling down,
four poles are entered into the ground ;
namely, two near each end of the pile.
These cross each other, at the upper angle
of the pile ; and are kept in their places,
firmly against the sides of the piles, by a
fifth pole, thrown in between them. They
are less trouble, and less dangerous, than
the conical piles of Kent ; but seem to be
much less calculated to preserve the poles.
In POLING, there is a notable variation
from the practice of Kent. The number
in ordinary cases, is tzco poles to a hill :*
and these are disposed, in a peculiar
* But see the operations of tying, and shifting poles.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 57
manner : especially where the hills are in
thickset rows, with wide intervals. In this
case, the disposition is changed, alternately,
in the rows. The poles of o.ie hill is set
in the line of the row, and of the next across
it ; the poles, in the latter case, standing
about eight inches from the line, and one
on either side of it : the ordinary distance
between the poles being fifteen to eighteen
inches, at the bottom : spreading to three
or four feet, at the top ; the back of the
pole being usually placed inward, as in
Kent.
The time of poling depends on the
emersion or shooting of the vines. In 1791,
the pointing, and distrib.aing of the poles
in the intervals, the first by men, the latter
by women and boys, were going on, in the
first week of April , the young shoots, at
that time, just beginning to make their
appearance. On the 8th of April, some few
poles were setting up, on the south side of
the Valley, which is somewhat forwarder
than the north side ; notwithstanding the
aspect ; gravel, perhaps, being a more ab-
sorbent, warmer subsoil, than chalk. On
the tenth of May the poles were mostly
58 HOPS.
up; but not wholly: the majority of the
plants, then being two or three feet high ;
sji; igher.
le method of poling is this : a hole
being sunk, of a size, and in a direr
suitable to the foot of the given pole, and
about twelve inches below the crown of the
root (or fifteen below the level of the in-
tervals) with an iron crow, or bar, and the
workman having adjusted the pole, in his
hands, so as to make the top spread pro-
perly outward, it is punched down, with a
single effort. If it do not stand in the true
position (a circumstance which seldom hap-
s ro an e workman) it is forced, by
hand, until its top be brought into its pro-
situation ; when the ground is trodden
hard to . heel. But alter-
i deprives a pole of
..nd ought to be avoid-
ed, as mui .le.
ing. In 1791, th mmenoed,
about the beginning of May.
The ninth of might be
h women and girls, at this
work : .:en employed in
^ening poles, poling, and hoing or
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 59
" becking" the intervals, formed a busy in-
teresting scene. While the country, viewed
from a distance, had a striking appearance:
the whole Valley wearing, at that season,
the winterly garb of naked leafless coppice
grounds.
The number of vines, that are usually
trained to a pole, in the Farnham practice,
are three. Hence, at six feet square, or
twelve hundred hills to the acre, and two
poles to each hill, the usual number of
vines, to an acre, are seven thousand two
hundred : so that, notwithstanding the hills
are placed at shorter distances, here, than
in the District of Maidstone, the num-
ber of vines, trained, are much fewer. In
the plantations of a middle age, in which
eight feet, by three fte^ and a half, are the
common distances, or about fifteen hundred
and fifty, to the acre, the numbers are nearly
the same, as in West Kent ; namely, nine
to ten thousand vines, to the acre.
In the choice of vines, to be trained,
much may depend. In the early part of
the season, the strongest and cleanest vines
are made choice of. But later, when the
6o HOPS.
vines have run away from the tyers, the
forward "branchy" vines, as well as those
that are slender and weak, are rejected,
fur those which are clean and of a middle
growth; namely, about two feet long.
Remark. The reason seems obvious:
the strong branchy vines are difficult to
train ; and, have probably acquired a pro-
cumbent habit ; their natural tendency to
climbing being checked, by not having it ex-
ercised in the first instance: and the lateral
brandies weaken, of course, the strength of
the leader. Had these forward vines been
;ed to the poles, at a proper age, the
branches, if sent out at all, would doubtless
have been, in to the leader, com-
pafativi ak.
. in which there are two vines,
of equal growth and strength, and of a pro-
per age for training, it may be a moot point,
which to choose. If strong, rather than
tall vines, are the best able to withstand the
ks of enemies, and bear a crop with
t certainty, that which is inclined to
Lit side shoots, and thereby strength-
en the lower part of the stem, becomes the
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 61
proper object of choice. A medium, in this,
as in most other disputable matters, is pro-
bably the best.
The rands or ties made use of, here, are
rushes (of the a wSj . T
are cut about Midsummer ; made, or dried,
as hay ; and put up, in a sort of mow, under
cover, until the tying season, the ensuing
spring ; when they are tough, and well
adapted to the purpose.
In tying, the workwoman kneels, on
one or both knees, upon the side of the
hill ; having a bundle of rushes hanging
before her, in a sort of bag; apron ; which.
as she kneels, nearly touches, or rests upon
the ground. Three bines being selected, and
brought to the pole, a rush is put round
them, a foot or more from the ground ;
and, their upper parts being wound, some-
what spirallv, but with an easy curvature,
upon the pole, and i un, another
rush band is tied, about a foot above the
first ; more or less, according to the length
of the vine in training, and the distance it
rises from the pole.
If, at the time of tying, the root be found
very strong, and has thrown out a super-
62 HOPS.
abundance of vines, eligible to be trained,
a third pole is set up ; and, in this case,
nine bines are trained.
On the 31st May, the tying was nearly
over ; the workwomen being then thief] v
employed, in adjusting, and retying the louse
bi;ies, that had been torn from the poles by
the wind ; the vines being, then, about six
feet high.
SHIFTING POLES. This is a tedious
and disagreeable part of the hop culture ;
and requires great judgment and experience,
to do it with good effect. The operation
is that of removing a weak undersized pole,
overloaded, or likely, from the strength of
the hill on which it stands, to be overloaded,
with bine, to a weaker hill, which has a
strong pole ; thus reversing the situations,
and offices, of the two poles. In perform-
ing this operation, the ties are broken, and
the bines laid down, until the poles are
changed ; when the vines are wound upon
the fresh poles (net veiy dexterously per-
haps) and tied again, with fresh rushes.
If, at this season of the year, and during
the adjustment of the poles, a hill is per-
ceived to be so strong, as to be in danger
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 63
of overloading two well sized poles, a third
pole is set up, and one vine taken from each
of the other poles, and transferred to this.
In a year of heavy bine, this appears to be
a necessary work. Overloaded poles, broken
off by the wind, are not only a loss in them-
selves, but are liable to injure others in their
fall. -
SPARE VINES. These are left, at the
time of tying, to run wild over the inter-
vals; and remain at the roots, until about
Midsummer ; when they are taken off, and
the hills rounded up.
Remarks. The reasons assigned, for
this practice, are, that if they were taken
off earlier, they would shoot again ; where-
as, by letting them spend their strength,
and then taking them off and burvins: the
roots deeply with soil, they are subdued :
and another, that thev help to shade the
intervals, before the trained vines are able
to do it; and thus tend to keep the ground
moist. Suckers, too, are sometimes seen
rising, in the intervals; and are considered
as assisting in the same intention.
Whether the abovereasons have any weight,
or whether thev are the true ones for the
64 HOPS.
practice of this District, I will not attempt
to say. But it appears to me, as being
much more reasonable, that no stated time
should be observed, with respect to the cut-
ting off these spare vines; but that the pe-
riod of their growth ought to be regulated,
by the season, and by the strength and
luxuriance; not of the crop in general, but
of individual hills ; retaining them as regu-
lators to the growth of the trained vines.
In a forcing season, let them grow at
will, to check, as much as in the nature of
their growth they are able to check, the too
great luxuriance of the crop. On the con-
trary, in a backward season, check or re-
move them ; in order to throw up additional
vigor, into the rising vines.*
" BECKING." This operation is pecu-
liar to the department of hop grounds, now
under notice. The tool, with which it is
performed, is of a singular construction.
Itu resembles, in its general form, the mat-
tock : one end of the head, or iron work,
being an adze, or small strong hoe ; the
other, a fork, or dung-drag ; differing, in
* For fuller remarks, on this head, see the District
of Maidstone.
VALLEY OF FARXHAM. 6s
nothing, from the ordinary tool with which
dung is usually drawn out of the tail of the
cart ; except that the tines are somewhat
flat, or broad ; as those of the dung drag
sometimes are, and ever should be.
The intention and use of the beck is that
of breaking the surface of stubborn ground,
or that which has been run together, with
rain, and baked by the sun, as well as of
cutting, or tearing up, the weeds of the in-
tervals. If the tines, or fork end, do not
tear up a clod or a weed, the hack is applied.
In using it, the workman appears to strike,
nearly horizontally; but, in reality, some-
what dipping ; loosening the soil, three or
four inches deep.
The grounds of this department seldom
having the summer digging* which is usual-
ly given in Kent, (though I observed it in
one instance) a more effective instrument,
than the hoe, is requisite, to break, suffi-
ciently, the surface of strong land.
The usual time of performing this opera-
tion is the beginning of June.
The beck is useful, not only in chopping
over and loosening the surface of the inter-
vals, in summer ; but in opening the hills.
VOL. II. F
66 HOPS.
in the spring ; being a powerful and effec-
tive tool, for this purpose. I have also
seen it used, in hacking over the intervals
of beans; and, in a dry season, it is valuable,
ill this intention.
HOING. This operation is usually ap-
plied, to cut oft the early spring weeds. In
an instance, in which it had been omitted,
the winter weed, chickweed, groundsel, <S:r.
&c. had evidently seeded, before the time of
becking ; and the seeds were, of course, k :
into the soil, by the latter operation. It is
usual to apply the hoe, again, between the
becking and the harvesting, to prevent the
second crop of weeds from seeding.
The weeds of the hop grounds of Farn-
ham, the 9th May, 1791, were
Winter weed — veronica be der [folia.
Groundsel — senecio vulgaris.
Chickweed — alsine media .
Shepherd's purse — tblaspi bursa-pastoris.
Fum itory— fum aria officinalis .
Dwarf poe — poa annua.
Charlock — sinapis arvensis.
Cudweed — gnaphaliam lutco-album .
Dwarf nettle — lamium purpureum.
C lea v crs—galium a pari tie.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 67
Goose foot — chenopodhim ,
Convolvulus — convolvulus arvensis.
The hoes in use, here, vary with the in-
tention, and the state of the soil. For
merely cutting over the intervals, of loose
free soil, a common plain hoe is used ; but,
where the ground is stubborn, or baked
with drought, a three-tined hoe is made use
of! The tines flat, as those of the beck:
a tool that might frequently be used, with
good effect, in the intervals of beans, in a
dry season. But, for scraping the surface
of the intervals, and rounding up the hills,
a very large plain hoe — a sharp mud-scraper
— is in use ; answering the same purpose
as the shovel, in the Kentish practice. I
have likewise seen this uncouth, but efficient
tool used, in cutting over the surface, in
the spring, and early summer months.
PICKING. The season of picking,
here, is earlier, even than in the Maidstone
District : not, however, from this District
being the forwardest, in regard to clima-
ture ; but because hops are here gathered,
in an earlier state of ripeness, than they are
in Kent. At the close of the picking, in
1791, on the 18th September, the hops were
F2
68 HOPS.
harelv in full condition ; had but just ac-
quired those CRITERIA OF R IPENESS, which,
at Maidstone, are the signal for begini:
What are here termed u fine hops," would
in Kent be called " green hops ;" and, if
bitterness be the most desireable quality,
the " fine samples" of Farnham are, in
reality, no other than hops, gathered, u \
rip
The apparatus of picking is the b.
different, in construction, from that of W< 91
Kent ; and smaller: the modern bin being
of a specific size, like the basket of Can: i -
bury; each bag, or bin cloth holdir..
bushels. The bag is hung, on studs, set on
the inside of a square frame of wood ;
two ends of the frame rising somewhat
above the bag, to receive the poles; which
are here laid, horizontally, upon the end*
of the bin : not made to lean against a r
pole, or horse, as in the Kentish prac:
The workpeople are, here, much more
numerous, in proportion to the quanti:
work to be done, than in the Maidstone
quarter. The picking is more tedious; and
the season of picking is shorter. " Fine
hops" bear the best price ; and every pru-
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 69
dent manager is anxious to make the most
of his crop ; and, of course, to reap it, zvhile
it is ripening. Hence, in a favorable season,
the principal part of the picking is done, in
ten days, or a fortnight. In 1791, the
picking commenced on Saturday, the third
of September, and the " sorting" closed on
Wednesday the fourteenth ; the hops then
becoming too high colored, for the pur-
chasers of fine hops.
The workpeople are chiefly collected,
from the towns of Surrey and Hampshire ;
the town of Portsmouth inclusive.
They are divided into pickers and " pole
pullers" and formed into sets, as in Kent ;
and as the nature of the business indispen-
sably requires.
In CUTTING THE VINES, and DRAWING THE
poles, the practices of the two districts are
similar; except that the vines are here cut
higher than in Kent ; owing, doubtless, to
their being cut, in an earlier state of ripe-
ness, and are therefore more liable to bleed,
than the vines of riper hops. See Vol. I.
p. 238, on this subject.
Picking. The pullers having laid the
loaded poles, along the ground, in heaps,
7o HOPS.
by the sides of the bins, the pickers lift
them, one by one, to the frames, each of
which has two pickers ; one standing on
either side. They begin to pick at the
bottom of the pole,* moving it end way as it
is picked ; and, having finished it, throw it
on a pile : in which the unstript poles re-
main, until the picking is over -f-
Another part oi this operation, that marks
the practice of this District, still more strong-
ly, is that of sorting the hops, as they are
picked ; particularly in the early part of a
favorable season ; and, always, when picking
" fine hops." The bin cloth receives the
first, or best sort ; a basket, which stands
by the side of the frame, the " seconds ;"
and frequently a third receptacle is pro-
vided, for the " brown hops:" and some-
times a fourth, for the " fliers."
Beside, the picking is done more accu-
rately, here, than in Kent. The practice
of " sorting" leads to the habit of pick-
* Whereas, in Kent, it is the invariable practice, to
begin at the top.
t When, I understand, they are universally burnt ;
and 'heir ashes wasted ! Even where dung is * a guinea
a load" '
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. fk
ing the hops, singly. Even, at the close of
the season, when they are picked " all to-
gether," they are mostly picked, singly ; and
not stript off the stalks, as in the Kentish
practice. Hence, the Farnham hops have
fewer leaves in them, than the Kentish hops ;
even the few that are accidentally torn of£
are picked out of the bins.
Yet the prices given for picking, are not
much higher, here, than in Kent. The ordi-
nary price is three halfpence, a bushel ; or
eight for a shilling. In 1 79 1, the crop being
under par, two pence a bushel was given,
towards the close of the season, with beer :
namely, a quart of small beer to each of the
pickers ; with ale to the pole pullers.
The measuring, or rather estimation, is
done, in a summary way. Nothing is mea-
sured, unless the picker remonstrate against
the estimation ; which is made by the eye
and experience of the steward. Where the
ordinary bins, of seven bushels, are in use,
the estimate is the less vague, than where
bins, of irregular form, and indeterminate
size are the receptacles. In proof, how-
ever, of the expediiiousness, at least, of this
7? HOPS.
mode of ascertaining the value of the work-
manship, I attended a hop planter (who
acted as his own steward,) through one of
his " measurings," where upwards of fifty
pickers were employed ; and there was only
one exception to his estimate.
This mode of valuing the labor saves much
time; and is perhaps, on the whole, suffi-
ciently accurate ; the parties giving and
taking, as differences of opinion arise ; and
by measuring, occasionally, the judgments
of both of them are regulated.
The pickers' accounts are kept, at pre-
sent, is a somewhat complex manner. To-
kens of copper, numbered from one to ten,
are given ; the number or numbers (if more
than one piece is given) corresponding with
the number of bushels. At stated times, as
every two or three days, these tokens are
called in ; and, for every tzcenty bushels,
they amount to, a notch is cut on a tally*
similar to that of Kent.
It is probable that keeping the accounts,
by means of tokens, was the original me-
thod of Farnham ; giving money for the
tokens, whenever they are called in; and
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 73
that the tallies have been copied from Kent,
in order to throw the whole season into one
account, or general payment.
This being as it may, scoring, for every
twenty bushels picked, is far less eligible, than
for every shilling earned ; as being less ob-
vious, and intelligible, to illiterate work-
people ; requiring a sort of calculation, at
the end of the season, to which many of
them are not competent.
The finishing frolicks, here, exceed
even those of Kent. The pole puller has
not a handkerchief, only, but also a shirt
(that is, a piece of linen cloth to make him
one) given him by the pickers. This is
worn, sash-wise, and is ornamented with
ribbons. The women, likewise, decorate
themselves, with such handkerchiefs, rib-
bons, and finery, as they purchase at the
shops, to carry home with them. Some of
the companies parading the streets of Far 11-
ham ; — perhaps with a fiddler at their head,
— singing and shouting, ill tones of true
licentiousness ; the evening being usually
closed, by a dance ; and always with co-
pious libations, — doubtless, to the goddess of
hops.
74 HOPS.
The itinerants, who live at a distance,
are (by agreement) sent home in waggons ;
forty or fifty, perhaps, in each ; with a
fiddler in the midst of them ; and v% ith their
various colors flying. Altogether, a sort of
glee and merriment, winch, in these deco-
rous times, is rarely met with ; and whether
it be right or wrong, let moralists deter-
mine.
DRYING. The ordinary kiln, of this
District, resembles the stove kiln of Kent:*
— namely., a hollow cube, with one, two, or
three " holes," mouths, or fire-places, in
one side of it ; the only fuel, here, being
charcoal. No sea coals nor even coke ; and
little, if any, sulphur is used : gree?i, rather
than yeHoic, being, here, the desired color :
a " primrose color," however, is spoken of
with some degree of respect.
In the neighbourhood of Farnham, there
is an extraordinary pile o£ building, erected
for the purpose of manufacturing hops. It
is planned and executed with great judg-
ment ; and is worthy of the attention of
those, who are about to erect buildings, of
this intention.
* See Vol. I. p. 261.
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 75
The part that struck me, as being the
most estimable, in the construction of the
kilns (though differing in other respects
from the ordinary form) is that of their
being furnished with two floors, one above
the other ; with a space of five or six feet
between them ; so as to give room, for the
effluvia of the lower floors, to escape ; and
for men to work upon them.
In drying, the fresh-picked hops are
spread upon the upper floor ; and, by re-
ceiving the heat which escapes through the
drier hops, on the lower one, there lose a
part of their moisture; and, when those
below are removed, these, on the chamber
floor, are let down, through a trap door,
upon the immediate floor of the kiln.
This, for hops that are gathered under
ripe, as those of Farnham mostly are, is an
admirable expedient ; and is not, I under-
stand, peculiar to the suite of hop kilns,
above noticed. In any place, such a plan
would be found most eligible, and pay
amply, during the early part of the picking
season ; as well as during moist weather, in
any part of the season. See Vol. I. p. 264.
PACKING. The whole of the produce,
of Farnham, is put into pockets; which are
76 HOPS.
marked, or rather decorated, with stamped
devices, that are altered every year ; in order
to distinguish the produce of Farnham, from
the vulgar growths of the rest of the king-
dom ; the Farnham planters entering into a
bond, not to send any other hops, than those
of Farnham, in packages bearing these de-
vices.
The MARKET, for Farnham hops, is
chiefly the fair of Weyhill ; to which they
are carried, by land, between thirty and
forty miles ! And those which are bought,
there, by the London dealers, are carried
from thence, back to London, near seventy
miles !
This practice, however, is the more re-
concileable to common sense, when it is
known, that the Farnham waggons load
back, with cheeses ; and that a considerable
part of the hops, of this growth, go for-
ward, into the West of England, by the
waggons, which brought the cheeses to
Weyhill.
Another condition of the bond, entered
into by the Farnham planters, is not to
carry any hops, into Weyhill Fair (acci-
dents excepted) after twelve o'clock, on old
Michaelmas day. Formerly, the hop fair
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. 77
lasted a week, or more: now, under this
regulation, only a few days.
GENERAL REMARKS on the FARN-
HAM PRACTICE.
The first and greatest evil, that reflection
aptly suggests, is the waste of land, labor,
and manure, that is incurred, by this mode
of practice. The crop is not only, small,
but the quality is weak. Half a ton, an
acre, is esteemed as full a crop of " fine
hops/' as. five or six bags are, in the Kent-
ish practice. In 1791, the crop somewhat
below par, six hundredweights were con-
sidered as about the medium produce of
Farnham : and judging from the " fine
samples," that were shown me, the quan-
tity of bitter and aroma, contained in these,
could not be estimated at more than one
half of what is contained, in a well matured,
full-ripe sample, of Kentish hops, or of
such fully matured hops, as I saw picking,
at Farnham, in the wane of the season ;
after the sorting, for fine hops, had closed.
Estimating the quantities of bitter and flavor
by the ordinary tests of the handle and the
78 HOPS.
smell, many of 'he finer leaves of the Maid-
stone plantations appear to contain, as much
* condition," as the fine hops of Farnham.
And we may safely say, that, in a national
light, the practice of Farnham is wrong.;
as incurring a great waste of the three
most valuable things, any country possesses:
namely, land, manure, and labor.
Nevertheless, it appears to be the interest,
and of course the best policy, of the proprie-
tors of these lands, as well as of the plan-
ters, to pursue the practice ; no matter
how absurd it ma I in itself, or mis-
chievous to the interest 01 the country. The
rents of the Farnham hop grounds, and
the prices of Farnham hops, are excessive ;
— much higher, than they are in Kent.
In 1791, ten pounds, an acre, was not
considered as an extravagant price, for
grounds of a good growth; twelve or thir-
teen pounds were said to be given, by men
who make a distinct business of the hop
culture; who hire grounds, and work them
themselves, or With assistance. A gentle-
man, near Farnham (who erected the ex-
cellent drying house aforementioned ) is said
to have advanced his estate, manifold, by
VALLEY OF FARNHAM. ,a
planting hops; keeping them in hand, un-
til they have reached their full growth ; and
then letting them out, in small lots, at the
extravagant prices mentioned above. And,
with respect to the prices of the hops,— the
fine samples of Farnham, frequently, fetch
twice the price of Kentish hops, that con-
tain twice the quantity of bitter and aroma.
It will doubtless be said, by the Farnham
planters, and the advocates for Farnham
hops, that their flavor and color are finer,
than those of any other growth. That
they are weaker will readily be admitted ;
and may not their weakness be mistaken for
delicacy? I am not, however, sufficiently
versed in the art of brewing, to say, that
one fourth of the quantity of full ripe, high
conditioned, well harvested hops, are equal
to four times the quantity of the fine hops
of Farnham.
They have, certainly, one very powerful
recommendation. They are dear; bear the
best price ; are ever at the top of the mar-
ket. And although this may not always
be a sufficient recommendation to gentle-
men (by whom, I understand the Farnham
So HOPS.
hops are chiefly consumed) it doubtless has
its weight with their butlers.
Upon the whole, however, if through
the name of Farnham hops, such a liquor
can be produced, as will render malt liquor
fashionable, and thereby lessen the present
inordinate import of foreign fruit liquors,
it will be o( less concern to the public, whe-
ther their estimated merits, in producing it,
be real or imaginary.
THE HEATHS
OF
SURREY, &c.
THE KNOWLEDGE, which I have of
these barren lands, has arisen in crossing
them, in various directions ; as, by the great
western road, between Staines and Bassing-
stoke ; by the road, between Bagshot and
Farnham; by passing, between Farnham
and Petworth, by three different routes;
and in going from Petworth to Petersfield.
The northern extremity, and the part about
Woking, towards Weybridge, I am the
least acquainted with.
The SITUATION of this wide spread
waste is in the four counties of Berks, Hants,
Surrey, and Sussex ; but chiefly in the two
VOL. II. G
£2 HEATHS OF SURREY.
latter ; and the major part of it in Surrey ;
forming a broad blank margin, on the west-
ern side of the county.
The EXTENT would be' difficult to
ascertain, without actual measurement ; the
outline being extremely irregular. It reaches
from Ascot Heath, in Berkshire, to Bexley
Heath in Sussex, a distance of about thirty
miles ; without any interruption ; except
a few inconsiderable slips of cultivated lands,
that run up into its area ; accompanying
the brooks and rivulets, that have their rise
within it. These, and other plots of in-
closed lands, that indent it, on every side,
render the width altogether uncertain. If
we call the medial width five or six miles,
we shall, I believe, come near enough the
truth, to give a general idea of the extent ;
so as to answer the present purpose. Six
miles, I apprehend, is too much for the me-
dial width of heath; as it would probably
include some of those shreds of cultivation,
above spoken of. I will, therefore, set
down the width of heath, at five miles, and
thus estimate the whole, at one hundred
and fifty square miles; or a hundred thou-
sand acres.
HEATHS OF SURREY. $3
The ELEVATION of this tract is re-
markably small, for lands of this descrip-
tion. The principal part of the Heaths of
Surrey lie on almqst a dead flat ; and this
barely high enough above the Thames, to
shoot the waters, which escape from them,
into that river. The southern extremity,
however, rises to a considerable height.
Hind Head, in Surrey, Black Down and Bex-
ley Hill, in Sussex, are high lands ; though
they have no claim, as mountains.
The SURFACE is of various casts : the cen-
tral parts, as has been said, are mostly flat :
the northern and western quarters rise with
more billowy surfaces ; while, in the south-
ern, the surface is broken, in a singular and
striking manner. East Devonshire scarcely
exceeds it, in the variety and irregularity
of its surface: smooth-toped, steep-sided
hills, of every shape ; divided by winding
irregular vallies ; some of them of a strong
improveable soil, if there were roads to carry
away the produce. At present, the Heathy
Heights of Sussex are as difficult of access,
as the mountains of Merionethshire, or
Perthshire.
G2
84 HEATHS OF SURREY.
The SOIL, of the whole of these heathy
wastes, that I have particularly attended to,
is a barren sand, or gravel ; encrusted with
the black earth of heaths, of a dry crumbly
quality; and, in general, very thin; the
soil, altogether, being of the very worst
quality ; especially, on the low flat-lying
lands ; where it is inferior, even to that
of the Yorkshire Moreland ; and much in-
ferior to the heaths of the Highlands of
Scotland.
The present PRODUCE, if it deserves
the name, is a sort of dwarfish, stunted
heath ; in many places unable to hide the
sand, on which it may be said to starve.
The flat, between Farnham and Godalmin,
is, almost literally, a barren waste, a sandy
desert. — Some of the hills, however, have a
stronger heath ; and, upon Hind Head, a
singular sort of brushwood issues from one
of the vallies, or dingles, on its side, and
spreads over part of the hill. It is mostly
composed of shrubby wide-spreading oaks ;
though not more, perhaps, than four or five
feet high ; being cut oft with the winds, as
with an edge tool. I have, since going
HEATHS OF SURREY. 85
over these wastes, seen similar appearances,
on the skirts of Dartmore, in Devonshire.
The other shrubs, in this instance, are
birch, white leaf (aria tbeophrasti) haw-
thorn, furze, &c. The "running furze"
(a variety oiultx europceus,— or a distinct
species of ulei ; see West of England) here
mixes freely with the heath: a so the biea-
berry, or whortleberry (vaccinium tnyrtillus)
— and the needle furze (genista anglica).
The LIVESTOCK, which this wide
tract of country maintains, at present, are
inconsiderable.
Those which are most conspicuous, on
the barren flat Heaths of Surrey, are small
mean-looking CATTLE. Yet they must be
of a quality, intrinsically good, or they could
not exist, on so base a pasture. Their bone
is, in general, remarkably fine. In horn,
color, and thinness of carcass, many of them
resemble, so much, the ordinary longhorned
breed, that there can be little doubt of their
being of one and the same race.* And,
what is observable, here the longhorned
* The history of this remarkable variety of cattle
requires to be traced.
S5 HEATHS OF SURREY.
breed terminate, to the south. In the neigh-
bourhood of Farnham, they are the esta-
blished breed: while round Midhnrst, the
Sussex cattle are in full possession ; Hind
Head forming the boundary between them.
The number of SHEEP, seen on these
barren lands, are inconsiderable; especially,
on the more central and southern parts. In
the Bagshot quarter, they are more nume-
rous.
The breed resembles that of the wild
lands of the West of England ; and they
are probably a branch of the same ancient
stock. See West of England. They are,
in general, small, mean, ill formed animals.
Their mutton, however, is in high repute.
And they are probably well fleshed ; having
been staned into their present state.
Of rabbits, I observed no one instance ;
on any part of these weak, infertile lands !
But of FISH, I saw several instances:
these being a species of livestock m husbandry,
which is common to this and the two fol-
lowing districts ; as well as to the more
cultivated parts of Surrey.
The fish ponds, that are seen, in the
dips and hollows, of the flatter parts of this
HEATHS OF SURREY. 87
barren tract, appear to be of long standing.
The heads or dams, by which they have
been formed, bear the marks of age. Some
of them are of stones and earth ; one I ob-
served of chalk.
The only particular that struck me, in
the economy of these ponds, is the form-
ing of dams, one below another, across the
waste water channel ; doubtless, as means
to prevent the small fish from escaping.
Remarks. Where the soil is worthless,
how eligible to cover it with water ; and,
by this means, to increase the value of the
produce, of a given space, perhaps, an hun-
dred fold. How many opportunities of this
kind are neglected ; while rich meadow
lands are buried under fish ponds ; and fre-
quently to the great injury of other valuable
lands, that lie below them.
Might not large tracts of this worthless
land be profitably covered with deep water:
not merely as a source of fish ; but to water
the dry lands that lie lower ?
On a general view of this extensive tract
of country, there will be little risque in
saying, that, notwithstanding its advantages
of situation, with respect to the metropolis,
88 HEATHS OF SURREY.
it is, in its PRESENT STATE, the most
unprofitable, to the community, of anv dis^-
trict of equal extent, in the Island ; the
mountains on the north-west coast of Scot-
land, perhaps, excepted.
Means of IMPROVEMENT suggested.
My only motive for bringing these un-
profitable lands before the public, and giving
the foregoing sketch of their natural state,
and present productions, was to prepare the
way for the following suggestions, relating
to their improvement.
Having long been aware of the value of
the larch, as a timber tree; and, seeing it
thrive, with sufficient luxuriance, as such,
on lands similar to the tract I was then
( 1791 ) repeatedly crossing :* observing the
following year (1792) the progress made,
• The instance, which first caught my notice, and
led me to the idea of raising larch timber on the waste
lands under notice, occurred on a flat barren heathlet,
in the interior of Sussex ; on which the larch throve
with luxuriance ; outstriping any other plant. Since
that time, I have seen other instances of a similar
kind.
HEATHS OF SURREY. 2g
by this extraordinary tree, in the bleakest
situations, and on the inferior soils of the
Highlands of Scotland ; also learning, there,
the extreme durability of its w ood ; and con-
ceiving the possibility of training the trees
for ship building ;* my reflections revert-
ed, with double strength, to the barren tract,
now under view ; whose situation is most
eligible, as a source of ship timber ; be-
ing equally within the reach of Portsmouth,
and the several yards on the Thames ; as
well as the private yards of the port of Lon-
don ; from which water carriage might be
extended, into every part of the forest ; so
as to render land carriage, in a manner, un-
necessary.
Should it even be found, that English
larch is not quite so eligible, as English
oak, for ship building ; yet it might, never-
theless, be sound policy to use it, in that
intention. The oak, to bring it to the
size of ship timber, requires a good soil,
* See Planting and Rur: Orn: Vol. I. page 143.
See also a Report to the Board of Agriculture,
respecting the Central Highlands of Scotland.
e: HEATHS OF SURREY.
and a sheltered situation ; must be raised
on corn* land; it might well be called the
rival of the wheat crop: — and there is
not a sounder position, in rural, or in po-
litical economy, than that wood should be
confined, as much as possible, to uncultur-
able lands ; either as being too steep, too
rocky, too bleak, or too barren, to bear
profitable crops of corn, or herbage.
The larch, I believe, if planted with
judgment, might be planted with certainty,
on the major part of the lands under view.
And it is highly probable, that, when once
-her shall have been formed, on the
better stapled soils, the weakest might be
planted, with success ; and, it is possible,
might produce wood of still greater dura-
bility, than that grown on the less barren
lands.
The profits arising, from this proposed
improvement, to the planter, would be
progressive ; and, in the end, immense.
In the first thinning, (if planted sufficiently
close) stakes and fagot wood, of the best
quality, would be had. In the second,
hop poles, superior perhaps even to those
HEATHS OF SURREY. 9*
of the chesnut, would be obtained. After-
wards, larger poles, balks, or ufers, for
scaffolding, and a variety of other purposes.
Next building timber, and boards. And,
ultimately) planks, and ship timber.
THE
VALE LANDS
OF THE
WEALD OF SUSSEX, &c.
TO REPEATED excursions, from Pet-
worth, I owe the information I have col-
lected, respecting these Vale Lands: my
observations being more particularly made,
in the western parts of them. I never-
theless gained a more general view, of
the District; in a route, taken for that pur-
pose, by P ul borough, Billing shurst ,and Hors-
ham, to Betszi-orth, in Surrey ; from whence,
I have had frequent opportunities of ob-
serving the northeastern quarter.
The SITUATION of this well defined
natural district, is between the Hills
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 93
of Surrey, and those of Sussex ; which
bound it, on the north, and the south ; with
the Forest of St. Leonard (one of the heathy
swells that fill up the northeastern quarter
of Sussex*) on the east ; and, on the west,
Black Down, and the other barren hills,
which form the southern parts of the Dis-
trict, last described ; lying, chiefly, within
the county of Sussex ; but, in part, in that
of Surrey.
The EXTENT, from the foot of Black
Down, in Sussex, to the outskirts of the
commons, below Betsworth, in Surrey, and
winding, as the Vale Lands bend, round the
Surrey Hills, is near thirty miles ; and the
medial width may be estimated at ten miles:
thus giving an area of near three hun-
* The Heaths of East Sussex and Kent. This
barren tract reaches from Horsham to the Weald of
Kent. The Forest of Ash Down (next in succession
to St. Leonard's) as well as the Heaths about Tun-
bridge Wells, are as bleak and barren as the Moretand
of Yorkshire or Westmoreland. Hence this forms
another heathy district of the Southern
Counties; in extent equal to that above described ;
but it is not so entire, nor, altogether so barren and un-
profitable, as the Heath Lands of Surrey, &c.
94 DISTRICT.
dred square miles ; or two hundred thou-
sand acres.*
The ELEVATION is inconsiderable ;
being less, I believe, than that of any vale dis-
trict, of equal extent, In the Island. Never-
theless, it has ever lain sufficiently above the
floods, to keep it free from surface water.
I have observed no extent of water-formed
land, in anv part of it ; though there is, here
and there, a slip of what is called " brook
land," and though on some of the flatter,
commonable lands, the waters which fall on
them, may hang occasionally, for want of
proper shores to conduct them off.
The SURFACE is singularly uniform.
Excepting the gentle rise of Billingshurst,
and the rising grounds about Green, there
are few prominent features, — scarcely a bil-
low or a break, — to be seen, in any part of
* In looking from the loftier chalk hills of Surrey, a
much wider extent is taken into the view. The Forest of
St. Leonard, with other lands of a similar nature, and
with a tract of broken country to the eastward, — lying
comparatively low, with the Downs on either side of
them, — appear as a continuation of the Vale ; and is all
comprehended under the vague name of the " Wild."
See the Weald of Kent, in Vol. I. p. 336.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 95
the area of this extensive tract of ground :
which, however, is, in general, sufficientiy
diversified, especially near the brooks and
rivulets, with which it abounds, to shoot
off surface water. The margins are more
broken ; mixing, particularly on the west,
with the heathy hills which bound them.
WATERS. In this respect, the exten-
sive flat, under view, is remarkably circum-
stanced. Lands of a similar description,
lying between lofty ranges of high grounds,
are generally accompanied by a river ; bear-
ing some proportionate size, to the extent
of the vale, and the height of the hills,
that define it. Whereas the vale lands under
view, instead of giving passage to waters,
collected on higher grounds, may be said to
give rise, themselves, low lying as they are,
to three rivers ; whose branches, at least,
have their origin within its area : name-
ly, the Mole (and perhaps some slender
branches, of the Wey), which falls north-
ward, to the Thames ; and the Arun and
Adur, which direct their courses southward,
to the English Channel : the former collect-
ing its waters, chiefly, within the limits pf
Surrey, the latter within those of Sussex ;
95 DISTRICT.
the division of the counties being near the
turn of the water ; which, however, is given
by so gtjtle a rising, as to be imperceptible
to the e
The SOIL is, almost uniformly, of a clayey
retentive nature ; except near the extremi-
ties ; where the sand hills mix, more or
less, with the clayey soils. The low-lving
lands are mostly pale, and unproductive ;
while the rising grounds are generally of a
higher color, and a more fertile quality.
Remark. This difference of quality, be-
tween the soils of high and low grounds, is
observable in other vale districts, and may
be owing, not so much to any original dif-
ference in their natures ; as to their respec-
tive situations : the one having lain, from
the time of their formation, in a drier, the
other, in a moister state. And whether dry-
ness, or what is usually, and not impro-
perlv, called ~j.armtht be produced, by ele-
vation, or by an absorbency of subsoil, the
effect on the productiveness, or fertilitv of
the land, is perhaps similar.
In a state of nature, trees would grow
more luxuriantly, and afford a greater quan-
tity of vegetable produce, as leaves, branches,
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 97
decayed stems, and roots, in dry and warm,
than in cold ungenial situations : and this,
alone, would be sufficient to alter the color,
texture, and fertility of the rising grounds.
It is very probable, that the topsoils, of
the present day, are, more or less, the ac-
cumulations of their own produce ; accord-
ing to the original covering ; and the cir-
cumstances of situation, substructure, turn
of surface, and elevation.
The SUBSOILS of this District I had
few opportunities of examining. But the
complexion of the soils, every where, shows
them to be retentive.
In examining a stone quarry, towards
the west end of the District, I found the
substrata of varying qualities ; covering a
seam of light blue limestone ; chiefly com-
posed of marine shells, and in blocks, about
eighteen inches thick ; lying in a watery
bed, and a shelving posture ; dipping from
seven to fourteen feet beneath the surface.
FOSSIL PRODUCTION. This lime-
stone is sometimes called Sussex marble,
or Petworth stone ; and is cut into chim-
ney pieces, hearths, and is used otherwise as
a material of building, and furniture.
vol. n. H
98 DISTRICT.
ROADS. Excepting the more public
ones; as between Godalmin and Petworth;
Pet worth and Horsham (by Pulborough) ;
and Horsham and Dorking ; and except a
less public one, from the Godalmin road,
towards the center of the Weald ; this ex-
tensive and valuable District may be said to
be at present (was in 1791) nit bout roads.
In every part, I have been in, lanes are suf-
ficiently numerous, and generally of ample
width ; frequently wider than is necessary:
but, unless .towards the outskirts, and in
some particular parts, the lanes through
the inclosed lands, as well as the glades
across the commons, lie in their natural
state ; worn into gullies, and trodden into
sloughs. Even in the spring, and early
summer months, they appear intolerable,
to a stranger ; and, in winter, are barely
passable to the natives of the country.
From Petworth towards the center of the
Weald, attempts have been made, to form
roads of hard materials. And, it is pro-
bable, a sufficient quantity have been bu-
ried, in the clay and mud, to have formed,
under proper management, roads that might
have been travelled, with conveniency, the
year round.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 99
This subject will be resumed under the
head of proposed imrovements.
I have to mention, here, an instance of
practice, which I observed in the neigh-
bourhood of Billingshurst, and which may
well be adopted, as a general practice ; es-
pecially where hard materials are scarce.
That the road may dry quickly, and, of
course, to prevent unnecessary wear, the
mud (which has a similar tendency as water
to rot and injure roads) is scraped off; and
suffered to remain, in narrow ridges, (or
thinly spread) on either side of the road ;
until it be sufficiently dry, to work easily,
with a hoe, or other light tool : when the
stones, that are necessarily scraped off with
the dirt, are separated from it; and, with
the hard materials thus disentangled, ruts
and hollows are filled up, as fast as they are
formed.
This light work is well suited, to worn-
down, and maimed laborers ; and, in the
instance under notice, one old man had the
care of a considerable length of road ; which,
under this principle of management, was,
in the beginning of April, in the finest con-
dition.
Hs
xee DISTRICT.
The TOWNSHIPS of the Weald are,
in general, very large ; owing, as it would
seem, to the fewness of sites, fit for habita-
tions ; especially in the early stages of
clearing and cultivation. At present, the
sites of the villages, and especially of the
churches and parsonages, are well chosen.
But the fertile rising grounds, on which they
are seen, were probably cultivated, long be-
fore the rest was cleared ; being, in the first
stages of society, scattered villages, or groups
of huts, in wide spreading wroods ; which, in
the more advanced periods, were divided
among those eligible hearts of parishes.
STATE OF INXLOSURE. A large
portion of these vale lands remain, in a state
of commonage : particularly, on the out-
skirts, and towards the extremities of the
District : while the more central, and better
lands, are mostly inclosed ; there being, I
believe, no trace, at present, of common
fields having ever gained an establishment.
The inclosures appear, pretty evidently,
to have been made from a state of wood-
land. Not, however, in the way in which
forest lands, in other parts of the kingdom,
have been inclosed ; not by following nar-
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 101
row lines of bushes, or underwood, and
clearing up to these, on either side ; thus
leaving crooked hedges, and irregular in-
cisures ;'• but, by leaving broad, straight-
edged hedgerows, with square, or straight-
lined inclosures, surrounded with these wide
borders of wood .
Remark. This appears to have been
done, on the same principle of precaution,
that the coppice hedges of Devonshire were
raised ; namely, to afford a supply of fuel ;
there being, in the greater part of the Weald,
no extensive plots of woodland left ; and,
in this recluse, roadless district, wood, grow-
ing within each township, was necessary.
And it shows a degree of prudence and fore-
cast, which does credit to those who struck
out, and established, so valuable a custom.
In Holderness, in Lincolnshire, and in some
parts of the Midland counties, — where the
woodlands have been improvidentlv swept
away, and no provision made, to give the
requisite supply of fuel, in places where
coals, peats, or turves, are not to be had,
but at too great a cost for farmers and cot-
tagers to compass, — straw and the dung of
• See Midland Counties on this subject.
io2 DISTRICT.
cattle, are ordinary articles of fuel, — even
to this day !
The PRESENT PRODUCTIONS of
the portion of vale lands, now under con-
sideration, may be said to be wood, and
arable crops ! Excepting the commons,
and some narrow slips of brook land,
there is scarcely an acre of natural her-
bage, or old grass land, in a township :
and this, notwithstanding almost every acre
of the District is fitter for permanent her-
bage, than for any other species of produce.
The green lanes, every where, are seen in
the finest turf. But the inclosures having
been formed, from a state of woodiness ; and
having, ever since, been subjected to the
plow (or, if suffered to lie a while to rest,
it has been for so short a time, and in so
foul and weak a state) they have never had
an opportunity of acquiring a thick pro-
fitable sward of perennial herbage : and it
is, I believe, considered, by their occupiers,
as a thing impossible, to bring them into
so desirable a state.
Near the village of Kirdford, I observed
two or three instances of old sward. But
it appeared to have grown into grass.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 103
from the forest state. Not the trace of ridge
or furrow. The herbage various and good.
This subject, also, will be resumed, in
offering hints for improvement.
To speak of the ORNAMENT, of the
wide flat of vale lands, now in view, might
seem almost ridiculous. Yet there are
passages ; particularly that between Green
and Billingshurst ; where the two principal
branches of the Arun separate ; in which
much beauty may be caught ; though, with,
the present roads, it cannot well be en-
joyed, by travellers. There is an advantage,
in a vale district, which elevated grounds
have not ; for if a tolerable foreground can
be had, good distances are seldom wanting.
[ 104 ]
MANAGEMENT
OF
ESTATES
OF ESTATES, or their management,
I learnt little, that is profitable, in this Dis-
trict.
Property appears to be much divided :
many comfortable places of small owners
(the roads to them apart) are seen scattered,
on the better lands; but the principal part
is in the hands of tenantry.
The prevailing tenancy, I understand,
is that of leases, of fourteen, or twentyone
years ; especially, on the smaller estates ;
while on some of the larger ones, the occu-
pation remains, at will.
The usual time of the removal of te-
nants is Michaelmas.
The buildings of farms are, in general,
mean. The materials, of the shells, are
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 105
mostly timber ; with weatherboarding, or
strong laths and plaster, or pannels of brick-
work ; — of the roof, plain tiles, thatch, and
chips ! namely, the splinters and shavings
of hoops, and other coppice wares ; with
which hovels and sheds are frequently
thatched.
In the plan of farmeries, I observed
nothing commendable. They are, gene-
rally, ill sheltered thoroughfares ; such as
are seen, in other recluse, unimproved parts
of the kingdom.
The corn barns, in general, are suffi-
ciently high, in front, to admit a loaded car-
riage, beneath the plates ; but drop lower,
behind ; so as only to give height enough,
for the empty carriage to be drawn out.
Hay barns are very common, in the
Weald. The foundation masonry ; the roof
fixed ; being supported, by a sort of slight,
open frame-work. Some of them are of a
large size : costing fifty to a hundred pounds,
in building. Suppose one, to hold fifty
loads, costs fifty pounds, the annual ex-
pence may be reckoned at eighteen pence,
to two shillings, a load. In a difficult hay
io6 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES.
harvest, this is no consideration, compared
with the advantage of having a safe recep-
tacle, for the hay, as fast as it becomes dry ;
beside the saving, in winter, by having the
broken cuts always under cover.
The hedges of the Weald have been
mentioned, as broad forest belts ; with, of
course, afe?ice, running through the middle,
or on one side of the border. The hedge-
woods are black thorn, hazel, maples. Mc.
which are cut, or laid, at the time the cop-
pice border is felled ; and this is regulated,
as in the management of other coppices
and underwoods; which will appear under
WOODLANDS.
A method of guarding the fresh '-made banks
of outside fences, against lanes or commons,
may be noticed ; as being particularly use-
ful, in making up decayed parts. It is
simply that of setting up long, rough black-
thorns, against the bank ; laying three or
more rods across them, at equal distances ;
and pinning these, close to the bank, by-
means of strong hooked pins. This thin
covering lasts, until the bank is compleatly
firm, and its surface bound by the grasses
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 107
and weeds ; which, by this means, have
time, and opportunity, to flourish, and take
deep root.
In the gates of the Weald, we fre-
quently find the old, and doubtless the ori-
ginal, hartree and stay ; namely, a forked
bough, with one strong arm, set upright,
as the hartree (or principal end piece by
which the gate is hung), and with a smaller
one, rising obliquely, as the stay to the top
rail : thus forming the stifFest, and most
durable gate.
The method of hanging these gates is
equally primitive, and simple ; and, for
common field gates, where there is not a
particular road or thoroughfare, a better
perhaps has not been introduced, into mo-
dern use. The bottom or foot of the har-
tree being reduced to a pin, or wooden
pivot, or shod with an iron one, — and the
top of it, in like manner, formed into a pin,
or round tenon, about three inches diame-
ter,— a piece of plank, with a hole through
it of a size suitable to the top of the har-
tree, is morticed into the post, — or, which
is better, when the post is short, is dove-
tailed into the top of it ; and another
io8 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES.
piece (answering to the head of the post)
is spiked down upon it, to keep it firmly
in its place, and to preserve it, and the head
of the post, from decay. These pivots are
less expensive, and less liable to be out of
order, than hooks and thimbles.
WOODLANDS
AND
HEDGEROWS.
THE TWO, here, are under a similar
course of management ; being applied to
the same purposes of timber and under-
wood. Hence, in the area of the Weald,
though there are no uoods, there is much
timber and underwood ; resembling in de-
scription and management, the extensive
tracts of inclosed woodlands, on the western
margin.
Sussex having been long celebrated for
its timber, I gave particular attention, to
WEALD OF SUSSEX. i0?
its growth and management ; but gained
less information, which was ?iezv to me, or
peculiarly excellent, than I had been led to
expect. The superiority of the Sussex tim-
ber appears to be more owing, to the Sus-
sex soils being peculiarly favorable to the
growth of the oak, than to a uniform supe-
riority of management.
Nevertheless, in a country, where timber
may be said to have been a staple produce,
for ages past, the mode of treatment, that
has grown out of this length of practice, is
entitled to a scrutiny.
In viewing the practice of the Weald of
Sussex, with respect to its woodlands, it
will be proper to observe the following
arrangement.
The rise of the present practice.
Its outline or general economy.
The method of training, now in use.
The age of felling.
Valuing and sale of timber.
The method of taking it down.
Application of the Weald timber.
Converting timber.
Coppice woods.
no WOODLANDS.
Not many centuries ago, perhap.j, the
whole of the vale lands of the Weald of
Sussex were in a state of woodiness. The
iron forges, with which its outskirts, for-
merly abounded ; and the demand for ship
timber, during some centuries past, have
been the means, probably, of reducing the
quantity of timber, at least.
The reason why much of the western
margins of the vale lands remain in wood,
while the area has long 'been cleared, ap-
pears to be the greater difficulty of car-
riage, which the interior: of the vale expe-
rienced ; whether in conveying charcoal to
the forges, fuel and fencing materials to the
neighbouring hills, or timber to the ship
yard, or other market. Woodland was of
less value, in the are; j, than on the margins ;
while the lands, in general, were better
adapted to corn.
This being as it may, it is evident, that
there has been p* time, when the clearing of
woodlands \\?js carried to excess ; either
through the s uccess that attended it, on the
better lands ; or through a temporary rise,
in the valur > of corn lands ; or a depression
WEALD OF SUSSEX. in
of the value of woodland produce ; at the
time, probably, when the furnaces were ex-
tinguished. It is evident, that lands have
been cleared, and no doubt at a great cost,
which would, now, be more profitable in
wood, than in any other produce.
And it is ascertained, by tradition, that at
no great distance of time, even timber has
been of little estimation ; estates having
been, formerly, bought and sold, without
much regard to the timber they bore ; and
instances are mentioned, in which (pro-
bably through a rise in the market) the
purchase money has been regained, by the
timber alone. This has roused men of
landed property, to a closer attention to
their woodlands, and hedge timber ; and
this, to a more accurate and regular plan of
management.
The GENERAL ECONOMY, or out-
line, of this plan, may be conveyed, as fol-
lows. The main or ultimate object is tim-
ber : coppice, or underwood, being only
a mean to that end. Thus, when a wood
of timber is fallen, the shoots from the
stools are protected, as coppice wood: and
at the fall of this, every seedling plant of
ii2 WOODLANDS.
oak, that has sprung up, in the interspaces*
is sedulously left ; to rise for another crop
of timber: it being an invariable principle
of management, with the Sussex woodmen,
to reject all sapling shoots, from the stools of
fallen trees, as standards, for timber. At the
next fall of coppice wood, the timberlings,
or " tellers," left, at the first cutting, are
thinned, where they are too numerous, and
others left, in the vacancies, which were not
sufficiently filled, in the first instance : thus,
continuing to nurse up seedlings, in the
vacancies, and to thin crouded tellers, unt.&
the entire ground be occupied, by seminar
timber trees: continuing,however,tocutoff
the underwood, from time to time, so long
as it pays for the labor : which, under the
present practice of felling timber, prema-
turely, is probably until the fall takes place.
Under this routine of management, it is
evident, that the Sussex timber woods be-
come, in effect, groves ; and its timber,
STRAIGHT-STEMMED, GROVE TIMBER. For,
growing with great luxuriance, and in a
crouded state, the trees shoot up, straight,
as pines ; with the bark, generally, as
smooth and as palely colored, as that of the
WEALD OF SUSSEX. n3
beech, or the esculus ; and with regular
elliptical heads, resembling those of the
latter ; except that the tops of the Sussex
oaks are generally more pointed, and co-
nical.
In the woods, now training, there will
scarcely be a strong knee, or a sharp crook,
in a hundred acres. And the trees of the
hedgerows, being trained, in a similar way,
their structure is very much the same ; ex-
cept that the underwood being less close,
strong, and tall, (as it is liable to be brouzed
by cattle) the stems are not forced up, so
high, as they are in the woods ; where
twelve to fifteen feet is the usual length of
stem ; while, in the hedgerows, eight to
twelve may, perhaps, be taken as the more
common height.
The METHOD OF TRAINING is
judicious ; being well calculated to give
strength, and length of stem. The great
error, in training timber trees, where the
young plants rise thickly on the ground, is
that of leaving too many; and thereby
leading them up, weak, and topless.
The yeomanry of the Weald, — having,
in the experience of ages, come at this
vol. ir. I
,i4 WOODLANDS.
truth* ; and seeing, in each other's woods,
the mischiefs, which an overvveaning fond-
ness, in the owner, for every straight, luxu-
riant teller, no matter whether properly
placed ; (thus leaving too many, to the in-
jury of the whole) — form themselves, into
societies, or clubs ; meeting, at each other's
houses, and going over their respective
woods, to point 'out and correct, their se-
veral errors.
Remark, This custom, in itself, is suf-
ficient to establish accurate ideas, on the
subject ; and similar meetings, and juridical
* On setting out tellers. Yet, woodmen
even of the first experience, in the Weald of Sussex,
differ in their opinions, respecting the particular man-
ner, in which " tellers" should be set out: namely,
whether they should be left, in the first instance, at the
distance, ultimately required ; as one to two statute
rods ; or whether they should be thinned, from time t»
time, as their tops enlarge.
The first gives greater freedom, in reaping the suc-
ceeding falls of underwood (and is of course more
favorable to a tenant who reaps them) ; the latter, a better
choice of trees, and a greater chance of furnishing,
eventually, an even, full, tall grove of timber. But it
is less calculated to grow knees and crooks, than the prac-
tice of setting the standards out, at a full distance, in
the first instance.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. n5
decisions, might have as good an effect, in
other matters of rural economy; especially
in the breeding of stock. The annual shows
of rams, in the Midland Counties, have
doubtless been highly useful, in ripening
the judgments, of those who attend them.
And all public shows, of livestock, have
a similar tendency ; by associating indivi-
dual opinions, and (when private interest
and passion do not get the better of reason
and general utility) drawing from them the
most accurate ideas, they collectively afford.
But they are, by no means, equal to meet-
ings of professional men, for the purpose of
going over each other's flocks and herds, of
different breeds and ages, to point out, not
only the individuals, which are proper to
be kept on, to improve the several breeds ;
but also those which ought to be expelled,
as being liable to injure them ; beside giving
the subject a sort of agitation, which it
cannot receive, without a free communica-
tion of sentiments and opinions : and this
most particularly, when men, whose pre-
judices have separate roots, are brought to-
gether.
I 2
n6 WOODLANDS.
And hence, would arise one of the many
advantages, to be expected, from PUBLIC
SEMINARIES.
Piiuni.vg timber, trees. There is a
principle of management, adhered to, in
the Sussex practice ; especially in the train-
ing o( zvood timber; which may be right in
Sussex, where not only timber, but under-
wood, grows with unusual luxuriance; but
which, in countries less prone to wood,
might be deemed most improvident ; as
leaving that to nature, which, as in many
other instances, ought to be assisted by
art.
A Sussex woodman may be right, in
never using the pruning knife; as the luxu-
riance of the underwood, there, precludes
the use of it. The impervious thickets, that
grow round voting timber stands, smother,
or check, the tender side shoots, to a cer-
tain height ; as ten to fifteen feet ; and, if
this be a sufficient length of stem, for a
Sussex timber tree, their principle of ma-
nagement is right.
But, in training hedgerow trees, this re-
ligious principle is, frequently, or uniformly,
WEALD OF SUSSEX. ir7
dispensed with. In this case, the young
trees are pruned, " as high as a man can
reach ;" and if he should mount a ladder,
and go a little higher, the advantage, not
only to the trees, but the fences, and the
grounds on either side of them, would be
increased.
Remarks. A more erroneous, and in-
jurious opinion does not exist, in the whole
circle of rural management, than that of
leaving timber trees to Nature, in situations
where Art has put it out of Nature's power,
to give them the proper assistance ; as is
invariably the case, with respect to hedge-
row and standard trees: and is equally such,
in wood trees, where the natural growth of
underwood is not sufficient, to force them
up, to the length of stem, that human pur-
poses require. What injury, can removing
a twig, the size of the finger, from a stem
the thickness of the arm, do to the body of
a tree, then to be produced? And, under
common good management, there is no oc-
casion to remove a twig, thicker than the
finger, nor to prune a stem larger than the
arm ; provided the operation be performed,
in due time.
u8 WOODLANDS.
The argument held out, by the Sussex
woodmen, is, that boughs, though ever so
small, even twigs, which are cut off, from
stem of a tiee, cause a "bleeding;" and
this is injurious to the " heart." While a
bough of the largest size, which rots off,
leaves not even a scar, or a crinkled grain
behind ; the stump filling up the orifice,
until the wound be healed over : and this
argument has been so long made use of,
until those who apply it, believe it to be
true.
But who, in passing through a wood, has
not seen the stems of trees using every
effort, to overtop decayed stumps ; rais-
ing their barks and outer growths, several
inches, perhaps, without the general sur-
face ? At length, the bark reaches the end
of the stump, or the stump rots down to
the bark ; where, if it be large, a hollow-
is formed; convenient, in the first instance,
for birds to build their nests in ; and, as the
decay proceeds, becomes a receptacle for
water ; the rottenness, sinking, by degrees,
until the heart of the tree be reached.
General remarks, on the Si isex prac-
tice. The Weald of Sussex has long been
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 119
celebrated, for its oak timber ; and, of the
excellency of its quality, there cannot be
the least doubt. But, from an attentive exa-
mination of the soil, and the management,
by which it is produced, I am clearly of
opinion, that its superiority may be fairly
claimed, by the former. For, unless in the
particular of setting out young stands, with
sufficient freedom, I perceived no superiority
of treatment, in Sussex ; — compared with
other woodland districts of the kingdom.
With respect to the practice of training
oak timber trees, from seedling plants,*
and scrupulously rejecting sapling shoots,
the propriety, or impropriety, of it de-
pends, entirely, on circumstances.
In a situation, where a sufficiency of seed-
ling plants can be haf, in a few years; and
♦"Seedling oaks." Woodmen, in different parts
of the Island, and even in the Weald of Sussex, differ
in their opinions, respecting the young plants of oak,
which rise in the interspaces of fallen woods; as to
whether they are wholly seedlings, from acorns, disse-
minated by birds or vermin, or in part suckers, thrown
up, by the more superficial roots of the fallen trees.
This matter requires to be cleared up. If the oak
sends up suckers, exposing its roots to the atmosphere
might assist in producing them.
120 WOODLANDS.
where a stra;ghtness of timber, either for
the bouse carpenter's use, or for planks to be
used in ship building ; and especially where
coppice ware is wanted ; — the practice of
training seedlings appears to be perfectly
eligible. But, in situations, in which the
oak is less a native ; where a sufficiency of
seedlings could not be expected, to fill up
the ground, in the course of a few years ;
more especially where mere coppice wood
is of little value (as in the coal countries)
and where ship timber is the main object, —
training the first shoots from the stools of
fallen trees is, indisputably, the most eligible
practice.
A Yorkshire wood, trained from the
stools, agreeably to the common practice of
that county, has an hundred fold the num-
ber of crook and knees, that a wood of the
Weald of Sussex has, when trained, agree-
ably to the practice of that district, from
seedling plants.
Were the several circumstances of the
two districts duly weighed, it is more than
probable, that both practices would be found
nearly right ; each being adapted to the
soil and situation in which it is established.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. m
And it would, of course, be wrong, to trans-
plant either of them, into the soil and situa-
tion of the other.
There is, however, one point of the Sus-
sex practice ; which, though not peculiar
to Sussex, might be introduced, with good
effect, in many places, where it is not thought
of, or used, at present. This is draining
the wet swampy parts of woods ; so as to
carry off surface water, at least ; and, in
some cases, to cut off the springs. In this,
the Sussex woodmen might will be copied,
universally.
Accurate management requires, that a
crop of wood, as of corn, or herbage, should
be even, and full, on the ground ; and that
every part should be productive.
AGE OF FELLING TIMBER. Either
from an extraordinary demand for ship
timber, and other timber of size, or from
the price which bark has borne, for some
time past, or a concurrence of other circum-
stances, there is no oak timber left standing,
in the Weald of Sussex (except on the de-
mesne lands of men of fortune), which,
either in growth, or in size, is applicable to
the purpose of building ships of burden and
122 WOODLANDS.
strength. In 1791, there were verv few
woods of more than half a century stand-
ing : and woods, even of less than that
were then paying, not the debt of nature,
but the debts of their owners. The oldest
wood, I find particularized on mv Journals,
was then about seventy years old : and this
drew my attention, more particularly, as it
was, at that time, making its bow.
I recollect but one estate, on which a re-
servation of timber is now making : and,
should succeeding possessors be as solicitous
to preserve, as the present proprietor is to
train up, this estate must necessarily be-
come, a century hence, a valuable boon to
the possessor and the community. I speak
of the Petworth estate.
SELLING and VALUING TIMBER.
Large allotments are sold to timbermen,
who purchase them standing, take them
down, and convert them, for the ship
yards.
The sale is generally, by private con-
tract; the seller and buyer making their
separate valuations ; by measuring and es-
timating the trees, as they stand, in a ready
and accurate manner.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 123
It is done by means of a long rod, or
slender pole, about a statute rod in length ;
generally, a slender ashen sapling, that
has been drawn up, to that length, among
tall coppice wood : and its mean thickness
is about that of the handle of a hay rake:
together with a measuring strap, on the
most simple principle ; the invention of
long and extensive practice ; being common
to the Woodlands of Sussex ; and is, per-
haps, peculiar to them : I have observed it
no where else in use. It is a long slender
strap of leather, graduated and figured,
agreeably to what is called timber girt ;
(allowance being made for the bark) so that
the figures and intermediate graduations
show, at sight, what the naked timber will
square ; and the rod gives the length of the
main stem, at least ; so that, by the help of
the sliding rule, the admeasurement of the
principal part is set down, in this summary
way, with a sufficient degree of exactness.
The upper length, if the tree be very tall,
also the main bough, or spire, together
with one other bough, are estimated, by the
eye : it being the practice of Sussex, to
measure two principal boughs, or branches,
124 WOODLANDS.
of the top of a timber tree, up to six inches
timber girt.
Two men, accustomed to this mode of
estimation, will " view" an extent of tim-
ber, with very little deviation, as to quan-
tity. Hence, the matter of bargain lies
with the specific qualities of the wood and
bark, the situation in which they grow,
and the fair market prices, at the time of
sale.
Another simple invention, probably the
result of the same long continued practice,
has been hit upon, for marking the trees,
thus measured, and set out, for sale. This
is a light hatchet, with a broad hammer
end, and with a letter or other character,
rising, with a sharp relief, out of the face of
it. The roughness of the bark being struck
. with the edge of the hatchet, the re-
qu ed mark is imprinted, by one stroke of
the Hammer.
The method of TAKING DOWN tim-
ber trees here, is? invariably, that of sawing
them off, horizontally, close to the ground :
bv means of a long saw, with one or both
handles fixed on the upper side, in a manner
somewhat similar to that, by which the
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 125
lower handle of the pit saw is fixed, at the
back : the trees being first dipped in, on the
falling side, with an axe.
Remark. This method of taking down
timber is very eligible, in a wood, where a
fresh supply of shoots, from the stools, is
required ; as saving more timber, than the
North-of-England method, of cutting them,
aboveground, with axes; beside leaving the
top of the stool, level with the ground ; so
that the sapling shoots spring quite down
to, or from beneath, the surface of the soil ;
as they ever ought. But, for standard trees,
and, in all cases, where the land is intended
to be kept in, or converted to, a state of
husbandry, whether as arable or as grass
land, this method is very improper; as in-
curring, not only a waste of land, but of
timber ; compared with that of the Nor-
folk and Midland practices, of cutting off
the side roots, and tearing out the crown,
entire, and adhering to the stem of the tree.
In an instance, in which many large trees
had been taken down, in the Sussex man-
ner, on pasture land, rings of sapling shoots
had risen, round the stools ; which, them-
selves, were not only an additional incum-
i26 WOODLANDS.
brance to the land ; but, being large and
smooth, and, after rain, slippery as glass,
were dangerous to playful horses, or young
cattle. Had they been taken down, in the
method above mentioned, and the dimples,
which this method leaves in the surface,
filled up with ant hills, or other roughness
of the soil, and grass seeds sown over them,
the entire surface would, at o.ice, have be-
come sightly and productive.
In the barking of the oak, I observed
no striking improvement, or deviation, from
the ordinary practices of the kingdom, col-
lectively. The trees are peeled, about a yard
high ; and, sometimes, six or eight feet high ;
while standing ; before the axe is laid to
them.
In the peeling toolsy the only particular,
that deserves to be registered, is the handle
of the larger tool ; which is sometimes that
of a broken spade or shovel ; or is made
with the same sort of end, as the handles of
those tools are in the South of England ;
giving both power and ease to the hand of
the workman.
The bark is set up to dry, with unusual
care and accuracy. The ordinary trestle,
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 127
formed of forked piles, and horizontal poles,
or a cord, as strong rope yarn, fastened to
the top of a line of stakes, is the stay ;
against which the small and middle sized
bark is set, very even and upright ; the
large, thick, coarse pieces of stem bark be-
ing put over them, as a roof ; which shoots
oft' rain water, almost entirely, from the up-
right pieces ; at the same time shading the
thin rinds, from the sun ; while the thick
stem bark is placed judiciously, to receive
the full effects of the sun and wind.
The APPLICATION of the timber of
the Weald is chiefly to ship building. For
although, at present, there is very little
large r.mber left, such is the estimation of
the timber of Sussex, that trees, of twenty
feet measurement and upwards, are eagerly
purchased, by the builders. In 1791, I saw
very few trees taken down, of more than a
ton of timber each.
In the CONVERTING of timber, I
saw little to instruct, in this District ; the
straight zcood trees are sawn up, into planks ;
the hedgerow trees, where forks, or bends,
have casually formed, into biees and crooks.
It is, I understand, the prevailing practice
123 WOODLANDS.
of the District, for the timber merchant, or
other seller, to convert, by slitting or squar-
ing, the whole, or some considerable part,
of the quantity that is offered for sale. This
not only lightens the carriage, but shows
the growth and quality of the timber.
The COPPICES, or undergrowth, of
the woodlands of the Weald of Sussex, are
of
Oak, Ash,
Birch, Mountain sorb,
Alder, Wild cherry,
Sallow, White leaf,
Hazel, Chestnut,*
Dogwood.
The age of felling coppice woods is
that of ten years, more or less ; as eight to
twelve years.
The wares, into which these woods are
converted, are
Hoops, Stakes and Edders,
Fagots; as Hurdle Rods.
f Baker's bavins/' Poles,
" Spray bavins," Cordwood: for fuel,
" Brushes," for Common charcoal,
kindling fires, Gunpowder coal.
• But, query, native, or propagated?
WEALD OF SUSSEX. i2p
Hoops and gunpowder woods are the more
valuable articles. The species of woods most
in esteem, for the former, are the ash, the
sallow, the birch, the hazel : for the latter,
the alder, the dogwood (cornus sanguinea),
the sallow, (salix caprea). Hence, the oak
ranks low as a coppice wood ; being chiefly
converted to fuel.
The hoop-rods, are slit, and shaved up
rough, in the woods ; and are sent to Lon-
don, in bundles, of sixty each, and about
thirteen feet long, to the hoop-benders;
who dress, bend, and sort them ; according
to the markets, for which they are suitable.
The principal part of the Sussex and Surrey
hoops, I understand, go to the West Indies;
for the binding of sugar casks.
The gunpowder wood is invariably
peeled ; being left standing, for this pur-
pose, until the bark will run;* and is char-
red, with peculiar care.
* Vegetation. An experienced woodman has ob-
served, that the shoots, from the stools of wood, felled
in this state of growth, are much stronger, than from
those, off which the wood has been taken, in the winter
months ; and accounts for it, by the wounds of the latter
being exposed, between the cutting and the protrusion
VOL. II. K
I3o WOODLANDS.
A most ingenious apparatus (on tho
principle of the gun-barrel, it would seem)
has lately been set up, in West Sussex (and
others, I understand, in different parts of
Kent) for charring wood, for the use of
gunpowder makers, without suffering the
atmosphere to communicate with it, during
the process.
The price of gunpowder wood, in 1791,
was twenty shillings, a cord ;* while that of
ordinary woods, was only thirteen shillings.
The price of full sized wood fagots (four
of the shoots. But the fact is, the shoots are not pro-
truded from the immediate margin of the wounded part ;
but through the sound, firm bark, below it ; and although,
even in the winter months, the bark may chap and rise
from the wood, a few lines below the top of the stump,
this only brings out the shoots, so many lines lower ;
which is ever favorable to the strength and firmness of
the rising sapling. This observation of the woodmen of
the Weald of Sussex seems only to corroborate the idea,
that the extraordinary shoots of trees and shrub-wood,
cut late in the spring, is owing to the previous influence
of the atmosphere, on the removed growth. See Nor-
folk, Mis: 34, on this subject.
• The West Sussex cord, or stack of wood,
measures three, three and a half, and twelve ; or four,
four, and eight ; according to the uses, for which the
■wood is intended.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 131
feet long, and three and a half feet girt)
was fifteen shillings a hundred (of five
score) ; that of spray fagots (very light, —
used chiefly for lime burning) five shillings,
for the same number.
The woodlands of West Sussex are, now,
mostly IN HAND ; being occupied by their
respective proprietors ; who employ wood-
men, to reap the underwood, and train the
seedling tellers.
Remarks. Selling underwood, on the
ground, where timber to be reared from
seedling plants is the object, to dealers, who
have an interest in clearing the ground be-
fore them, becomes altogether imprudent.
Tenants have a still greater interest in pre-
venting the growth of timber. And being
at the discretion, and liable to the unfair
dealings, of an inferior class of agents, is
also objectionable ; though of the three, the
first to be chosen.
Ka
[132]
AGRICULTURE.
FARMS. In size, the farms of the
Weald are of the middle class. They extend
from one hundred to three or four hundred
acres, each : the larger farms, that include
the ordinary admixture of lands, letting (in
1791) from five to ten shillings, an acre;
the rents of farms rising from fifty to two
hundred pounds, a year : with some few
below and above these limits.
The plan is generally good. The build,
ings, are mostly situated within the area of
the farm lands: an ordinary circumstance,
this, where lands have been laid out into
farms, from the forest, woodland, or common
state. . .
The characteristic, as has been inti-
mated, is arable land, with the coppice hedge-
rows that have been mentioned ; but with
scarcely any perennial grass lands: some
slips of water formed " brook lands," only
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 133
excepted : and this, although the greater
part of the lands, the district includes, are
more suitable, for wood and herbage, than
for arable crops : but most for a due pro-
portion of the three.
The FARMERS, or occupiers, of the
Weald lands, are yeomen and tenants.
Many of the former, and a few of the latter*
are substantial. But the tenantry, in gene-
ral, notwithstanding the lowness of their
rents, are as poor, weak, and spiritless, as
their lands ; drawn down, as for ages they
have been, with exhausting crops ; without
a sufficiency of stock, or of extraneous ma-
nures, to make up for this endless exhaus-
tion.
With good roads, and a suitable course
of practice, there are men who have sub-
stance, and spirit enough, to raise the Weald
lands to twice their present value.
WORKPEOPLE. In travelling over the
vale lands, under view, nothing strikes a
person, accustomed to agricultural surveys,
more, than the extreme fewness of its inha-
bitants ; even though the whole country
may be said to be under a course of arable
management ! the villages are not only few.
r34 AGRICULTURE.
but small ; and a man may travel, for miles,
without seeing a hamlet, or scarcely a soli-
tary road-side cottage. It is no wonder,
that the lands are under worked, and un-
productive.
The BEASTS OF DRAFT, in the
Weald, are oxen and horses: perhaps, at
present, in nearly equal proportions. As
hard roads increase, the use ok oxen, I am
afraid, diminish. Chalk, for lime, is fetched
from a considerable distance, to most parts
of the District ; and unless water carriage
should be extended, across the area of these
vale lands, it is to be apprehended, that
horses, for road teams at least, will increase.
Beside, the Weald farmers allege, as a rea-
son for keeping so many expensive horses,
that they cannot plow with oxen, in a wet
autumn, so well as they can with horses ;
and so long as they use horses at length,
and oxen double, their reasoning is good.
But it has no weight with the general ques-
tion, with respect to horses and oxen, as
beasts of labor, for the use of a Weald far-
mer.
The oxen are of the middlehorned class,
and what is properly called the " Sussex
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 135
breed"; which will be particularly mention-
ed, in the next District.
They are usually worked in double yokes,
without horses before them (a pair of aged
oxen being the usual leaders). I met with one
instance, however, in which single yokes,
with harness added to them, were in use ;
the yokes answering the purpose of collars.
But this, I believe, cannot be said to make
a part of the established practice of the
District.
The age of work, in 1791, was from three
to six or seven years old. But the late ex-
traordinary rise in the price of beef, I ua*
derstand, has carried off most of the aged
oxen ; and must, in the ordinary course of
its effects, reduce the number of working
cattle ; or prevent their arriving at an age,
at which, only, they can be said to be fit for
work.
The horses are of the heavy, cart kind :
partly, bred in the country : in part, pur-
chased.
The road team of horses, is four to six ;
of oxen, six to ten. The plow team, of
horses, three or four, at length ; of oxen,
four to eight. The ox cart is usually
136 AGRICULTURE.
drawn by four. They are driven with the
goad : and by the Yorkshire language !
Muzzles are in use, for oxen at work,
here, as in the Weald of Kent. Here, I
have seen, not only baskets, as in Kent, but
strong nets, used in this intention.
IMPLEMENTS. The waggons of the
Weald, as of most vale, deep-roaded districts,
are tall and large ; with a wide grasp, or
span, between the wheels; which are, here,
frequently made, with fellies, of six inches
broad : narrow wheels, nevertheless, are also
in use. I have measured the ruts of a
broad- wheeled waggon, full six feet, from
out to out ; or about five feet and a half
from middle to middle ; which is, perhaps,
as good a width, for farm carriages, in
general, as can be fixed upon, for a stan-
dard.
Remarks. Broadwheeled waggons, with
double shafts, the horses, of course, draw-
ing more or less in the broad ruts, are not
uncommon, in some parts of the Weald.
These, however, for horses in double shafts,
and with wheels onlv six inches broad, and
running six feet wide, are far from con-
venient. But they aptly suggest the id^a,
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 137
of adopting broader wheels, running at such
a width, that oxeji,in long yokes, (or in wide
shafts), might tread, with freedom, in broad,
smooth, firm, rut-paths; without conten-
tion; and with little injury to their feet. The
practicability of this plan ought to be tried ;
as it promises much, towards rendering oxen
permanently useful, on the road.
In the plow of the Weald, I remarked
nothing peculiarly excellent. It is a clumsy
swing plow ; with a foot, or slider ; which
is used, occasionally, at least.
The plow sledge is the only implement,
now in use, on these vale lands, which struck
me, with any degree of force, or interest.
It is one of those simple inventions, which
necessity, in the early stages of cultivation,
happily struck cut. It is merely a forked
branch, cut out of the topwood, of a large
tree ; the two arms of the fork being of
equal size, and six or eight inches, in dia-
meter ; four to six feet long ; and, about
the same width, at the points : a triangular
frame, of similar dimensions, being no-jj
raised, a foot or more, above this basement,
upon which frame, the plow, or harrows
are loaded. The draft is by the stem or
!}8 AGRICULTURE.
stump of the fork, which is left a foot oT
more long, and in which a staple, hook,
or other draft iron is fixed.
Remarks. This is not only the most
natural sledge, but was. in the day of its
invention, also a most simple road maker, in
a soft, deep soiled country. It acts as the
snow sledge of Norfolk; and tends to
level and smooth the tracks, and footsteps,
of the animals that draw it. And the ope-
rations of plowing, and harrowing, being
most in use, when the roads of such a coun-
try are passing, from their soft to their firm
state, this simple implement would give a
smooth, level, carriage path, for summer
travelling; and, even, at this dav, might be
useful in smoothing horse paths, side roads,
bv ways, and roads to grounds ; especially
in a stifr' soiled country.
A roller, with a pole, for oxen, I ob-
served, for the first time, I think, in this
District.
The sliding yoke, of the Weald of Sus-
sex, is entitled to a place in these registers;
as it may frequently be found highly useful,
in other districts, where the soil is tender ;
and, most especially, in a wet season.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. i39
It is used in harrowing narrow ridges,
when the soil is too moist, to be trodden,
by oxen or horses, drawing upon the land.
By means of a long yoke, oxen, abreast, draw
in the interfurrows ; and, to accommodate
the yoke to the varying widths of the
ridges, it is formed with two pieces of wood,
connected by two large staples, moving in
long sliding mortices, which pass along the
middle of each piece. The crowns of the
staples reaching through the mortices, they
are secured, in such a manner as to give free
play to the sliders, by means of keys, or
strong wooden pins ; each slider, or distinct
part of the yoke, having a draft iron, a few
inches from the inner bow hole; with a chain
or trace passing from that, to the harrow,
or pair of harrows, bending over the ridge
of the narrow land, between the oxen.
PLAN OF MANAGEMENT. The
objects, principally held in view, by the
Weald farmers, are corn, and rearing cattle;
with some portion of dairy produce.
The crops are wheat and oats, with some
barley, some turneps, and many peas ; but no
beans ! Much foul ley herbage; but scarcely
any old grass land.
i4o AGRICULTURE.
In the center of the Weald, where wood-
land produce is scarce, the furze has of late
years been cultivated, as a crop in hus-
bandry ; for fagots, for burning lime ; and
is spoken of as a very profitable crop, on
the weaker lands.*
The succession, which probably has been
continued from the first cultivation of the
District, is
Fallow,
Wheat,
Oats ; — now generally succeeded by
Ley herbage, as long as it will last; then
Oats, fallow, c\.c. &C. 6:c.
This is probably the oldest, and is cer-
tainly the worst, course of management,
now in practice, in this Island: except that,
in which three crops of corn are taken, be-
tween the cleaning of the land, and Leying
it, or letting it lav down to grass ; a practice
which, I believe, is not entirely unknown to
the husbandmen of the Weald of Sussex.
* Ctltivating furz£. The seed, I understand,
b usually sown with oats, on foul exhausted land, at the
rate of a gallon, an acre. It is a .ered, by wo-
men, in the neighbourhood, or is purchased, at the shops,
in London.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 141
TILLAGE. The whole dependence of
the Weald farmer rests, in this respect, on
the summer fallow : and if it were made
for oats and ley herbage, instead of wheat,
it would be sufficient to keep the Weald
lands, in cleanness and tillage.
It is conducted in different ways, and with
great disparity of effect: principally owing,
it would seem, to the
Time of breaking up; which is either be-
fore, or after, the spring seed time ; and, in
some sort, to
The application of the barrow. In one or
more instances, I observed, in the early part
of May, six horses and two drivers harrow-
ing, with great difficulty, land that had been
broken up, in autumn or winter, crossed
presently after spring seedtime, and then
lying in large rough clods, still green from
the plow ! thus, by one wrong principle of
management, and in one operation, (reckon-
ing the wear and tear, as well as the ordi-
nary expence of the team, and the injury
done to the soil) sinking more, probably,
than the rent of the land. In other in-
stances, however, I observed, later in the
month, fallows of a similar description ; but
i42 AGRICULTURE.
which (on principle, or through neglect,
or by necessity, the weather being dry and
the soil hard) still lay in rough clods, with
scarcely a green blade left ; and which, at
seedtime, were clean, as well worked gar-
den grounds: while a much greater number,
partly from breaking them up too late, and
in part from improper treatment, still re-
mained as foul, and almost as green, as the
foul leys, or oat stubbles, which they suc-
ceeded : — the difference, in this case, be-
tween right and wrong management, being
twice or three times the rent of the land.
In depositing, ridging, or laying up the
soil, for a crop, the farmers of the Weald
may claim some merit. The land, in ge-
neral, is seen in narrow ridges, mostly of
six or eight furrows, some of ten furrows ;
with suitable cross trenches ; so as to keep
the land free from surface water : a merit
of no light consideration, in a low flat coun-
try ; where the soil is of a clayey nature, and
the subsoil also retentive.
MANURES. The extraneous manure
of the Weald is lime ; which is burnt, chiefly
from chalky fetched from the adjacent hills; —
notwithstanding the shellstoney that has been
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 143
mentioned to be found in the District: but
it is now become difficult and expensive to
raise.
The southwest quarter of the Weald is
supplied with chalk, in great quantity, from
the West Downs of Sussex ; partly, by land
carriage, of perhaps ten or twelve miles ;
partly, by the Arun navigation. The norths
east quarter has its supply, from the hills of
Surrey. The pits, or more properly quar-
ries, of Betch worth, have been worked, time
immemorial ; the chalk having been, for-
merly, and is still more or less, used in a
raw unburnt state. The quantity which
has been removed from these quarries is
immense.
Lime kilns are seen, on every common,
and in every waste corner, of the District ;
each considerable farm having its own kiln.
The fuel is invariably fagots, of brush-
wood, or furze ; except on the Arun navi-
gation, where I observed one kiln, for coals.
But the lime burnt with coals is, here, as in
Kent, considered of an inferior quality.*
Remarks. The reason given for the dis-
tinction, here, is, that it contains a certain
* See District of Maidstone, in Vol. I. p. 88.
144 AGRICULTURE.
quantity of coal ashes; which are not consi-
dered, as a profitable manure, on the W
lands; and, doubtless, they are not of equal
value with lime ; and, in such proportion as
the ashes fill up the bushel (which in measur-
ing stone lime is not considerable) an abate-
ment of price should be made; wood-burnt
lime being free from drc
The method of burning lime with fagots
will be described, in the District of Pet-
worth ; where I had the best opportunity
of observing it.
The method of applying this far-fetched,
and, in many situations, very costly ma-
nure, is disgraceful, to the husbandry of the
Weald. The ordinary practice, in the sum-
mer months, is to set it across the field, in
load heaps, and thereto let it remain, naked,
as it is thrown down, for weeks, perhaps
months ; until their surfaces, at least, have
returned to the very state of chalk, in which
it was painfully fetched, from the distant hills.
And, in autumn, presently before wheat
seedtime, the practice is yet worse. It is
then set on the land, in small heaps ; which,
having lain naked until the lumps have
fallen down into checkers, are spread over
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 145
the surface, among the clods; where it lies,
for days, or weeks perhaps, until it has re-
turned to its natural state ; without attempt-
ing to profit by the only advantage obtained
in burning it: namely, that of incorporating
it with the soil, in a state of lime in fine
powder. For different methods of apply-
ing lime to land, see Yorkshire, Midland
Counties, and West of England: also
the District of Maidstone, in these Vo-
lumes.
CATTLE. The number, which the
Weald supports, is inconsiderable. In pass-
ing through it, in the summer season, scarce-
ly any pasture lands, much less pasturing
stock, meet the eye ; unless on the commons,
where young cattle, and a few mean starv-
ling cows, are seen ; as will more fully ap-
pear, under the State of Husbandry of
the Weald.
The breed is that of West Sussex; which
will be noticed, in the next division of the
work, and which is here found in a dege-
nerate state ; owing principally, perhaps,
to the young stock being chiefly reared on
the commons.
vol. 11. L
146 agriculture.
In the rearing of cattle, however,
there is one point of practice which requires
to be noticed ; and which, probably, saves
the breed from a greater degree of degene-
racy, than that in which it is found. The calves
are reared at the teat ; — run loose with the
cows: not on the commons, or in the fields,
only, but in the farm yards, during the early
spring months ; the pail being seldom, if
ever, used, in the rearing of calves ; which
are, here, reared, as lambs : a practice fa-
vorable to breeding ; but ruinous to the
dairy.
The sizes of dairies are small ; six or
seven cows being a full sized dairy.
The little dairy produce that is col-
lected is butter : which, I believe, is wholly
consumed within the District, or in the
market towns that border upon it. The
mystery of cbeesemaking, is not known, in
the Weald of Sussex ; highly favorable, as
its soils naturally are, to that useful and
profitable art.
SHEEP can scarcely be ranked as a
species of stock, of the Weald ; unless on
the wide commons which are found in some
parts of it.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 147
The breed, seen on these commons
in summer, and on the stubbles, and ley
grounds, in the winter months, resembles
that of the mountains, and commons, of
Cornwall and Devonshire ; except in that
their wool appears to be of a coarser na-
ture. They are probably the aboriginal or
ancient stock of the adjacent hills ; debased
in their size, form, and wool, by the baseness
of their pasture ; which, whether on the
commons, or in the inclosures, is ill suited
to this delicate, dryland species of domestic
animals.
The STATE OF HUSBANDRY. As
an apology for passing over many general
heads of the arable management, and the
culture of individual crops, without notice;
as well as for presuming to offer the fol-
lowing hints, for the improvement of a dis-
trict, in which I have not resided; I will,
here, bring together a few notices, that I
find in my Journals, respecting the prevail-
ing practice, in the year 1791 ; and which,
I fear, has undergone no radical alteration,
since that time.
March 29. Western parts of the Weald.
" The whole country may be said to be in
L2
I48 AGRICULTURE.
a state at arable, or wood Laid; though much
of it is best iitted for permanent grass. The
commons and wide lanes are in fine sward.
How well the whole District is adapted to
breeding, and the dairy. At present, it is
disgusting to ride over, and most discourag-
ing to farm in. Even at seven or eight
shillings an acre, the farmers remain poor,
and their farms under stocked. There is,
indeed, little appearance of stock, of any
kind, in the country.
April 3. Horsham to Dorking. What
an immense tract of land, apparently mis-
applied. What herds of cattle might be
reared, and dairy produce collected, without
perhaps any diminution of its present pro-
duce of corn. At present, there appears to
be no stock ! The soil is of course tired
out, with an endless succession of arable
crops; and without any dung to refresh it.
April 30. West end of the Weald. Rode
several miles, without seeing a head of stock,
or a person to speak to. A few scattered
cottages, on commons and in wide lams;
and. here and there, a mean looking farm
house. How so much arable land is worked
is astonishing ; but it is evidently much
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 149
underworked. The Weald, at present, is
a poor country ; but appears to be rich, in
natural advantages.
May 2. Towards the center of the Weald.
Nine tenths, or nineteen twentieths, of the
cleared lands, are occupied by arable crops :
mostly corn ; but with some cultivated her-
; which is chiefly ray grass; weak, thin,
and spindling ; yet, poor and thin as it is,
the whole is now shut up for mowing!
No appearance of a pasture ground, in the
the country ! except the worst of the weedy
leys, — (worn out, by constant mowing), —
which are now undergoing the first plow-
ing for fallows. Scarcely a head of stock,
in my whole ride. Except a few halfstarv-
ed cows, and sheep, on commons ! The
prevailing crops are oats and raygrass, — for
the support of cart horses ! And even the
value of the little wheat, that is grown, is
much of it sunk in the expence of carrying
it to market. What a field for improve-
ment !
The roads of the Weald are the worst
in the kingdom. Except in some few parts,
they remain in their natural state : formed
of pure clay, — worn into hollows and
i5o AGRICULTURE. .
sloughs: roughnesses as high as the horses'
knees ; and ruts to the axle. With, how-
ever, here and there, a few hundred yarns
of good stone road ; which appears to be*
now under extension. But it goes on so
slowly, it may be some ages before it be
finished. Not half a load of materials can
be dragged to the parts now making. There
has been already as many stones, and as
much labor, expended, on the road towards
( ireen (not yet a quarter finished) as would
have made a broad firm waggon path, the
whole way.
May 15. The same. Fallows still break-
ing up, from crowfoot leys ! One instance
of cows and calves in a raygrass pasture.
The raygrass in full head ! The stock,
doubtless, starved in the yards, while the
grass was spoiling in the field !
May 2 1 . Northwest quarter of the Weald.
The crops — wheat, oats, and raygrass ;
with some peas; much fallow, and some
barren leys. — A few small old grass inci-
sures; and extensive commons. Large tracts
of woodlands, and many furze grounds. The
only stock observed in the inclosed grounds
(in riding ten or twelve miles within the
WEALD OF SUSSEX. i5i
area of the Weald) was one worthless cow
and calf! Some young cattle and a few
sheep appeared on the commons. Saw not
a team at work (except one at some dis-
tance) nor scarcely a human face; unless
in the village of Kirdford.
June 24. Area of the Weald. Beginning
to mow poor thin weedy raygrass leys.
Not a quarter of a crop ; and that over-
grown. Some attempts at perennial ley.
The weedy tall rubbish still standing to be
mown ! Two fields, as white as limed fal-
lows, with the full blown flowers of theoxeye
daisy. The soil, no doubt, having been
fouled and exhausted by corn crops, was
laid down, in that foul exhausted state, and
has been mown, year after year, ever since.
Yet the men of the Weald may argue, from
this specimen, that the Weald lands are in-
capable of being brought to a state of pro-
fitable grass.
October 5. Many fields now white with
lime, — spread out of small heaps, and lying
in coarse granules, unbroken, and unmixed!
Dung, in like manner, standing, week after
week, in unspread hillocks ! and, in some
cases, on fallows, now lying in the rough
AGRICULTURE.
un worked ;ey ought to have
I in, tue latter end of Mav, or
beginnii June. What an ill mana
Ho v much unproductive land .t
contains."
[PROVEMENTS SUGGESTED, k
own, in speaking of the roads
rrict, that a want of facility, in
work of carriage, is a great bar to
its improvement ; rendering the labor of
bringing in manure, and carrying out pro-
duce, difficult and expensive.
But, in a low, flat, deepsoiled country,
iiute, in a manner^ .Js, and of ma-
ils to form them with, water car-
riage aptly presents itself; and it has not
altogether escaped attention.
In 1791, the navigation of the A:
had, then, recently been extended to New-
bridge, below the junction of its two prin-
cipal branches, near the village of Green,
.ids the center of the Sussex part of the
Id. What appeared to be wanting,
. farther extension to Horsham: either
by the windings of the eastern branch of
Arun, or across the more central j
of the Vale, by Billingshurst : and from
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 153
Horsham, through the Surrey part of the
Weald, to the chalk quarries of Betchworth,
and down the valley of the Mole, to the
market of Dorking.
The western branch of the Arun pre-
sents another line of extension, equally ob-
vious ; to pass through the northwestern
quarter of the vale, to Godalmin ; there, to
join theWev navigation ; thus opening a na-
vigable communication between the Thames
and the English Channel.
By means of such easv communication,
the entire Vale might be supplied with
manure, and its products of corn and tim-
ber be carried off, at a moderate expence,
to the best markets : besides furnishing a
favorable opportunity of bringing road ma-
terials, into the interior of the District.
Since 1791, the Earl of Egremont, whose
patriotism and benevolence flow in every
direction, has made the Rother, which falls
into the Arun, near Arundel, navigable to
Midhurst ; and has it in view, to conduct a
canal, from the Rother navigation, by Pet-
worth, and along the western margin of the
Weald, to Godalmin. This would render
i54 AGRICULTURE.
the water carriage of the Weald, still more
complete.
The probable improvements that have
occurred to me, in traversing the vale lands
now under view, respecting roads, are of
a fourfold kind ; according to the inten-
tion of the given road, and the degree of
improvement required, to answer that in-
tention.
The present flat lanes are improveable,
by two obvious means, without changing
the form of their surfaces. These are by
doing away the dangerous quicksprings,
which frequently occur, on the hangs of
hills, by means of under-drains ; and re-
moving the deeper sloughs, that occur in
the bottoms, by means of trunks, or arches ;
to convey the surface water, to the nearest
drain, or ditch.
The next stage of improvement would be,
to gather up a wide ridge, or barrel road,
along the middle of the lane, with the plow ;
raising it sufficiently at the crown, to shoot
off rain water; and smoothing the surface
from time to time, especially in the spring,
with the harrow and roller: thus obtaining,
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 155
at a small expence, an easy summer road,
for carriages.
The third stage appears to be that of
running a waggon path, along the middle
of the plowed ridge, or barrel ; with dila-
tions, or double paths, at the bends of the
road, or in the most conspicuous and con-
venient places, for carriages to pass each
other ; and with lines of posts on either
side, to confine them to the path.
For the more public roads, a firm solid
pathway, seven or eight feet wide, and
strong enough to bear laden carriages,
would be required. But, for private or by
roads, a much less expensive work would
be found highly beneficial. The method of
forming the simple waggon paths, here re-
commended, is described in the Midland
Counties. They consist of three lines of
hard materials : one for each wheel ; with
one, between them, for the horses to draw
upon.
Had either of these methods, of forming
winter roads, been adopted; instead of
attempting to make, at once, wide barrel
roads, of hard materials, fetched perhaps
several miles, the very materials that have
r56 AGRICULTURE.
been buried in the mud, in making these
attempts, on the outskirts of tl .net,
would have formed sound, firm, waggon
paths, across every part of its area ; or, at
least, along the most public roads.
If, in the Weald of Sussex, or in
country, where it i ble to work <
on the road, in yokes, or dot:
the \ of carriages (as has been already
suggested) were n :iough to form
convenie.it paths, for oxen to tread in, and
placed at such distant ich other, as
to make them convenient for oxen abreast,
to draw in. the a _e, in a public as
well as a private Light, might ..reat.
To accomplish it is an object highly worthy
of invention.
The la pf improvement, of the
most public roads, would be thftt ruling
wide 5ARj. i)s, of hard materials.
ried from the quarries, or the canals, i
of tl gon patbs; beginning with the
parts when I were found to be most
wanted : thus, advancing progressively, from
the lowest i lighest degree of impr
thout taking one step in vain.
Another public improvement, by which
WEALD OF SUSSEX. i57
the Weald might profit, is that of inclosing
THE COMMONABLE LANDS, which IlOW OCCU-
PY no inconsiderable portion of its surface,
and which are mostly of a quality, that will
make ample returns, for the expences of in-
closing and cultivation.
And another, which is more or less re-
quisite, in every vale district, is a commis-
sion of shores, with inquests, in the
several parishes, or districts, which it com-
prizes ; so as to remove every unnecessary
obstruction to running waters ; and thereby
give each individual an opportunitv of free-
ing his lands, in the shortest and speediest
manner, from superfluous moisture.
The private improvements, of which the
Weald of Sussex is evidently capable, are
numerous and great : exceeding, I think,
those of any cultivated district, I have exa-
mined. Indeed it appears to I lat a
TOTAL CHANGE of the GENERAL ECONOMY
of the District is requisite to its g im-
provement : namely, that of converting the
principal part of its arable inclosures, to
pasture and woodlands, and its pastured
commons, or the more valuable parts of
them, to arable inclosures.
i58 AGRICULTURE.
To convey my ideas, with respect to the
UClosed lands, in the clearest manner I
am able, it will be requisite to divide them,
into three classes ; namely,
The deep?r better soils, which require
only cleaning, to render them fit to be coil-
ed to a state of perennial herbage.
The soils that require to be deepened
fore they can be properly brought to that
state. And
The zceak unproductive lands, thai
been mentioned, as having been c lea reef from
thestateof woodland, by mistake; or through
circumstances that do not now exist.
The method of leying, turfing, or c
ing arable lands has been so often treated
of, io these Registers, that it requires littk-
explanation, here.*
The broad basis, on which its ■
chiefly depends, is that of cleansing the soil
from weeds, through the means c:
which, at the same time, by exposing it to
the atmosphere, will render it friable, and
every way fit, to encourage the tender fibr.
:;fant herbage.
K.9 HIRE, GlOCESTERSHIRE, &C. ; •
Weald 01 Ku>t.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 159
The choice of herbage depends on the na-
ture of the land. The greater the num-
ber of distinct species, provided they are of
valuable quality, the better chance there is
of quickly obtaining a close turf, — in every
season of the year. What I should recom-
mend, for the Weald of Sussex, would be a
small quantity, as one to two gallons of
clean-winnowed ravgrass ; a similar quan-
tity of the meadow soft grass (holcus lana-
tus) or Yorkshire hay seeds ; and of the
dwarf poe, or meadow grass (poa annua) ,
or Suffolk grass ; with a like portion of the
meadow or tall fescue (festuca elatior), if
the seeds of it can be procured : also three
to six pounds of white clover ; with similar
quantities of trefoil, and ribgrass (plantago
lanceolata), all of which are to be had at
the shops. And besides these, a man who
has industry, and the spirit of enterprize ia
his composition, would collect, and culti-
vate, such species of valuable herbage, as he
sees flourishing, on the best pieces of the
few old grass lands, now to be found in the
Weald, and add their seeds to the mixture:
even though the quantity were small ; for
if the soil and situation should prove grate-
160 AGRICULTURE.
ful to them, as doubtless they would, their
increase would be certain ; while thosj
whose seeds were sown, in greater quan-
tity, would dwindle, and give place to them.
The chief thing, to be desired, seems to be
that of supplying the land with a variety of
species ; in order that such as are best suited,
to the soil and situation, may have a hiir
opportunity of gaining a footing ; and this
can never be done, with so good effect, as
in the first instance ; when the soil is wholly
unoccupied, and when each has a fair chance,
to establish itself.
To do equal justice to the several species,
the manures, which are used for young her-
bage, should either be spread on the surface,
or be mixed evenly w ith the soil ; and ought
not to be buried with the last plowing for
the crop. For, in this case, the strong,
deep-rooting plants gain an advantage:
and a great art, in producing perennial her-
bage, is to encourage the finer grasses ;
without which a close turf cannot be ob-
tained.
With the same view, the young plant>
should be kept closely pastured, until the
tender species are fully established. One
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 161
crop of hay, by encouraging the strong
plants, and smothering or checking the
weaker species, is capable of doing irrepa-
rable injury, for years to come ; according
to the size of the crop, and the age at which
it is cut. Pasturing close, with sheep, from
the time of the first shoot in earlv spring,
and with the same, or heavier stock, (after
the land will bear them) throughout the
summer, during the first three years, appears
to me, from many instances of experience,
and numberless of observation, essential to
common good management.
The proper stock, for such young grass
grounds, on the tender moist lands of the
Weald, would be ewes and lambs, to be
fatted in the course of the summer.
At the end of three years, or whenever
the required sward shall be fully established,
the dairy appears to be the most natural
object, to be pursued, on a large scale, on
the cool moist lands, under notice ; which
resemble, in soil and situation, the best
cheese lands of Glocestershire and North
Wiltshire, so nearly, that there can be little
doubt of their eligibility, in that intention.
See Glocestershire, Vol. II. p. 94.
vol. 11. M
r62 AGRICULTURE.
The second class of the Weald lands
are, by far, the most difficult to improve.
Their present unproductiveness appears to
be owing, chiefly, to a closeness of tex-
ture, and a want of depth, in the cultivated
mould.
That tillage, properly conducted, and
long enough pursued, would go a consider-
able way, towards removing those evils,
there is li t tie doubt. Lime applied to the
fresh raised soil ; and any gross vegetable
produce, plowed under, would greatly assist.
If, by any easy process, part of the soil
could be burnt, and spread over, and mixed
with the rest, it is highly probable the whole
might be thereby meliorated.*
The improvement of the third class of
Weald lands is obvious, and easy. Clean
the soil, by a fallow, broken up in autumn,
or early winter, and sow it, the ensuing au-
tumn, with acorns, ashen keys, or any other
seeds of trees, more desireable ; with or
without a crop of corn. Fence securely,
and leave the rest to nature, — until the
plants require thinning. The success of this
summary way of propagating woodlands is
* See Yorkshire, Article Sodburning.
WEALD OF SUSSEX. 163
seen, in the practice of Warwickshire, in the
Midland Counties.
The right management of the common
lands appears, to me, equally obvious.
Such as are too weak for corn, or profitable
herbage, inclose securely ; cut down the
brushwood, if any ; and plant tree seeds in
the vacancies. The rest, bring into a course
of arable management, as fast as propriety
will allow; for having never produced corn,
thev would doubtless continue to throw
out, under judicious management, abundant
crops, for many years. Where trees or
strong bushes abound, cut them off, within
the surface, and let the land remain, in a
state of grass, until they be decayed. For
remarks, at length, on reclaiming forest
lands ; see Yorkshire.
These observations, on the improvement
of the Weald of Sussex, are the fuller, as
they are applicable, not to this particular
district, only ; but, more or less, to every
vale country. I bring them forward, here;
because many of them actually rose, in exa-
mining the lands that are the present sub-
ject of discussion ; and there is no other
district, in the Island, to which the remarks,
M2
164 AGRICULTURE.
here offered, can be so fully applied. I am
of opinion, that, were the alterations, here
proposed, judiciously carried into effect, the
rental value of the lands would be nearly
doubled ; and this at a small expence, com-
pared with the greatness of the improve-
ment.
THE
DISTRICT
OF
PETWORTH.
BESIDE making the excursions, men-
tioned, in the introductory remarks, to
the Valley of Farnham, I had a favor-
able opportunity, while I had the honor of
residing at Pet worth, of looking over its
environs, and examining the District, which
is now the subject of consideration.
The SITUATION of the small tract of
country, which I distinguish by the Dis-
trict of Petworth, is between the west-
ern quarter of the Weald, or Vale Lands,
last described, and that part of the Chalk
Hills of Sussex, called the West Downs ;
extending, eastward, to Pulborongh, and
166 THE DISTRICT
westward, to Midiiurst ; where it meets
with the heaths, or morelands of Sussex ;
and the fertile and beautiful valley, which
shoots, further westward, from Midhurst,
towards Petersfield ; the District, more im-
mediately under view, being chiefly a dila-
tion of the same valley ; down which the
Rother falls, with a gentle current, and
joins the Arun, in the southeastern quarter
of the District.
The ELEVATION of the lower part of
the valley is inconsiderable ; the tide, I
believe, flows within the District ; and the
south side of the river lies altogether low.
On the north side, on which Pet worth
stands, the country rises, with an easy as-
cent, to a desireable elevation ; being a chain
of uplands, which divide the valley of the
Rother, from the vale lands of the Weald.
The LANDS of this District, cl >n-
nected as they arc with those of the Weald,
are very different in their nature. The soil,
which is most prevalent, and which cha-
racterizes the District, is a light sandy loam ;
resting on a mass of sand, which hardens,
as its depth increases ; until it assumes
the character of a gritstone., or soft sandy
OF PETWORTH. 167
rock ; in which a few egg-shaped, or po-
tatoe-form pebbles. — hard smooth stones,
of extraordinary size, — are bedded.
Remark. Similar stones are observable,
in other instances of deep sandy substrata ; —
a circumstance which appears to be entitled
to the geologist's attention ; and their com-
position and formation may not be unworthy
of philosophical inquiry.
In some parts of the north side of the
District, the soil is more consistent, and the
subsoil a sandy loam, or brick earth ; form-
ing land of a most desireable quality.
On the south side of the river, the lands
are less uniform ; the substrata being, in
some cases, retentive ; producing cold weak
land ; with plots of clayey woodland soil ;
perfectly resembling the Weald lands 5 and
are doubtless detached parts, that have been
torn from them.
At the foot of the chalk hill, which on
this side exposes a steep broken cliff- ru^s a
narrow vein of land, of a peculiar nature ; —
a close, waxey clay ; mostly of a dark lead
color, while moist ; but dries to a lighter,
chalky appearance ; and is probably a com-
pound of dark blue clay, and chalk. It is
i6S THE DISTRICT
singularly fertile to wheat ; in seasons, when
it can be properly tilled, and seeded. Its
provincial name, in this part of Sussex, is
" Maam": a name which is probably of
ancient application. At the foot of Maam-
scot Hill, in Kent, is a similar line of soil;
and it is common, perhaps, to situations of
a similar nature ; as will be shewn, in speak-
ing: of the chalk hills of the Southern
Counties.
In some parts, this vein of land is so nar-
row, as to be contained within the width of
a single line of iields ; but, in a sort of bay,
formed by an indenture of the Chalk Hills,
including parts of the parishes o'i Sutton,
Bignor, and Bury, it spreads, from half a
mile, to near a mile, in width.
The subsoil, or understratum, of this line
of soil, is generally a calcareous rock, of
varying quality. Nevertheless, the soil is
mostly of a retentive nature ; requiring to
be laid up, in narrow lands ; and, when in
a state of neglect, is liable to be over-run
with coltsfoot (tussilago farfara:) a proof
of the coldness of its nature ; owing, per-
haps, to the waters, which are absorbed by
the Chalk Hills and filtered through them,
OF PET WORTH. 169
being checked, bv a bed of clay or silt ; as
well as bv their own retentiveness.
The whole of the District under veiw is
in a STATE OF INCLOSURE; except
a few small heathlets, and commons ; and
except a small remnant of common field, on
the Maam soil.
The PRESENT PRODUCE of the Dis-
trict is chiefly corn, and other arable crops ;
with some extent of '• brook lands," or
marshes, at the conflu x of the two rivers ; and
a few narrow meadows, on the sides of the
Rother ; but with very little upland sward,
or grass land. The natural woodlands are
inconsiderable ; but the want of coppice
wood is, in some measure, supplied by cul-
tivated furze grounds.
A country of this description can, in it-
self, have little claim to ORNAMENT.
The oftscape, however, is generally good.
The views from Pet worth Park, — which
equally commands the Weald, the District
under notice, the rugged front of the wild
broken heaths that have been described, and
the strongly featured steeps of the Hills of
Sussex and Surrey, lengthening to a very
great extent, — though they are seldom beau-
170
THE DISTRICT
tifiil, arc frequently grand ; well according
with the magnificence of the house, and
With the extensive domains that attach to it.
In the management of ESTATES, I met
uithnothingofexcellence,intheDistrict un-
der view. And its management of WOOD-
LANDS is similar to that which has been
described, in the Weald. I therefore pass
on to
FARMS,
AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT.
THE FARMS are of good size. Many of
them below the middle class: some rising
to two or three hundred pounds, a year.
Their characteristic is arable; except
towards the cast end of the District, where
the marshes are joined with the arable
lands.
OF PETWORTH. 171
FARMERS. The District, in general,
is occupied b\r tenants ; several of whom
are wealthy, and intelligent. Nevertheless,
there are very few districts of the Island,
at this day, in which a larger portion of ill
placed prejudice, still remains, than in the
northwestern parts of Sussex.
BEASTS OF DRAFT. Opposite as are
the natures of the lands of the Weald, and
of this District, the species, and proportion,
of working stock are the same : namely,
horses and oxen, in nearly equal numbers.
And the only difference, in the manner of
working them, lies in one horse, less, being
used in the plow team, here, than in the
Weald ; except that, here, oxen are more
commonly used, in plowing, than they are
in the Weald ; and, what is inexplicable, as
many, or a greater number, are used, to
plow light free sandy soil, in the neigh-
bourhood of Petvvorth, as to plow the
strong heavy lands of the Weald ! I have
seen eight oxen, moving a snail's pace, in
stirring a light loamy fallow, which any two
of them, with a proper implement, might
have done, faster, and better* Four oxen,
* Nov. 27, 1797. Since the above was written,
i;2 AGRICULTURE.
and two horses, to lead them, I have seen
employed, in the same unprofi table manner.
IMPLEMENTS. The waggons run
the same most eligible width, here, as in
the Weald ; namely, five feet and a half,
from middle to middle of the ruts. I have
seen them in an excellent form : wide, low,
convenient, farm carriages.
The plow in use, here, is of a singular
construction ; and is common, if not pecu-
liar, to the west of Sussex : I have seen it
used, by individuals, in other districts, par-
ticularly in Surrey ; but do not recollect to
have observed it, in common use, any where
but in West Sussex.
It has a rising beam, like that of the Nor-
folk plow, and the turn wrest plow of Kent ;
but with only one small wheel ; which runs
upon the land, or soil to be turned ; nearly
in a line before the coulter.
An advantage of this plow is that of
giving room, under the beam, for stubble
or weeds, which may rise before the coulter ;
this assertion has been more than verified. In a prize
plowing, held at Petworth, a few days ago, two
Sussex oxen, plowed an acre of firm clover ley, for wheat,
a full depth, in less than six hours.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 173
and to a lazy, or an aukward plowman, a
wheel is convenient ; especially in plowing
stubborn or stony lands, or in very shallow
soils, where a nice regulation is required,
as it frequently is, in Norfolk. But, for the
free loamy lands under notice, a light swing
plow in the hands of a man who knew how
to set and hold it, would, I am of opinion,
be more eligible, and more convenient to
the plowman, than the tottering unsteady
implement, in use. The wheel is liable to
be raised, or turned aside, by every clod or
protuberance, it meets with ; while the top-
heaviness, caused by the height of the beam,
adds to the unsteadiness. Its best recom-
mendation is the lightness and elegance of
its appearance.
The OBJECTS of husbandry are chiefly
corn ; and early lambs, for the London
market.
The CROPS, in cultivation, are zcbeat,
and barley; with some oats and peas ; many
turneps, (but jw potatoes) much rye and tares,
for spring food, as well as for soiling, or ver-
dage, in the stable ; and with a portion, but
small, of cultivated herbage; and this is sel-
dom continued, more than one year.
i- AGRICULTURE.
The SUCCESSION of these crops, with
regard to each other, is not reduced to any
regular established order ; each manager
going by his own judgment, and the parti-
r circumstances that occur on his farm :
and (as has been already suggested) on a
farm, merely arable, without any regular
stock establishment, which requires a fore-
cast, beyond the passing year, such fortui-
tous management is more eligible, than
where a fixed number, and a regular suc-
cession, of livestock are kept up.
TILLAGE. The unpardonable waste of
labor, that is made, in this part of the Sus-
sex management, equal no doubt, in a course
of years, to the rent of the lands, has b.en
mentioned ; and I have not been able to
detect, here, as in Kent, any counterba-
lance, to make up for the loss.
The only point of management, with
respect to tillage, that met my eye, in West
Sussex, as being entitled to particular no-
tice, is that of TREADING THE LIGHTER
LANDS, WITH THE PLOW HORSES, when
turning the seed furrow in a dry season.
Instead of letting three horses, at length,
draw in the last made plow furrow, as is
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 175
customary, and in most cases proper, they
are made to go by the side of it, and thereby
to tread, and compress, the line of soil they
are turning.
This simple principle (for such it may be
called) though not peculiar to West Sussex,
is not sufficiently attended to, in general ;
but might well be adopted, in every light land
district, in a dry season ; — the advantage
might, in many cases, more than counter-
balance, even the expence of an additional
horse and a driver, in countries where two
horses, abreast, are the ordinary team.
MANURE. The species, and manage-
ment, of manures are much the same, here,
as in the Weald ; except that, in the Dis-
trict under view, marl is more or less used ;
and except that, in one instance, I saw the
moory earth of a heathy common, burnt,
in large heaps, for manure.
The marl is either an adulterate chalk,
found near the foot of the chalky steeps of
the West Downs ; lying between the chalk
rock and the Maam soil ; partaking of them
both ; in truth, a marl of the first quality ;
— or a sort of blue mud, or clay, dug out of
the area of the District; particularly, I
176 AGRICULTURE.
believe, on the south side of the river.
This is said to have been set on, with good
effect ; while the former is spoken of, as of
less value: whereas, the white is more than
three fourths of it calcareous ; while the
blue does not contain ten grains, percent,
of calcareous matter ! *
Remarks. Surely, the immense mounds
of chalk rubbish, which lie, as a nuisance,
at the feet of the Houghton quarries (see
the Southern ChalkHills) on the imme-
diate brink of the Arun navigation, might
be turned to a profitable purpose, — as ma-
nure ; particularly, on the banks of the
navigable rivers, or canals ; not only in the
District, now under view, but in the Weald.
* Analysis ok Marls. One hundred grains of
the white marl of Duncton yielded sevcutysix grains of
calcareous matter ; leaving twentyfour of an earthy re-
siduum. By other two trials, the proportions were, in
one, seventycight and a half of calcareous matter, with
twenty-one and a half of residue; and, in the other,
eighty grains of calx, and twenty of residuum.
One hundred grains of the blue marl of Hardham
yielded eight grains and a half of calcareous earth ; with
ninetyone and a half of grey, smooth, tenacious silt.
In this District, an impure fullersearth is like-
wise found : and red ochre of a good quality.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. i--
A principal use, some will say the only
one, of burning chalk, and other calcareous
substances, for manure, is that of reducing
them to a state of line powder ; in order that
they may blend, more intimately, with the
soil ; and, under this idea, even the harder
limestones have been pounded, at a great
expence, in countries where fuel is scarce.
The late Lord Kaims had a watermill erect-
ed, for this purpose, on the banks of Loch
Rannoch, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Whether reducing hard limestones, by
mechanic force, has ever answered the ex-
pence, I cannot say. It is, nevertheless,
very probable, that chalk would pay, am-
ply, for the operation. The common bark
mill — the Herefordshire cider mill — a stone
wheel running in a stone trough — would,
I apprehend, crush several loads, a day ;
especially of the broken materials, here
spoken of. Two plain cylinders, working
against each other, on the principle of the
sugar mill, and the oat bruiser, might be
found more expeditious and effective. If
fixed horizontally, and placed against a
rising ground, with a road and shedded
platform, on the upper side, to lay up the
VOL. II. N
178 AGRICULTURE.
dry chalk, and with a pit or vault, below,
to receive the reduced materials, there to be
skreencd, and kept dry, for use, the ex-
pence, especially if the cylinders (and per-
haps the skreen) were turned by water,
or by wind, could scarcely fail of being
repaid, by the more immediate, and increas-
ed action, of the manure.
This, however, by way of hint, to those
who may conceive themselves sufficiently
interested, to give the plan a fair trial. The
flints, with which chalks more or less
abound, appear to be, theoretically, an ob-
stacle to success; and, in moving the rough
chalk, they should doubtless be thrown
aside. Perhaps, smooth rollers, of a suit-
able diameter, might reject them ; and, if
they were set somewhat dipping end way,
as an inclined plane, the flints might thus
be got rid of: if not, the skreen or sieve
might separate them, as well as the un-
crushed knobs of chalk, which had passed
with them. I am strongly impressed with
the idea, that the trial should be made, and
therefore make no apology for bringing the
subject forward, in this incidental manner ;
especially, as I know no place, where it
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 179
could be made, with a greater prospect of
extensive benefit.
Lime. On the demesne farm of Pet-
worth, I had a favorable opportunity of
attending to the method of burning chalk
with fagots.
In speaking of the Weald, I mentioned it,
as a practice of that District, for every far-
mer, who holds lands of any considerable
extent, to burn his own lime. I have ob-
served no public kilns, either in the Weald,
or in the District now under view.
The kiln, on which I had the opportu-
nity of making my observations, was the
ordinary kiln of the country : not only the
form, but the size, of these private kilns be-
ing very similar ; and probably of long
standing. The form is that of a cask. The
diameter of the top and bottom eight feet,
in the middle nine feet ; the depth ten feet,
the walls are of stone, lined with bricks, and
three feet and a half, in thickness. The
floor is irregular. The area is dishing, or
hollow, to receive the ashes ; a border, or
u bench," of strong masonry, about eighteen
inches wide, occupying the outer circle;
beinej, in reality, a foundation offset, of that
N2
180 AGRICULTURE.
width ; leaving, however, a gap or opening,
on one side, for the eye, or mouth, of the
kiln ; which is two feet and a half, in width,
and four feet or upward, in height.
The mystery of burning lime, with fa-
gots, in a kiln of this construction, lies
chiefly in "setting the kiln"; which is con-
sidered as a thing of so much difficulty, as
to render " lime burning: " a distinct calling.
Ordinary farm laborers have no pretensions
to the art. The man, whose practice I
saw, was not only a " lime-burner," bv
trade, but by birth and descent ; the art
having been practiced, by his forefathers,
for four generations ; and he himself had
passed the middle time of life. These cir-
cumstances, alone, prove the antiquity of
the practice : indeed, no one, I believe, pre-
tends to ascertain its origin, in this coun-
try.
The art may briefly be said to consist, in
building an oven, with chalk, at the bottom
of the kiln; and then filling the upper part
of it, judiciously, with the same material.
The workman begins, by setting middle-
sized blocks, upon the bench, or foundation
offset, above described ; carrying up the wall.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 181
nearly perpendicularly, but somewhat lean-
ing inward, three or four feet high. The
arch, or crown of the oven, is then turn-
ed, with the largest of the blocks (some of
them containing, more than a cubical foot
of chalk) choosing them, for this purpose,
long and narrow, and placing the small
ends, inward, or downward ; being careful
to bind, with small pieces ; so as to secure,
firmly, each ring of the dome, before the
superincumbent ring be attempted : thus
forming a flat dome, without a center, and
without cement.
The dome being secured (at the height
of five or six feet from the floor) large
blocks are continued to be set, by hand,
over the crown of the arch, in the middle
parts of the kiln ; in order to induce the
fire to find its way, upward ; the smaller
pieces being thrown in, at random, round
the outsides ; and over the upper surface of
the large pieces. But no rubbish, or even
fine chalk, is used, to cover up the kiln ;
as is frequently done, when coals are used,
as fuel. In the practice under notice, the
top of the kiln is finally covered, with large
flat blocks ; which, being there only par-
181 AGRICULTURE.
tially burnt, are returned to the kiln, at the
next burning-
Each kiln, filled in this open loose man-
ner, takes four large waggon loads of chalk,
and employs a man, with a boy or youth as
an assistant, one day, to fill, or set it.
The difficulty of the art seems to lie in
turning the arch, or dome, strong enough to
bear the superincumbent burden, during the
intenseness of the heat ; yet open enough,
to permit the flames, to pass freely upward.
If the draught be checked, above, they fly
out, unprofitable, at the mouth of the kiln.
Hence, the necessity of setting the central
parts, over the crown of the dome, with
large blocks, and by hand, so as to promote
a sufficient draught, without giving too
much liberty to the flames ; which ought to
spread, as equably as possible, to every part
of the furnace.
The fuel, in the case observed, was small
fagots, of furze and broom, which had been
stacked up dry, near the kiln. A thousand
cf these fagots are the ordinary allowance,
for burning a kiln, of the size described.
They are burnt, as fagots in an oven ; the
fire being managed, in the same, or a si mi-
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 183
lar manner. Two men attend the burning ;
which, usually, is continued about twenty-
four hours ; more or less, according to cri-
teria, which practice points out.
The established price, for setting the kiln
and burning, is ten shillings. Reckoning
the fagots, at the kiln, to be worth five shil-
lings, a hundred,* the whole expence, of
fuel and labor, is three pounds. A kiln,
of this size, turns out seven cart loads of
lime ; estimated at eight chaldrons, of thirty-
two bushels each. Hence, on this calcula-
tion, the expence of burning chalk, with
fagot wood, is seven shillings and sixpence,
a chaldron ; or near three pence a bushel.
The cost of the chalk depends on the dis-
tance of the kiln from the quarry, — at which
a shilling, each waggon load, is paid to the
quarrymen, and sixpence (I think) to the
lord of the soil. The price of lime, at Pet-
worth, is seven pence, a bushel. +
* The price of fagots, on the ground they grow on,
is three shillings and sixpence, the hundred, of five
score.
+ Analyses of the Duncton chalks. By four
separate trials, with "white chalks" (which are burnt
for manure) of different quarries, and taken at different
1 84 AGRICULTURE.
The shelstone, or marble, of the Weald
is burnt (or rather has usually been burnt,
verv little of it being now raised, for lime)
in a similar manner.* The received idea,
here, (at least, in the mind of the hereditary
lime burner, whose practice I particularly
observed ) is, that stone lime, however good
it mav be for grass land, is not equal to
chalk lime, for corn; as it "brings weeds
and rubbish;" while '• chalk lime cleans the
land/' It is almost needless to add, that be
believes wood-burnt lime to be incompa-
rably better, for any thing, than lime burnt
from the same material, with coal> '
From the foregoing sketch of burning
le with fagot wood, in the Southern
•'.•in a were, from three to six and a half,
percent ; the upper strata being the pur.
Bv two trials, with tl£rq which is burr
ccnunty the residua I twentyseven
g, percer.t ! Yet the lime burnt from this fiul
teemed of an extraordinar , by stone
masons. The indissoluble matter is an extremely fine
tenacious
x marble, or Pet worth STONY. By the
marine acid, an hundred grains yielded ninety t wo gTainsoi
calcareous matter, and eight grains of an earthy residuum.
i See District of Maidst W
of Sussex, tor similar Of
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 185
Counties, it is pretty evident, that, notwith-
standing the facility with which it is there
executed, it would be hazardous to attempt
it, in another country, as a new thing,
without having a person, practised in the
art, to set it on foot. The principle is evi-
dent, but the difficulty of turning the dome,
to stand with certainty, would seem to re-
quire considerable experience.
This difficulty, it is probable, suggested
what appears to be a valuable improvement,
in the art ; and which I had lately an op-
portunity of examining, in the District
of Maidstone.* Instead of one capacious
overly two straight arches are turned, in the
bottom of the kiln. For this method, there
is a " middle bench/' as well as the side
benches, of the West Sussex kiln. In that
I examined, the middle bench was about
two and a half feet wide; and the archway,
on either side of it, nearly the same width.
The arches, (being raised, some two feet
above the benches) are turned (part after
part, by a man standing in the bottom of
the kiln) with three rough blocks of chalk,
bearing a resemblance (accidentally, or as-
* See Vol. I. page 89.
i86 AGRICULTURE.
sisted by a tool) to the ordinary key stone
of an arch: a work which is performed with
little difficulty; and which the roughest
stone mason would, anywhere, easily exe-
cute. The filling of the kiln, over the arches,
is the same as over the oven : care being
taken to spread the fire, equally, through
every part : which is more easily and effec-
tually done, by two, than by one, fire-
place.
These double-arch kilns may be burnt
either with wood, or with coals. That
which I saw, near Maidstone, had iron grates
thrown across, between the benches ; on
which coals, brought up the Medway, were
burnt.
It is here to be observed, that, in the
aid of Surrey. I have seen bricks, and
tilts, burnt in kilns, of the first description.
The oven, or dome, being formed, with
chalk, bricks are set upon it, to receive the
fiercest heat, and, on these, tiles. The three
materials being, bv this means, conveniently,
and accuratelv burptj with fagot wood.
On the other general heads of the
arable management, I collected nothing,
in this District, that requires to be noticed,
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. i87
here. Nor, in the culture of particular
crops, did I find any thing, which is new
to these Registers ;
Except an instance of sowing WHEAT,
after turneps, without plowing ! This in-
stance occurred in the practice of one of
the principal farmers of the District. Part
of a piece of turnep ground was plowed,
and sowed, in the usual way ; the rest was
only harrowed, or " dragged ;" the seed
sown ; and covered with fine harrows.
The consequence, as related, was a fine crop,
and free from smut ; while the part, plowed,
was not only an inferior crop, but was
smutty.
This loosely reported incident, however,
only suggests the idea, that light and ab-
sorbent soils, which are already in a state of
cleanness and tilth > may be injured by a seed
plowing ; especially in a dry season.
Another instance of practice, however, is
well deserving of notice. I saw a very good
crop of wheat, growing on very light land.
It was sown in September ; the surface im-
mediately dunged ; the dung harrowed in,
as a top dressing ; and afterwards incor-
porated, still more effectually, with the soil,
egg AGRICULTURE.
bv treading it in, with sheep : which not
manure ; but assisted in giv-
ing the desired texture to the soil ; beside
:eable, in chec. eravag.
sod worm.
If it be right to grov .:, on very
it land, these appear to be eligible means,
for obtaining a crop.
The herbage of RYE is, here, a common
crop ; both for eating upon the ground,
and for green forage ; but chiefly for ewes
and lambs.
In the middle of April, 1791, I saw ewes
and lambs feeding on rye, which was then
nearly a foot high; but the spring was
forward. In the beginning of May, the
rve was in ear ; yet still sheep were upon
it ; gathering the tops ; and leaving the
stubble, the height of the knee.
Cultivated herbage. This is chiefly
or wholly CLOVER : and this, I belie v
seldom, if ever, suffered to remain in the
ground, more than one year.
The reason given, for not keeping the
arable lands, longer, in a state of temporary
herbage, is, that the sod worms would de-
stroy the wheat crop.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 189
Remark. If this is really the fact ; and
no method of preventing their mischiefs, by-
clean tillage, or otherwise, can be struck
out, the present practice may be right. But
the soil, itself, is well adapted to the Nor-
folk practice, of a crop of clover the first
year, and a spring crop of raygrass the se-
cond j(breaking up the second year's ley,
as soon as the spring shoot of raygrass is
pastured off, and fallowing the soil, through
the summer, for wheat. A practice which
appears to be peculiarly suited to the Dis-
trict of Petworth ; as the spring shoot of
raygrass would be found highly serviceable,
in the ewe-and-lamb husbandry, which will
be mentioned : and the fallowing might be
still more advantageous, in destroying the
vermin.
SAINFOIN. An instance of sainfoin
flourishing on a poor, uncalcareous, sandy
spot of ground, within the District now
under view, being evidenced, in such a man-
ner, as to leave no doubt of the fact, I made
a point of examining the field where it grew,
and inquiring into the circumstances that
accompanied this interesting incident.
The subsoil, at the depth of two feet, is
i9o AGRICULTURE.
a sheer sand, perfectly noncalcareous. The
bottom of an interfurrow (about a foot be-
low the general surface ; — the field then in
a state of fallow) was perceptibly calca-
reous. Among the topsoil, some knobs,
and many specks, of chalklike matter ap-
peared ; also some flints.
An elderly laborer, who knew t(fc field,
and the circumstances attending it, at the
time it was in sainfoin, related to me, — that
the first year's crop was very good ; full
two loads an acre ; the second year, too, it
was good ; but not so large as in the first ;
that the third year, it never rose to the
sithe ; and the fourth year, it was plowed
up ; some pasturage being all that was got
from it, the two last years.
With respect to the chalky matter, found
in the soil, he thinks it proceeds from lime,
not from chalk or marl, as he never heard
of its being dressed, with either ; but the
person to whom it then belonged, he says,
limed very highly. Nevertheless, some of
the knobs I picked up. wear no appearance
of their having passed through fire ; and
the land may, heretofore, have been marled
or chalked.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 191
This being as it may, it is sufficiently
evident, that the two profitable crops of
sainfoin, which this field produced, was not
the product of the natural soil ; but were
thrown out by the calcareous matter, that
had been mixed with it. And it is very pro-
bable, that all soils, that have been marled,
chalked, or repeatedly limed, will give out
a few crops of sainfoin ; according to the
quantity of calcareous matter they have re-
ceived.
HOPS. There are several small grounds,
in the District under view : particularly
about the village of Byworth, in the
neighbourhood of Petworth ; and that of
Lodsworth, situated at the point, where
the three districts. — the Weald, the Sandy
loam, and the Heaths, — may be said to form
their junction; and, what is remarkable,
this small plot of country exceeds them all
in fertility ; being singularized by its grass
lands, its orchards, and its hop grounds.
In the management of hop grounds, the
Farnham practice is followed : and my chief
motive for mentioning them, here, is to show
the eastward extent of that practice. See
the Valley of Farnham.
i92 AGRICULTURE.
ORCHARDS. The township of Bury,
on the maam-soil lands, abounds with or-
chard grounds. In a bearing year, several
hundred, even a thousand, hogsheads of
cider are said to have been made, in this
parish only.
The trees are most noticeable. They
are much lower, and stand closer on the.
ground, even than those of West Devon-
shire. The filbert bushes of Maidstone, are
many of them taller, and stand wider, than
the apple bushes of Bury. They are chiefly,
I was told, of a singular variety, which
grows freely, from cuttings, or rather slips,
plucked from the boughs ; and that may
account for the shrubbiness of their growth.
This variety is called, there, the " sweet
apple," which may be an object of cultiva-
tion, in other places.
An instance occurred to me, in the Dis-
trict under view, of the hardiness of the apple
blossom ; at least in a season, when there is
a sufficient strength of blow. On the twelfth
of May, there was ice, as thick as the half-
crown piece ; many ash trees were much
injured, by the frost ; yet the blossoms of the
apple remained bright, and in full vigor.
DISTRICT OE PETWORTH. 193
HORSES. In speaking of the manage-
ment of horses, in Yorkshire, I mention-
ed an idea, that had been suggested to me,
respecting the probable advantage to be
gained, by the spaying of xMares ; not
being apprized, at that time, of its ever
having been attempted, to be carried into
practice.
In this District, however, it has been car-
ried into effect. I saw a mare, in 1791,
then rising five or six years old, which was
spayed, at eight days old, by a colt-cutter,
in the neighbourhood of Pet worth.
She was a well bred mare, and of a size
proper for hunting. The farmer, to whom
she belonged, asked seventy guineas for her :
a proof that, in his esteem, at least, she had
not been injured by the operation.
It is proper to be mentioned, here, that
the tenants of the Petworth estate, who
are desirous of breeding hunters, or saddle
horses, of a superior quality, have the pri-
vilege of sending their mares, to the first
blood horses in the kingdom, gratis ; except
the usual fee, to the groom. This is a spe-
cies of generosity, which brings its own
reward ; by furnishing the country with
vol. 11. O
i94 AGRICULTURE.
valuable horses ; and by their comparatively
high prices enriching the estate.
CATTLE. In the West of England,
I hazarded some general remarks, on the
different breeds or varieties of cattle, that
are at present established in this Island ; as
well as on their probable origins. The Sus-
sex breed are there considered, as one of the
purest branches of the native, or ancient
stock of the Island ; and as agreeing, in
almost every essential character, with the
present breeds of Devonshire, and Here-
fordshire: and I have not, since pub-
lishing those remarks, had any reason, to
alter that opinion.
In East Sussex, as in North Devonshire,
the breed has long possessed the largest
size, and, in many respects, the best form ;
though, on the borders of Kent, as has been
already noticed (see Weald of Kent) some
individuals possess too much of the square-
ness, and gumminess, of the old short-
horned, or Dutch breed. Nevertheless, as
has likewise been intimated, there are in-
dividuals, in that part of Sussex, and in the
Weald of Kent, which are apparently free
from that base admixture of blood, and which
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. i95
are of a size, and in a form, equal to the
best of the South Herefordshire cattle. On
the contrary, in the West of Sussex, as in
the West of Devonshire, a thinness of flesh,
and carcass, has been the prevailing cha-
racter.
Lord Montague (the predecessor of the
late Lord) paid much attention to the breed ;
and raised it to a degree of excellence. In
1791, I saw the remains of the Cowdry
stock : among them, eight oxen, in a car-
riage, which were, I think, the finest and
most valuable team of oxen, I have any
where seen. In Sussex, his Lordship is said
to have effected this great improvement,
solely, by the means of Sussex cattle, drawn
from the eastern parts of the county. But
a gentleman of Devonshire assured me, that
the North Devonshire breed had some share
in the improvement. And, judging from the
cleanness, color, and form, of some of the
individuals I saw, this was probably the
case.
Whatever was the real source of the breed
of Cowdry, West Sussex has the less to
regret, in the loss of it, since Lord Egre-
mont is carrying on the patriot work of
O2
196 AGRICULTURE.
improvement, with unequalled zeal ; and on
a broader basis, than that on which it has,
heretofore, been pursued, in any part of the
Island ; and to the Petworth breed, it is
highly probable, the county, and the coun-
try at large, will, hereafter, look up for the
point of excellence.
His Lordship, having no confined view to
direct him, nor any narrow prejudice to
warp his intentions, has blunted provincial
jealousies, by indiscriminately selecting from
the three kindred breeds, of Sussex, Here-
fordshire, and Devon, individuals of the
first qualitv : and breeding, from these, as
from one and the same stock : keeping
steadily in view, the three essential qualifi-
cations of cattle; namely, working, the
DAIRY, and GRAZING.
To promote this conflux of the purest
blood of the three varieties, and of course
their general improvement, his Lordship, a
few years ago, instituted exhibitions of
cattle, of these breeds ; and distributed re-
v.ards, to those who produced the most
perfect individuals ; no matter from which
of the three varieties their blood might
happen to spring.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 197
The improvement which has been already
made (1797) by these truely noble and pa-
triotic exertions, is evident, in the young
stock now rearing ; and the more public
shows, which, to forward those exertions,
have been appointed to be held, annually,
at Lewes, cannot fail, so long as they are
conducted, on the same basis, and in the
same disinterested, public-spirited manner, to
prove a lasting benefit, to the Southern
Counties, and the kingdom at large ; there
being no other established breed in the
Island, equal to those under notice, for the
three essential purposes of cattle.
In the GENERAL ECONOMY, Or MANAGE-
MENT of cattle, I noticed nothing, in the
District under view, that requires a place,
here ; except the method of
Rearing calves. In this particular, (as
was noticed in the last District) the Sussex
practice is singular ; essentially differing, I
believe, from every other established prac-
tice of the Island, at the present day. In
other parts of England, calves are either
reared wholly by hand (not being at all
permitted to suck their dams), as in the
north of Yorkshire; or are suffered to
198 AGRICULTURE
remain at the teat, a few days, and are then
fed with milk, gruel, or other nourishing
food, in the pail, for several months ; until
they are finally turned abroad, to grass and
water : the process of rearing calves being,
— for an obvious reason, that of collecting
dairy produce, — different from the more na-
tural way of rearing every other species
of domestic animals. Whereas, in Sussex,
horses, cattle, sheep, and swine may be said
to be reared, in the same manner.*
Before the invention of pails, this was
necessarily the prevailing practice ; which
would seem to have been handed down, in
Sussex, from that time, to the present. In
early spring, young calves, as young pigs,
are seen loose with their dams, in the yards;
and, afterwards, in the field, as foals or
lambs ! While the calves are young, the
cows afford a greater or less surplus of milk ;
and, after the weaning of the calves, they are
brought, wholly, into the dairy.
* In the Midland Counties, and more or less,
in other places, it is not unusual to rear bull calves, and
perhaps highbred heiters, at the teat ; but seldom at
their dam's ; ordinary cows being bought in, for this
particular purpose, and afterward fatted, as grazing
stock.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 199
The age of weaning is from ten to twelve
weeks ; when the calves are put, solely,
upon grass; without milk, and without wa-
ter ! Another singular point of practice ;
which appears to be entitled to attention.
The motive assigned, for not allowing them
water, is that of preventing their becoming
" pig-bellied ": and, while they have a full
bite of succulent herbage, especially in a
moist season, this point of the Sussex prac-
tices is probably well founded ; and should
be tried, with due caution, in other countries.
SHEEP. This is, naturally, a sheep dis-
trict ; and it has not only adopted them, in
preference to cattle ; but has fallen into a
routine of practice, to which, by situation
also, it. is well adapted: namely, that of
providing early grass lamb, or rather
field lamb, for the Metropolis: a prac-
tice which is the more profitable, as it is
confined, I believe, to a few districts. West
Sussex, and the Isle of Wight are the
only ones, in which I have particularly ob-
served it.
The breed, which are applicable to this
species of sheep farming, is the Dorsetshire,
2oo AGRICULTURE.
or house lamb breed : (see West of Eng-
land).
The place of purchase is principally,
or wholly, Weyhill ; being brought, to the
Michaelmas fair, full of lamb, from Devon-
shire, and the other more Western Counties.
(See as above.)
The desired time of lambing is about a
month before Christmas.
Their food is the herbage of the stubbles
and leys, from Michaelmas to near the time
of lambing ; and, from thence, on turneps,
tares, rye, and other cultivated herbage.
The time of sale, I believe, generally
commences about the beginning of April ;
and lasts, during the whole of that month,
and part of May ; thus supplying the mar-
ket, until grass lamb be ready.
The places of sale are Smithjield, and the
different markets, in London ; particularly,
I understand, Leadenhall market : where
they are sold by commission butchers; who
take the charge of them, from the farm ;
slaughter them ; and sell the quarters, to
the retail butchers ; accounting, to the far-
mer, for the gross amount of the sale ; to-
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH.
gether with the sale price of the pelt and
offal.
The price which the commission butchers
accounted for, in the middle of April, 1791,
was seven pence., a pound, for the quarters,
with about three shillings a head, for the
offal.
But, at present (1797), the early lambs,
from this quarter of Sussex, are chiefly, I
understand, sold alive, in Smithfield.
The disposal of the ewes is effected in
two ways. If a farmer have plenty of food
left, after the lambs are sold off, he throws
his ewes into a flush of keep, and gives them
the ram. I observed ewes (off which lambs
had just been taken) with a ram among
them, picking oft the heads of rye coming
into ear, the third of May ; and, urged by
this stimulating food, they were expected
to receive the ram, in about a week from
that time. On the contrary, if his food has
been expended, on the lambs, he sells his
ewes, to those who have a suitable provi-
sion made for them.
Ewes impregnated, at this early season
of the year, become valuable to the house
lamb farmers; who either purchase them,
log AGRICULTURE.
immediately of the field lamb farmer, as his
food is exhausted ; or of a sort o^ middle
men, who make a business of purchasing
the suckling ewes of the latter, as soon as
their lambs go off; and, having suitable
food prepared for them, procure the early-
impregnation required ; afterwards, sup-
plying the small house lamb farmers, near
London, with such lots as they may
want.
Remark. Thus, the practice under no-
tice forms a requisite link, in the chain of
rural transactions, which supply the metro-
polis, with winter lamb. Such ewes, as
the West of England sheep farmers cannot
send up, forward enough in lamb, for that
purpose, (and whicl>is necessarily all those
that have n their fo>t lambs) are pur-
chased, by the field lamb farmers ; who, by
fatting their produce, early in the spring,
gain an opportunity oi bringing them for-
ward enough, the ensuing autumn, for the
purpose of the house lamb farmer : who
continues to u^e them, as suckling ewes, so
long as their milk lasts ; and, then, either
sells them to the grazier ; or sends them
back to the middleman : and, by that means,
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 203
another produce of early house lamb is ob-
tained.
What renders the District of Petworth
favorable to this practice, is not so much its
being situated, in some degree, between the
West of England and the environs of Lon-
don, as its being one of the few Districts, in
which even the Dorsetshire ewes can be in-
duced to receive the ram, soon enough, for
the profitable purpose of producing early
winter, or Christmas lamb.
SWINE. Another practice, peculiar,
perhaps, to West Sussex, as I have not met
with it in any other part of the Island, is
that of summering store swine, in marshes;
treating them as a species of grass land, or
PASTURING STOCK.
This singular practice I observed, on the
" brook lands/' at the junction of the Arun
and the Rother, between Pulborough and
Arundel ; and on these, principally, I be-
lieve, the practice is pursued, on a large scale.
At the time I had an opportunity of ob-
serving it (about the middle of April) the
season had barely commenced : nevertheless,
then, there were many spread over the area
oftheMarshes,grazing as sheep on commons.
204 AGRICULTURE.
Beside their own stock, the Marsh far-
mers take in joist, or agistment swine, at
the low price of half a crown, a head, for
the summer ; namely, from the beginning
of May, to the middle of September: with,
however, one shilling a head, more, to the
swine herd, for his care and attention : thus
paying, for near twenty weeks, fortytwo
pence ; or somewhat more than twopence,
a head, a week.
Pigs of almost every size, and age, and
of any breed, are sent to those brook land
pastures; but chiefly, I understand, grow-
ing store hogs, from three or four, to ten
or twelve months old. Even sows in pig
are sometimes kept there, until they farrow
The fences of these Marshes are sewers,
or water ditches ; which are found sufficient
to confine the young hogs ; though the
older sometimes break away.
From what I gathered on the subject, it
appears, that store hogs, which are sent to
those Marshes, in tolerable condition, will
retain that state, and increase considerably,
in size ; especially, if the season prove dry.
Under these circumstances, the usual im-
provement is five to ten shillings, a head.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. ao5
On the contrary, if they are sent in, poor,
and a wet summer ensue, many of them die
of the rot ; and those, which survive, make
little improvement.
Upon the whole, it appears to me pro-
bable, that swine will not be found, in
this Island, a profitable species of pastur-
ing stock : at least, while the valuable breeds
of cattle and sheep, which it is at present
possessed of, are to be had, in sufficient
plenty. As an attendant on the dairy, the
farm yard, and the cottage that has a suf-
ficiency of garden ground annexed to it, the
hog is a most valuable species of domestic
animal.*
* Grass Pork. I must not, however, omit to
mention, here, an interesting experiment, made by my
Lord Egremont, on fatting porkers, at grass. This ex-
periment was made, with the "white Chinese," a neat
small breed of pigs. They were put, at six or seven
months old, into a suite of fatting deer paddocks, in the
month of May, and remained, there, until October;
when the pork was firm, finely flavored, and the color
peculiarly delicate. This experiment suggests the idea,
that, by allowing grazing hogs a small quantity of corn,
to give the flesh the requisite mellowness y pork of a su-
perior qualitv, — and of singular purity, — may be pro-
duced
2o6 AGRICULTURE.
A practice of cottagers, in this part of
the Island, with respect to the animal under
notice, is well entitled to attention, in every
other. During the spring and summer
months, every laborer, who has industry,
frugality, and conveniency sufficient, to keep
a pig, is seen carrying home, in the even-
ing, as he returns from his labor, a bundle
of "hog weed;" — namely, the beracl
spbondylium, or cow parsnep ; which is here
well known to be a nutritive food of swine.
Children, too, are sent out, to collect it, in
by roads, and on hedge banks. And there
may be other weeds, if trial were made, that
might be found equally nutritioi
DEER. Another extraordinary practice
of West Sussex remains to be noticed.
In every quarter of the kingdom, it has
been prevalent, of late years, to di spark,
wholly or in part, the deer which had been
occupying, unprofitable, no inconsiderable
* Cow parsnep. The early and rapid growth of
this plant has, long ago, and frequently, struck me.
Not only swine, but sheep and rabbits, are partial to it.
Surely, its cultivation should be attempted. Its seeds are
most easily collected. As green forage, for hogs, it could
not fail of being profitable.
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 207
portion of its lands, for some centuries past ;
and to supply their places, with sheep : thus
rendering the demesne lands of benefit to
the public, as well as profitable to their
owners.
In Sussex, similar advantages have been
obtained through somewhat different means.
Here, instead of driving away the deer, and
introducing sheep, the former have been
converted to profit. And although the
public benefit may not be so great, from
venison and deer skins, as from mutton and
wool, there seems to be no impropriety at-
tached to the practice, of sending the for-
mer to market ; a practice which is here
followed, though not by men of the highest
rank, yet by men of good fortune, and the
first character.
RABBITS. This diminutive, but in
many cases profitable, species of farm stock,
is not uncommon, in this part of Sussex.
But, here, as throughout every part, I be-
lieve, of the Southern Counties, they may
be said to remain in a state of nature ;
without fences to confine them. But, surely,
on many of the lighter lands of this District,
inclosed warre. : "ally cultivated, as
2o8 AGRICULTURE.
in the North of England, might be found
very advantageous.
STATE OF HUSBANDRY. Seeing the
soil of this District, and the peculiar advan-
tage of its situation, with respect to the
house lamb breed of sheep, the outline of
management appears to be judicious. But
a want of due attention to minlti.e, or
particular points of practice, is everywhere
evident. In returning to the District, in
the autumn of 1791, after having examined,
with more or less attention, the several
districts between this and the Land's End,
the first notice I find in my Journal stands,
literally, thus : — " the foulest plot of coun-
try I have seen since I left it!" And this,
notwithstanding the unnecessary expence
that is betowed on its culture.
I M PRO V E M E NTS. The first and
greatest improvement is, obviously, that of
reclaiming the lands, from their present
state of foulness. And, in doing this, to
adopt a plow team suitable to the soil ;
and thus reduce the expence of tillage, to
little more than half of what it costs, at
present. Two oxen, of a suitable age, and
seasoned to their work, with one man and
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 209
a proper implement, are abundantly suffi-
cient, to perform what I have repeatedly
seen six, sometimes eight oxen, with a man
and a youth, or perhaps two men, em-
ployed upon !*
By underdrawing, much improvement
might be made ; especially, on the southern
side of the District. I observed many in-
stances, in which low moory grounds would
pay, five fold, for the operation, — if pro-
perly conducted.
By watering, still more is to be done,
on that side of the river. The calcare-
ous brooks and rivulets, that rise, wholly,
or in part, at the feet of the Chalk Hills,
would pay, amply, for the expence of con-
ducting them over the grass lands, that lie
low enough to receive them. In 1791, I
observed only one suite of grounds, that be-
nefited, in any sort, by this natural advan-
tage. At that time, however, another smal-
ler plot was undergoing the operation. And
numberless other sites were aptly placed,
to receive it. Even the waters of the Ro-
ther, which receives part of its supply from
the same source, would, it is highly pro-
* See Eeasts of Labour, page 171.
VOL. II. P
AGRICULTURE.
bable, be found a profitable, as well as a
copious, means of this improvement.
Tenants. -r, might with great ju -
m reply, to these proposals — •' It would
be imprudent, in us. to set about such im-
provements, unless we had some certainty
of reaping the benefit of them:" and, doubt-
less, the fi: towards agricultural im-
provements,— is that of GRANTING LEA5;
Even the ru tate of foulness, in which
the lands of this D.s:rict remain, may find
some excuse, in the uncertainty of the te-
nancy, under which, I understand, they are
principally held.
.is FOUNTAIN OF IMPROVEMENTS be-
longs to proprietors ; and it is ever their
interest, independent of all other considera-
. ns, to set the example of good will to-
wards men, and to sow the seeds of im-
provement, upon their estates ; that they
DttLj take root, grow up, and flourish, with
their tenantry ; who, on a leased estate,
have not only the example before them, but
the more powerful motive of their own in-
terest, in
The rapid decrease in the value of money,
at has been going on, for the last twenty
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 21 r
years (owing to a banefully impolitic in-
flux of circulating paper) and the conse-
quent nominal rise, in the rents of lands,
has deterred many men of landed property*
from granting leases, of a sufficient length,
to induce spirited tenants, to lay out their
money, in the requisite improvements : thus
smothering the very principle, which it is
their best interest to cherish.
Tvventyone years is the term coveted, by
an improving tenant ; and, when such im-
provements, as draining, watering, and marl-
ing are required, a shorter term cannot, in
itself, indemnify a tenant. Hence, it is in-
dispensably necessary, to the improvement
of an estate, on which draining, watering,
marling, or any other permanent, or lasting
improvement is to be made, either to grant a
term of sufficient length ; or to make the re-
quisite improvements at the proprietor's
own expence ; or to indemnify the tenant,
for the remainder of such improvement, at
the expiration of his term.
Beside, there is one general argument
held out, against leases, of any determinate
length, and in favor of letting estates re-
main at will, or from year to year, When
P 2
:i2 AGRICULTURE.
a tenant knows, with certainty, the end of
his term, he arranges his plan accordingly,
and strives, by every means, to exhaust and
impoverish his farm ; and, in cases of ran-
cor and ill blood, between landlord and
tenant, not un frequently, at his own cost.
Indeed, some cases of this kind have fallen
under my observation.
These circumstances led me, many years
ago, to a principle of management, which,
I conceive, ought to be adopted on every
estate, which is under leases, for terms cer-
tain : namely, that of coming to a clear
understanding, with the tenant, three years
iously to the expiration of his term ; and
either to renew his lease, at that time ; or,
in case of non-agreement, to look closely to
his management, during the remainder of
his term: for, until within three years of
the expiration of the term, the interests of
the landlord and the tenant, in the ordinary
routine of husbandry, are the same. A te-
nant, previously to that time, cannot (unless
in a few instances) injure his landlord, with-
out, at the same time, injuring himself. But
about that time, their interests begin to se-
parate. The farm may be in a sufficient
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 2 [3
state of melioration and tillage, to last out
the term, with little addition of labor or
manure ; and it is a matter of indifference,
to him, in what state of foulness and steri-
lity, it is left ; provided his interest, on the
v/hole, has been benefited. The conse-
quence is, the farm is worth less, to an in-
coming occupier, than it would have been,
if it had gone on, in the regular course of
husbandrv.
But obviouslv true, as this is, it never
struck me, until latelv, that a running
lease might be advantageously formed, on
these principles.
Finding, however, an insuperable objec-
tion to long leases becoming, more and more
prevalent ; yet, seeing the sort of necessity,
which there is, for giving tenants, on every
estate, more than six months' certaintv of
their holdings, I was led to apply the prin-
ciple, in a way, which, I conceive, mav be-
come of general utility.
On the two estates, on which I have
had opportunities of proposing this species
of tenancy, it has been adopted ; and, on
one of them, has been already carried into
effect.
U4 AGRICULTURE.
The outline is simply this. A term is
granted for six years certain (or a great-
er number, as nine years, according to
circumstances), and, thence, from three
YEARS tO THREE YEARS, SO long as both
parties shall agree. That is to say, if, at or
before the end of three years, neither party
do give notice to the other, to quit, at the
expiration of the term of six years, the term
becomes lengthened to nine years ; and if,
at the end of six years, no such notice
is given, then it is further prolonged to
twelve years ; and so on, CONTINUALLY,
until one of the parties shall give the re-
quired notice. And, with the still farther
security to the tenant, that, at the final ter-
mination of the holding, he shall be al-
lowed for the remainder of such im-
provements, as are of a permanent or
durable nature, whatever three referees
shall deem such particular improvements to
be worth, to the succeeding occupier : the
general state of improvement resting, of
course, with the estate.
The advantages of a lease of this nature
are so obvious, as scarcely to require to be
particularly pointed out. On the part of
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 215
the tenant, they are so evident, that even the
most illiterate and unenlightened, to which
it has been offered, has embraced it, without
hesitation. He has always from three to
six years certainty, before him. At the
close of every three years, he has, in effect,
a new lease, of six years, granted him :
and this without any anxiety, or wavering
of conduct, on the score of uncertainty ;
without any time being lost, in meetings,
attendance, and consultations ; and, what is
gratifying to a farmer, without the expence
of a fresh pair of leases.
On the part of the proprietor, the advan-
tages are equal. His estate (except such
parts as may happen to be under notice to
quit) is in the hands of men, who have an
interest in cultivating it, to the best of their
abilities : yet it is ever so far under his com-
mand, that, in the course of a few years, he
can regain possession ; whether for the pur-
pose of sale, exchange, laying out his estate
to advantage, or to increase his rent roll.
If, in the latter case, the tenant, on notice
given, agree to the required rise, the course
of management, and the prosperity of the
estate, proceed, uninterrupted.
2x6 AGRICULTURE.
The covenants of a lease, on this prin-
ciple, ought, of course, to be governed, by
the given circumstances of the estate ; — its
soils, situation, and established course of
management. In any case, it is evident,
that the ordinary restrictions, which a lease
of this nature requires, are comparatively
few : but that extraordinary regulations, to
take place after notice given, should not
only be entered into, but diligently enforced ;
so that the farm, during the last three years
of the term, may be brought into the most
desireable succession of crops ; with suit-
able fallows : and be left, at the expira-
tion of the term, in such a state of clean-
ness and tillage, that the succeeding oc-
cupier may be able, without difficulty or
extraordinary cost, to crop and stock it,
immediately, and in like manner, as if he
had himself occupied it, during the three
preceding years, agreeably to the best prac-
tice of the country it lies in.
Every department or district requires,
and every estate may adopt, a separate
code of regulations, suitable to given
circumstances. One which I conceive to
be adapted to the West of England, and
DISTRICT OF PETWORTH. 217
particularly to my Lord Heathfield's
estate, in East Devonshire, I have drawn
up with attention.
My motive for bringing the subject for-
ward, in this place, is not solely for the
purpose of recommending this species of
tenancy, to the proprietors of West Sussex ;
but to embrace the first favorable oppor-
tunity of bringing it before the public : as
I know no estate, on which it may not be
profitably adopted.
THE
SEA COAST
OF
SUSSEX.
THE SITUATION, of this extraor-
dinary passage of country, is between the
southern division of the Chalk Hills, and
the English Channel : extending, eastward,
with a narrow point, to near Brighthelms-
ton ; and, westward, to near Portsmouth:
comprizing the Isle of Selsey, and other
islands and peninsulae, towards the western
extremity.
The INFORMATION, which I am pos-
sessed of, respecting this fertile District,
was gained in three different views of it :
first, in tracing it length way from Bright-
helmston, by Shoreham and Arundel, to
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 219
Chichester, in the wane of April, 1 79 1 : next,
in an excursion from Petvvorth, through
the more central parts of it, in the middle
of May: and, lastly, In a circuit, from Chi-
chester, by Bracklesome, to the Isle of Sel-
sey, and thence to Chichester and Ports-
mouth (on my leaving Sussex, for the Isle
of Wight and Devonshire), in the early part
of October, in the same year.
The EXTENT, or superficial contents,
cannot be readily estimated. The length is
about forty miles ; and the width, in some
parts, three or four, in others, five or six
miles; but, to the east of the Arun, it is
narrow ; and much of the western part is
occupied by water. The main body of the
District lies, between Arundel and Ems-
worth, distant about seventeen miles ; and
the medium width, of this part, may be
reckoned at five miles ; so that this, alone,
contains upwards of eighty square miles ;
and the whole may be estimated at more
than a hundred square miles.
Its ELEVATION, above the surface of
the sea, is inconsiderable. Indeed, some
parts of it still lie below the level of high
water. Much of the arable land does not
220 DISTRICT.
appear to lie, more than three feet, above
high water mark ; and scarcely any part of
the sixty four thousand acres under view,
rises more than five or six feet, above the
level of spring tides. Water is seen stag-
nant, in the ditches and sewers, to near the
surface of the cultivated lands, in almost
every part of the District ; the center of the
Isle of Selsey excepted.*
The ATMOSPHERE of this District,
immediately connected, as it is, with that
of the ocean, on one side, and of the Chalk
Hills, on the other, (both of them prover-
bially pure) is unwholesome: occasioned,
probably, by the stagnant waters that in-
tersect its area. Agues are prevalent. To
agriculture, however, the climatureis favor-
able : the harvest is forward, and the crops
abundant : owing principally, no doubt, to
* The Isle of Selsey. This, doubtless, has once
b?t.!i an island; but is, at present, attached, by a narrow
isthmus, to the main land. Nevertheless, during high
spring tides, the water which filters through the gravelly-
beach, that defends the flat country, to the west of the
island, makes its way, across the isthmus, into the inlet
or estuary, on the north and east sides of the island.
This circumstance I had an opportunity of observing.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 221
the soil ; but may not the same putrescent
effluvia which are injurious to animal health,
be serviceable to vegetation ?
The surplus WATERS that fall on the
area, and overflow the ditches, either find
their way, into the brooks and estuaries, or
are let out, immediately into the sea, at the
sluices, formed in the sea fence, which m\]\
be mentioned.
The SOIL of this productive flat of land
is, invariably, a deep, rich loam ; except at
the immediate foot of the Chalk Hills, where
it is lighter and less fertile ; a mixture of
sand and gravel; and, in some parts, mere
" beach/' or sheer flinty gravel.
The SUBSOIL is more various. At a
short distance from the feet of the hills,
west of the Arun, the flinty gravel dips,
and is covered with the loamy soil, just men-
tioned. Still more towards the sea, the top-
soil rests on a paler colored loam ; and, on
the coast, the soil, there three or four feet
deep, lies on a bed of marl or chalk; which,
at a small distance from the shore, breaks
out into the sea ; and probably, is the pre-
vailing substructure, of the entire flat.
222 DISTRICT.
Geological remarks. It is impossible
to view a passage of country, like this, which
wears so many marks of its being a creation
of the present zcorld, — of its having been
formed, since the surface of the earth re-
ceived its present configuration, — without
suffering the mind to make some attempts
towards discovering the means, by which
nature's laws have formed so valuable a
production. The levelness of surface, the
beach found at the foot of the hills, and
the superincumbent silt, mud, or loam (si-
milar to that of sea marshes) and the im-
mediate vicinity of the sea, — all show it to
be the production of that powerful artist :
who (a poetic mind might feign) having
repented of his work, is now demolishing
it. It has probably been of much greater
extent, than it is at present. In 1791, the
churchyard of Middleton was nearly torn
away, and the church itself in danger ; be-
ing then, but a few yards out of the reach
of the waves. At Selsey and Bracklesome,
similar depredations were going on ; the
highest grounds, by giving the greatest re-
sistance, suffer the most.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 225
It also belongs to these remarks, to no-
tice a natural phenomenon, which takes
place, near the toot of the chalk hill, above
Walberton : where, a number of dimples,
dry basons, provincially " dell holes/' have
been formed, and are still forming, by some
invisible agent : doubtless, by the waters,
absorbed by the chalk, and, falling down to
the base of the hill, there finding a subter-
ranean passage, to the sea ; carrying with
it, of course, what loose matter it meets
with. And, if observations were made, it
would probably be found, that the sinking
of the surface happens, about the time that
the bourns of chalk hills usually break out ;
the phenomenon, under notice, being pro-
bably caused, by a subterranean bourn,
that break out, into the sea, at the same
season.
SEA FENCE. The great public work
of this District is the sea fence, which, in
some parts, may be said to preserve its ex-
istence, as a culturable country. In the
parts, above noticed, where the sea is tear-
ing away the highest and best lands, no
fence I believe is attempted ; the water,
there, being deep, by reason of the reflux
214 DISTRICT.
of the waves, on having met with resistance/
And, even could " grynes" be formed, the
recoil would prevent the requisite accumu-
a tion of materials, to form the fence.
In some parts, as that mentioned to the
west of Selsey, a natural fence is thrown
up, by the sea. There are not, at least, any
signs, at present, of art having been used.
This fence consists of a high narrow ridge
of flintv gravel ; showing a steep face on
the land side, of ten or more feet in height ;
the side, towards the sea, being less steep ; —
shelving with a gentle slope, under deep
water.* The sea rises, of course, to the top
of the bank (the gravel having been thrown
up by it), and, in tempestuous weather,
doubtless, breaks over it. I rode upon itr
during a high tide, and a strong southerly
wind, when the water rose, to within three
feet of the top ; while the eye, when riding
at the foot of the bank, on the margin of
the marshes, could not perceive the waves :
• Resembling, in a striking manner, the artificial
bank or " sea wall" of Romney Marsh! The bold un-
dertaker of that great work having, perhaps, copied the-
beach banks, la its neighbourhood.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 225
even, then, it was four or five feet above
the level of the marshes.
Remarks. The natural law, by which
these gravel banks, or natural sea walls, are
formed, appears to be, simply, that of an
impelling force, without recoil, or counter-
action. The loose gravel, deposited at the
bottom of the ocean, is forced up, by the
violence of the waves ; which, meeting with
no resistance, spend themselves, and return
leisurely ; leaving the gravel thrown up,
in the place, or nearly in the place, where
they lodged it ; every succeeding wave im-
pelling it forward, until it reach the extent
of their force ; and, of course, has been
raised to a height, which cannot be over-
topped, but by an effort, equal, or nearly
equal, to that which raised it.
In the early stages of growth, of a bank
of this nature, every high tide, and every
tempestuous wave, breaks over it ; and, in
this state, it is injurious, rather than useful,
to the lands that lie behind it ; the wa-
ters rushing upon them with double force.
Hence, probably, the low flat of marshes',
behind the line of beach under notice : the
soil and subsoil having probably been torn
VOL. II. Q
226 DISTRICT.
away, by this means, and carried into the
estuary, to the eastward of the island.
In this view of the formation of beach
banks, it is evident, that no other material,
than gravel, or small stones, can be em-
ployed. It mast be of such a nature, that the
waves can move it, with freedom ; yet heavy
enough to lie firmly where it is lodged;
until it be impelled forward, by another
wave. It must neither be of a perishable,
nor a volatile nature ; but such as neither
wind, nor water (unless in a violently agitat-
ed state) can move. Sand is capable of being
forced up, by the sea, as gravel, into banks
or ridges; but, in that state, it only be-
comes more liable to the sport of the winds,
than it is on a level surface. And unless it
be arrested, by natural or artificial means,
it is presently blown back into the sea, or
scattered over the adjoining lands.*
On that part of the coast, under notice,
where marl and loam form the shore, or
margin of the sea, an artificial fence is
* For an account of the Marram banks, or na-
tural sea walls of the Coa«t of Norfolk, see the Rural
Economy of that County, Vol. II. Min: 106. S<-c also
Romney Marsh, in Vol. I. p. 392.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 227
obliged to be made, at a great expence ; to
catch what little gravel, or hard materials,
are thrown up by the waves. This is ef-
fected by two lines of strong dwarf paling,
placed a few feet from each other; forming
cases, provincially " grines," to retain what-
ever is thrown into them; and, it is pos-
sible, that the beach banks, above described,
may have had their origin, in a similar ex-
pedient * This, however, being as it may,
the artificial fences are not yet sufficient, to
prevent very high tides from overflowing
them, to the damage of the country. I saw
a fine piece of wheat very much injured
in part destroyed— by the sea having broke
in upon it.
Perhaps Marram (arundo arenaria) or
some other marine plant, might assist in
* These banks reach, from the Isle of Selsey, to
Bracklesome, where a Roman causeway commences:
and it may have been originally formed, to prevent the
flat country, between the landing place and Chichester,
from being inundated.
Tradition, however, relates, that, during a violent gale
of wind, a gap was torn, in this beach bank; and that,
after every human endeavor had been employed, in vain'
to repair the breach, another tempest made good the
defect. This renders it probable, that it is, originally,
a work of the waves.
22g DISTRICT.
raising the beach, in these parts, more ra-
pidly, and firmly, than the grines alone.
TIDE MILLS. The inlets and creeks,
with which the western quarter of the Dis-
trict, in particular, abounds, are frequently
turned to a valuable purpose; by which
innumerable situations, of a similar kind,
on everv coast of the kingdom, might pro-
fit. Yet the tides continue to flow into
them, in vain ; while rtvtr mills are suffered
to destroy, or injure, land of the first qua-
lity ; and prevent the improvement of still
more, that might be made highly valuable
to society. On the contrary, tide mills, in-
stead of wasting land, tend to create it.
The method of obtaining a tide mill is,
merely, that of running a dam, across the
branch of an inlet, or estuary ; leaving a
narrow passage, generally near one end,
and, at this gap or opening, to place the
mill. A quantity of w ater being forced, by
the tide, to the upper side of the dam,
through valved 5, made for this pur-
pose, a mill pool is formed ; and, with the
water thus pent up, the mill is worked,
Until the return of the tide : when the pool,
in a few hours., is again replenished.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 229
The foul water, forced up by the tide,
being kept long in a stagnant state, has
time to deposit its foulness; and thus tends,
eventually, to convert the mill pool, into
a marsh, or meadow ground.
Remarks. I do not mean to speak of
tide mills, as being peculiar to this part of
Sussex ; having observed them, in different
parts of the Island. But, perhaps, there are
ten opportunities of erecting them neglect-
ed, for one embraced : indeed, in many
parts of the kingdom, they are unknown :
and every means of lessening the number of
river mills ; especially of those turned
by brooks, and rivulets, in rich vale dis-
tricts ; ought not only to be universally
known, but to be forthwith applied. The
interests of agriculture, and the welfare of
the country, demand it.
For WATER CARRIAGE, the District
is singularly well situated. Each creek has
its landing place. At Ford, near the mouth
of the Arun, is a commodious wharf: and
Chichester has its port or key, within a few
miles of it.
And, in ROADS, it is equally well ac-
commodated. Flinty gravel, the first of
233 DISTRICT.
road materials, is almost everywhere abun-
dant. But, in the excess of this abundance,
a new road, or one recently mended, is al-
most as difficult to travel on, as the beach
banks, thrown up by the tide. If a thin-
ner coat v. ere laid on ; or some strong loam
spread over t. e surface, in such manner, as
to indkiee the gravel to bind, the traveller,
at least, would find an advantage.
The TOWNSHIPS are below the middle
This is a strong circumstantial evi-
dence, that the lands of the District were
not onlv brought to their present form, but
cultivated, before the laying out of town-
ships. It is probablv one of those rich plots
of oomtfy, that were earlv cultivated, and
full of inhabitants, v\hile the mountains,
swamps, and less genial soils, remained in
a state of nature.
STATE OF IXCLOSURE. The Dis-
trict, in general, is divided into well sized
inclosures, v% ith straight fences : mostlv live
hedges. In the Isle of Seise v, I observed
some common field land: also about Chi-
chester. And, below it, some open com-
mons ; part of which were then (1791)
under inclosure.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 231
Conducting public inclosures. The
mtendedjields and lanes onBirdham common
were, then, (in October) marked out, and
the roads made: a good plan of proceeding.
The road materials were got on, in sum-
mer, without cutting up the lands, or dis-
turbing the unfinished road: and, in winter,
and spring, when fencing materials were
wanting, there would be a firm road, to
convey them upon, to the respective allot-
ments.
The PRESENT PRODUCTIONS of
the District are, principally, arable crops;
with some rich grazing grounds and
marsh lands, towards the eastern side of
the main division, on the banks of the
Arun ; as well as on those of the Adur,
opposite Shoreham ; but with very little
wood ; except what the hedges produce ;
and these in many parts, are well stored
with timber trees; chiefly oak and elm.
The richness and luxuriance of growth,
which all its productions wear, give this
District, perhaps, more intrinsic ORNA-
MENT, than any other unbroken flat, of
equal extent, can claim : and very few in-
deed, can equal it, in the picturable effect
DISTRICT.
of its surrounding objects. The beautifully
broken and wooded scenery of the Downs,
rises full to the eye, in every part. And,
on the other hand, the sea; which, to the
south, is open and unbounded ; while to the
west, it is diversified bv islands and head-
lands, and finely distanced, by the Isle of
Wight : furnishing scenery of singular gran-
deur, from particular points of view.
AGRICULTURE.
FARMS. In size, they are of the middle
cast. I observed few verv small ones. And
those of two or three hundred pounds, a
year, though not unfrequent, are esteemed
of a large size. Hence, in this particular,
the favored District, under view, is fortu-
nately circumstanced.
The leading characteristic, of farms in
general, is arable ; except towards the banks
of the estuaries, where grazing forms a joint
character.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 333
Upon the whole, perhaps, it may be said,
that, the climate apart, there are few situa-
tions more to be desired, by a professional
man, than the Sea Coast of Sussex.
FARMERS. Besides the tenantry of the
farms, above mentioned ; there are, I under-
stand, many substantial yeomen, and some
few gentlemen, who cultivate their own
lands, in the higher, more healthy, parts of
the District.
SERVANTS. The time of changing
servants, here, as throughout the Southern
Counties, I believe, is Michaelmas. On the
10th of October, the day I went over the
western part of the District, the roads were
crowded, with farm servants, leaving their
places, and hying to the fair. It was a com-
plete holiday s not a team to be seen ; or
a stroke of work going forward : not with*
standing every exertion was, at that time
required, to accelerate the wheat sowing.
This evil of changing servants, at Mh
chaelmas, will again be noticed in the Isle
of Wight ; also in the Minutes in Surrey.
BEASTS OF LABOR. Entirely horses,
of the heavy sorts ; and fat enough for the
butcher ! Not an ox to be seen, at work ;
234 AGRICULTURE.
not even in the more grassland parts of the
District. But breeding is not, here, an
object: and buying in grown oxen, to
workafew years, previously to their be-
ing fatted, has not yet gained a footing.
IMPLEMENTS. Waggons, here, run
fullsix feet, from middle to middle of the ruts !
The ordinary plow of the District is the
one- wheeled plow of West Sussex.
The OBJECTS and plan of husban-
dry, here, appear to be similar to those of
the District of Petworth. Corn is the
chief dependence: early lamb the next:
with some fatting sheep and bullocks,
in the more grazing parts of the District ;
and pasturing swine, in every part.
The CROPS are wheat, oats, peas,
turneps, tares, clover, and some flax;
with a portion of barley : but the soils of
the District are said to be unfavorable to
this crop ; growing it, perhaps, too rank
and thick-skinned. Wheat is the prevalent
and profitable crop. Yet no beans, on this
powerful wheat land !
TILLAGE. The usual plow team is
four horses. But this is the more excuse-
able, as what plowing, I particularly ob-
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 235
served, was done with a deep, clean, well
turned furrow ; and the land, in general,
wears the appearance of being in a good
state of cultivation.
In barlevseed time, three horses, at length,
or two and one, were a common plow team ;
and in some instances, only two, but with
drivers. How suitable a District for whip-
rein plows.
The lands, or beds of plowed grounds,
are well proportioned, in width, to the ab-
sorbency of the given subsoil. Over the
gravel, they are wide flat beds ; — but where
the subsoil is of a more retentive nature, as
strong loam, the lands are narrow : a dis-
crimination and accuracy of management,
which does credit to the District.
MANURE. In another instance of prac-
tice, however, an extraordinary want of
discernment has, lately, been made evident.
Formerly, and until within the last fourteen
years, it was the invariable practice of the
District, to fetch chalk, from the quarries
of Houghton, or other distant pits, and fa-
gots, from the hills, to burn lime, in the
area of the flat; even to the verge of the
sea : and had it not been through the for-
136 AGRICULTURE.
tuitous, but fortunate circumstance, of a
London tradesman turning farmer, the Dis-
trict might still have been toiling on, in its
old track.
This "sky farmer," (and such he was
aptly named, for had he really dropped from
the skies he could not well have brought a
greater blessing to the country) seeing the
same looking sort of material, as that which
he procured at a great expence, exposed
on the sea shore, and even showing itself,
at the bottoms of his ditches, he collected
some of the " white sea stones/' and threw
them into his lime kiln, by way of experi-
ment. The result was, they came out, in
the same valuable state of manure, as that
which he was obtaining, at a much greater
cost, from " chalk."
Again, observing that this white marine
fossil fell, or broke down, on being exposed
to the atmosphere, he carted some upon his
land, as marl ; and the effect was such, as
to draw the eyes of his neighbours: who
have, ever since, been striving who shall
collect the greatest quantity of this u fa-
mous sea marl." Those who live near the
coast, collect it off the beach, at low water:
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 237
those whose lands lie, at a greater distance
from the sea, dig pits in their fields; and,
at not more, perhaps, than three or four
feet deep, find the treasure, which had lain,
there for ages ; and which might have re-
mained, there, for ages to come, had not an
experiment discovered its value.
Remark. This extraordinary discovery
shows, not only the utility of making ex-
periments, but the use of natural and
chemical knowledge, with respect to fos-
sils : for no man, possessed of even a small
share of these, could have passed this cal-
careous substance unnoticed. If tenants can-
not be supposed to enter into the mysteries
of nature and science, surely, in proprietors,
or their agents, a sufficient knowledge of
these things might reasonably be exerted.
Indeed, unless in cases where long leases
are granted, researches of this kind belong
to the managers of estates, solely. And, in
every case, the advantage, eventually, rests
with proprietors.
A striking instance of the great improve-
ment that may be made, on the value of
land, by attentions of this nature, occurs in
another part of the District under view ;
where the light barren lands, that have been
238 AGRICULTURE.
mentioned to lie, near the feet of the Chalk
Hills, and which, a few years ago, were not
worth five shillings, an acre ; being chiefly
over run with furze ; now bear abundant
crops of corn, and wear the appearance of
being worth three times their former rent.
This improvement had been made, and (in
1791) was continued to be made, by means
Of MARL, Or SOFT CHALK, dug OUt of the
foot of the hill, of the same nature, and per-
haps part of the same stratum, that breaks
out at the sea shore.
WHEAT. On enumerating the objects
of agriculture, it lias been remarked, that
wheat is the prevailing crop. In May, one
third of the lands, even in the more grass-
land quarter of the District, appeared to be
covered with rank luxuriant wheat. And,
in October, near half the lands, of the more
western quarter, appeared to be, then,
under preparation for this crop ; which,
throughout the District, may be said to oc-
cupy the arable lands, every second year ;
and, alternately, with any other crop ! as
wheat, oats, wheat : wheat, clover, wheat :
wheat, turneps, wheat : wheat, fallow,
wheat.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 239
Nevertheless the produce, which is said
to be reaped, is almost incredible. Five
quarters, an acre, is deemed an ordinary
crop : six or seven are spoken of familiarly.
Indeed, from what fell under my own
observation, in the transient views I took
of it, this District appears to comprize the
most good wheat land, and to be, on the
whole, the most valuable arable district, of
equal extent, in the Island. There are dis-
tricts of rich fen, or carse land, that, in a
favorable season, may equal it in produc-
tiveness ; but there are few seasons, I ap-
prehend, in which wheat, at least, may not
be sown, with a degree of certainty, on the
lands of the Sea Coast of Sussex.
GRASSLANDS. Of these a four fold
distinction may be made. The rich upper-
land grazing grounds, in the eastern quar-
ter of the main body of the District : the
cooler, less productive marshes, and com-
mons, towards the western extremitv : the
u brooklands" or embanked salt marshes,
by the sides and at the mouths of the estu-
aries: and the "slipes," or open marshes,
liable to be overflowed, by every high tide,
or extraordinary swell of the sea.
24o AGRICULTURE.
The grazing grounds are of a singu-
larly fertile nature. Some of them wear evi-
dent vestiges of culture: others appear, as if
thev had never been broken up, by the plow.
Some of these old grasslands have, of late
years, been subjected to aration ; the tenants
paying a valuable consideration, for the pri^
vilege of plowing them.
The slipes are literally saltmarshes. The
pools of water, that stand in the troughs
and dimples, are salt to the taste : vet the
herbage is highly saccharine. It consists,
chiefly, of a short, rigid, bristly grass, like
the hard and sheep's fescues. Being, at the
time I saw it, short, without seed stems,
thin on the ground, and standing erect, the
surface looked bald, and brown, almost, as
a fallow. Nevertheless, these lands are said
to carry about two sheep, an acre ; to fat
them very fast ; and, in no case, to taint
them with the rot.
This last is a fact which ought to be
duly estimated, by every one, who attempts
to explain the nature of that fatal disorder.
CATTLE. This is not a breeding dis-
trict. The few dairy cows, I observed, were
of various breeds ; as Alderney, Welch,
SEA COAST OF StJSSEX. 341
Sussex. Of the last, however, I saw few.
So that the middle-horned variety is con-
fined, between the two lines of Chalk Hills.
See Weald of Kent, Vol. I. page 350.
The fatting cattle, which I saw, on
the western bank of the Arun, were like-
wise of different breeds ; but, in general, of
a superior quality : as East Sussex oxen of
the largest and best mold ; worth to the
grazier, as lean cattle, fifteen to eighteen
pounds, a bullock, in 1791 : also Pembroke-
shire oxen of the first description ; with
some "West Country" oxen — apparently
of Somersetshire — of a good quality.
These bullocks are chiefly purchased, and
many of them sold when fatted, at fairs or
stock markets, held every fortnight in the
grazing season, at Chichester, and Arundel.
Of the SHEEP of this District I saw little.
When I went over it, in May, the lambs
were gone to market ; and, in the beginning
of October, the fresh stock of ewes had not
arrived. The practice, with respect to early
lambs, I understand, is nearly the same,
here, as in the District of Petworth.
The sheep which I saw, in the grazing
grounds, were chiefly wedders, of the West -
vol. 11. R
242 AGRICULTURE.
Down breed. There are none, I believe,
reared within the District.
SWINE. The breed, which I observed
most prevalent, here, is the mottled one,
that is common to Berkshire, Hampshire,
and Surrey ; with a mixture of the Chinese,
or other Oriental breed.
The only circumstance, that drew my
notice, to this species of livestock, in the
passage of country under view, was that of
seeing them, in the middle of May, scat-
tered over its area, in herds, away from ha-
bitations, feeding on clover, tares, or other
herbage, as a species of pasture stock.
Here, sows not only farrow, in the fields,
but are said to rear their fares, there, on
herbage and water alone !
Remarks. Possibly, there is something
in the nature of these rich lands, peculiarly
favorable to this species of stock. And the
practice of treating them, as mere grami-
nivorous animals, having gained an esta-
blishment, here, proceeded by degrees, along
the banks of the Arun, until it reached the
district last treated of; where, meeting with
a less fertile soil, it is confined to the brook-
lands. See page 203.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 243
STATE OF HUSBANDRY. In the
foregoing sketch, the management of this
District appears, in a favorable point of
view; and, I believe, in its true light. The
lands, in every part, that I more particu-
larly observed, were free from offensive foul-
ness, and appeared to be in a good state of
tillage : yet the quantity of tillage given,
I understand, is not great.
Remarks. The husbandly state, in which
this District, in general lies, is probably
owing to the absorbency of the soils, and the
depth of plowing, which appears to be com-
mon to the District, and which serves to
increase their absorbency ; as well as to
the rankness of the crops it bears. The soil,
it is said, is " not given to couch." It cer-
tainly is peculiarly free, from this pest of
arable land. And even couch grass, though
present, may not flourish, in a soil which
bears a rank,close,thickset crop, every year,
or whenever it is not undergoing a course
of tillage, or cleansing crop. It is thin,
weak crops, which give encouragement to
couch. Nevertheless, there may be some-
thing in these marine lands, that is un-
friendly to this weed.
R2
244 AGRICULTURE.
IMPROVEMENT. There are very
few Districts, in which I have seen less to
mend, than in the highly favored District
under view. Measuring it by common rules,
there is evidently a want of grass land, of
natural or cultivated herbage, in the area
of the principal flat. But a country capable
of bearing five quarters of wheat, an acre,
every second year, may require its own
plan of management. Nevertheless, I am
of opinion, that were more land kept in a
state of herbage ; and, in consequence, a
greater number of livestock maintained,
the natural fertility of the soil might be
rendered more durable, than it probably
will be, by the present exhausting course
of management.
This being as it may, there is one great
and evident improvement, to be made, on
this passage of country : that of rendering
it HEALTHY.
I do not mean to represent the Sea Coast
of Sussex, as being very unhealthy. It is
but common policy, in those who occupy
its lands, to speak of it, as being so. But
there are, in reality perhaps, few arable dis-
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 245
tricts, of equal extent, that do not enjoy a
better air.
It has been suggested, that the degree of
insalubrity which belongs to it, be it more
or less, proceeds from the stagnant waters,
that are suffered to remain, within its area.
These waters, not only encourage the pro-
duction of insects, and reptiles, whose pu-
trid remains pollute the air, in summer; but
they tend to load it with chilling vapors, in
the cooler months. If these are not the sole
causes of its present unwholesomeness, no
one will deny that they contribute to it.
To do away entirely, every appearance of
stagnant water, from so flat a surface, might
be found difficult. Yet, I am of opinion,
that, by pursuing evident and known prin-
ciples, every difficulty might be so far over-
come, as to render the entire District freer
from surface water, than vale districts, in
general, are.
An ACT OF DRAINAGE, with COMMIS-
SIONERS to see it executed, would, in course,
be the first step to be taken* If merely
* Since these remarks were written, I have been in-
formed that such commissioners are already empowered.
246 AGRICULTURE.
scoweri ng the brooks and the rivulets,
from the estuary or the sluice, up to the
ditches and water furrows of the plowed
lands, were found insufficient, to draw off
the surplus of the water, which falls on the
surface, draining mills should be employ-
ed, to quicken the draught. Tide mills, of
a simple construction, might be employed
to empty the receiving canals (if necessarv)
into the estuaries, and the ordinary wind
mill of the Eastern Counties* might be
made to throw it, with equal facility, into
those receptacles ; if such should be found
necessary.
Filling up the present water fences, and
every other unnecessary lodgement, and by
these means, giving a free current to rain
water, from the interfurrows in which it is
collected, to the sea, would be the ultimate
object, and the completion of the under-
taking.
The cost of this improvement, even sup-
posing it to require two sets of mills, would
be inconsiderable, compared with the rental
value of this plot of rich country. Even
humanity, towards the lower class of inha-
* See Norfolk, Vol. II. p. 282.
SEA COAST OF SUSSEX. 247
bitants, zvho, by the laws of their country, are
bound to abide by it, is a sufficient induce-
ment, to effect it. And the increase of the
rents of lands might repay the cost, with
tenfold interest. Perhaps, one set of mills, to
raise the waters, at the sluices, and throw it
into the estuaries, or the sea, would be found
abundantly sufficient to effect the required
improvement.
THE ISLE
OF
WIGHT.
IN THE MONTH of October, 1791, in
my way from Sussex to Devonshire, I spent
a week, on the Isle of Wight ; and not only
saw, but literally traversed, almost every
square mile of its surface ; by the following
routes. From Ryde, by Wotton Bridge,
to Newport. Newport to St. Catherine's,
Nighton, St. Laurence (under Cliff;) back,
by Appuldurcomb and Godshill, to New-
port. Newport, by Atherton and Ashey
Downs, to Brading; back (on the opposite
side of the valley) by Sandown Marshes and
Fort, Lake, Shanklin (parish,) and Ather-
ton, to Newport. Newport, by Caersbrook
and along the Downs, to near Freshwater ;
back by Thorlcy (near Yarmouth) Wellow,
ISLE OF WIGHT. 249
Green, Shafleet, Newtown, and across the
forest, to Newport. Newport, byGatcomb,
and Chale (at " the Back of the Island")
Athersfield, Brixton, &c. ; and back across
Brixton Downs, by Idlecomb and Caers-
brook, to Newport. And, beside these
lengthened rides, I examined, more leisure-
ly, the neighbourhood of Newport ; finally,
tracing the line of country, between New-
port and Covves.
The SITUATION of the Isle of Wight
is so well known, as not to require descrip-
tion, here. It is, pretty evidently, a frag-
ment, torn from the main land, in some
violent struggle of contending elements.
Not only the outlines, but the lands, on
either side of the narrow sea which now
separates them, answer to each other.
At present, it forms part of the county of
Southampton ; to which it has long been
joined, politically, and to which, by situa-
tion, it naturally belongs.
The EXTENT, supposing it equal to a
circle of fifteen miles in diameter, is one
hundred and seventyfive square miles ; or
one hundred and ten thousand acres.
In ELEVATION, the Isle of Wight
exceeds most, or all, the British Isles, of
25o DISTRICT.
equal extent. The chalk cliffs of Fresh-
water, and the rocky heights of St. Cathe-
rine, vie with the cliffs of Dover. Never-
theless, the north side of the Island, towards
the main land, is comparatively low ground.
But it is, and ever has been, out of the wa-
ter's way ; except at the eastern extremity,
about Brading, where there are some wa-
terformed marsh lands.
Its SURFACE is strongly featured ; but
no where broken, or rugged ; excepting
the sea cliffs, to the south and west ; and
excepting some grotesque sandy hillocks,
in the valley between Sandown and New-
port. There is, nevertheless, peculiar va-
riety, in the configuration of this valuable
little fragment : a fair specimen of Albion's
fair self. It might, with little latitude, be
said to possess every distinguishing charac-
ter of the parent Island : bearing its very
semblance, in the species and variety of its
surface, its soils, and their productions.
What gives greater variety, to the face
of this little Island, is a natural bisection ;
occasioned by a deep narrow valley, which
divides it, into two nearly equal parts.
Through the middle of the western divi-
sion runs a range of chalk hills, terminating
ISLE OF WIGHT. 25l
in the Freshwater or Needle -Cliffs. The
north side of this " hog's back/' or ridge of
naked downs, shelves, with an easy slope,
to a flat vale country ; resembling the vale
lands of Kent, Sussex, and various parts of
England.
To the south of these hills, lies a singu-
lar plot of country, called " the Back of
the Island:" comprizing about ten square
miles of sandy lands ; lying in two stages.
The upper stage, at the immediate skirts of
the Chalk Hills, has a billowy, varied sur-
face, with a weak unproductive soil ; the
lower, is a flat of rich productive sandy
loam. Yet, even this, lies twenty, thirty,
or in some places, perhaps, forty feet above
the tide : exposing a steep broken cliff;
liable to be worn away, by tempestuous seas.
The eastern division is still more diversi-
fied. The center is occupied by a chalk
swell, (Ashey Down) : but it is of small
extent, and tame, comparatively with the
western heights. To the north of this, is
a weak cold woodland district ; varying
however in soil and surface ; much resem-
bling the upland parts of the wild of Kent
and Sussex. See Vol. I. p. 336.
252 DISTRICT.
To the south of Ashey Down, lies the
Valley of Sandown, or Brading, which
has been noticed, and which reaches from
near the center, to the eastern extremi-
ty of the Island ; where it terminates in
a barren gravelly flat, round Sandown fort,
with marshes and mudbanks below Brading.
Thence, along the coast, bv St. Helen's, to
Ryde, is an upland, well soiled line of country.
On the south of Sandown Valley, the face
of the country rises, with a bold ascent, to
the heights of St. Chatherine ; or rather a
chain of heights, which reach from thence
to Dunnose; appearing with strong moun-
tain features ; large rotund knolls, sepa-
rated, by deep sunk vallies, and coombs ;
and, towards the sea, by gashes of an ex-
traordinary kind ; — provincially "chines";
— resembling the fissures, or dingles, of
mountain scenery ; and, like these, probably,
have been worn by the waters of heavy
rains, rushing headlong down the steeps.
This range of heights is cut off, towards
the sea, by a line of high perpendicular
cliff; at whose feet lies an extraordinary
passage of country : a narrow slip, it is
true ; but of sufficient extent, to have en-
ISLE OF WIGHT. 253
gaged ecclesiastic attention ; the church of
St. Laurence standing on this peculiar site.
Judging from the ruggedness of the sur-
face, and the want of soil, or sediment of
superincumbent foul waters, on some of its
protuberating rocky parts ; as well as the
height, which it rises above the tide, and
which varies from ten to thirty or forty
feet ; seeing, likewise, the height of the
cliffs, above it ; perhaps two hundred feet ;*
and the materials of which they are formed ;
namely rock ; and apparently of a similar
nature with the large fragments which lie
at their feet ; — there can be little doubt of
its having been formed, by the fracture
and fall of the face of the cliff; — the sea
having, in all human probability, first un-
* This estimate may be too high. The eye is liable
to be deceived, by an association of objects, and
to be led astray, as well as to be set right, by com-
parison. This Islet being small, its hills and its
vallies are comparatively large. The hill of St. Ca-
therine seen from the environs of Newport, appears
a very mountain rising to the clouds ; yet the ascent to
it is easy, and it is surmounted without difficulty ; and
is, in truth, a mere hillock, compared with the interior
hills of England.
254 DISTRICT.
dermined it ; by washing out an earthy
stratum, at the base.
This being as it may, I have no where
observed, so great a variety of fossil, and
vegetable productions, within so small a
compass. The rock is of varied quality,
and seamed with earths of different appear-
ances. In a dry wall, which had recently
been built, with the fragments of the dis-
persed rock, scarcely two stones appeared
to possess the same component parts ; the
variety seemed endless. Out of the face of
the cliff, shrubs and herbaceous plants are
seen, in great abundance ; and, to the eye
glancing over them, the species appear nu-
merous. In the cryptogamia tribes, this
passage seems equally prolific. The rup-
ture would, of course, disclose many seeds,
that had been locked up from the atmo-
sphere, from the day the present surface of
the earth was formed, to the time of the
fracture ; and, add to this, not only the
marine plants, natural to the shore, but
other plants, partially irrigated with the
spray of salt water, may increase the va-
riety. So that the passage of surface, under
ISLE OF WIGHT. 255
view, is not only interesting to the geolo-
gist, but is worthy of the more minute
researches of the naturalist.
The CLIMATURE, from what infor-
mation I gathered, is forward ; and appears
genial to vegetation ; except to that of trees,
on the more exposed heights, and on the
south side of the Island ; where the few that
are seen, are shorn, in a remarkable man-
ner, by the southwest winds. On the Back
of the Island (which lies fully exposed to
these winds) even the hedges are cut, and
in great part perished.
It is nevertheless observable, that a shrub-
bery, containing exotic plants, on the bor-
der of Sandown flat, and fully exposed to
the sea, appeared to be in a luxuriant state
of growth. But Sandown Cottage (the late
Mr. Wilkes's) like Mount Edgecumbe, has a
skreen of high land, on the southwest ; and
it is not, I apprehend, sea air, so much as
an unbroken, unabating current, which is
unfriendly to vegetation. See the West
of England, Vol. II. page 35.
The surface WATERS are collected,
chiefly, by two small rivers, or well sized
brooks ; both of them rising out of the
256 DISTRICT.
rocky heights of St. Catherine. One of
them passes down the sandy valley, toBrad-
ing, at the eastern extremity of the Island ;
the other, down the valley which bisects it,
by Newport, to Cowes ; between which,
it takes the form of a winding, riverlike
estuary.
SOILS and SUBSTRATA. A general
idea, of the soils of this Island, has been
conveyed, in speaking of its surface. The
particulars will best appear, in the following
extracts from my Journal.
Ryde Ferry to Nezvport* On the coast,
and in the vallies about Wotton Bridge, &c.
the soil is apparently strong: good wheat
land. But, towards Newport, it is a thin-
ner, leaner, woodland soil. The subsoil,
in some parts, gravel : in others, a light-
colored stone rises to near the surface ;
large quarries being now worked ; appa-
rently, for building materials.
Newport to St. Catherine's, under Cliff, &c.
The soils, in this ride, are as various, as the
casts of surface. On the brink of the cliff,
near Nighton, half the cultivated stratum
is stones ; a sort of impure flints ; and the
* See the different routes, in page 248.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 257
higher swells, in general, seem to be of a
calcareous nature ; though little chalk ap-
pears, in this quarter of the Island. Black
Down, on the contrary, is a direct heath :
black vegetable mold, on sand or gravel :
a plot of the morelands of Yorkshire, or of
the heaths of Surrey, thrown in, here, as it
were to show from whence the Isle was
taken : this being, I believe, the only plot
of heath land it contains.
Newport to Brading{a\ong Ashey Down.)
The soil and subsoil, the very same, as
those of every other light, thin-soiled, chalky
down, in the kingdom.
Sandown to Newport. The whole way,
eight or ten miles (and perhaps three or
four miles in width) exhibits a light sandy
soil. To the eastward, very barren, but
not heathy. Towards Newport, it is more
fertile : tolerably good turnep and barley
land. The subsoil, to the east, a thirsty,
hungry sand : to the west, a flinty gra-
vel.
Newport to Freshwater. An uninter-
rupted covering of calcareous loam; mostly
of a pale chalky quality ; excepting a few
plots, of a stronger texture, and darker
vol. 11. S
258 DISTRICT.
color ; as is seen on the uppermost swells
of most, or all, chalk hills !
Freshwater, by Newtown, to Newport.
The soil, almost everywhere throughout
the flat, is cold and ungenial. Immediately
at the feet of the hills, towards Yarmouth,
it is singularly so. The ley grounds are
overgrown with coltsfoot, horsetail, and
other cold-soil weeds ; with scarcely a blade
or leaf of profitable herbage. Neverthe-
less, the soil itself has a fertile appearance :
to the eye, the very coomb of the District
of Maidstone ! And though analysis might
detect differential qualities, its extreme in-
fertility is doubtless occasioned, by the sub-
soil, on which it rests ; — a bed of clay.
Newport to the Back of the Island. The
finest township of land I have passed through
is that of Gatcom b (in the valley above New-
port) : much powerful generous land, pro-
ductive of corn or grass. The sea-coast
flat, is uniformly sand ; except a plot, be-
low Brixton ; a strong retentive soil : the
sand, too, varies in fertility. Some of the
rising grounds appear to be light, and
unproductive ; while other parts, about
Athersfield and Brixton, if one may judge,
ISLE OF WIGHT. 259
from the wheat stubbles, now upon them,
areofadesireable quality;— charming arable
land. The substrata of this flat, as seen
from the sea shore, are various. The im-
mediate subsoil is uniformly sand, or light
sandy loam ; — in most places, reaching three
or four feet deep. Below this, in one place,
that I more particularly examined, are
strata of stones, and colored earths; in
another, a deep bed of blue clay. The
whole liable to be torn away by the waves ;
the several strata now appearing fresh and
distinct, in the face of a perpendicular cliff,
ten to thirty or more feet high.
Eastward of Newport. How various the
soil. The hang of the swell, towards the
town, is a rich unctuous clay ; the top of
the hill, cold, pale, gluey, and unproduc-
tive. The slope, to the eastward, especially
towards the bottom, a light, sandy, gra-
velly soil ; but with a cold retentive base ;
the last a characteristic, which seems pretty
common, to the northeast quarter of the
Island.
Newport to Cowes and its environs. Mostly
a gravelly loam ; the lower lands, appa-
rently, of a stout productive nature: but
S 2
r6o DISTRICT.
the ris;.:i2: grounds, above ( :.re\vea:
part. iore of the cold Weald lands, of
north. . quarter. The substra-
tum r.. gravel: in some places, eight
or ten feet deep of clean road gravel .
In this detail, we see the diversity of lands,
occupy the surface of this Isle, and
are enabled to font gone judgment of their
separate and average values. In the neigh-
bourhood of Newport, in the valley above
it. and in the flat of the southern coa^
also on some of the hills or uplands, parti-
cularly those of Nighton, and in different
parts of the northeast quarter, we find lands
of But these make only a
.all portion of the lands of the Island; and
are far exceeded, in quantity, by those
l are weak, and under -productive.
The quantity of barren land, however,
inconsiderable. On the whole, it may be
said, thai there are few cultivated d'u
in England, of equal extent, whose lands,
collectively, are not of equal, or superior
fertility, to those of the Isle of Wight.
INHABITANTS. Those who may have
attended to the exports of corn, from the
e of Wighl doubt the accuracy of
ISLE OF WIGHT. 361
the above statement, respecting the produc-
tiveness of its soils. But its surplus produce
is to be accounted for, in the fewness of its
inhabitants, proportionably to the quantity
of its arable lands. There is no manufac-
tory, of any extent, in the Isle : nor any
place of commerce ; except Cowes ; which,
as such, is inconsiderable. The town of
Newport may be considered, merely, as the
residence of tradespeople, to supply the
country with extraneous products : and, in
traversing the country itself, it everywhere
appears to be thinly inhabited ; the villages
small, and widely scattered : except at the
Back of the Island, which has been, and in-
deed still is, fully inhabited ; though its
inhabitants may, lately, have considerably
decreased.*
Seeing this, it naturally occurs to an agri-
cultural mind, to inquire, how its harvests
are got in ? the answer is, by the assistance
of " miners," from the West of England.
* Back of the Island. The notice on my Jour-
nal, respecting the population of this passage, stands as
follows. " Inhabitants: — seemingly few: large farms,
and small villages : Kingston is a mere hamlet. Town-
skips: — yet, if one may judge from the number of town-
DISTRICT.
The present inhabitants, of this de-
lightful little morsel of earth, are most re-
spectable. There are several residences of
gentlemen ; and some very old families,
that have long been rooted, here. The
yeomanry, the larger farmers, and the
middle class, throughout, are superior to
those of most parts of England, in their
appearance, and manners. I had a good
Opportunity of seeing a large proportion
of them collected, at Newport, on one of
these occasions, which must, in the nature
of curiosity and fashion, bring the whole
Island together, — a plav. The lower or-
ders, too, are well personed, intelligent, and
decent in their manners. Those of the Back
of the Island, perhaps, are lea. Indeed,
they are spoken of, by their more refined
neighbours, as a distinct race ; as the simple
inhabitants of the back settlements ; who
ships, this plot of countr) has czict been populous:
being, still, six churches in it : an»! i: rablv, had
several more; as Walham, Athersfield, S
Yexford, &c. This recluse and easily culrurable spot,
was probably cultivated, early ; and heretofor. .
supported many times I
biu.v,
ISLE OF WIGHT. a63
live chiefly among themselves ; seldom mak-
ing their appearance, even at the capital ;
and rarely setting a foot off the Island.
The TOWNSHIPS are unequal, in size;
or the churches are unequally distributed :
the Back of the Island, and the western flat
towards Yarmouth, containing not more
than twenty square miles of surface, com-
prize near half the parishes of the Island,
which contains near ten times that extent,.
The Downs, however, which separate them,,
are probably laid to these lowland town-
ships.
The towns of Newport and Comes have
been noticed. The former is a respectable
market town, and happily situated: on good
land, in the center of the Island, yet within
the reach of the tide : the latter a mean sea
port. The town of Tar mouthy which I ap-
proached, but did not enter, appears to be
little more than a village, or fishing town ;
and that oiNewtoivn (another borough /) is a
mere hamlet ; the ruins of the church lying
on a narrow headland, between two creeks,
in a low, damp, dirty situation ; which was
probably chosen, while the flat in which it
lies, was in a wild woody state, by pirates.
DISTRICT.
or freebooters ; and which is of course de-
serted, in a state of civilized society.
ROADS. In 1791, they lay in their ?ia-
tural, flat state : there was not a turnpike,
or a raised road, in the Island , unless be-
tween Nev\ port and Cowes. Nevertheless,
the cross-countrv roads were travelabie, wi:h
carriages ; though it has been but of late
years, thev have been made so. A middle-
aged man remembered there being only one
chaise, and that for a single horse, in the
Island ! Now. even quartering carriages
are common.
The way reeves of the Isle of Wight have
hit upon a simple, and cheap method, of
forming ouarterings, in hollow ways, and
difficult places, where there was only one
narrow waggon track. In these cases, they
have merelv pared away the bank, on one
side, about two feet wide ; so as to form a
horse track, for one of the quartering horses
to tread , the other taking the be. idle
path of the waggon track. Bv ; _ady
alteration ; by filling in the ruts, and horse
tracks, with hard materials ; and paying
some attention to the offlets of water ; the
roads, in general, are kept in a fit to
ISLE OF WIGHT. 265
be travelled, by carriages of every kind ;
without toll; and without excessive cost to
the country.
STATE OF INCLOSURE. The chalk
hills are, here, as they are almost every-
where, open. I observed only one break,
or large inclosure, upon the West Downs.
But the lower margins, or skirts, towards
Caersbrook, are inclosed.
The stoney heights appear to be mostly
divided, into large inclosures ; except the
rich uplands of Nighton, which lie in a state
of open field.
The rest of the Island is inclosed ; and
mostly in well sized fields ; except " the
forest/' an extensive tract of wild lands,
in the northwest quarter ; and except a
suite of commons, in the northeast division,
between Newport and Wotton Bridge; and
these were, in 1791, progressively under-
going the profitable change, from a state of
rough, unproductive, wet, unhealthy com-
mons, to that of drained and cultivated in-
closures: not, however, by calling in the
costly aid of Parliament ; but by general con-
sent . a strong evidence of the happy state
of society, which this little Island enjoys.
:• ;■■'. DISTRICT.
The fences of these inclosures are mos
or have been, of live shrubs. Many of them
are old, as if they had originated in the na-
tural brushwood of the wild lands, and are
now wearing out ; requiring to be plashed
and pruned, to prolong their duration. At
the Back of the Island, most of the fences
are mere earth walls, or narrow mounds, co-
vered with brambles ; the perennial shrubs,
er present, having been cut off, entirely,
bv the southwest winds (to which they are
fully exposed) ; probably for want of being
kept down, in a low, thick, bushy state.
the eastern division of the Island, there
are many young hedges ; some of recent
inclosures ; the woods mostly hawthorn ,
, in a few instances, privet (ligustrum
rulgare, — the North-American hedgewood )
which, if kept pruned down, low, and
dwarfish, makes a close, tolerably secure,
and sightly fence.
Ln one or more instances, I observed, on
the most barren sandy lands, the furze, kept
down, in a low brushy form, with good
effect.
On the more bleakly exposed sites, I saw
the elder flourishing in the character of a
ISLE OF WIGHT. 267
hedge wood ; as I have heretofore seen it,
on the high wolds of Yorkshire.
In most parts of the Island, the hedges of
lanes are kept down, to the proper fence
height, and, in many places, the hedges,
between farm inclosures, are treated in a
similar manner.
At the Back of the Island, where this
precaution is most wanted, it seems to be
the most neglected. Perhaps, sloes, dib-
bled on the tops, and sides, of the naked
moundlets, of that District, would grow,
bind the banks together, and give a perpe-
tual fence at a small cost.
The ordinary field gate, of the Island,
is merely a strong bar hurdle ; with a stout
stake at either end, by way of posts. This
is a cheap means of communication. But it
is not sightly, nor can it be secure, against
resolute stock.
The PRESENT PRODUCTIONS are,
chieity, cultivated crops, and sheep pas-
ture; with a portion of woodlands;
some furze grounds; and an extent of
ROUGH COMMONABLE LANDS; but With Very
little lowland pasture, or meadow land;
except in the environs of Cowes and New-
26S DISTRICT.
port. And the marsh and ten lands, at the
east end of the Island, are of small extent.
The woodlands are chiefly confined, to
the northeast quarter of the Island : of
which near one third. I apprehend, is in a
state of wood : the values are mostly tilled
with timber oaks ; but, in general, they are
mossy and of a stinted growth. In the
northwest quarter, which is equally, or bet-
ter adapted, to the growth of oak timber,
trees are still more affected, by the cold un-
broken blasts from the sea ; and this may
unt for the comparative smallness of
quantity, in this Oakland part. Over the
rest of the Island, there are few, if any
zi'Oodld?ids. unless about the larger resi-
and very little bedgtfoyi timber. On
the upper grounds, or even on the flat at
the Back of the Island, there is scarcely a
; except a few decrepit, half-perished
elms, about villages, or the larger farm-
ds.
VIEWS. From the latter part of this
description, it may be conceived, that the
Lie of Wight is destitute of picturable ef-
fect ; and, in some parts, it certainty is
no extent of country is uniformly beautiful.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 269
But, whether the Isle of Wight be consi-
dered, as a passage, interesting in itself, or
as a place of view, commanding distant
scenery; it is capable of conveying* — to the
mind of an Englishman, whose taste is not
so far vitiated, as to render him incapable
of be'm<y. gratified, by the beautiful assem-
blage of features which may frequently be
caught in the face of his own country, — a
high degree of gratification.
The internal beauties of the Isle are
chiefly commanded (or might be) from a
single point of view : the summit of the
knoll, which rises to the east of Newport.
The entire circle is highly interesting. The
finely surfaced and wooded quarter, to the
northeast, with Spithead in the first dis-
tance, and the hills of Hampshire and Sus-
sex, in the offscape, form a broad, but ne-
vertheless, a rich and beautiful view. More
to the right, the valley kof Brading, with
its rugged hillocks, skreened, on the right,
by the heights of St. Catherine, with the
grounds of Appuldurcomb, hanging on their
steep and strongly featured surface, and dis-
tanced by the sea, compose a charming pic-
ture. Further to the right, the valley of
:-o DISTRICT.
Gatcomb affords a sweet home view ; and
still further, the well featured rising grounds,
the environs of Caersbrook,with the remains
of its castle, are finely picturable.
The remaining compartment of the circle
is filled with a broader view ; less adapted,
perhaps, to the pencil ; but more capable of
expanding, and filling with grateful and li-
beral sentiments, the mind of him who con-
templates it. The near ground, of this view,
is the steep-sided valley, below Newport ;
with its river-form estuary, serpentining, in
a happy manner, to its conflux with the
narrow sea, that separates it from the New
Forest : which, with the estuary of South-
ampton, fill the center of the view ; the
hills of Winchester rising in the distance.
The rich and varied country, on either
hand, spread their fair and ample surfaces ;
without intruding side skreens, to abridge
the view ; and rob the eye of its enjoy-
ments.
In the deep narrow dells, and folding
ridges, of the southern heights, much inte-
resting scenerv may be caught, and more
might be induced. And, in the chines and
rockv cliffs, of these heights, those who
ISLE OF WIGHT. 271
delight in the deformities and mutilations
of nature (for they can scarcely be called
nature's own productions) may gratify the
eye, and find employment for the pencil.
Of wider views, there are two remark-
able points ; one in the east, the other in
the western division of the Island. The
foot of the land mark, on Ashey Down,
affords the first. From this point, the an-
chorings of St. Helen's and Spithead, with
the singular intermixture of land and water,
in the neighbourhood of Portsmouth, back-
ed by the Hampshire and Sussex Downs,
are well commanded.
The other point is on Brixton Down ; —
a little above the barrow, in #Tiose bowels
an ingenious shepherd has found a snug
retreat. From this point the entire Island
is overlooked : the eye ranging with free-
dom, over almost every part of its surface :
while, on one hand, a boundless sea view,
or bounded only by its own convexity, pre-
sents itself; and, on the other hand, land-
scapes, whose boundaries also are left, for
the imagination to fix. The principal part of
Dorsetshire, part of Wiltshire, and the en-
tire southern declivities of Hampshire and
2-jz DISTRICT.
Sussex, with the distant Isles of Selsey and
Portland, are delineated, in a vast map;
drawn by Nature's unerring pencil ; and
communicating to the mind sensations, and
impressions, which all the maps and land-
scapes, of men's making, are unable to pro-
duce.
Remarks. I have here detailed the more
striking views of the Isle of Wight : not
merely on account of their beauty or su-
blimity, abstractedly considered ; but also
because they are capable of being rendered
useful, to the great end, for which I have
long been laboring. — The permanent im-
provement, and lasting prosperity of the
country.
The occupiers of lands, as men of every
other profession and rank in life, require re-
laxation. And although the needy husband-
man, borne down, perhaps, by an excessive
rent, exorbitant tithe and taxes, and a nume-
rous family, may be doomed to constant
labor, and unremitted attention, there is a
class of men, — by whom the major part of
the lands of this kingdom are, at present, oc-
cupied,— to whom its improved state of agri-
culture is owing, — and in whose exertions.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 273
properly directed, the country has to look for
farther melioration, — who are entitled to
recreation, — who do, and will, partake of
amusements ; and it becomes those who are
desirous to promote the public welfare, to
direct them to such objects, as will at once
amuse and instruct.
A man who has never crossed the bounds
of his native parish, unless in his way to
market, may manage well enough, accord-
ing to the established practice of his neigh-
bourhood. But little hope of improvement
can be placed in him. His mind requires
first to be improved. And this cannot be
more readily, and effectually done, than by
conducting him beyond the sphere of his
education ; and there showing him that the
same end is obtainable by different means :
thus leading him insensibly to consider,
whether his own means are the best ; or
whether those which he has seen, are pre-
ferable : and out of the comparison may
possibly arise those which are more eli-
gible than either. Indeed, it is scarcely
possible, that a professional man, who has
been early initiated in the habits of culti-
vation, should view an extent of cultivated
vol. u. T
:-, DISTRICT.
country, with- *ne profitable
impression, — v< ng his concep
.!, his judgment _:hened.
emulation r mind bent tov
the improvement of his native prac:
AGR ICU LTU R E.
FARMS. The CHARACTERISTl ms,
here, is arable; with sbeep doom, to those
which lie contiguous to the Chalk H.
The size is larg I [any capital farms
are seen, in different parts of the Island.
And, in no part, except perhaps in the Yar-
mouth quarter, are small ones observable :
even the Back of the Island, which.
memory, had numerous small holding
now bid into those oi a larg : many
a poor man h:. = ot far
left.
This, however, in a public light, might be
righ not the principle over-
ed : farms of a moderate size, doub"
send more produce to market, than
ISLE OF WIGHT. 2?s
same land could, in small holdings, in the
hands of the indigent. Principles, in o-e-
neral, are good or bad, as they are properly,
or improperly applied. In this, and other
parts of the Island, farms have not only
been enlarged, by an aggregation of small
ones ; but such as were already of sufficient
size, and which had suitable buildings, and
arrangements, for men of capital and spirit,
to exert them, are no longer the respect-
able residences of such men ; but are either
wholly deserted, or some corner of the
buildings is fitted up, for a bailiff, or upper
servant.
^ Remarks. A plurality of farms, as of
livings, is bad. One man, holding three or
four well sized farms, as some men in this
Island, I understand, do, and as many men,
in different parts of the kingdom, certainly
do, and these, perhaps, lying at a distance
from each other, cannot pay due attention
to the whole. It may answer the purpose
of an individual, as there is only one, in-
stead of three or four families, to be sup-
ported, by the same extent of land ; but, in
the deficiency and waste of produce, which,
in the nature of the rural profession, will
T 2
2-6 AGRICULTURE.
unavoidably take place, the community
come losers.
SERVANTS. The same inoonvei
and the serious evil to the communis. .
may sometimes result from it, is obs.
here, as in Sussex. When I went over
Island, the wheat sowing was nearly a: a
stand ; though the season was unusually fa-
vorable, for this important operation ;
which the price of bread is nearly c
nected. Surely, the custom of changing
FARM SERVANTS, at M ICH AELM AS, ling!/
broken through: especially in the Isle of
Wight, where a principal part of them are
employed, by so few individuals.
BEASTS OF DRAFT. Mostly roh
A few oxen are worked ; but chiefly, I be-
lieve, by gentlemen, or improving fan::
and not in the ordinary practice of the Isle.
The plea, for not using them, is a want of
grass: not being aware, that working oxen,
at least, should be fed in their stalls, with
cultivated herbage, green or dry, the year
round; or whenever they are in full work.*
The plow team is four heavy horses: —
even on the lighter lands! in a state of fal-
* 5cc Minutes of Agriculture, in Surrey.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 277
low ! ! An insufferable practice, which may
be said to be common to the Southern
Counties.
Tlie road team is of five horses. I saw
near twenty teams of this length, collected
together, at Newport market. Mostly thick,
good horses, in high condition.
IMPLEMENTS. The plow of the Isle
of Wight appears to be uniform, through-*
out the Island ; and corresponds, nearly,
or exactly, with that of the Hampshire and
Wiltshire hills, which will be noticed, in
the next district. It has two wheels of dif-^
fcrent sizes; that which runs in the furrow
being the highest. Its coulter is crooked ;
has a bend, below the beam; that its blade
may range (as it ought) with the sheath,
breast, or stem of the plow ; and its plate,
or moldboard, instead of being convex, or
bulging forward, like that of the Yorkshire,
or modern plow, is every way hollow ! How
infinitely various, at present, is the construc-
tion of this most valuable of human inven-
tions !
Its waggon, too, is that of the western
division of the Chalk Hills. It is large,
and runs wide ; five feet nine inches being
AGRICULTURE.
the common distance. I believe, betwee:.
middles of the ruts.
OBJECTS OF HUSBANDRY. The
two principal articles of etable pro-
duce are corn and sheep. Cattle and
dairy produce are subordinate
however, appear to be in great
number. And, en the stoney heights, some
rabbits are seen. Also a tew breeding
horses, on the appropriated lands ; with
wild ponies, in t it.
CROPS in CULTIVATION. The c
-KETable crc? is wheat. In the middle
of October, an extraord proportion
sown ; or the grcu. . then, |
pared for the operation ; and, chiefly, by
fallowing-- Barley also, judi I the
k, and the reports of infor-
mants, is a pre va. ling crc on the
cold lands, on the north side of the
Of oats I sa \nce ; of peas only
one small rick ; and 01 beams, only one
stubble. But others might ha\ e then
broken up, and in fallow, or escaped hoi
Oi ex :icps, for the support of
farm stock, the herbage of sheep downs is
not the least considerable. These are mostly
ISLE OF WIGHT. 279
in clean fine turf; except on the summits
of some of tne higher swells ; which are
fouled with furze, and a little heath ; in
the same manner, as those of Wiltshire and
Yorkshire! Owing, perhaps, to their being
capped with the same cold weak soil, as the
tops of other chalk hills.
Turncps mav be considered, as the next
object of farm expenditure. In 1791, there
appeared a large proportion of this crop ;
but, mostly, under vile management.
Of clover, also, some considerable pro-
portion appeared ; but of temporary ley
grounds very few, indeed ; and of lowland
grass, either in a state of pasture, or of
mowing ground, the proportion, as has been
said, is very small.
As a substitute for pasture lands, and
especially as green stable food, for work-
ing horses, tares, I understand, are culti-
vated in great quantity. Even in the middle
of October, I observed (at a distance) some
tall green herbage (apparently oats) cut-
ting ; and doubtless for this purpose. An
instance of sowing winter tares, with black
oats, as supporters, occurred to me : and
the reason given for sowing black, in pre-
28o AGRICULTURE.
ference to white, oats was, that they are
less liable to be cut off, by frosts: and this
may be a fact.
The most extraordinary circumstance,
which arose, in examining the crops of the
Isle of Wight, is that not an acre, nor even
a plant, of sainfoin met the eve ! even on
the whole extent of calcareous lands, that I
traversed ! I do not mean to assert, that
there is no one instance of sainfoin being
grown, in the Island. But, from the in-
quiries made, I learnt that there was, in
- 1, very little, if any, then growing!!
and the reason given, for this neglect of it,
was, that " it soon goes off": an extraordi-
nary circumstance, (seeing the nature of the
soil) which is only to be explained, in the
calcareous lands o{ this Island having been
repeatedly cropped, with this valuable plant;
or by some impropriety, in the manage^
ment of the growing crop. See Gloces-
iershike, — District of Maidstone, &e.
With respect to PARTICULARS! OF
MANAGEMENT, though I find many on
my Journals I am not prepared with a de-
tail : nor may the practice of the Isi.e of
Wight require one. Its weald lands re-
ISLE OF WIGHT. 281
semble, in soil and management, those of
the Wealds of Kent and Sussex ; its sandy
loams, and sheep economy, those of the Di-
strict of Petworth, and the Sea Coast
of Sussex ; and its Chalk Hills, as well as
the principal implements in use, throughout
the Island, are the same as those of the hills
of Wiltshire, and Hampshire; and will
be particularized, in the next part of this
Volume; — the Western Division of the
Chalk Hills.
Therefore, all I shall offer further, in
this part, will be a few notices, respecting
cattle, and sheep: with a general view of
the present state of husbandry ; and
such few suggestions of improvement, as
aptly rise out of it.
CATTLE. The breed of the Isle of
Wight (if it can be said to have one) is a
compleat medley. Its original stamina, or
bases, are evidently the Alderney, Norman,
orFRENCH breed, and the Devonshire, West
Country, or English breed ; and a few un-
debased individuals, of each of these breeds,
are seen ; having doubtless been imported :
for those which are bred in the Island are
of the first description. I saw several small
282 AGRICULTURE.
parcels of voung s*ock, in different parts of
the vale districts, on the north side of the
Isle ; and all of them were of base blood ;
mongrels of low degeneracy. In one herd,
the sire appeared, in all the deformity, which
crossing, with distinct and widely estra:.
varieties, is capable o'i producing.
Remarks on breeding. The cattle of
this Island strongly evince the impropriety
of mixing alien varieties . The first pro-
duce of distinct varieties, as of distinct spe-
cies, is frequently a valuable MULE. But
though the mules of varieties are permitted
to propagate, and in this differ from the
mules of distinct species; yet, judging from
the observations which I have made, in dif-
ferent parts of the kingdom, as well as from
the meager, ill formed creatures, that are
seen in the Island under view, thev pro-
pagate a degenerate race.
The descriptions of cattle, seen in the
Isle of Wight, beside the few oxen that are
worked, are dairy cows, — some rearing a
(as has been mentioned ) and, in the marshes,
at the east end of the Island, I observed a
few fatting eattle. But, on the whole, the
number is evidently small; and out of pro-
ISLE OF WIGHT. 283
portion, with the arable lands. The waste
of straw must, in course, be great.
The dairy produce of the Island is
butter ; for Portsmouth, and its own mar-
kets; and skim cheese; for the laboring class.
This part of the Wight ish practice has,
evidently, grown out of the circumstance
of locality, with respect to a market ; and
is of course proper. Yet, notwithstand-
ing the market, for dairy produce, and the
want of cattle to consume the straw of
the Island, I was well assured, that the
number of cows, on the south side or Back
of the Island, have greatly decreased, with-
in memory ; I was told, as ten to one : but
if, as three to one, the decrease, on ten
square miles of surface, must be great ;
owing to the recent aggregation of farms.
It is to be remarked, however, that the
lands, as well as the situation, of that quar-
ter of the Island, are better adapted to sheep,
than to cattle ; and, it is probable, that as
the cows decreased, the number of sheep
has been augmented.
But the vale lands, on the north side of the
Island, are adapted to cows, rearing cattle,
and dairy produce ; yet, here, I observed at
AGRICULTURE.
least one large flock of sheep; with but few
cattle, or grasslands to maintain them.
SHEEP. There are two breeds and
descriptions of sheep, in this Isle : one of
them belonging to the Downs ; the other
to the lower lands.
The first are breeding flocks, of the
Hampshire variety : but, from what I saw
of them, they are a degenerate kind ; small-
er, and won>e formed, than the true Hamp-
shire breed : owing, no doubt, to the prin-
ciples of breeding being less understood,
or less attended to : as well, perhaps, as to
a want of meadows, to force them in the
spring.
In 1791, the South Dozen breed had made
its entry, into the Isle of Wight. I ob-
served one large flock, on the Western
Downs, which was a motley mixture of the
two breeds ; and a good South Down ram,
among a flock of Hampshire ewes: animals
as little alike, in their present states, as the
horse and the ass : nevertheless, being, in
all human probability, offsprings from the
same root, their blood may the sooner, and
better assimilate*
• See West of England, Section Sheep.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 285
The other description of sheep are Dor-
setshire ewes, bought in, for the purpose
of providing early fat lambs, for the
London market ; agreeably to the practice
of the District of Petworth, described
aforegoing. These are common to the
Island; appearing in numbers, everywhere;
except on the higher Downs ; and consti-
tute the principal part of its livestock.
The time of lambing, here, as in West
Sussex, is Christmas, or a little after. In
the middle of October, I saw a large flock,
then full of lamb ; folding off turneps, for
wheat, on the vale lands, east of Newport.
In the management of these flocks, I met
with nothing, either from observation or
inquiry, which differs, materially, from the
practice above referred to.
Of folding I observed several instances;
a few of them being on fallow, or broken
ground ; but more on turnep ground ; both
of them, doubtless, intended for wheat.
STATE OF HUSBANDRY. Under
this general head, I will draw together such
the Southern Division of the Chalk Hills, in
this Volume.
286 AGRICULTURE.
notices, relating to this subject, as occurred,
in each day's excursion ; and which have
not already found a place, in the foregoing
particulars.
Southeast quarter of the Island* Much
foul bad farming, in this ride ; and several
of the bottoms, and lower hangs of the
hills, are cold, and rough skinned, for want
of underdraining. The higher slopes are
many of them formed into flat stages, with
steeps between them, of perhaps eight, ten,
or more feet in height. How has the sur-
face been moulded into this form ?t Ob-
served several instances of raftering, or rib-
bing, fallowed or broken grounds. The
manure, now setting on for wheat, is dung.
Saw no appearance of lime being used, in
this intention.
Newport to Brading, along Ashey Dozen.
The state of husbandry is similar to that of
other chalky districts 1
Brading to Newport, up the sandy valley.
The turnep crop is shamefully managed, in
this Island : not one acre, of ten, appears
* For the different routes, see page 248.
t For remarks on these extraordinary works of for-
mer times, see the next division of this Volume.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 287
to have been hoed. Today, I saw a wag-
gon load of charlock, an acre, where tur-
neps, doubtless, were intended : and, yester-
day, not a less burden of the corn bugloss !
— (lycopsis arvensis). The extraneous ma-
nure is chalk : large excavations appear on
the sides of the Chalk Hills; and the sandy
soils of the valley appear full of knobs, or
checkers of chalk. Formerly, much chalk,
(I was told by a professional man) was
burnt into lime ; but, now, it is mostly or
wholly set on, raw. Surely, a chalk mill
might be invented.* Four heavy horses are
the ordinary plow team, on this light land
passage ! What a crime ! The ricks, every-
where, as round as footballs : very globes:
turned with great accuracy, and neatness.
Through this ride, too, much foul land is
seen : the turnep culture is unpardonable ;
and the breed of cattle wretched. t
* See District of Petworth, page 176.
t The judgment, it has already been said, is liable
to be misled, through an association of objects; as well
as by unobliterated impressions. The temperament of
the mind itself, too, may bias the judgment. I passed
to the Isle of Wight, immediately from the Sea Coast
of Sussex, whose management is above par: and this
2S8 AGRICULTURE.
Newport, to the west end of the Island,
along the northern hang of the Chalk Dozens.
Nothing, in the general management of
these hills, struck me, either to commend,
or condemn ; it being similar to that of
other chalk hills !
From near Yarmouth, to Newport, over the
vale lands, of the northwest quarter. Much
dung setting on fallows, for wheat ; and
mostly in a middle state as to ripeness: but
some of it fresh from the stable: in a long
strawy state ! One field thickly chalked.
Many of the wheat fallows are clean, and
in fine tilth : indeed, the season has been
singularly favorable to fallows. But the
oat stubbles, and ley grounds, — if such they
may be called, — appear foul and weak.
This, it is true, is a difficult and dishearten-
might lower the estimation of that of the Island. But
my passage, from Portsmouth to Ryde, was pleasant, I
had a commodious chaise, from thence to Newport, and
a comfortable bed, at the Bugle : so that spleen or dis-
appointment could have no share, in the above remarks.
I do not mention these circumstances, lightly, or with
the vain thought of entertaining my readers; but to
deal candidly with them ; and to awaken the attention
of those who may hereafter have occasion, to pass sen-
tence on the rural management of a country.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 289
ing soil, to farm on. Fallowing for wheat,
instead of spring corn and ley herbage, ap-
pears to be the great error, in its manage-
ment.
Back of the Island. Here, the extraneous
manure is " marl," — an impure chalk, —
which is dug out of the sides of the hills ;
where extraordinary excavations appear;
as if it had been in use, for centuries past.
The state of the soil, as to cleanness and
tilth, is above par. Observed, on two or
three different farms, clean ley grounds.
For wheat, the soil is laid up, in narrow
ridges ; even on the light lands of this flat.
But it appears to be the common practice of
the Isle, without regard to soil ; as it is
throughout the West of England. On the
whole, this part of the Island is in a to-
lerably good state of cultivation : owing,
perhaps, to its being chiefly in the hands of
large farmers; of men who have capital,
and judgment, to manage it.
The vale lands, to the northeast of New-
port. Tiie arable lands, in general, are un-
pardonably foul. Very few good farmers.
Beside the particulars, here adduced, a
deficiency, or total want, of sainfoin, and
vol. 11. U
2go AGRICULTURE.
water meadows, (no instance of which oc-
curred to me) in a chalk hill country, re-
quires especial mention.
The IMPROVEMENTS, which risemore
prominently, out of the foregoing state-
ments, are some alterations in the general
ec o x o m y , or presen t plan of m a n age men t ,
of the Island at large, by reducing the quan-
tity of arable lands, and increasing the num-
ber of livestock. Thus, on the cold vale
lands, increase the quantity of permanent
grassland,* and the number of cows and
rearing cattle: on the sandy loams, increase
the proportion of ley herbage ; on the cal-
careous soils try, at least, to grow sainfoin + :
and on the sides of the calcareous rivulets,
form water meadows ; bv these means, en-
* For remarks on this process, see Weald of Sus-
sex, page 158. In the Isle of Wight, I saw an in-
stance, on a large scale, in the Valley of Gatcomb, of
arable lands being converted into perennial herbage, with
success; being used as grazing ground : of which there
is little, in the Isle. And the vale lands, which are
worked at a great expence, and with much uncertainty,
compared with the lands of Gatcomb, would doubtless
pay better for the change.
+ For the Cotswold practice, see Gloce-stershirf
For that of Kent, see District of Maidstone
in Vol. I. page 155.
ISLE OF WIGHT. 291
abling the uplands to carry more stock 5
and this, perhaps, without any reduction in
the present quantity of corn. For, though
the number of acres might be less, the in-
crease of manure, and the comparative fresh-
ness of the lands, with respect to corn crops,
might make up, for the deficiency; and the
advantages, arising from the livestock, be
so much clear gain.
The present loss of produce, to the com*
munity, and of profit, to the occupiers, or
the proprietors of the lands of this Isle,
by the unsufferable practice of plowing the
light loamy soils, with four costly, high-
fed horses, call loudly for improvement. If
the superior practice of cultivating such
lands, with two oxln, cannot readily be
established, that of plowing them with
two horses, agreeably to the practice of
half the main land, should forthwith be
adopted.
In its course of husbandry, an obvious
improvement is to be made. Instead of
fallowing the vale lands, and growing foul
turneps, on the uplands, for wheat, let the
ground, in every situation, be thoroughly
cleaned, for spring corn and ley herbage ;
U 2
a92 AGRICULTURE.
and sow wheat, after clover ; or after pulse,
cultivated in rows, with wide intervals, in
the Kentish manner.
And in breeding, too, much improve-
ment is to be effected ; both in cattle and
sheep.
Why not propagate the English breed
of cattle, pure, and unmixed with foreign
blood ? The French cow may produce an
agreeable variety in park scenery, and fur-
nish rich viands for a fashionable table ; but
from my own experience of this breed, in
Surrey, they are of a tender nature ; re-
quiring indulgent treatment, to keep them
in condition : and they appear to be alto-
gether unfit, for the cold, weak, vale lands
of the Isle of Wight ; whatever they may
be, for its richer, warmer grounds.
The proper breed of sheep, for the
heights of the Island, is evidently the South-
Down : not mixed, however, with the dege-
nerate breed in possession ; — provided ewe
lambs, or aged offcast ewes, of the true
breed, can be procured, fast enough, from
Sussex.
THE
CHALK HILLS
OF THE MORE
SOUTHERN COUNTIES.
THESE HILLS stretch out, in different
directions, and spread, with irregular out-
lines, through that part of the Island, which
forms the subject of the present Volumes ; —
reaching, from east to west, near two hun-
dred m les.
In so great an extent of country, varia-
tions in practice are to be expected. These
variations have arisen, not altogether out of
the circumstances that might attend their
first settlement, and the incidents of long
continued practice ; but, in some measure,
from the varying nature of their soils. For
although there is a striking similarity of
soil, on every range of Chalk Hills, in the
kingdom, where the Chalk rises nearly to
294 ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECT-
the surface ; yet, in several parts of the hills
of Kent and Surrey, the Chalk, especially
on the tops of the higher swells, is deeply
covered with a strong tenacious soil ; — in
some places, three or four feet in depth.
This circumstance, which I have not ob-
served, on any other part of the Hills under
view (unless partiallv, and in a slighter de-
gree, in the north of Hampshire, and the
southwestern quarter of Wiltshire), added
to that of the Kentish and Surrey Downs,
being entirely separated from the more
southern and western hills, by the barren
Heaths of Surrey and Hampshire, render
them a distinct object of examination. And
the Downs of Sussex, though they agree in
soil, with the Hampshire and Wiltshire hills,
and are contiguous to the former, difier
much with respect to management. The
Dorsetshire Hills appear, from what I have
seen of them, to be similar to those ot Wilt-
shire. A threefold division, therefore, is all
that is requisite : namely,
The Western Division ; comprizing the
Downs of Wiltshire and Hampshire :
The Southern Division ; containing the
West and South Downs of Sussex : and
The Eastern Division ; including those of
Surrey and Kent.
THE
WESTERN DIVISION
OF THE
CHALK HILLS.
Prefatory Observations.
THIS BEING the largest Division, and
the one that I have examined with the most
attention, I shall speak of it, in detail; and
confine myself, in mentioning the other Di-
visions, to the few differential practices that
have struck me.
It may be right to notice the SOURCES
of INFORMATION, which circumstances
threw in my way, with respect to this Di-
vision. My first view of it occurred, in tra-
velling from London to Devonshire, in the
early part of July, 1791, — by the way of
Basingstoke, and Stockbridge, to Salisbury ;
where I staid a few clays, to examine the
country, round this finely situated place ;
and from thence, by Bland ford, and Dor-
chester, to Bridport. The next line I made
296 PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS.
across it was, in the middle of September,
in the same year, from Mere to Salisbury,
and thence, as before, to Basingstoke. The
third was in the middle of October, 1791,
from Rumsey to Salisbury, and thence to
Bridport. The fourth, in the ware of the
same year, from Bridport by Salisbury, to
Basingstoke. The fifth, the same road, in
J 793. The sixth, in April, 1794, from Pew -
. down the bourn, or valley, of Ames-
bur v ; thence across the Downs, by Or-
cheston and Heytesbury, to Warminster :
and thence, by the Deverells and JCnoyle,
to Shaftsburv Lastly, from Devizes, by
Everley, Ludgershall, arid Andover, to Ba-
singstoke. And, beside these lengthened
lines, I made a shorter excursion, in June
1791, from Petersfield, by Alton, cxc. to
Farnham.
GENERAL VIEW
OF THIS
DISTRICT.
In giving a brief account of this wide
tract of country, I shall pursue the same
plan, I have followed, on former occa-
sions.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 297
SITUATION. Its northern boundary
is formed, by the rich lands df Berkshire,
and the vale, or broken valley, of Pewsey,
which separates it from the Marlborough
Hills : its western, bv the broken grounds
of Somersetshire, &c. : its southern, by the
New Forest ; its eastern by the Heaths of
Surrey and Hampshire, and the West Downs
of Sussex.
The EXTENT of this Division, from
east to west, is near sixty miles ; from north
to south, twenty to twentyfive; comprizing
twelve to fifteen hundred square miles of
surface.
ELEVATION. It is a striking fact,
that the Chalk Hills of Yorkshire, of Nor-
folk, of Buckinghamshire, and of the several
divisions of the Southern Counties, are of a
similar height ; all of them rising to upland
elevations, some of them to what are empha-
tically termed heights ; but none of them are
mountainous : their mean elevations, ab >ve
the sea, being, to common observation, nearly
the same.
SURFACE. It is equally observable, that,
in the formation of the areas, or interior
surfaces, of all chalky hills, there is a strik-
ing likeness: rotund knolls, or more length-
ened ridges, divided by smoothly sided val-
lies, of various depths. And in almost every
range I have examined, the rise on one side
js sudden, and abrupt, — showing a broken
198 DISTRICT.
steep or cliff, — fro::-: the top of which the
hills sink, in irregular gradation; at length
shelving, smoothly, and often gently, into
an extended flat ; frequently of rich soil.
These circumstances are rnoredisting
able, where the range of hill is narrow —
si7igle — than where a congeries of such ranges
are crowded together, disorderly; asthev are
in the instance more particularly under no-
tice ; whose varied surface will best appear,
in the following extracts from my Journals.
Basingstoke toSaiisbury. The Chalk
Hills begin, with a gentle rise, a few miles
before Basingstoke, and continue rising, with
an easy ascent, and with intervening dips,
for ten or twelve miles, to Popham Beacon ;
thence fallirg, with an almost regular de-
scent, and for nearly the same length of
ground, into the Valley of Stockbridge ;
ng, however, some broken high lands,
on -he I
The Valley of Stockbridge is narrow;
and, on the west side, the Chalk rises ab-
ruptly, and reaches to a height, greater,
perhaps, than that which has been passed.
From those second heights, which divide
the counties of Hants and Wilts, the road,
for another distance of ten or twelve miles,
sinks gradually to Salisbury ; — leaving, as
before, some bold high lands, to the left.
The environs of Salisbury. Smooth
rotund eminences are seen from every point
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 399
of view ; the town being happily situated,
In a wide shallow bason, in tne midst of
them ; at the conflux of three brooks ; each
having its accompanying dell ; forming one
river, and one broad, well wooded valley,
below the town. From the loftv site of the
castle of Old Sarum is a very extensive circle
of views : a still wider sea of chalky waves.
Amesbury to Warminster. Ascend the
downs behind Amesbury Park : extensive
naked views, smooth and beautiful. Enter
the plain, or more level part of the downs,
at Stone Henge. The surface gently flow-
ing ; tamer even than the high wolds of
Yorkshire, and more extensive. Cross a
gentle dip at Orcheston, and leave a fine
valley, on the left, below Chiltern. Sur-
mount another plain: the surface gently
waving, as before. Descend, abruptly, into
the vale, or broken bason, of Hevtesbury
and Warminster ; leaving high rugged hills
to the right.
Warminster and to Shaftsbury. From
the summit of one of these heights, a striking
suite of views are commanded. One of So-
mersetshire is extensive ; the others are cir-
cumscribed, by the steep and lofty Chalk
Hills, which here form a fertile bay of silty
soil ; in which this and other detached hil-
locks rise, as islands ; and diversify the sur-
face in a singular manner.
Leave the broken environs of Warm in-
3oo DISTRICT.
ster ; ascend the downs, by a gentle rise ;
and reach the summit. Most extensive pro-
spects ! an ocean view : free on every side.
Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, and Wiltshire.
are overlooked, to an extraordinary extent.
The surface of these downs boldlv swelling.
Descend to a lower stage ; and still lower.
Leave the Chalk Hills, and drop, abruptly,
into the Valley of Knoyle : the very Weald
of Kent or Sussex.
Devizes to Ludgershall. The Chalk
Hills are seen on the right; lofty, and in some
parts rugged, but not uniformly broken into
steep cliffs. Much cultivation appears on
their sides, and towards their feet, in flati
artificial stages, with steep " linshets" be-
tween them. Reach the foot of the hill,
and leave the Vale of Pewsey ; entering
the " bourn" or valley of Amesbury; a
chalk-hill valley of the largest size. Mount
the eastern bank of the valley ; overlooking
in the ascent, a sequestered arable dip, or
branch valley, on the left, and gain the top
of the grassy down : another wavy plain,
shelving gently southward, to Everley and
Sudbury Hill ; a high rugged eminence of a
nature dissimilar to the surrounding heights;
standing between the vallies of Amesbury
and Winterbourn, which sink, steeply, on
either side of it.
Ludgershall to Basingstoke. The
country being inclosed and wooded, the sur-i
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 301
face is the less discriminable : it appears to
be a succession of tame upland swells, di-
vided by dips and shallow vallies.
Petersfield to Farnham. The steep
face of the Downs, on this side, makes an
angle ; changing from a westward to a
northward direction ; appearing to termi-
nate, abruptly, to the north of Petersfield,
in a rugged promontory. From the brink
of this range of cliff, the surface shelves
gently, westward, into a spacious dip, above
Alton ; sinking, by degrees, into the valley
of Farnham.
Remarks. The artificial surface
which meets the eye, in different parts of
these hills, forcibly arrests the attention. It
occurs on the steeper slopes ; which are
formed into stages, or platforms, with grassy
steeps, provincially " linxhets," between
them.
This form of surface must have been pro-
duced, at great ex pence, in the first instance,
or by great length of time, in constantly
turning the furrows, downward of the slope.
But as the turnwrest plow has never, per-
haps, had a footins,, on this division of the
Chalk Hills, it is probable, that the stages
under notice were formed, by hand ; at some
period, when manual labor, either through
an excess of population, or through the
means of feudal services, was easily obtained.
L\nd the advantages, arising from the ope-
3o2 DISTRICT.
ration, have no doubt repaid the first cost,
with ample interest. The stages, or plat-
forms, are equally commodious for imple-
ments of tillage, as for carriages; beside
retaining moisture, better than sloping sur-
faces ; while the grassy steeps, between the
arable stages, afford no inconsiderable sup-
ply of herbage ; on which horses are ted-
dered, or tended, while corn is on the
ground ; and which give pasturage to sheep,
at other seasons.*
This sort of artificial surface is common,
in different parts of the Island ; and the an-
tiquarv might he less profitably employed,
than in tracing its origin.
CLIMATL'RE. The harvests of these
hills are late. In the first week of July,
1791, the hav harvest was barely begun:
the season, however, was backward. In the
middle of September, barley harvest, from
Mere to Basingstoke, was at its height : the
Downs strowed with harvest waggons: some
barley in swath, and some uncut. But the
weather had been unsettled.
* In going over the extraordinary site of the castle
of Old Sarim, I had an opportunity of observing the
great facility with which sheep are enabled to graze
very steep surfaces; by a faculty, which nature has fur-
nished them with, as mountain animals, of short-
ening or lengthening their legs, with respect to their
bodies, at pleasure : a natural faculty that enables them
to stand tideway to the slope ; and, in that posture, to feed,
with apparent case, on almost perpendicular steeps.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 303
WATERS. These hi is are. in a manner,
free from surface water. That of rain is
imbibed, as fast as it descends. In the deeper
vallies, where the mass of chalk is broken,
and cleft perhaps to its foundation, the wa-
ters, which the hills have absorbed, being
checked, by some less permeable stratum,
rise in profusion ; forming copious brooks
of limpid calcareous water, — whose fertiliz-
ing qualities will be shown.
SOIL. No portion of the earth's surface
affords the geologist more interesting mat-
ter, for his discussion, than the class of lands,
now under consideration. The soils of chalk
hills, where the chalk has no other super-
incumbent load, than the cultured mold, are
every where very similar. They are of a
loamy nature, pale-colored, and of a depth
proportioned to the elevation and surface of
the bases, on which they rest. The summits
of the hills are. in general, thinly covered,
are, in some instances, almost naked of soil ;
while the lower stages, and the flatter parts,
are furnished with soils of a middle depth ;
and while the feet of the hills enjoy a deep,
rich, and generally friable, sandy loam:
such deep rich soils occurring, not only on
the smooth or shelving side of the range of
hill, but at the foot of the broken cliff; and,
what is most observable, where the cliff is of
great height, a line of rich, variously colored,
DISTRICT.
clayey soil intervenes, between the chalk
and the sandy loam.*
Basingstoke to Salisbury. The soil
of these hills varies. Basingstoke to Pop-
ham Lane, and the lower stages in general,
enjoy a free pood loam, which stands, with
considerable firmness, the present dry sea-
son. The higher swells are of a thinner,
fertile soil ; some of them, between
Stockbridge and Salisbury, appearing to be
almost barren.
Environs of Salisbury. The soil, on
the tops of the hills, is mostly thin ; but, on
the gentler slopes, and towards the vallies,
it is chiefly a productive loam ; fine crops
o{ wheat, barley, and peas.
The Valley of Amlsbury. Where the
of the valley dilates, a dark, moory
mold has formed : no a converted to rich
water meadows (of which hereafter); the
skirts ot the hills having a deep, rich, absor-
bent soil. Below Nc therhaven, the road
leaves the bottom of the valley, and leads
along the first stage of hill: well soiled,
charming arable land.
Amesbury to Warminster. The lower
skirts of the plain are covered with a deep,
highly colored soil : good corn land ; and
* See the District of Petworth, p. 167. Also
the Southern Chalk Hills.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 3c5
only wants shelter to render it highly pro-
per, for mixed cultivation.
Warminster, and towards Shafts-
bury. Strong pale-colored clay, at the feet
of the hillocks near Warminster : charming
wheat, beans, and clover, on this soil : though
(the 26th April) hard baked with drought!
The area of the bason or bay of Warminster,
is a silt, or very fine sand, similar to that of
the Vale of Pewsey ; resembling much the
sea silt, or mud, of which the road across the
marshlands of Norfolk is formed.
Much of the Downs, in this quarter, is
furzey, rough, and forestlike, with wooded
hills to the left : part of the higher downs,
arable: the soil, apparently, cool and re-
tentive. The lower stages of the Down
(on the southside) pale loam, on chalky
rubble : a sainfoin soil.
Everley Downs. The soil, of the gen-
tler slopes and hollows, is deep dark-color-
ed loam; — upon the steeper sides of the
swells, thin, loose, and flinty. The top of
Sudbury Hill is a bed of round smooth,
'.caterworn flints.
Ludgershall to Andover. An inclosed
country. The soil nine or ten inches deep,
on chalk, producing good thorn hedges ;
and hedgerow oaks.
Andover to Basingstoke. Here, an un-
usual species of chalk-hill soil covers some
extent of surface : a sort of red rubble, or
vol. 11. X
DISTRICT.
gravelly earth : sometimes appearing at the
surface ; at others, forming a subsoil to a
lighter colored loam.
- "BSOIL. The ordinary bed of the cuU
J
is a soft broken chalk, or rubble,
of various dep lies pure, some-
*& mixed with colored earths. In rr.
plac. tolerable quality
lies on a ma! close chalk, c: very
little loose matter intervenu
The subsoil of the mead :Vequer.
a bed of flints, and not un< -.jam
of white earth, from one to three feet deep ;
having the appearance of pipe clay ; or a
deposit of dirty chalk ; washed, prob..
from the hills, before their surfaces were
covered by g tation.
The SUBSTRUCTURE of the* hills
is, doubtless, in chief part, chalk. Little
else appears, in the faces of the broken
steeps; until the .- I of rich clay, that
has been mentioned, is reached. There are
wells, in different parts of the Chalk Hills
south of the Thames, of three hundred feet
in dept ch pass entirely (it is said)
through masses of chalk.
Hence the almos: C
. of these hills is chalk : interspersed,
ever, in some places, with Mints ; or
flint v gravel.
The softer chalks are used, as manure, in
their natural state ; the harder are burnt
into lime.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 30-
Writing Chalk. Out of the foot of
Sudbury Hill, chalk of a singularly fine
quality, of an even soft texture, and purely
white color, is raised. Considerable quan-
tities of it, I understand, are taken west-
ward, in back carriage, by those who bring
coals into the neighbourhood of this hill,
to supply the shops of the West of England
with writing chalk.
By the marine acid, one hundred grains
yielded (by two separate trials) ninetyseven
and a half grains of calcareous matter ;
leaving two grains and a half of tenacious
residuum, — a brown, slime-like matter.
TOWNSHIPS. In laying out the lands
most immediately under notice, the prin-
ciple of the plan may be said to have been
given. The almost only eligible sites, for
towns and villages, were in the deeper val-
lies : not so much on account of the shelter
they afford, as the water they furnish. And
the lines of demarcation were drawn across
the vallies ; to give each township its pro-
portionate share of high and low, of fertile,
and infertile lands : or, where a twofold
range of townships occurs, as in the Valley of
Amesbury,the brook or midway of the valley
is the boundary line between them.
The judgment that has been used, in fix-
ing the sites of villages, is apparent in the
Valley of Amesbury. Where the base of
the valley dilates, or widens, there we find
X 2
3o8 DISTRICT.
a village : as Chissenbury, Enford, Fittle-
ton, Xetherhaven ; and, in the widest of
these dilations is situated the market town
Amesbory : while Salisbury, the county
town, occupies a conflux of similar dila-
tions : the only instance of the kind, the
county affords.
The ROADS are everywhere good: even
though they only lead to villages. The
public roads are in general excellent. Flints
set En chalk are the first of road materials.
STATE OF [N CLOSURE. This I
shall be the best enabled to convey, by ex-
tracts from mv Journals.
Basingstoke to Salisbury. The state
of inclosure varies. To the eastward, the
country is mostly inclosed : much of it in
large, square, regular, inclosures. More
ward, it is entirely open; as are the
tops of the higher hills, throughout. Ex-
tensive vie th no other break, than
It is given by corn, or flocks ; fallows,
or the sheepfold.
Environs oy Salisbury. To the south-
ward of the town, there are some well sized,
square fields, with good live hedges (at least
on three sides) apparently of forty or fifty
ra growth ; vet, extraordinary as it is,
many of these fields lie open to the roads !
the fences on the sides next to the lanes
; in a state of neglect. And, to the
north of the Avon, the country, for many
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 309
miles every way, lies open ; unless about
villages and hamlets, and along the narrow
bottoms of the watered vallies. To the
eastward of Salisbury, an attempt has been
made at inclosure ; the ruins of the hedges
being still evident: broken banks, with here
and there a hawthorn. And similar in-
stances are observable, in other parts of these
Downs.
Remark. Are we to infer, from hence,
that chalk-down lands are not proper to be
kept in a state of inclosure ? Or that, where
sheep are tended in flocks, and few cattle
are kept, fences are not requisite ? Or is the
foliage of shrubs a natural and favorite food
of sheep, and hence, in a country entirely
naked of shrubs, and chiefly stocked with
sheep, it is difficult to preserve a live hedge
from destruction?*
Ludgershall to Basingstoke. The
country is wholly inclosed ; excepting a few
plots, on the right, towards the higher open
downs ; mostly in large square fields; doubt-
less from a state of open down ; the hedges,
in general, of a middle age: some instances
of recent inclosure.
With respect to the present state of
appropriation of this tract of country, the
mere traveller is liable to be deceived. From
the more public roads, the whole appears
* See Vol. I. page 326 : Note.
DISTRICT.
to b? in a state of divided property. But,
on closer examination, much of it is found
in a s'ate of commonage. In the imme-
diate environs of Salisbury, there are e
dent remains of a common field ; lying in
narrow dips, intermixed, in the South-of-
Btigta far from it, a
nmon cow pasture, ar.d a common mea-
dow. About ed the same
appearances. I alley of Amesburv,
xh of the land remains, I understand,
under similar circumstances ; though th
do not so c-\ . appear, in the arable
lands: which. I . of estates or
of farms, or by exchanges among landlords,
or their tenants, lie or :i well sized
pieces. But the after eatagc ner of
the stubbles or the meadov \ ed in
common. And: - downs of the com-
tate of com-
mon pasture, the year round ; being stinted
bv the arable lands.
" PRESENT PRODUCTIONS. Time
d experience appear to have assigned,
with considerable ace. the products
rent soils and their si-
tuations. Where the soil is trident
depth, and of a nature, and in a on,
suitable to arable crops, we find these crops
prevail : while the higher thinner soils are
a state of perennial sheep walk: and,
.ere the chalk is covered with a cool
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 3n
tenacious soil, we see olots of woodland ;
as between Ludgershall and Basingstoke ;
Warminster and Shaftsburv '• and, on some
of the higher, cool-soiled hills of Hamp-
shire, coppices are prevalent.
ORNAMENTAL APPEARANCE. A
great similarity of view is observable, in all
the chalky districts of the Island. The
visual effect, of open naked downs, bears
some affinity, to that produced, by broad
sea views: the first sight is the most inte-
resting. Nevertheless, the grandeur, that
not u infrequently rises, from extensiveness,
and the beauty which, almost everywhere,
appears in the nearer views, prevent a sa-
tiety : beside, there are few minds, that are
not exhilarated, if not enlarged, by exten-
sive prospects.
It must, however, be some particular and
chosen point, from whence nothing but an
extensive billowy surface appears : broken
wooded offscapes are generally seen ; giving
character, and distinction, to the views.
And there are few, in which nearer objects
do not enter ; as featured eminences, woods,
villages, mills, sheep in scattered flocks ;
and, in the summer months, plots of corn,
waving perhaps with the wind, and giving,
a sort of animation, as well as variety, to
the scenery.
In describing the surface of this tract
of country, its ornamental appearance has
3i2 AGRICULTURE.
i, in some part, conveyed. The more
striking places of view, that I find noticed
in my Journals, are the higher eminence.^
of the Hampshire hills; from whence the
heights of Farnham, and the interior hills
o: Hampshire, are seen, on the one hand ;
and, on the other, the high lands of Buck-
inghamshire, and the Marlborough hills ;
with extensive front views of the Wiltshire
Downs ; while the nearer grounds are, in
some points, extremely beautiful : soft bil-
low, broken bv irregular masses
of woodland, and smaller coppices; hang-
ing, perhaps, on the brows and sides of the
hills ; with which, in magnitude, they often
happily correspond. . ._ . ., Sudbury hill
(near Amesbury) comn.ar.ds a circle of in-
teresting views. That to the eastward is
rich and extensive ; terminating, perhaps,
with the Bucking re heights. And,
from the upper part oi Everlev Downs, a
still more extensive circle is commanded.
To the ard. a lengthened view of the
vale lands of W stanced by the
- of Somersetshire, and sKreened, on the
north, b; ugh heights, at hand.
with Salisl ..ins, an .uire range
. of the \
distanced by the woodlands of Hampshire;
th a clear horizon, are probably
seer. Isle of Wight. But, at
the tin: .araordinary point
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 313
of view, a haziness obscured the farthest
distances.
It is almost needless to add that it would
be in vain to look for the picturesque, in the
interior of these uplands : nor do I even find
one passage noted, as being highly pictur-
able. Nevertheless, on their margins, espe-
cially on their western border, where they
blend with the broken grounds of Somer-
setshire and Dorset, and form the natural
boundary of the West of England, the
country becomes interesting in the detail,
and abounds with picturable scenery.
MANAGEMENT
OF
ESTATES
MY NOTES, on this subject, are neces-
sarily few : they relate to
Farm buildings,
Field fences.
FARM BUILDINGS. In this division
of the Chalk Hills, we see the practices of
the West of England, and of the lower lands
3i4 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES.
of the Southern Counties, mixing with each
other. On the larger farms, the dwelling
house is usually of bricks and plain tiles, —
the barns, and other offices, of weather-
boarding and thatch ; agreeably to the Berk-
shire and Surrey practice. While smaller
farmeries, and some I have observed of con-
siderable size, are entirely of mud and straw,
— the West of England cob ; — of which
yard fences are, almost invariably, and
universally formed ; their tops being secured
with thatch, as the ridge of a roof. Cot-
tages, also, are commonly of the same
material, throughout the country. In the
upper part of the Valley of Amesburv, I
observed several new buildings, formed with
blocks of hard chalk : a material which ap-
pears (there at least) to be coming into
use.
In the plan and construction of farm
buildings, the only particular that struck
me, as being entitled to especial notice, is
the practice of setting barns upon pillars,
in the manner in which granaries are usually
set. I have observed, and not unfrequentlv,
barns of a full size raised, entirely from the
ground, in this way : a practice which has
probably originated, in the abundance of
rats, with which the bourns, or watered
vallies, are infested. Watered meadows are
nurseries of them. They not only afford
sweet roots and herbage, for their food :
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 315
but the sides of the trenches are convenient
places, for their lodgement.
Remarks. In point of expence, the dif-
ference between pillars and caps, and a brick
foundation wall, may not be great ; and the
perfect dryness obtained, may repay the
exnaordinary expence of sills and flooring.
Indeed, in the thrashing floor, there is doubt-
less, in a course of years, a considerable
saving ; beside the refuge which a barn of
this kind must afford, to swine at all times;
and to poultry, in wet weather.
FIELD FENCES. Some of the old
hedges, in the north of Hampshire stand
on mounds ; and have a mixture of the
euonymus and other shrubs; and, like those
on the hills of Surrey and Kent, are fre-
quently injured, by the travellers joy (cle-
matis vitalba) : a powerful enemy to hedges.
The modern live hedge is of hawthorn;
and those of a middle age are mostly clean,
and full of growth.
The only guards of young hedges are
two lines of very low rodded hedge ; which,
against sheep that arc folded, by night, and
carefully tended, by day, may be sufficient ;
but must expose the young plants, to nu-
merous accidents.
On the lower stages of the hills, young
hedges appear to be raised, without much
difficulty, but on the higher more exposed
sites, the hawthorn, perhaps, does not rise,
3i6 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATE.
quick enough, to get out of the way ot
enemies ; nor furnish itself, sufficiently, to
give the required shelter, in such situa-
tions.
Remark. If it be right, to inclose the
more exposed heights, the beech, I am of
opinion, would be found a most eligible
hedgewood. In the Highlands of Scotland,
I have seen beechen hedges equal, as fences,
to brick walls ; and, being kept pruned on
their sides, are perhaps superior to them in
point of shelter.
The dead fence, principally, or solely,
in use, is a hedge made with naked hazel
rods, interwoven among stakes, in the wattle
manner. Many thousand rods of this fence
are seen, in travelling across the country :
notwithstanding the materials, to some parts,
are to be fetched many miles ; the ex pence
of making considerable ; and the duration
short. Two such hedges, with a line of
young beeches, set between them, would
be a fence, in perpetuity.
The HEDGEROW" TIMBER of this
tract of country is, of course, inconsider-
able. The recently planted, and middle-
aged hedges are free from it. In the north
of Hampshire, some oaks are seen, in the
hedgerows; and, in the vallies, elms are
common : also willow pollards ; not only
in the hedgerows, but by the sides of the
main conduits, in the areas of the meadows.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 313
In a country, destitute of coppices, wil-
low pollards must be found highly useful;
as furnishing a supply of stakes, and of rods,
and rails, for various purposes of husbandry.
WOODLA N D S
AND
PLANTING.
THE NORTH of Hampshire is well
wooded. Mostly in a state of coppice, for
Fuel, hurdles, and dead hedges. Some oak
timber is observable, on the lower red-soiled
lands, and, even on the higher grounds,
stooping stunted oaks are seen ; but in situa-
tions altogether improper for them. If it be
right to attempt to grow timber, in these
situations, the beech, would, undoubtedly,
be found preferable to the oak.
With respect to planting, the Wolds of
Wiltshire and Hampshire remain in the
same state, in which the Wolds of York-
shire were, twenty or thirty years ago.
From Everley Downs, I observed some rag-
ged clumps of stunted firs ; the almost only
attempts at planting, I did observe: unless
about places, with a view to ornament:
and except an instance or two, between
3i8 WOODLANDS.
Salisbury and Basingstoke, of recently form-
ed belts, or skreen plantations, in which the
beech appeared conspicuous.
Remark. This appears, to me, the most
eligible kind of plantation, for these bleak
naked hills; especially those in the more
central parts of Wiltshire, where coppice
wood, and coals, are equally far to be fetch-
ed : where wood may be said to be the na-
tural fuel of the country ; yet, at present,
without a coppice wood, to supply its wants.
In Salisbury, there is a spacious place called
the " wood market" : and, formerly, every
township must necessarily have had its
woodland.
A GR I CULTURE.
FARMS. The plan of farms, as of
townships, is in some measure given, in
the nature of the country. Under the pre-
sent system of management, every farm
requires a portion of arable land, of sheep
walk, and of meadow. The great incon-
veniency, of this distribution of the lands,
is the situation of the farmery ; which is
necessarily placed, on one side of the arable
lands ; and that side the lowest.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 319
To obviate, in some degree, this incon-
veniencv, barns have been scattered, on the
higher Downs, where these are in a state of
aration ; to prevent the length of carriage,
of corn and manure, which is otherwise
requisite. I have observed sheep ponds,
near these barns, which, with their sheltered
yards, are capable of being rendered ser-
viceable to sheep, in severe weather.
Remark. On every extensive estate, it
is highly probable, sites, eligible for hill
farms, might be found. See Isle of Tha-
net, in page 4,1.
The sizes of farms are extremely various.
Many large ones are seen, in every quarter
of the tract of country under examination.
Nevertheless, in every " bourn," small far-
meries are observable. Where perennial
sheep walk, and the fold, make essential
parts of the plan of management, farms
of sufficient size, to maintain flocks large
enough to employ distinct shepherds, are
doubtless most eligible. But, in speaking
of sheep, it will be shown, that such is the
power of invention, when urged by natural
necessity, that even the lowest class of far-
mers are enabled to keep sheep, and fold
their arable lands, with a degree of pro-
priety.
Upon the whole, this division of the Chalk
Hills may be deemed a most desireable coun-
try, to farm in. Sound sheep walks; arable
AGRICULTURE.
lands, that may be worked, in almost any
season ; meadowy vallies ; and calcareous
va er !
BEASTS OF LABOR. Horses are
universally the animals of draft. Mostly
valuable young horses, bred In the Midland
Counties, and enured to moderate work,
here, to prepare them for the London mar-
ket. See Midland Counties, Section
Horses.
It is no wonder, therefore, that pi
are seen moving with sluggard pace ; or
that, in consequence, a sluggish gait, and
slowness in every movement, should cha-
racterize those who, from their early youth,
have been habituated to-the snail's pace of
fat fen horses. See Norfolk; Minute 100.
Also District of Maidstone, in Vol. I.
page 56.
The ordinary plow team is four horses,
double. I have seen three (drawn two and
one) scratching the surface of a loose fallow,
three inches deep, and moving, at the rate
of a mile and a half an hour. In one
instance, however, on the lower part of
Everlev Downs, I saw five two-horse plow-
teams, at work : some of them with, some
without, drivers.
IMPLEMENTS. The west country
waggon is common, on these hills. It dif-
fers from that of the Cotswolds (seeGLO-
cestershire) in having no insection, in the
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. jfi
body, to receive the fore wheels, in turning.
In an open country, there is less occasion,
for such mode of construction, than in nar-
row inclosures ; and the body is not only
more roomy, and commodious, but is strong-
er, bv continuing the side pieces, through-
out, from end to end. And for the road,
where heavy loads and long journies are re-
quired, whole bodies have their advantage.
But, for harvest waggons, in an inclosed
country, insertions are highly useful.
The Wiltshire waggons run remarkably
wide : full five feet and a half from middle
to middle of the ruts ; I have measured one
near six feet, from out to out : far exceed-
ing, in this respect, the waggons of most
other parts of the kingdom : they are pe-
culiarly well adapted to a side-hill country ;
and are, on the whole, well suited to the
country, in which they are employed.
One plow, likewise, is common to this
division of the Chalk Hills, and is, perhaps,
peculiar to them, and the Isle of Wight.
About Alton, on the eastern margin of
Hampshire, I perceived the singlewheeled
plow of Sussex, changing to the two wheels
and high bolster, of Hampshire: and. in
leaving the Vale of Pewsey, and entering
the Valley of Amesbury, a similar change
was observable.
It would be a difficult task, to describe
this plow ; and, when gone through, would
VOL. II. Y
AGRICULTURE.
be labor lost. It has the general appe :
ance, at some distance, of the Norfolk, or
the Kentish plow ; and is, in size, betv.L
the two ; but approaches the unwieldin.
of the latter.
The part that marks the Wiltshire, or
rather the Hampshire plow, ru :rimi-
nately , is the form of the share ; which con-
:s of a long narrow point, or spike, i
sembling the point of a small iron crow, to
which a long narrow fin is welded, a few
inches from the point ; standing out almost
square, but receding somewhat backwa
resembling, much, in figure and positi
the pectoral fin, of so:r,e species of fish ;
and hence, probably, the terra^/m, which
common to some ; being very dif-
ferent, in shape and appearance, t< >ig
of the ordinary plow-share.
other implement, common to
hills, is the " drag plow." I observed it,
first, in the Alton quarter, and afterwards
found it common, id Wiltshire. It resembles
the subplow, or tormentor, of West De-
vonshire :see Wfst of England, Dist;
South Hams) except in the construction
of the operative par: . ;.ch, in those that
I tmined,are mere coulters,or strong
tines, b.nt in the lower part, with an obt.
angle : the points shooting forward ; the
upper part being splayed our. wide and
hollo. .d.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 323
This implement is used, and has, I under-
stand, long been used, by common farmers,
in forming channels, or' seed seams, in the
surface of the soil, over which seed wheat is
intended to be sown. I have observed six
horses dragging one of those implements ;
with two men standing upon it, to increase
its effect.
The outline of the frame of the wood-
work forms a triangle; which is drawn by
the sharpest angle ; and has cross bars, to-
wards the opposite side, in which the coul-
ters are fixed ; and with a low wheel, at
each corner, to regulate their depih.
The origin, and progress, of this inven-
tion would be interesting, in a history of the
agriculture of the Island.
MARKETS. This part of the Island
abounds with good markets. Salisbury,
Warminster, Devizes, Andover, and Ba-
singstoke take off the corn, grown on the
lands more particularly under notice. And
the fair of Weyhill, situated between
Ludgershall and Andover, is the mart for
sheep. Although the situation of these hills
is, in a degree, remote, they may be said to
be well placed, with respect to markets;
having Bath and Bristol, on one hand, with
the metropolis, on the other; and Ports-
mouth within reach.
PLAN OF MANAGEMENT. The rise
of the present practice does not evidently
Y 2
RICULTUXJt
appear. It is probably of ancient date
it d" even yet, I understand, dev
far, from the old common field system of
management.
be leading objects of the chalk-hill
farmers appear, in a great measure, in what
has been said, respecting the present pro-
ductions, of these hills. Corn and sheep
are their chief market products. Some cows
are kept, and small quantities of cheese are
sent to market. But this is a secondary
object.
The arable crops are ziiwit, bar, :
peas, tares, r\e, rape, turneps, tempo
grasses. nfoin; with a wide extent of
:nial sheep dozen: and with meadow
age : especially where water can be
mmanded.
The outline of management of the
arable lands appears to be that of ren-
dering them equally productive of grain and
herbage ; of corn and sheep ; appropria
them, pretty equally, to these purposes s
namely, to wheat, barley, oats, pea-.
; ; and to cultivated herbage, rye, tares.
rape, and turneps, as food for sheep ; espe-
. lambs, which form the main object of
the flock : the first care of the chalk-hill
shepherds being that of growing them to
itest possible ^ize, as store lambs.
rbc | lai u of practice, on the
appropriated lands, where any regular
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 325
cession of crops is observed, — appears to be
— wheat ; — barley, or other spring corn ; —
succeeded bv cultivated herbage, two years ;
the first year's crop being usually mown,
the second eaten with sheep : or, in some
instances, I understood, the crops of both
years are applied to sheep ; the first, more
particularly, to suckling ewes; in order to
push on the lambs, and raise them to the
greatest growth, to which the scanty sum-
mer feedage of these hills are capable of rais-
ing them, for the autumnal market.
This four years' course was probably in
use, before the cultivation of grasses and
legumes took place ; and hence, perhaps,
the imperfect tillage, which is still given,
for the wheat and barlev crops ; and which
was well calculated to preserve the natural
grasses in the ground ; to form a tempo-
rary sheep pasture, while the land was re-
covering its strength, to throw out two
more crops of corn. The last year's ley is
usually dunged, or folded upon, or both,
for wheat in rotation : the other crops,
mentioned above, being thrown in, as occa-
sion requires.*
SOIL PROCESS. The tillage, which
these lands receive, is inconsiderable. For
* I speak here, of the area, or more central parts of
this division of the Chalk Hills ; or, in other words, oi
the District itself: not of its western margin.
326 AGRICULTURE.
wheat, the ley ground is usually broken,
by a half plowing, ricebalking, or rafter-
ing ; and the seed sown over onv clean
plowing! given across the ricv-baiks ; or,
at most, the plits of the clean plowing be-
ing reduced, with the barrow, the surface is
sed into inequalities, v\ith the drag plow,
to receive the seed. And the usual barley
fallow, I understand, is two plowings of the
wheat stubble. The extraordinary foulness
of the lev grounds, and stubbles, is a neces-
sary consequence.
The practice of sodpurning is probably
Oi ancient date, on these hills; i ery
quarter of which it is, now, more or less
servable. But it appears, from what fell
ider my observation, to be confined, chierly,
to the higher lands.
In the ancient husbandry of tiiese hills,
it is probable, these distant lands were forced,
by this practice, to bear, occasionally, as
many corn crops, as they were able ; and.
were then suffered to rest, until time had
renewed strength, and enabled them
to bear another sue ) of corn crops;
agreeably to the practice of Scotland : the
produce of these ouifield lands being ex-
pended on the infolds, or lower grounds.
v, as has been said, barns are placed, on
remote lands, and a crop of rape
herbage, for sheep food, usually succeeds
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 327
the burning. Two very valuable improve-
ments.
MANURES. The species, in ordinary
use, are farmyard dung, the sheepfold, and
the ashes of burnt sward. In the Andover
quarter, I observed an instance of the red
gravelly loam, that has been noticed, being
thickly covered with chalk. But I saw no
appearance of lime, or lime kilns, on any
part of the area of these hills.
Nevertheless, on the western margin, at
the foot of one of the hillocks, near War-
minster, I met with some lime kilns ; and
these of an extraordinary construction. The
body, or cavity of the kiln, resembles a
well ; measuring four feet and a half in dia-
meter, at the top, and not less than thirty
feet deep ; the shaft widening, somewhat,
downward ; but did not appear to be more
than five or six feet, in diameter, in the
widest part. The material hard chalk : the
fuel coals.
Remark. How various are the forms of
the lime furnace. Are they severally adapt-
ed, to the given material, and fuel ; or is
there, generally, much improvement to be
made in its construction ?
The MANAGEMENT OF DUNG, throughout
this division of the Chalk Hills, is very
singular. When it is used, on ley ground,
for wheat, (to which purpose it appears to
be chiefly applied,) it is carried out of the
328 AGRICULTURE.
yard, in a long si state, and spread
he land, without any pr I di-
gestion. I have observed hundreds, proba-
bly thousands, of acres apparer
\ : some of itstroWed on s^sard,
some on the broken surface : in either case,
tall thistles being usually seen, rearing their
heads, aboye the straw. In the course of
the summer, and autumn f not folded
upon), the sheep flatten it down* at least, or
tread it into the soil.
Remark. Nothing can apr .. . > a
stranger, more slovenly, than this pracl
This, however, is no proo:
wrong. How far it may be right, to work
undigested straw, into tigbt chalky land,
can only be decided, by comparative ex-
periments, repeatedly tried. For altlu .
there is a cleanness, and apparent lightness
111 chalky soils, there is at the same time a
degree of cooh:-
WHEAT. The succession, — tillage,
— and melioration, in use for the wheat
crop, appear under the general heads, afore-
going.
The time of sowing is early : but not
equally so, here, as on the L Id Hills
(see Glocestershire). The c^d and
of September, 1794, much wheat was sown,
and some up. Much also then remained
unsown : some of the land lying in a state
of ricebalk ; others an be operation ol
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 329
drag-plowing. The 13th October, 1791,
some was green ; others then sowing.
Here, too, as on the Cotswold Hills, it is
not unusual, to run the fold over the wheat
ground, between the sowing and the com-
ing up ; or to drive the flock over it re-
peatedly, at that juncture ; in order to give
firmness to the soil, and greater stability to
the crop, on land which is, naturally, too
loose in its texture, for the profitable pro-
duction of wheat.
It were impossible to pass over this coun-
try, in the winter and spring months, with-
out admiring the number, size, and sym-
metry of its wheat ricks ; which here, as
in the Isle of Wight, are constructed in a
masterly manner.
SAINFOIN. Seeing the nature of the
soils of these hills, and remarking, in dif-
ferent parts, the texture and quality of the
subsoil, — a loose calcareous rubble, — in
some places of considerable depth, — it be-
comes a matter of astonishment and regret,
to find so inconsiderable a portion of this
valuable crop, in cultivation. In every line,
in which I have crossed them, this deficiency
is observable.
Remark. Has the whole country been
repeatedly cropped with sainfoin ? and is its
favorite pabulum exhausted ? (see Gloces-
tershire, District Cotswolds, Section,
Sainfoin). Or does some impropriety in
330 AGRICULTURE.
the management of this delicate plant (see
as above) render it unprofitable? It is
scarcely possible, that the value of a full
crop of sainfoin should not be well under-
stood, on the Chalk Hills of Wiltshire and
Hampshire. See, also, the next Division.
SHEEP DOWNS. A very large por-
tion . of these hills, is in a state of peren-
nial sheep walk; — close-bitten turf; —
in which state some of it has doubtless re-
mained, for centuries: on much of it, there
are no evident vestiges of the plow ; though
on other parts of it, there are. Between
Chiltern and Hey tesbury, part of the Downs,
which now are covered with fine turf, ap-
pear, from the marks that still remain un-
obliterated on the surface, to have been,
once, in a state of common field. But the
higher Downs, probably, have been re-
claimed, from a state of woodland, or heath,
merely by being hard stocked with sheep,
and have not passed through any interme-
diate state.
Some of the lower Downs are now co-
vered, with beautifully fine thickset turf:
while others (probably the common cow
downs) are set with myriads of small ant
hills ; occupying a considerable portion of
the surface ; and while the upper swells arc-
variegated, with plots of heath ; and, in
some few parts, with furze, and otlur shrubs:
perfectly resembling the high wolds of York-
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 331
shire : so much do the different ranges of
Chalk Hills, in England, resemble each
other.
WATER MEADOWS. To gain a ge-
neral idea of the watered grounds, of this
quarter of the Island, was the principal
motive for my stopping, to examine the en-
virons of Salisbury, in the summer of 1791 ;
and for my passing through the Valley of
Amesbury, as well as of viewing the cele-
brated meads of Orcheston, in the spring of
17.94-
I cannot convey the information, which
I received on this subject, more intelligibly,
than by transcribing the notes of my Jour-
nals. It is not my intention to treat the
subject, analytically, in this place. Were
I even prepared for the task, Mr. Davis's
Report, of the practice of Wiltshire, to
the Board of Agriculture, would, in
some measure, preclude the necessity of per-
forming it.
Previously to the detail, it may be pro-
per to observe, that the most accurate prac-
tice is found, where the country lies open ;
and where the prevailing soil, of the up-
per grounds, is of a dry, absorbent quality;
and unfriendly to natural herbage ; and, of
course, where permanent grass grounds, or
meadow lands, are confined to the narrow
bases of the vallies. In the north of Hamp-
shire, where a cooler more retentive soil is
332 AGRICULTURE.
not unfrequent, the meadowy bottoms of
vallies are mostly suffered to remain, in
their natural flat state. For, here, the ex-
traordinary expence of forming them pro-
perly, so as to give water its full effect,
was not necessary; and, therefore, they lie,
in an unprofitable state : frequently occu-
pied by flags, and other coarse aquatics :
the produce being not of one fourth of the
value, of that of the best formed meadows,
in the environs of Salisbury, and in the
Valley of Amesbury.
Between Basingstoke and Salisbury.
1791. July 4,. The vallies that wind
among these hills are deep, and their bases
narrow ; but mostly flat, and meadowy :
some of them in a state of neglected swamp;
occupied by sedges, and other aquatics. But,
more generally, they are firm ; and are wa-
tered, with limpid brooks !
1793. March 99. Throughout Dorset-
shire, and more particularly through WHt-
shire and Hampshire, the vallies between
the Chalk Hills are watered, with the sheer
brooks, that severally belong to them. The
effect, now, fully appears, and is far beyond
any thing I had conceived : superior, even
to the best effect of the slate waters of
Devonshire. The appearance, at this time,
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 333
not of a few particular plots, but of entire
rallies, is that of rank wheat, in the spring.
The grass, now, beginning to be folded off,
with sheep ; as rye, in Surrey or Sussex !
The soil is mostly thrown into ridge and
furrow ; with deep floating trenches, on the
tops of all the ridges ; whether long or short.
Query, does the water, retained in these
deep trenches, convey nutriment to the soil,
and substrata? or give them, more readily,
a plenitude of moisture? or whence their
apparently unnecessary dimensions?
Environs of Salisbury.
1791. July 5. Walk up the bourn, to
Stratford, The meadows are less than a
quarter of a mile, in width : lying every
way flat ; and, towards the town, very low:
in some parts, a mere swamp: the water
level with the flat surface of the ground.
The herbage mostly coarse aquatics : even
the bog bean fmenyanthes trijotiata) is abun-
dant. On the sides of the drains, the flote
fescue luxuriates. But the produce, on the
whole, is of little value.
To these fenny grounds, succeeds a com-
mon stinted cow pasture: very much ne-
glected : the surface occupied by rushes.
But, above this, are some charming
watered grounds: all lying in ridge and
334 AGRICULTURE.
furrow : evidently artificial. Large deep
floating trenches, on the ridges; narrow
drains, in the furrows. One of them is a
common meadow — " Lammas land."
Many of these meadows are still unmown :
the water is now on one of them ; stealing
its way. unseen, among the grass.
Willow pollards are numerous, in all
these meadov.
Walk dman the valley oj tvon, below
the town, to fuycbi r ■. A rich flat of land :
nearly, I apprehend, a mile in width :
dently water-formed : level from side to
side : and \s ith little descent, do\s n the val-
ine Avon serpentining through it : \\ ith
lateral branches, natural or artificial, spread-
ing the water, so as to irrigate, — provincial-
Iv " drown," — the entire flat. Almost every
fence ditch is a conductor : and others of
considerable size, as six to eight feet wide,
cross the areas of the inclosures. From these,
bv means o( small lifting floodgates, the
acting trenches are filled.
The whole valley may be said to be
thrown into convex beds ; about ten yards
in width. Some pasture grounds are less
regularly acclivatcd ; but every thing, with-
in the level, appears to be more or less
watered.
The natural herbage, on the margin of
the valley, above the level of the water, is
short, and of a harsh nature : that of the
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 335
watered ground, soft, long, and apparently
of a rich quality.
i The herbag-e of the watered beds is va-
rious, in species ; as raygrass, the meadow
poe, the marsh and other bent grasses, and
the meadow fescues ; the loliacea and the
pratensis, here putting on very different
appearances. On the sides of the trenches,
and ditches, the flote fescue, reed canary
grass ( phalaris arwidinacea ) and the water
poe (poa aquatica) are common : also the
meadow rue (thai ictr um fiavum) and the
water dock. One meadow I observed was
almost shaded over, with the common dock ;
which appears to be a prevailing weed of
the well formed grounds ; and almost the
only one.
The soil is mostly a deep loam ; the sub-
soil, in the lower part of the walk, a flinty
gravel.
Not one third of these meadows are yet
mown : the water now on some of the un-
mown grounds.
At what an excessive cost must these
lands have been brought into their present
state. Raising dams, and setting floodgates
(provincially " hatches") across the river ;
embanking the river, above these obstruc-
tions ; cutting lateral branches, and com-
mon conduits ; and forming the surface of
the grounds. When, and in what manner,
336 AGRICULTURE.
was so great and spirited a public work
executed r
The meadows of the Avon, above the to-..
The valley still continues wide. The whole
watered ; and, mostly, in high, wide, convex
beds; now loaded with luxuriant herbage.
Scarcely any yet cut ! The entire flat forms
one great machine of water-work: pools,
floodgates, and water-courses of various di-
mensions.
Valley of Amesbury.
1794. April 26. The upper part of the
valley lies open to the downs ; except a
narrow slip of " dry grounds" — old grass
inclosures: no watered meadows, the banks
of the river, here, lying high above its chan-
nel. But might not the slopes be watered.
in the Devonshire manner :
The base of the valley widens, at Chisen-
burv ; where watered grounds begin. At
Enford, a dilation of the valley is filled with
u water meads." Large flocks of ewes and
lambs are now in them. The grass mostly
folded off: some yet untouched.
Willow pollards are common in all these
meads.
Near Netherhaven, observed some very
wide, high, watermeadow beds: formed,
doubtless, at a great expence.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 337
Pass Durrington : numbers of sheep are
how seen, in the meadows of this valley.
E?iviro?is of Amesbury. An extensive flat
of tine meadows near the town.
Raygrass, now, the predominant herbage:
the prevailing weed, the dock. Not a ma-
rigold, nor a cardamine, to be detected : a
proof of the soundness of these grounds.
The soil, a lightish-brown "loam, — the
subsoil, white earth ; from one to two and
a half feet deep.
The beds are very irregular : from five to
thirty yards wide ; and not often parallel.
The smallest of the floating trenches mea-
sure nine inches deep, and twelve inches
wide, at the bottom.
The river is, now, pent up, almost level
with the surface of the meadows. A main
conduit runs on the outside of the flat of
water-formed land ; conveying water not
only to the meadows of Amesbury, but to
those of the valley, below. On the inner
side of this main conduit, a smaller chan-
nel is cut, to feed the working trenches, of
the particular meadow through which it
passes. Other conductors pass down the mid-
dle, or wind through the area of the flat, to
supply the interior parts. The whole a sys-
tem of circulation,— very much resem-
bling that oftheanimal system: see Midland
Counties, article Watering Meadows.
vol. II. Z
338 AGRICULTURE.
Remarks. The meadows of Amesbury,
as well as those of the Avon, are proper
subjects of study. It should be recollected,
however, that the waters of chalk hills are
tractable, — are not so liable to high floods,
as ordinary brooks ; which would not so
well admit of " hatches, mains, and carriers,"
— would tear the works asunder ; unless
guarded with extraordinary care. How ad-
vantageous, where calcareous water is thus
under command ! And how long the ad-
vantage has been reaped, in this division of
the Chalk Hills ; and in this, only.
The "Long-grass Meads" of Orcheston.
It will be right to premise, that my visit
to these meadows, at so early a season, — the
26 April (1794.) was a matter of circum-
stance, rather than of choice ; and all, I ex-
pected to gain by it, was a general idea of
their situation, their soil, and the formation
of their surface, or the manner in which the
water is applied to them ; with little hope
of ascertaining the herbage. But I happen-
ed to find them, in a peculiar state ; and a
sketch of what struck me, in the cursory
view I took of them, may be useful, to
those who shall hereafter examine them, at
a more favourable season.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 339
The situation of these grounds is a gentle
dip, or shallow valley, formed by smooth
easy swells of the Downs ; — such a passage,
as is frequently seen, towards the heads of
vallies, in every chalk-hill district.
The soil, too, is a pale-brown loam ; si-
milar to the soils usually found, in the bot-
toms, between such chalky swells. It was,
at the time I saw it, as firm and dry, as the
Downs on either side of it.
The surface remains as nature left it : no
artificial formation, whatever, appears to
have taken place. The part, which receives
the benefit of the water, is merely a dilation
of the base of the valley ; which, above and
below this expansion, contracts, so as to
give no width of space, for the water to
lodge upon ; the sides of the valley shelv-
ing down, immediately, to the channel of
the rivulet : whereas, the surface of the mea-
dowy part is level, or inconsiderably dishing.
This open part of the valley, containing
some four or five acres, is cut into four com-
partments, by cross fences. The uppermost
includes, merely, a narrowing point of the
dilation ; and appears to be used as a pas-
ture ground. The lowermost has, formerly,
been inclosed ; but the hedges having been
neglected, it now, in effect, lies open to the
downs. It nevertheless appears to be still
used, as a mowing ground. The two mid-
dle divisions, containing only two or three
Z 2
34o AGRICULTURE.
acres, are those of which fame has long
spoken in mystic language.
The water, by which such wonders have
been wrought, is one of those periodical
springs, that appear to be common to the
chalk hills of this Island : similar to the
gypsies of Yorkshire, and the bourns of
Surrey a::d Kent.
The water of Orcheston usually breaks
out (at some distance above these meadows)
about Christmas: but, in 1794, not until
within a few weeks before I saw them ; and,
then, the supply must have been inconsi-
derable ; as it only entered the middle mea-
dows, with a feeble stream, the day I went
over them ; when a narrow slip of the up-
permost ground, was deeplv covered, with
pale-colored, chalky water ; as we fre-
quently see similar hollows, in times of
nocds. The three lower grounds had lain,
entirely dn\ until that time : a circum-
stance which had not, I was told by an
elderly laborer, who has frequently mown
in these grounds, been known within me-
mory.
The herbage) at that time, and under
these circumstances, was as follows.
It varied in the different compartments,
and appeared, throughout, in irregular plots.
Much of the lowest meadow, (and some
small parts of the other) was thickly co-
vered with a species of afopecurus, or fox-
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 341
tail ; which, in stature, resembled the pra-
tcnsiSy or meadow foxtail ; but, in the man-
ner of its growth, the geniculates, or marsh,
or flote foxtail. Some of this grass was
then in head, — a few individuals in blow,
and from two to two and a half feet high.
Much of that which had not yet shot up its
spikes, was from twelve to fifteen inches
high : having the appearance, at some di-
stance, of a very full crop of grass, — at this
early season !
In the middle meadows, a soft openblad-
ed grass prevailed ; apparently an agrostis,
or bent grass ; but not having then sent up
its panicle, its particular species did not ap-
pear.* This grew in small upright bunches,
without any apparent aptitude to trail. The
next most prevailing plant, in this compart-
ment, was the mild, or creeping crowfoot
(ranunculus repens) with some plants of the
common crowfoot (ranunculus acris) then
very tall and luxuriant.
The interspaces, of these tall plants and
bunches of herbage, were in a manner bare;
saving some scattered plants of nettles, com-
frey, scorpion weed (myosotis scorpioides),
* In 1797, — By the information of a person, who
went to gather specimens of the herbage of these mea-
dows, presently before hay harvest, — " the springs did
not rise, as usual" : and he found them in a state of pas-
turage ; "the grass not being good enough to mow".
The season dry.
342 AGRICULTURE.
and groundivy ■ — the last is a natural inha-
bitant of dry banks ; and is a strong symp-
tom of the absorbency of the subsoil.
These grounds, I was told, are mown
everv year: sometimes t\%ice. Mv infor-
mant has cut three loads, an acre. The her-
bage hangs together, as wool : — " hard
work to mow it ; — very long, Sir ; — five
feet high ; — fourteen feet long." But he
spoke in the tone of enthusiasm ; and pro-
bably by rote.
To gain full information respecting these
extraordinary grounds (for such they doubt-
less are) they should have a day's examina-
tion, presently before they are mown. The
occupiers should be apprized, — proper tools
be provided, to search beneath the surlV.
— and ample specimens of the subsoil, the
soil, and the herbage should be taken. A
specimen of the water, taken at the season,
when it is known to be most beneficial,
would likewise be requisite, for the purpose
of analysis.
Remarks. By far the most important
part of the information, that my transient
view of these celebrated grounds afforded
me, is the manner in which they are water-
ed. No art appears to be used ; except that
of diverting the rivulet, from its narr
channel, on one side of the meadow, and
spreading it over the area, in one continu-
ous pod of STAGNANT WATER ! Not On the
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 343
scientific principle of circulation ; but on
the more simple and natural one of flood-
ing ; agreeably to the obsolete practice of
floating upwards:* a practice which, it
is highly probable, was once prevalent, in
this part of the Island. The term " drown-
ing", which is now inaptly applied to the
modern practice, strongly corroborates this
suggestion. Seeing the natural flatness, of
the vallies of these hills, little art is wanted,
to produce the required stagnation. And it
may be further conceived, that, where the
substrata were open, and suffered the re-
maining moisture (after the body of the wa-
ter was let off) to drain away, quickly, from
the roots of the herbage, so as to permit
them to act, presently after the water was
discharged, vegetation was rapid : whereas,
in places, where the subsoil retained the
water, in the soil, it not only prevented a
quickness of vegetation, but chilled the roots
of the better herbage ; and brought aquatic
weeds in their stead.
These circumstances would naturally lead
to some expedient, for getting rid of the su-
perfluous moisture of the soil, as quickly as
possible ; and none was more apt, or more
easily obtained, than that of throwing the
soil into ridges, in the manner in which it
now lies. Indeed, where the substrata are
* See Midland Counties, Min : in.
AGRK
retentive, this expedient seems essential lr
necessary, to the advantageous operation oi
\varer. The steep sides of hills are bene-
fited, in a sim . - WestofEmg-c
ID.
Bl: e the substrata are sufficiently
permeable, to suffer the superfluous water
o^ the soil, to pass off quick . so as to allow
the roots of the herbage immediate power
of act an expedient, if we may judge
from the single instance before us, may not
be necessary : may even be injurious.
A brief Sketch of the General Manage-
of the watered Grounds of
Wiltshire.
The print :n of watering is
the latter part of autumn, and the early part
inter. It beg:ns soon after Michaelmas,
and continues until between Candlemas, and
Ladyday, — when the meadows are laid dry,
for the ewes and lames ; which continue
• 11 about "George's tide"; the
latter end of April.
The meadows are then shut up, for hay ;
and occasional -ed, as the season may
require. They are always mown once, and
sometimes twice, for hay.
The aftl . •• expended
on cows : it being an universally received
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 345
opinion, which is probably founded on ex-
perience, that water meads, though they are
highly salubrious to sheep, in early spring,
are dangerous to them in the summer
months. A remarkable fact : if such it is.
The cows remain in the meadow, until the
season of watering.
SHEEP. The myriads of sheep, that are
observable, on these hills, in the summer
months, and, in the vallies, in the spring,
cannot fail to interest the agricultural tra-
veller. The number is immense ; and, by
reason of the nakedness of the country, they
are all seen.
The breed, which has, perhaps, for cen-
turies, been in full possession of this DivU
sion of the Chalk Hills, appears, evidently,
to be a variety of the horned sheep, of the
western mountains. See West of Eng-
land, Section sheep.
They are distinguishable, from the other
varieties of this breed of horned sheep, in their
size, and particularly in their height ; being of
the tallest sheep in the Island. They are
also to be distinguished by the closeness of
their horns, and the uniformity of their
heads ; as well as by the nakedness of their
barrels; the under part beingfreefrom wool ;
having only a thin covering of short silvery
hair^
They are remarkable for an evenness of
form ; which, in the best flocks, is, even
346 AGRICULTURE.
now, above mediocrity ; fifty years ago,
they were, doubtless, the highest bred sheep,
in the Island. They are not only well
formed, and well fleshed, but are able to
travel far to their food, and to bear the fold.
Their wool, too, is of a good quality. Their
color is uniformly white ; — or some very
few, wholly black I*
The principal objection to this breed of
sheep, on thin-soiled high lands, is their
size. Were it not for the watered grounds,
they could not have been so long supported ;
nor could they, perhaps, without them, have
ever been brought to their present size.
The Southdown breed (which will be men-
tioned under the next Division of the Chalk
Hills) are, at present, contending for the pos-
session of these enviable heights ; and there
is little doubt, I believe, of their being sin-
gularly entitled to them.
The flocks are chiefly of breeding ewes ;
it having been long the practice of the west-
* Color of sheep. It is a striking fact, in natural
history, that of the different breeds of English sheep,
though the male and female are perfectly white, and their
ancestry the same, perhaps, for several generations,
they are liable to produce a lamb that is entirely black.
Whereas, in most or all other species of animals, the
color of the offspring usually partakes of that ot the sire
and that of the dam, jointly ; being mottled, or of a shade
between them. And, with respect to the faces and legs
of English sheep, this is generally the case; while the
fleeces arc wholly white, or wholly black.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 347
ernDivision of theChalk Hills, to furnish the
eastern Division with vvedder lambs ; as will
appear in speaking of that Division : into
which, also, the Southdown breed, is now
making its entrance : so that the long esta-
blished breed of Wiltshire and Hampshire
are routed, in every quarter ; and may soon
be extinct.
On the management of sheep, a cursory
view of a country cannot afford full infor-
mation. Nevertheless, one who has a know-
ledge of the general subject, and who is
accustomed to make observations, catches
many particulars of practice, which a mere
traveller is liable to miss. By observing
the Wiltshire flocks, at different seasons,
and by conversing with intelligent shep-
herds, who occasionally fell in my way, I
have gained, I find, sufficient information,
to give a sketch of
The economy of the ewe flock. The
rams are admitted, in October ; with the
intent of giving the lambs the full advan-
tage of the water meads ; that they may
acquire an early luxuriance of growth: not
altogether, through a flush of milk, from
the ewes ; but by being permitted to par-
take of the choicest morsels, of the rich her-
bage, when the.^e watered grounds afford ;
es;x-eiaUv the flote fescue, which grows by
the sides of the trenches, and the raygrass,
34? AGRICULTURE.
with which the whole abounds: it being"
customary to suffer them, to run before the
ewes : by leaving narrow passes, between
the hurdles, to permit the lambs, and re-
strain the ewes.
At night, they are folded, on the arable
lands, in the neighbourhood of the mea-
dows; the ewes having hay given to them.
in the fold ; to correct the succulencv oi'
the herbage : while the warmth of the ibid,
at this early season, is probably of ad van-*
tage to the lambs.
During summer, the ewes and lambs have
the best of the cultivated herbage, of the
leys that have been mentioned ; with tares,
or other green food, in the fold, at night :
every endeavor being used, to force the
lambs, forward, to the greatest size possible,
for the autumnal fair of Weyhill (held
at Michaelmas) where the wedder lambs
are mostly sold. With this view, they are
suffered to suck the ewes, all the summer ;
being weaned only a few weeks, before
Michaelmas; when the best of them are
put to rape, or other forcing food, to fill
them out, for market: the worst being kept
on, for store wedders ; and are put out to
winter feedage, in the low grounds, with
the ewe lambs, the first winter, at the high
price, I understand, of six or seven shillings,
a head, from Michaelmas to Ladyday.
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 3,9
The culled or offcast ewes 2*0 chiefly, I
believe, into Somersetshire ; to be fatted on
the " moors/' or marshes, of that county.
Tlie young ewes are kept on the higher
downs, the year round ; hay stacks being
seen scattered, on the hills, for their relief,
in winter.
The sheepfold of this country is set
out very large ; especially, perhaps, "for ewes
and lambs. One. for seven hundred ewes,
or large lambs (or three hundred and fifty
couples, in July) measured fiftyseven yards,
bv forty two; which give more than three
square yards, to each, or near seven, to a
couple. And being usually fed, in these
spacious folds, they probably experience
little, if any, inconveniency, either from the
confinement, or the want of food, during the
time they are thus beneficially employed, in
fertilizing the land.
The sheep rack, made use of, in these
large folds, is simple and eligible. Its form
is nearly that of half a hollow cylinder, of
about eighteen inches in diameter, and six
or eight feet long. It is formed, either of
rods, or of laths, bent in the manner of a
waggon tilt, or awning ; spaces being left
for the sheep to get at the food, which rests
on the ground, — its natural basis ; where it is
effectually protected, from waste, by this
simple guard. Several of these racks are
placed, in different parts of the fold, pre-
35o AGRICULTURE.
viously to the sheep being admitted. They
are cheap, readily filled (by turning them
on their backs) and easily removed.
In the common-field townships, where
the farms are many of them small, and the
lands lie intermixed. — and where it would be
in a degree impracticable, for individuals to
keep separate flocks, and graze and fold
their own lands, — " town flocks" have
been established.
To these, each occupier has the right of
contributing a number of sheep, propor-
tioned to the land he occupies: and the
joint flock of each township are placed un-
der the care of one principal shepherd; who,
with respect to his flock, considers the entire
township as one farm ; depasturing, with
them, the downs, the lower grounds, and
the meadow lands, in common ; and fold-
ing them, on every man's land, according
to his right, or agreeably to the established
regulations of the township.
Theory may suggest, that endless diffi-
culties, and disputes, must necessarily arise,
from individual properties, and separate in-
terests, being intermixed and rendered com-
mon. But the long established practice,
under notice, serves to show, that, where a
common compact is requisite, to secure the
interests of individuals, men's minds, seeing
the reason and fitness of* he regulation, be-
come reconciled to small difficulties, and
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 351
are satisfied to give and receive, recipro-
cally, as circumstances require.
CATTLE. The cows, observable in this
District, are mostly of the long-horned
breed ; and those of the larger farmers are,
some of them, good of this sort. But a
great mixture and diversity are seen ; few
of them being bred in the country. Those
of the smaller farmers, are many of them
very mean.
They are kept on the downs, in com-
mon herds ; each township, or hamlet,
having its cow-herd ; who drives them to
the downs, tends them there, and brings
them back, ill the evening, to be milked;
distributing them among their respective
owners, who take the charge of them during
the night ; the herdsman collecting them,
in the morning, by sound of horn : a cus-
tom, probably, of many centuries standing.
I have seen a hundred head, at least, in one
of these " town herds/'
In summer, when the weather is sultry,
the cows remain in the house or yard, and
are fed, there, with grass and weeds, col-
lected for them ; — or are suffered to drop
their dung unprofitably, in lanes or other
shady places, — during the heat of the day ;
and are driven to the down, in the cool of
the evening.
STATE OF HUSBANDRY. The out-
line of management appears to be well
35* AGRICULTURE.
suited, to the soil, the climature, and the
present state of inclosure ; and, in some in-
stances, the execution is highly commend-
able ; — the soil clean, and in good condi-
tion : while, in many others, it is equally
reprehensible; the leys occupied by weeds ;
with but little nutritious herbage, to sup-
port the flocks, that are pining away upon
land, which, under proper culture, would
afford them an ample maintenance. The
wheat stubbles, too, are often seen, in a
state of extreme foulness : and this, not-
withstanding the crops of wheat, on the
ground, generally look well : the dung and
the fold, both of which are mostly expended
on this crop, more especially the former,
enable it to surmount all difficulties, of
foulness in the soil. But the crop removed,
the land reverts to its former state of un-
productiveness.
The IMPROVEMENT, which strikes
most forcibly, in a cursory view of these
hills, is that of clean tillage; which,
perhaps, can only be effected, by a change
of the present unwieldy plow, and extrava-
gant plow team. There is little if any
land, I apprehend, tmtbin the District now
under consideration, that might not be per-
fectly well plowed, with two horses, and a
proper plow : I mean, after it is once re-
claimed from its present state of foulness.
If the loose nature of the Chalk-Hill soils
WESTERN CHALK HILLS. 353
require that they should be bound together,
with roots, to secure the wheat crop, let
them not be the roots of couchgrass ; but
those of raygrass, white clover, trefoil, or
some other useful plant ; in the manner,
light sandy lands are held together, for that
crop, in Norfolk. Dibbling the seed, into
the whole furrow of clean raygrass and
clover leys, either by hand, or by a dibbling
roller, ought to be tried, with attention.
Breaking up the higher downs, that
have been, time immemorial, in a state of
pasturage, especially those which are now
partially overgrown with heath and coarse
herbage, would strike most observers, as
an obvious improvement.
This, however, appears, to me, too im-
portant a subject, to be decided upon, with-
out very mature consideration : and the pro-
priety, or impropriety, of doing it, in any
case, may depend on a variety of circum-
stances.
There are, doubtless, tracts of land, on
these hills, that ought to be changed, from
their present unproductive state. The one,
which struck me most, lies between Peters-
field and Alton, in the eastern quarter of
the Hampshire Downs. It is of consider-
able extent. The soil a deep loam, on
gravel, — on chalk ! Its present produce is
heath and bushes. By cultivation, it might
be rendered of three times its present value.
vol. ii. A a
354 AGRICULTURE.
to the community. And there may be other
tracts of a similar nature.
Even on the more ordinary Downs of
Wiltshire, especially on the higher swells,
there are lands that might, in much pro-
bability, be improved; particularly those,
on which a light, black, spungy, vegetable
mold prevails: not however by tillage * I
apprehend ; but by singing off the heath.,
and other rubbish, which at present occir
much of the surface; and, then, by lime
and heavy rolling. A trial, at least,
ought to be made.
But, in regard to the firm, clean, produc-
tive sheep downs, which cover a very large
portion of the upper parts of these hills, it
ftiight be difficult, perhaps, to devise means
of rendering them more valuable, in any
other state,\\\2iW that in which they are, at
present ;— more especially, while the coun-
try remains under its present system of
management: improved they doubtless may
be ; particularly with the sheepfold. But
this is limited, and slow in its progress, and
fe peculiarly valuable to the arable lands
THE
SOUTHERN DIVISION
OF THE
CHALK HILLS.
THIS NARROW tract of country shoots,
eastward, from the Hampshire Downs:
having the rich flat of the Sea Coast of
Sussex, to the south ; with the sandy-loam
District of Petworth, and the W^ald
of Sussex, on the north; being terminated
to the east, by the marsh lands of Peven-
SEA.
The EXTENT, from east to west, is
fifty to sixty miles ; the width — three to
six miles ; the superficial contents — two to
three hundred square miles.
The ELEVATION of this range of hills
is similar to that of other chalk downs:
and, lying along the sea coast, their exact
height might easily be ascertained.
In SURFACE, too, they resemble other
chalk hills : except that the narrow range,
A a 2
356 DISTRICT.
now under view, are separated, by deep
vallies, into five distinct compartments : the
"waters collected in the District of Petworth,
and the Weald of Sussex, finding passages
to the sea, through these vallies.
Remarks. What affords interesting mat-
ter of reflection, to the geologist, the col-
lecting surfaces have a natural tendency, to
bring the waters towards these passages ;
so that no lake, or collection, is formed, in
any part of them.
Were the vallies worn, by waters, origi-
nally pent up, behind the hills, while the
chalk was yet in a soft papous state ? or did
the same force, which separated the line of
chalk, rend the clay and sand, while yet
plastic ; and did the closing of the chasms,
give the present inclination of surface?
This is not a singular, though a striking
case. The extraordinarv outlet to the waters
j
of the Vale of Pickering (see Yorkshire)
as well as the rents, in the limestone heights,
on its northern margin, are of a similar
nature. In like manner, too, the Valley of
Amesbury receives the waters of the Vale
of Pewsey. The Medway, below Maid-
stone, is let out, through the Chalk Hills
of Kent, in a similar way : also the Stower,
below Ashford ; and the Mole through those
of Surrey, at Dorking.
It is difficult to explain, on rational prin-
ciples, the existing form of the earth's sur-
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 357
face : yet how interesting is the subject, to
those who inhabit it. If the nature of the
materials of which it is composed, the vege-
table productions it bears, and the animals
it nurtures, are important subjects of in-
quiry, surely, what the inhabitants of the
earth may well term the face of nature,
cannot be indifferent ; especially to those
whose station in life is to cultivate it ; to
turn every portion of it to ihe profit of the
species ; and to suit every part to its most
profitable purp. se.
The hills, under view, give rise to ano-
ther train of ideas, which relate to the for-
mation of the earth's surface ; and belong
to what might be termed the process of agi-
tation, which gave it the present form. The
Dovvns of Sussex, and the opposite hills of
Surrey and Kent, appear to have been im-
pe jd, in different directions. The hills of
Sussex dip southward ; shelving down to
the rich lands of the coast ; which probably
rest on their skirts ; the north side of these
hills showing a steep broken cliff.
On the contrary, the hills of Surrey dip,
northward, with a gently shelving surface,
towards the Thames, and with a high bro-
ken cliff, to the south ; the low, vale dis-
trict of Horsham separating these two
strongly featured ranges of high lands ;
which are prominently conspicuous to each
358 DISTRICT.
other ; though they are placed near twenty
miles asunder
The hills of England most generally,
shelve southward, or eastward ; seldom to
the north or west. Thus, the mountains
and Wolds of Yorkshire ; the Chalk Hills of
Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire; the
Cot^wold Hilis of Glocestershire ; and the
Chalk Hills of Wilishire and of Susses, —
dip to the south, or east , having high bro-
ken steeps, 10 the north or west. The lulls
of Kent and Surrey, the Isle of Wight, and
and other hills, in mv recollection, are ex-
ceptions to this more general rule.
A geological map of England, shaded
somewhat agreeably to the sketch, I have
given of Yorkshire, showing, not only its
mountain, upland, and vale districts, but
givipg an adequate idea of their elevations,
and casts of surface, would, in the instant,
be a valuable acquisition to science. And,
whenever the government of tins country
shall turn their attention to the country it-
self, such a map, or maps pointing out, at
sight, the elevation, the turn of surface, the
waters, the soils, and the substrata, as they
relate to agricultuke, will be found to be
an acquirement of considerable value.
A sketch of its agricultural depart-
ments I have attempted, with a degree of
success.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 359
THE four Vallies, which separate the
Sussex Downs, are those of Arundel, Shore-
hjm, Lewes, and Seaford. The part which
is included between the Hampshire hills, and
the valley of Arundel, is called the " west
" downs" : — the other four divisions — the
•' south downs"; — probably, in contradis-
tinction, to the Downs of Surrey ; which, as
has been shown, are situated to the north of
them.
To speak of the south downs, with
greater ease and precision, it will be conve-
nient to subdivide them, into the middle or
main downs, included between the vallies of
Arundel and Lewes ; and the east dozens,
comprising the two smaller compartments,
to the eastward of the valley of Lewes.
The INFORMATION, which I gained,
respecting this department of the Chalk
Hills, was gathered, in repeated excursions
from Petworth, and was confined to the
three most westerl}', or principal divisions.
The two, to the eastward, which are com-
paratively small, I had not a favorable op-
portunity of examining.
The SOILS of the Sussex Downs vary,
from black, spungy, vegetable mold, to a
strong, deep, flinty loam ; this division par-
taking, in the nature of its soils, equally of
the eastern and the western Divisions ; being,
in this particular, a mean between them.
The most prevailing soil, on these, as on all
360 DISTRICT.
other chalkv downs; is a light -colored cal-
careous loam.
The SUBSTRUCTURE appears, in the
different quarries worked, on
the sides of the clift- The quarries of
Houghton, hi the upper part of the
>f Arundel, are the most considerable ; as
they are favor uated, on the imme-
bank of the Arun navigation :* the
d, by hand, down an easy
. from the r barges. These
quarries show a uniform mass of chalk, from
one to two hundred feet in depth : the face
being kept, nearlv perpendicular. The
whole is thrown down, bv hand, with-
out blasting ; and is conveyed to the barges
in large barrows (with two small wh
carrying a quarter of a ton, each ; the chalk
ng weighed into the barrow
ith the marine jcid, three
specimens* taken from the upper, the middle,
and the lower strata of the lo: I the
Hou_ as follow.- : the
upper and middle strata afforded only one
Srain of residue, each ! the lower stratum
three grains, — a erev, sub-tenaci-
The inconsiderable portion of indissoluble
matter, of the great mass of these rocks, is
color, and fine enough to insi-
nuate itself into the pores of the paper.
LO of S
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 361
It is to be observed, that, when chalk is
intended to be burnt into lime, especially
with wood, the blocks and larger pieces,
only, are used. The rubble and smaller
pieces, which break off, in quarrying, are
unsaleable ; and are thrown aside, as rub-
bish : hence, the immense mounds, which
are noticed, in the District of Petworth,
as a proper subject, for experiment. See
page 176.
Thequarriesof DuNCTON,in the more im-
mediate face of the northern cliff, and from
which the western extremity of the Weald
of Sussex is supplied, with chalk, for lime,
disclose, on the contrary, a variety of strata.
The upper parts of the steep are composed
of " white chalk", which is burnt for ma-
nure, and answers to the white chalk of the
Houghton quarries; (the hill, here, being
much higher, than at Houghton) : beneath
tiiis, is a deep stratum ol * grey chalk",
which is burnt for cement, and is of a su-
perior quality, for this purpose : and, be-
low this, is a bed of " marl" ; — a still fouler
chalk : the more immediate base of the bill
being the " maam" soil, which is particu-
larized, in the District of Petworih.
Remarks. This species of strong cal-
careous soil* is not peculiar to the West
* By analysis, the maam soil for black " v.heat
land") of Duncton (at the immediate foot of the hill] yielded
362 DISTRICT.
Downs of Sussex, but is to be found, per-
haps, in a greater or less quantity, at the
foot of everv high chalk cliff of this Island.
I have observed it at the foot of the Betch-
vorth hills, in Surrey, Maamscot and
Wrotham hills, in Kent, at the foot of the
Hampshire hills, near Petcrsfield, and of
the Wiltshire hills, by Warminster. Where -
ever the height of the cliff is greater, than
the depth of the mass of chalk which forms
it, this species of soil, which appears to be
its natural adjunct, is probablv to be found,
at its base.
It may be observed, that, in one oi^ the
quarries of white chalk, in the upper part
of the face of the steep, above Duncton, a
thin stratum, or list, of three or lour inches
in thickness, runs, nearlv horizontally, but
taking a somewhat wavey line, across the
middle of the quarrv. It has something of
the appearance of fuller's earth ; but is cal-
careous. The quarrymen call it " marl
flour." It is a species of calcareous fossil, I
have not noticed, elsewhere : at least, not
in a similar situation. *
only seven and a halt grains, — while that of Gmffham
;'nf a browner color, and interspersed with granules 00
rded fortyfive and a halt grains, percent, <>t
calcareous matter. The residue, of both, brown silt :
that o{ the latter being the finest, and most tenacious.
* By analysis, with the marine add, an hundicd
grains of this fossil yielded forty one grains of cakai
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 363
STATE OF INCLOSURE. These
downs being little more than a single range
of hills, they are chiefly laid to the town-
ships on either side of them. Hence, even
the small village inclosures, which are seen
on most other chalk hills, are here, except
in a few instances, wanting.
The PRESENT PRODUCTIONS, of
this tract of hill country, are similar to those
of the western Division. The values con-
tain meadozus, and marsh lands — provin-
ciality "brook lands." The slopes and lower
stages of the hills, bear arable crops. The
tops of the hills are sheep zcalks: mostly
of fine turf; but with a mixture of furze and
heath. And some of the steeper surfaces,
earth ; leaving fiftynine grains of impalpable matter ;
resembling fuller's earth, but somewhat darker colored.
For analyses of the chalks of Dun c ton", see
the District of Petwortk, page 183.
The " marl'' of Deass Wood, on the opposite
side of the hill (mentioned in page 237.) yields ninety-
eight grains, percent, of calcareous matter.
The "marls" of the sea coast (seepage 236.)
yielded as follows: a specimen taken from an undis-
turbed mass, in the iace of the beach, presently alter
being left by the tide, and then in a state ot firm pr^re,
yielded (having been previously dried) ninetysix grains,
— another specimen, picked up loose on the beach, in
the tide's way, ninetyeight and a half grains, percent ;
being of course a chalk of the purest, and most valuable
quality ; yet suffered, century after century, to lie in a
state of neglect, and useless to the species ! See as
above.
364 DISTRICT.
cially of the West Downs, are hung
In the light of ORNAMENT, this range
of chalk hills differ, little, from the Y<
shire and the Wiltshire Downs : excepting
that the sea, here, generally enters into the
view ; and excepting a lovely passage, round
Find on, (a well soiled, well sheltered flat,
or midway stage, of the compartment be-
tween the vallies of Arundel and Shoreham)
which is one of the most habitable situa-
tions. I have any where observed, upon the
chalk hills of England. In other respects,
whether we view the abrupt broken cliffs,
or the summits which crown them, or the
opposite margins, shelving to a rich
district, the South Downs, the Downs of Sur-
rey, and the Wolds of Yorkshire, are the
same. The passages of country, between
Shoreham and Brighthelm^ton, between
Croydon and Epsom, and between Beverley
and Driffield, have a striking similarity in
their appearances.
The most interesting circle of vil
that caught mv eve, on these hills, are seen
from the West Downs, above Arundel park.
Two of them are singularly grand, and
various in feature. On the one hand, the
wooded declivity, from Arundel to Good-
wood, spreads, as a foreground. Chichester,
the Isle of Selsey, and the rich lands c.
coast, compose the center of the view : the
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 365
sea, and the Isle of Wight rising proudly
out of it, the distance : Spithead, with its
shipping, forming a clear and interesting
part of the picture. On the other, the
finely broken grounds of Petworth and Pul-
borough appear at hand, partially skreen-
ing the vale of Horsham, backed by the
Lethe Hills, which form a prominent and
striking feature ; Box Hill, and other hills
of Surrey, appearing in the furthest dis-
tance.
WOODLANDS.
THE PRINCIPAL part of the Wood-
lands, of these hills, hang on the southern
declivity of the west downs ; with some
on the northern steep, of the same com-
partment.
These woods are chiefly beech; but with
a mixture of oak, and ash.
Near the foot of the southern hang, above
Walberton, is the finest grove of beeches,
I have any where observed. The trees are
thick on the ground, and tall, beyond com-
parison. Many of them are fifty feet, in
the stem ; as clean, and almost as straight,
as gun barrels. In 1791, the largest size
was four feet in girt ; and if they remain, in
366 WOODLANDS.
the crowded state in which they then stood,
their furure growth must necessarily be re-
tarded. The soil is a dark-colored loam ;
the subsoil — calcareous rubble, on a deep
bed of marl : a true beech and sainfoin soil.
In thinning, or rather culling, one of the
beech woods above Slindon, I observed,
that the WARE, cut out, was chiefly rails,
and other scantling, for the Northumber-
land COLLIERIES.
The durability of beech timber, in water
and moist situations, being now well un-
derstood, these woods will, no doubt, be
henceforward of great value. And there are
many sites on the chalk and limestone hills
of this Island, on which it would pay am-
ply for propagation.
The oak, and the ash, do not thrive, on
the higher parts of these hills. The former
becomes stunted, and mossy, and the latter
is eaten up, with the canker. The beech is
the natural timber tree of chalk hills : es-
pecially, in bleak, exposed situations.
AGRICULTURE
THE MAIN OBJECT I had, in going
over this Division of the Chalk Hills, was that
of gaining some knowledge of its SHEEP,
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 367
which have, of late years, grown into high
estimation ; and are, still, rapidly spread-
ing over the southern parts of the king-
dom. I am, therefore, unprepared for a
detail of its husbandry ', and shall only
notice a few general heads.
It may here be remarked, that, before
the Woodlands of Sussex were cleared, the
range of hills, under notice, had probably
little, if any communication, with those of
Surrey and Kent. Hence, in some part, the
difference in their practices. Trie practice
of the hills of Sussex, as well as of their out-
skirts or margins, on either side of them,
resembles, in many particulars, that of the
WesternDi vision of the Chalk Hills ; and the
still more western districts of the Island.
FARMS. In a cursory examination of
these hills, and judging from the similarity,
and great size, of the flocks of sheep, which
everywhere meet the eye, they would seem
to be wholly divided, into large farms. But
many of the flocks, here, as on the western
hills, are parochial, or aggregations of the
flocks of small farmers, whose lands lie con-
tiguous, or intermixed.
Nevertheless, farms of sufficient extent,
and with a happy union of sheep walk,
arable lands, and marshes, are to be found,
in different parts of these hills * And some
* The farms of Applesham, and North Stoke,
368 AGRICULTURE.
that are too extensive, for individuals to
cultivate, with propriety. I have been well
informed, that, on one estate, there are three
farms, of a thousand pounds, avear, each.
FARMERS. From what I have seen of
the larger occupiers of these hills, they are
not only opulent, but intelligent : husband-
men of the highest class.
The BEASTS OF DRAFT are in the
greater part, I apprehend, horses ; but
with a large portion of oxen, of the Sussex
breed .
IMPLEMENTS. On the middle or main
downs, the turnwrest plow is solely in
use. But, generally, I believe, of a lighter
frame, than the ordinary one of Kent. On
the Brighthelmston downs, I saw one, m
barley seed time, worked with two horses :
not abreast with reins : but driven, at
length. On the east downs, I understand,
the same plow is prevalent.
PLAN OF HUSBANDRY. The great
object, to which every view of the South-
down farmer appears to be directed, is sheep.
The hill lands may be said to be appropri-
ated to them. A large portion, more than
one third of these lands, is kept in a state
of perennial sheep-walk : and a very con-
thc property of the Earl of Egremont, and occu-
pied by Mr. Gell, and Mr. Saver, are of this de-
sirable cast ; and there arc lew farms, in the kingdem,
under better management.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 369
siderable part of the arable crops. — as tur-
neps, rape, tare?, rye. and ley herbage, — are
cultivated for their maintenance ; and are
intermixed with corn crops, as the wants of
the flock require: there being. I beli
no establ regular course of practice
followed.
What distinguishes this division of the
Chalk Hills, from the western d'.v
respect to the sheep husband]
of water meadows, for their s : of
course, a greater exertion is requisite to be
made, on the aral ids, for their due
support, at that season. The grass of the
brooklands comes too late, for th >ose;
and is chiefly j I believe, applied tograz
SHEEP. The nvmber, maintained on
these hills, is greater, in pro::
extent, than that of the Western D
not altogether on account of the compara-
tive smallness of the breed ; but a gres
proportion, of the arable land, is at ;
appropriated to sheep, here, than on the
Hampshire and Wiltshire hii-
Theo: e rs, of the sheep husbandry , on
the Sussex Downs, at present, are those of
rearing weddef lambs ; for the hill farfi
of the Eastern Division of the Chalk H
and other parts of the South of England ; —
also ewe lambs, for spread. breed,
over the Western Division, and other parts ;
and aged ewes, for the same p Als ? :•.
VOL. II. B b
37o AGRICULTURE.
few store zvedders; for folding, oney ear: they
being generally sold, at eighteen months old ;
and chiefly, 1 believe, to the Kent and Surrey
farmers. But, since the great demand for this
breed has taken place, fewer wedder-teg
flocks have been kept, than formerly : breed-
ing flocks being now found more profitable.
The breed varies. On the West Drains,
a wild-looking, base-bred sort are seen:
mostly white faced, and various as to horn ;
having the same mongrel appearance, as the
mountain sheep of the West of England :
and they are, probablv, the unreclaimed
native stock of these hills ; retaining their
miscellaneous state, for want of selection ;
and their comparatively small size, with
respect to the Wiltshire sheep, for want of
watered meadows: this breed commencing
eastward of the valley of Lavant, with
which the watered meadows, of the western
hills, end : — a strongly corroborating evi-
dence, that the present size of the Wiltshire
breed has been obtained, by that forcing
spring food. *
Some apology, for the inferiority of the
West Down breed, may also be found, in the
downs themselves ; which are of an infe-
rior quality, and remain, more, in the un-
reclaimed forest state, than any other passage
of the western, or the southern Chalk Hills.
Eastward of the valley of Arundel, and to
♦ Sec page 34.-.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 37i
the easternmost extremity of this Division, a
breed of sheep are found, of a description,
very different from those of the West Downs,
and still more widely, from those of the
Western Division, — in stature, frame, color,
and wool : though, by no means, so select,
and uniform, in these respects, as the Wilt-
shire breed.
This distinct breed of sheep is well known,
in many parts of the South and West of
England, by the name of the South Down
breed.
The individuals, as has been intimated,
differ somewhat, in their frame and wool,
and more in their countenances. What may
be considered, as the true South Down
sheep, I conceive to be of the following
description. The carcass thick ; yet some-
what loose ; owing to a deficiency, behind
the shoulders. The legs of a middle length,
and the stature, altogether, of the middle
height ; (between the small heath sheep,
that are found in various parts of the Island,
and the Wiltshire breed). The bone of the
legs rather large ; yet their flesh is of a good
quality. The head and neck thick, and short.
The fleece remarkably close, and fine; and
long, considering its fineness: particularly
full, on the neck ; giving the head a muffled
appearance. The face and legs black, or
dark grey. The head invariably poled, or
hornless.
Bbs
-: AGRICULTURE.
But, in looking over the flocks of these
Downs, great deviations, from this standard,
are observable ; particularly, in a thinness
of carcass, an openness of fleece, and in
the color of the legs and face. On exa-
mining, witji some attention, the flocks on
what may be called the Brighthelmstcxi
compartment of the South Downs, beside
remarking on the unevenness of their form,
I took the following notice of their color :
— about half the ewes, with white or slight-
ly colored, one fourth, with mottled, and
one fourth, with black, legs and faces. Some
of the lambs, with mottled carcasses. And,
on examining two separate, and large flocks,
on the adjoining compartment, included be-
tween the vallies of Shoreham and Arundel,
I observed a similar disparity, and want of
evenness, in frame, and color.
Of the origin of the Southdown breed, or
how long it has been confined to the nar-
row limits, within which, until lately, it has
been kept, I have never heard the least in-
timation. On my first view of it, in 1791,
it appeared to me a matter of surprise, that
a breed, so very different, in rianv essential
prcperties, as well as popular marks and
distinctions, from every other, I had, then,
more particularlv examined* should have
found their way into, and retained exclus
possession of, this small tract of country.
But having, since, seen the breeds of the W-
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS, 373
of England, and bestowed much thought
on the different varieties, that appear to have
sprung, from the native, or ancient breed of
the western mountains, I see nothing in the
South Down sheep, to show, that they are
not, merely, a variety of this original stock.
Xor can I discern any other characteristic,
in the poled, grey -faced sheep of the South
Hams of Devonshire, and the poled, grey-
faced sheep of the South Downs of Sussex,
than what soil, or rather food, and clima-
ture, may have given There appears to me
nothing, either in the size of the carcass, or
the length of the wool, which these may not
have effected. And I have no doubt of a
breed of sheep, resembling that of the South
Downs, being, even yet, to be raised from
individuals which might be chosen, from
the unreclaimed flocks of Devonshire and
Cornwall.
The present quality of the wool of the
Southdown breed, may either have arisen
from the fineness of the Southdown pastu-
rage; or from the original selection, through
which the variety was propagated ; or from
its having, since, been the fashion of the dis-
trict, to breed it. Even to this day, wool
and bone are the two points aimed at, by
Southdown farmers, even of the higher
class.*
* 1797. In passing and repassing Dartmoor,
this summer, since the above remarks were written, I
w AGRICULTURE.
Whatever attention may, heretofore, have
been bestowed on this breed, it was pretty
evident, at the time I first examined it, on
its native hills, that little attention had, for
some length of time been paid to it : even
the best Hocks, I then saw, were very uneven ;
and, evidently, in a state of neglect.
About, and since, that time, some consi-
derable attention has been paid to it ; espe-
cially on the Ec;st Downs.-f But with what
success, I am not able to speak, with suffi-
cient knowledge of the subject : not having
had a favorable opportunity of examining
the new variety, on its native ground. And
as there appears to be doubts, as to the na-
ture of the improvement, yet effected, I
forbear to risk any remarks of my own, on
this part of the subject.
All I can say, from my own knowledge,
of the general subject is, that, in the breed
at large, there is very great improvement
to be made ; and that he who unites, in the
best manner, the four essential qualities of
hill 5-help ; nam iv, fine close wool, well-
flavored mutton, an inclination to fat early,
and a sufficient strength of frame and con-
paid particular attention to the sheep that fell within my
view • and distinguished several individuals, which so
much resembled, in frame and color, the Southdown
sheep ot the above description, that they might well
have deceived the eyt> even of a Southdown farmer.
t Particularly, I believe, by Mr. Ellman, of Glynde,
near Lewes.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 375
stitution, to stand the fold, will, in my opi-
nion, be the best friend to his country.
I cannot refrain from noticing, here, with
some concern, the evident jealousies, and a
degree of contention, which exist, between
the Southdown, and the Romney Marsh
breeders ; as if each were contending for
the whole country! whereas, these two
breeds, in their present states, are calculated
for two opposite descriptions of soils and
situations. The South Downs, for upland
arable districts, to grow line wool, and fill
the fold, in situations which require it. The
Romney Marsh, for rich low lands, to pro-
duce long wool, and to throw into the mar-
ket the greatest quantity of mutton, with
the least bone and other offal, without re-
gard to activity or strength of frame. And
it is to be feared, that, by endeavoring to
accommodate their flocks, to both these de-
scriptions of country, they will render them
improper for either.
The present breed of the South Downs is
admirably adapted to every department of
Chalk Hills, and Limestone Heights, in the
kingdom ; and, particularly, to those that
are destitute of watered meadows : they
having been long moulded to that descrip-
tion of country : and the first step towards
their improvement is, evidently, that of
making them evenly good with the best of
the established breed : without refining too
ii
6 AGRICULTURE.
much, or copying, implicitly, the principles
of improvement, that have been applied, with
happy effect, in meliorating a breed, which
is suited to a different purpose ; — excepting
so far as relates to filling up the deficiency
of the fore quarter.
The description of flocks has been in-
timated, as being that of breeding ezies ;
with a few small vedder flocks, for folding ;
but with very few, if any, fatting Jiocks;
except in the brooklands, or marshes.
Ewe flocks. The usual size is five hun-
dred. For although the larger farmers keep
a thousand, fifteen hundred, or a greater
number of breeding ewes, they seldom, I
believe, place more than five hundred in
one flock, or under the care of one shep-
herd. And the town flocks I found divided,
in the same way.
The rams, which I saw, were not well
chosen : and I was informed, by an intelli-
gent shepherd, on the Brighton quarter of
the Downs, that little cost, or even atten-
tion, is bestowed on them. The uneven-
ness of the flocks is, therefore, a necessary
consequence of neglect.*
The time of admitting the rams would
seem to vary, with situation, or climature:
for, in 1791, there was nearly a fortnight
* When I went over the District, in April, the rams
■were among the ewes and lambs, in heads, as male deer
are seen, in parks, at the same season.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 377
difference, between the eastern banks of
the Arun, and the bleaker heights of the
Brighthelmston quarter, in
The time of lambing. Ladyday is spoken
of, as the usual time of commencing. But,
on the tenth of April, there were lambs, on
the western quarter of the South Downs,
three weeks or a month old. The majority
of the lambs are dropped, in the early part
of April ; continuing to fall, until the latter
end, or the close of that month. On the
27th April, many of the ewes still retained
their lambs.
The ewes of this breed mostly bring
single lambs: but not unfrequently twins.
The foods of ewes and lambs, in this
meadowless District, are various; as turneps,
rape, raygrass, and perhaps rank wheat.
The ewes, when I saw them, were mostly
low in condition ; but the lambs, in general
looked well : an evidence of the South
Down ewes being good nurses ; though not
a proof: for ewes, in general, when fed
chiefly on turneps, will bring their lambs
forward, while they are, themselves, sinking
in condition.
Folding. Ewes and lambs are seldom
folded, until the lambs have gathered some
strength ; as at ten days or a fortnight old ;
and, then, on clean sward, or ley grounds;
shepherds objecting to folding them on
378 AGRICULTURE.
fallows, or broken ground, until after shear-
ing time ; unless the weather be very dry.
A superior manager keeps two folds stand-
ing : one on grass, the other on fallow ;
and drives his flock, to one or the other, as
rain or dry weather directs : an accuracy of
management, which others might copy ;
the expence of an extra number of hurdles
being its only inconveniency ; while the
advantage, in some seasons, may be great.
On the north side of the West Downs, I
met with a striking instance of the stoutness
of the South Down, or M blackfaced" sheep,
in regard to the fold. In this, and other
instances, in that quarter, they are pas-
tured, from the first shoot of spring, until
autumn, upon the higher downs, and folded,
sometimes every night, on the maam soil,
at the foot of the northern steep!* up which
they have to climb, in the morning, and
perhaps a mile to travel, on the top of the
hill, before they reach their pasture.
I know no breed of sheep, of a superior
quality, except the South Down, or the
Norfolk, which is capable of enduring such
hardships. Nor, perhaps, could even the
South Down breed support it ; unless under
a principle of management, which is com-
mon to this division of the Chalk Hills, and
• Sec District of Petworth, in page 167.
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 379
marks it strongly, as a distinguishing cha-
racter, from the practice of the other Di-
visions.
Instead of feeding them, in the fold, as is
done, on the Wiltshire Hills (see page 349.)
they are " slippered up with something
good/' before they go to fold. Thus, in the
instance noticed, and at the time I observed
it, the middle of June, they had their fill of
clover, trefoil, tares, &c. below hill, in the
evening, before they went into the fold :
in which they have leisure to chew the cud;
and to digest their aliment, during the hours
of rest. And, in the morning, their stomachs
being emptied, they are not only able, but
eager, to climb the hill, to their daily pas-
ture.
On the Middle Downs, their supper food,
I was informed, during a principal part of
the year, is rape ; which is sown, from
time to time, for this purpose : a practice,
peculiar, I believe, to this division of the
Chalk Hills of the Southern Counties.
In the shepherding of the South Down
flocks, the following are the few particu-
lars, which occurred to me.
Between the lambing, and the commence-
ment of the fold, the ewes are " tailed,"
or trimmed, behind : an operation, which
ought not, in any district, to be neglected.
(See Yorkshire, on this particular). And
during this interval, namely, at ten days to
38o AGRICULTURE.
a fortnight old, the male Limbs, that are not
intended to be kept lor breeding, are c as-
trated.
The shepherd's dog, of the South Downs,
is stout, active, and intelligent: guarding
his numerous flock, from the un fenced corn
lands which surround them, with great cau-
tion, and severe labor ; especially, where
the surface is flinty. Being on his legs, the
day long, his feet get battered, and full of
corns, so as to render his services of short
duration : rarely standing full work, more
than three years.
The shepherd's crook is, here, in common
use ; and is found in its best form.
The time of weaning the lambs is about
the middle of July.
Their treatment varies. The wedder
lambs, and such of the ewe lambs, as are in-
tended for sale, at the ensuing Michaelmas,
are put upon earlv sown rape, or other nu-
tritious food, to fill them out, for market.
The ewe lambs, intended for breeding,
are allowed less forcing fare ; being gene-
rally kept from the ram, the first autumn ;
and are usually confined, to the higher
Downs, until they are eighteen months old ;
when they are united with the ewe flock.
IMPROVEMENTS. The South
Downs, as well as the Sea Coast of
Sussex, do the agriculture of the county
much credit. There are not many districts
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 381
in the kingdom, in which there are fewer
great and obvious improvements to be made,
than in these two.
In tillage, it is true, something is to
be done. In the eastern parts of the main
Downs, I saw much foul underworked land:
the biennial thistles, so conspicuously dis-
graceful to the Dorsetshire hills, being pre-
dominant. But these were probably the
lands of small village farmers : for the
larger farms, I went over, were in a high
state of cultivation.
The want of sainfoin", even on the larger
farms, is, to me, the least reconcileable part
of the South Down husbandry. The almost
only piece, I particularly observed, was on
the higher thinner lands ; yet the crop was
good ; the plants even and full of vigor.
Perhaps, the last generation cropped the
lower better lands, and the present are creep-
ing higher up the hills. Or perhaps, sain-
foin, which will not bear to be pastured, in
summer, without great injury, is less con-
venient, in the sheep husbandry, than the
clovers, raygrass, and trefoil ; and it cer-
tainly is most eligible, when cattle are
the pasturing stock : and this may, in some
measure, account for its infrequency, on the
Wiltshire hills, the calcareous lands of the
Isle of Wight; and the South Downs.
But, surely, a certain portion, for hay,
would be valuable. And if it were sown
382 AGRICULTURE.
with clover, even on lands that may have
been formerly cropped, it could scarcely
fail, from the nature of its growth, to be
found profitable. See vol. I. page 156.
In regard to water meadows, the
South Down farmers ought not to be re-
proached, for a want of them : because na-
ture has not furnished either proper land,
or suitable water, to make them with. This
single ridge of hills has no lengthened val-
lies, with broad waterformed bases, as those
of the Western Division ; nor, if they had,
are they supplied with copious streams of cal-
careous waters, to irrigate them: excepting
the valley of Lavant ; and that is watered.
The dissecting vallies, that have been
mentioned, can scarcely be said to belong to
the Chalk Hills. The waters, which pass
through them, are chiefly collected, from
clayey and sandy surfaces ; some of them
the astringent ouzings of heathy soils, or
peat bogs : and the brooklands or marshes,
themselves, have doubtless been formed
with materials, washed from these surfaces ;
with, perhaps, a valuable mixture of marine
silt, or sea mud.
It aptlv occurs, however, that the waters
of the valley of Amesburv, are mostly col-
lected, in the vale of Pewsev, a sandy dis-
trict. But the vale of Pewsey is beset with
chalk, on almost every side ; and its own
base is probably calcareous. The principal
SOUTHERN CHALK HILLS. 383
part of the waters that pass down the val-
ley of Amesbury, it is more than probable,
has filtered through chalk : whereas those
which escape, through the vallies of Sussex,
have most of them passed through less fer-
tilizing strata.
The great body of the water, absorb-
ed by the Chalk Hills of Sussex, is doubtless
conveyed, through subterranean passages,
to the sea ; to which these hills have been
said to dip. Nevertheless, some part of it,
as has been mentioned, in the District of
Pet worth, is discharged at the feet of the
northern cliffs, and passes into the Arun :
and the whole line of cliffs, no doubt, have
a similar discharge,
Hence, the waters of these rivers are not
wholly destitute of the calcareous principle;
and it certainly belongs to those, who have
large properties, in the marsh lands through
which they pass, to ascertain their quality ;
and to try, by forming them into steep-
sided beds, and throwing the water on, in
the Wiltshire manner, whether they are, or
are not, proper subjects of improvement.
Lastly, with respect to the rough down
lands, which cover a part of the summits
of the Sussex, as of other, chalk hills, bear-
ing furze, heath, and the coarser grasses, —
as well as the finer sheep downs, of the
lower stages, — it appears to be a matter of
doubt, whether they are, in general, capable
384 AGRICULTURE.
of much improvement. It was an obser-
vation of one of the shrewdest farmers,
on these hills, — and may be generally un-
derstood,— that the old down lands bear
drought, much better, than new ley grounds:
a good reason for letting them remain, and
endeavoring to improve them, in their pre-
sent state. Nevertheless, some of the deeper
lands may be best adapted to arable crops.
THE
EASTERN DIVISION
OF THE
CHALK HILLS.
THE SITUATION of this extensive
range of heights may be gathered, from
what has been conveyed, in defining the
districts which lie adjacent; the line of hills,
under view, stretching through the central
parts of Surrey and Kent.
The EXTEXT, from west to east, is
near a hundred miles : reaching from the
heaths of Surrey, to the South Foreland,
between Deal and Dover. The width is
irregular: but, considering the length, the
variations are small. It is, in no part, I ap-
prehend, (except near the eastern extremity)
more than six miles (even including the
faces of the southern cliffs, and the chalkv
loams that form its northern outskirts), nor
less than four. Five miles mav be considered
as the full average width: and its superficies
vol. II. C c
386 DISTRICT.
may be estimated, with sufficient accuracy,
for the purpose here intended, at five hun-
dred square miles.
In ELEVATION, the hills of Surrey
and Kent resemble other chalk hills. Their
height, from end to end, is similar ; though
not uniformly the same. The eastern ex-
tremity is high land ; as appears in the
cliffs of Dover. The hills of tfest Kent,
however, are probably o( much greater ele-
vation. From the top of Maamscot hill,
to Sevenoaks, the descent is great ; and,
from thence to Tunbridge, the fall is not
mu h less : beside the descent from Tun-
bridge to the Nore. *
SURFACE. The eastern, as the south-
ern Division, is broken into compartments,
by rivered vallies. First, by the Wey and
its valley, at Guilford : next, by the val-
ley of the Mole, between Dorking, and
Leatherhead : again, by that of the Darnt,
at Farningham (between Sevenoaks and
Dartlord) : next, by that of the Med way.
* " Knockholt Beeches,'' which grow on xh\>
part of the Kentish hills, are an evidence ot its supe-
rior elevation. For, although they stand in a deep chalk
pit, showing only their tops above the surtace ot the
hill, they are seen at an extraordinary distance, on every
side. A telegraph erected near them, might commu-
nicate with a great part ot Kent and Surrey ; and with
parts ot Sussex, Essex, Middlesex, Hertfordshire ; and,
perhaps, with the hills of Buckinghamshire and Ox-
fordshire.
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 387
between Maidstone and Rochester ; and
lastly, bv that of the Stower, between Ash-
ford and Canterbury
These several compartments vary, some-
what, in surface. The prevailing cist is
that of a single ridge ; with a steep face, to
the south ; the north side shelving, gently,
towards the Thames ; and pretty uniformly,
throughout.
The southern cliffs are less regular : in
some parts, thev are mere precipices. In
others thev are covered with soil, or break
into culturable stages. In the most eastern
compartment, the chalk unites, in a loose
irregular manner, with a line of ragstone
heights; and, in the more western, with
sand hills.
But of the principal compartment of Sur-
rey, eastward of the valley of the Mole, the
general surface is flatter, and is broken into
ridges and vallies ; which afford shelter, and
render the country habitable.
The opportunities, which I have had, of
obtaining INFORMATION, respecting
this Division of the Chalk Hills, are nume-
rous. My residence, in Surrey.* was on the
border of the principal compartment, last
mentioned : a quarter which is the most
familiar to me. The westernmost point,
too, I have viewed, on every side. The part,
between the YYey and the Mole, I am less
* See Minttfs of Agriculture, in that county.
C C 2
388 DISTRICT.
acquainted with : though there is scarcely
any part of the hills of Surrey, or of west
Kent, which I have not formerly been led
over, by diversion, or in travelling.
My knowledge of the west Kent hills,
however, has lately been renewed, in a
less incidental manner. In October last,
I crossed them (for the intended purpose
of information) between Bromley and Se-
venoaks ; and, in the same month, between
Wrotham and Farningham.
The middle Kent hills I examined, with
some attention, in repeated excursions, from
Maidstone ; and have traced the outlines,
on both sides, of the whole compartment,
between the Medway and the Stower.
The more eastern parts, between the
Stower and the sea, I have likewise viewed,
in different points ; during my excursion,
in east Kent, in 179,5. First, in examining
the northern skirts, in the Barham quarter :
next in crossing over the higher parts, be-
tween Deal and Dover, and between Dover
and Hithe ; and, finally, between Hithe
and Canterbury: thus gaining a general
and comprehensive idea of the entire range,
from end to end.
The CLIMATURE of these hills varies,
with the elevation and turn of surface. In
1795, the harvest, on the exposed heights,
between Deal and Hithe, was near a fort-
night behind that of the Isle of Thanet :
arid the high single ridge, of the central
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 3S9
parts of Kent, is later than the more de-
pressed, broken, and better sheltered lands
of Surrey ; the warmer parts of which are
something, but not much, behind the vale
lands that border them.
The surface WATERS, collected by
these hills, are few. The rivers, which dis-
sect them, are chiefly drawn from the ex-
tensive vale lands, to the south of them.
The only constant stream, I believe, which
is collected from the hills, is that which rises
in the easternmost compartment (chiefly
perhaps in the vallies of the ragstone
heights) and winds down the charming val-
ley of Bishop's Bourn ; joining the Stower,
below Canterburv.
But, in different parts of them, periodical
springs, or " bourns/' rise at particular
seasons. That which issues from the deeper
vallies of the hills of Surrey, and enters the
head of the river Wandle, at Croydon, some-
times takes the character of a brook, of con-
siderable size ; more particularly, when the
preceding season has been rainy.
Beside the periodical springs, which rise
within the areas of the hills, there are con-
tinual discharges, at their outskirts, on either
side. Those, at the feet of the southern
steeps, are in general small ; emitting little
more, perhaps, than the rain waters, which
the steeps themselves absorb : while those
on the opposite side are copious ; as being
39© DI>TRICT.
fed; probably, by the principal absorption
of the hills; whose base and retaining strata,
as well as their surfaces, doubtless, incline
the same way. Westward of Croydon, par-
ticularly at Carsbalton, a river of water is
continually risi
Remakk. The natural history of ch;
hills, particularly what relates to the waters
they absorb, and discharge, whether perio-
dically or continually, is a fit subject for
philosophical inquiry. One law appears to
govern the whole: and this, perhaps, would
not be found difficult to explain. It is not
merely a subject of curiosity, or abstract
science; but is connected with agriculture.
The waters of chalk hills are of a singularly
fertilizing nature; and the manner in which
are absorbed, filtrated, impregnated
with the ca^areous principle, collected, and
discharged, cannot be deemed uninteresting
to the stud rural knowledge. If, by
any discovery of science, they can be brought
more under command, or rendered more ge-
nerally applicable, than they arc at present,
Hie research may become highly beneficial.
It may be observed, here, that, in dif-
nt parts of these hills, there arc wells of
three hundred feet in depth, and passing
through one continuous mass of chalk. But no
. that has come to my knowledge, exceeds
that depth, even though sunk from the sur-
face of the higher swells. This is an evidence,
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 391
of some authority, that the mass or stratum
of chalk, of which these hills are formed, does
not much exceed that depth: an evidence
that is corroborated, by the thickness or
height of chalk, which shows itself, in the
faces o( different cliffs ; so far, at least, as
the eye can judge. By the assistance of in-
struments, the exact thickness of chalk, of
different hills, in this Island, might be ascer-
tained.
Judging from the remarkable uniformity
jn their several heights, as they appear in
the face of the country, it is probable, they
have had the same orig'in, — are fragments of
the same stratum, or extended mass, of cal-
careous matter ; which, there is much rea-
son to believe, is of submarine origin, — is
composed of animal substances, deposited,
or otherwise accumulated, at the base of
some great ocean, — an Atlantic of a former
world, or past arrangement of the earth's
surface. Such, at least, appears to have
been the opinion of the great naturalist
(Linneus): and extravagant as the idea
seems; when it first strikes the mind, it be-
comes more and more reconcileable to rea-
son, the more it is examined.
The SOILS of the range of hills, now
under view, differ much, in the aggregate,
from those of the other Divisions. The tops
of the higher swells, instead of having a thin
chalky loam, or a thinner coat of black ve-
DISTRICT.
getable mold, are generally covered with a
tenacious clayey loam, of a dark brown color,
and extraordinary strength ; and, in some
places, of great depth ; as three or four
feet: being generally mixed with Mints;
especially, perhaps, near the surface ; which,
after harrowing, will in some instances, ap-
pear covered with them.
This may be considered as the prevailing
soil of the upper parts of the hills ; espe-
cially, where the surface is flat: while, on
sloping surfaces, the soil is generally a thin,
pale -colored, chalky loam ; and, on the
lower skirts of the hills, a deeper loam, of
a somewhat similar nature, prevails. Be-
tween Croydon and Epsom, there are some
thousand acres of this desireable soil ; —
deep, rich, friable, calcareous loam.
On the contrary, the opposite cliffs are,
in many parts, destitute of soil ; except
where the face of the hill has slid down,
and carried with it the soil of the summit ;
lodging it, on stages, or with steeply slop-
ing surfaces, on which the turn wrest plow.
gains an instable footing : and for these,
possibly, it was invented.*
* The turnwrest plow is used on surface bo
extremely steep, that, on being overturned! the plow,
horses, and perhaps the plowman, have been known to
roll down, from the top to the bottom of the hill.
But, surely, sites of such a degree of steepness are
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 393
The SUBSOILS likewise vary. On the
upper parts of the hills, a red or chocolate-
colored earth, which is of a clayey nature,
and which dries to a sort of rubble, is com-
monly seen incumbent on the chalk ; form-
ing the base of the cultivated mold. In
other places, a chalky rubble intervenes,
between the soil and the chalk rock ; which
however, in other instances, rises to the cul-
tivated soil ; even where this is of inferior
thickness.
ROADS. The more public roads are in
general good. Materials of the first quality
(flints and chalk) being everywhere in
plenty. But the village roads, since I first
knew these Hills, were mere waggon tracks,
through woods, narrow lanes, and hollow
ways; with few places, in which even two
carts could pass each other : and this was
formerly the case, in many parts of the
Island.
Remarks. Hence, the probable origin of
" bell teams." A constant alarm was
necessary, to apprize the respective drivers
of each other's approach : and no one was
less likely to be neglected, than that which
was given by the mere motion of the team.
But to continue to load horses with bells,
on wide open roads, and in open daylight,
fitter subjects for planting, than for the plow. The
clays are well adapted to the oak, thi chalky loams to
flic bt
DISTRICT.
is perfect' v ridiculous ; and, on public roads,
may well be deemed a nuisance.
TOWNSHIPS. Where the hill fends
form a single ridge, as in many parts of
Kent, thev are chiefly divided, between the
lines of parishes, which run on either side
em. But, in the more habitable parts,
as in the Banstead quarter ot Surrey, the
hills, or chalk lands, are themselves laid out
into townships: a mode of distribution which
reaches into the western parts of the Kent
hills. Also, towards the eastern extremity,
where the chalk lands are broad, and the
surface somewhat broken, a similar distri-
bution prevails.
STATE OF IXCLOSURE. In this re-
spect, the eastern differs* much, from the
other Divisions. The greater part of the
hills, under view, are inclosed. There is
nevertheless, much orr.s down: especi-
ally on the sides, and lower parts of the
; w here the soil is of a loamy, chalky
nature ; w hat may be properly called the
true chalk-down soil : and this, it may be
said, is every w here kept in an open state !
while the parts, which are covered with
strong clayey soil, are chiefly inclosed : —
not only on these hills, but in the north of
Hampshire, in the Western Division.
Remark. How is this prevailing dis-
tinction, with respect to the present state of
inclosure, on soils of different descriptions,
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 395
to be accounted for ? Sheep are kept, in-
discriminately, on both: and the plow is
equally employed on each. See the Isle
01 Thanet, — the Hills of Wiltshire, &c.
In PRESENT PRODUCTIONS, this
Division differs from the other two, chiefly,
in its growing a much greater proportion of
wood. A considerable share of the clayey
lands, high-lying as they are, and resting on
chalk, an absorbent base, are too wet, cold,
and ungenial, for arable crops! being chiefly
in a state of wood. On the Boxley and
Detling hills, in the central part of Kent,
there are tracts of woodland of very great
extent : such as the Wilds of Kent and Sus-
sex cannot equal. And even on the more
habitable parts of WTest Kent and Surrey,
woodlands prevail.
Nevertheless, much of the strong land,
everywhere, is kept under arable crops:
as are most of the chalky lands: with, how-
ever, a small portion of perennial sheep
walk. But this, I believe, is on the de-
cline.
In the vallies, and about farm houses and
villages, on the strong cool soils, there are
old grass lands; but not in any great
proportion. And, in Kent, hops are more
or less grown, on the hill lands.
On a high broad summit of the Surrey
hills, there is a tract of heathland ; greater
?96 DISTRICT.
in extent, perhaps, than that of all the chalk
hills of the kingdom united.
The APPEARANCE of a country, di-
versified in surface, and amply wooded, as
are the hills under view, cannot fail to in-
terest : especially, where the vallies are
cleared, and the hills remain capped with
woods, which bend over their brows, and
fall with irregular outlines down the sides
of the vallies : passages of beautiful scenery,
which not unfrequently meet the eye, in
crossing the more secluded parts of the hills
of Surrey,
The distant views, which are com-
manded from this range of hills, are various,
and extensive. Those from the Boxley and
Detling hills, in Kent, have been noticed.
The hills of Surrey afford, among many
others, one remarkable point of view; — San-
derstead hill, near Croydon : from whence
is commanded the upper and principal part
of the wide Vale of London ; closing with
the wellfeatured groundsof Windsor ; whose
castle rises, boldly, and distinctly, to the
eye, — though placed at near thirty miles
distance.
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 397
ESTATES.
ON THIS HEAD, I have had few op-
portunities of collecting information.
PROPERTY is much divided ; especially
in Kent ; where the tenure of gavelkind
prevails : while, in Surrey, the yeomanry,
I believe, are few ; or nearly extinct.
In the FARM BUILDINGS of these
hills, there is little that differences them,
from those of the vale districts, on either
side of them. (See District of Maid-
stone, &c.) They are, still, chiefly con-
structed of wood : the covering materials
being thatch, or plain tiles.
On the hills of Surrey, I have observed an
ingenious method of laying plain tiles,
so as to give vent to the steam of a brew-
house. Instead of placing them close, in
the usual manner, a space of two inches was
left between every two tiles : thus making
the covering sufficiently open, to let out
the steam ; yet close enough, (when the
pitch is not too flat, nor the guage too
long) to shoot off rain water.
There, too, I have seen a species of hip
tiles, in an eligible form : namely, a tri-
angle, with the three corners cut off, and
400 ESTATES.
climber, travellersjoy, or virginsbower
matis nidlba). which is sufFered to overtop
the hedgewoods, and form arbors on their
heads ! Yet this, being a perennial plant,
might be checked, at a trifling expence,
compared with the mischiefs it is capable of
doing, in a state of neglect — in this its na-
tural situation and soil.
Modern hedges are of hawthorn, plant-
ed in single rows, in the usual manner:
and, on the deeper soils, they thrive with
luxuriance ; notwithstanding the extraor-
dinary treatment they are subjected to.
When a hedge of this kind is cut, it is
usually felled to the ground, and a full-
bottomed dead-hedge set upon the stubs !
as if to prevent it, effectually, from rising
again.
Remarks. This, under ordinary cir-
cumstances, might be improper: but, in a
country where sheepare the pasturing stock,
and where thev have no other shrubs, than
those of the hedges, to satisfy their natural
cravings, it appears to be singularly eligible,
if judiciously executed : for a sufficiency of
shoots are found to make their way, up-
ward, through the spray of the dead hedge-
wood ; which defends them from the bite
of sheep, without the expence of a double
line of fencing.
Some skill, no doubt, is requisite, to form
a dead hedge of this intention. Forming
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 401
the base, with long sprayey materials, so as
to reach across, or between the stubs, and
hang over the ditch (in this case mostly
shallow) yet thin, or open enough, to suffer
the shoots to rise freely through them,
would seem to be the proper outline of
practice.
This practice, I recollect, struck me, on
my first observing it, as being most absurd,
and ridiculous: yet, on due examination, it
is found to be one of those simple expedi-
ents, which necessity, in the infancy of arts,
and long experience, in their riper years,
have happily struck out.
WOODLANDS.
THE SPECIES of woodland, which pre-
vails on these hills, is coppice, or under-
wood, generally having a few oak timber
trees scattered among it; agreeably to the
practice of the southern and western coun-
ties ; and, more or less, of the midland pro-
vinces ; constituting what is emphatically
called a wood, in distinction to grove, and
coppice.
And, beside extensive woods of the above
description, the hills of Surrey, more j ur-
vol. 11. D d
4*2 WOODLANDS.
ticularly, are strowed with small plots of
coppice ; provincially " shaws"; which, at
once, give shelter to stock, and afford a
supply of hurdle and hedge materials: con-
veniences, which every chalk-hill district
might profit by ; yet which no other, than
this under view, sufficiently possesses. See
Isle of THANET,and theWiLTSHiREHiLLS,
in these Volumes; also Cotswold Hills
of Glocestershire ; and the Wolds of
Yorkshire.
The PRODUCTS, or wares, of the
larger woods, are made to vary with their
situations. In Kent, hop poles are the
prime object: and the age of felling,
there, is twelve to eighteen years. In Sur-
rey, stakes, edders, and other fencing
MATERIALS, HURDLES, HOOPS, and FAGOT
wood, are in demand ; and, there, the
age of felling is seven to ten years: a
plan of management, this, which extends,
I believe, fifteen or twenty miles, on every
side of the metropolis ; and has probably
been handed down, from the time when
wood was its chief article of fuel.
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 403
AGRICULTURE.
IN a tract of country, an hundred miles
in length, it is scarcely possible, that a uni-
formity of practice, even supposing the prac-
tice of the whole to have had the same origin,
should be found, after the series of centuries
which these hills, probablv, have been in a
state of cultivation. Yet the eve, in a cur-
sory view of them, perceives little variety
of management: except towards the eastern
extremity ; where the Thanet, or East-
Kent practice extends, more or less, over
the hills : a practice which is evidently of a
different growth, if not of a different root,
from the present practice of the West-Kent
and Surrey hills.
FARMS. The major part, of the lands
of these hills, is laid out into farms of the
most desireable size: namely, from one to
two or three hundred pounds, a year.
In a country, where the sheepfold is the
farmer's dependence, for his arable crops,
and where parochial flocks are not formed,
a small farm is less eligible, than one which
is able to maintain a flock, large enough to
employ the attention of a regular shep-
herd.
Dd 2
40+ AGRICULTURE.
On these hills, however, I have not met
with any instance of the over-sized farms
which are observable, more or less, in even
other department of Chalk Hills, m the
kUBEASTS OF DRAFT. These are, in-
variably, horses of the black cart breed:
four of them being the usual plo* team
even on the lighter loams, where two
are fully sufficient. On the deep, strong
<< cledgev" lands, on the Boxley hills, in
Ken,, I have seen s« such horses working,
with great difficulty ; owing to causes that
will be explained. ,
The IMPLEMENTS in use on these
hills (excepting so far as the East Kent
See reached) are the more ordinary and
Main ones of English husbandry. On tne
fisof Surrey ana YVest :Ken«. there are ;no
drag plows, as on the Western Hi Is , nor
anTims, broadsbares, slrichng plnvs, o.
niSgets, as in Middle and East Kent.
Kemahks. This not only shows the tor-
piSe in which English agnculture has
Lamed, for a century or century _pa£
(the situation, cliinature, and soil, wrth re
snect to the hills of East and W est Kent,
being similar, yet their present widely ■ va-
rv nl practices have been established from
nrJUmemorial) ; but evidences ma strik-
ing manner, that the practice of East and
Mull Kent is either of foreign growth,
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 405
or owes its rise to local circumstances, which
do not, at present, exist. •
The practice of the Vale of Glocester,
I have conceived to be of monastic rise ; *
and, in comparing the methods of harvest-
ing beans, in Glocestershire, and the
District of Maidstone, it seemed to me
probable, that they have both had the same
origin. -f- And it appears to be equally
probable, that other points of the Kentish
practice, and the various implements that
are peculiar to it, may either have been in-
vented by the clergy, or the lay officers of
the church, who turned their attentions to
rural concerns ; or have been introduced,
from time to time, by those who have been
resident on the Continent ; or by foreigners
residing within the metropolitan diocese.
THE turn wrest plow is common to
these hills. But, in Surrey, it is confined to
the hill lands ; the lower skirts, on either
side, being plowed with swing, and one-
wheel plows, in use on the vale lands adja-
cent : while, in Kent, the turnwrest pre-
vails, on every soil and surface, to within a
few miles of London.
Beside the good properties, already al-
lowed this extraordinary implement, an-
* See Glocestershire, Vol. I. page 196.
t See Vol. I. page 130.
4o6 AGRICULTURE.
other remains to be noticed ; and which has
probably introduced it, upon the hi'l lands
of West Kent and Surrey. It is peculiarly
adapted to the strong flinty soils, which
prevail on the tops of these hills, from east
to west : and, most especially, where such
soils hang on steep surfaces. (See page 392.)
In soils of such a nature, a winged, or a Jin
share could not work, with propriety, in
any state ; but, more particularly, when stif-
fened by a dry season. Its singular strength,
too, is well adapted to this stubborn soil.
The OUTLINE of MANAGEMENT,
over the whole of this Division of Chalk
Hills, is that of keeping the lands (the small
portion of grass lands excepted) in grain
crops and sheep food, alternately. Com
and sheep being the principal objects.
The marketable crops are wheat, bar-
ley, oats, some peas, and, in the eastern
parts of Kent, beans, — even on the higher,
thinner lands !
The consumptional products are tur-
neps, tares, ley herbage, with the perennial
grass, which the small portions of meadow,
pasture, and sheep down afford.
The course of practice is unfixed : on
the lighter lands, turneps, or tares, are the
cleansing crop : on the stiffer, tares, or sum-
mer fallow, for wheat, is in use : the clover
crop, or other ley herbage, following either
wheat or barley, according to the state of
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 407
tillage and cleanness of the lands, on which
these crops are sown.
TILLAGE. The same extraordinary
method of using the turnwrest plow (name-
ly, that of forcing open the plow-furrow
unnecessarily wide) prevails on the hills, as
on the vale lands of the District of Maid-
stone (see Vol. I. page 74.) On the hills
of Surrey, I think it is not left quite so
wide. But on the Middle-Kent hills, and
in the instance mentioned under the head
implements, the width was near two feet,
that of the plit, or plow slice, being twelve
inches, and its depth eight inches. It is
no wonder, then, that, in such work, in
such a soil, six horses should find full em-
ployment.
Remarks. What probably adds much
to the stubbornness, and gluey texture, of
these strong flinty lands, is their being laid
flat, with the turnwrest plow ; without
ridges to shoot off, or furrows to carry away,
the waters which fall on them ; even where
this retentive impermeable soil is two or
three feet, in depth ! If they were plowed
equally deep, as they are at present, and
laid up, in convex beds, of seven or eight
feet in width, with deep interfurrows, and
cross trenches, to take off superfluous rain
water, they would not be so liable to run
together, into a close compact mass, as they
are, under their present treatment.
4o8 AGRICULTURE.
BEFORE 1 1 htofthe wrest
plow, it may not be amiss to mention the
difficulty which attends the holding of it,
by those who have been habituated to coitw
mon plows, only ; and, most especially, by
those who have been accustomed to the
swing plow, drav the horses at
length, walking m the last-made plow-
furrow ; and, of gout og an unin-
terrupted sight, forward, man*
It is not the intricacy, and obstruction of
view, caused bv lour horses drawing dou-
ble, with two sets of sphntei s, and a
tali " gallows," and huge i g up
before the eye, nor the t E the
implement rendering it difficult to regulate,
but the aukwardness experienced in turn-
ing the soil to the kit, which is the chief
cause fhculty.
As I have repeatedly recommended the
turnwrest plow, for absorbent soils, lying
on steeply sloping surfaces, it may be right
to conv< ints, respecting the me-
thod of hi -ding the KENTISH plow, to those
who mav \\ ish to make a trial of it, on lands
of that description.
A plo .ho has been accustomed to
the s .)low, only, should tirst use it, as
common plow, with the wrest continued
•- and side; until he becomes
effect of wheels, and has
made hi \ anplement, and
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 409
the manner of regulating it. This accom-
plished, let him turn the wrest to the left-
hand side, and continue to use it as a left-
hand plow, until he has subdued the force
of habit (until he has learnt to walk with
his left foot foremost, and to keep his eye
on the right-hand side of the plow beam) ;
which he will effect, much sooner, by these
means, than he can, by beginning with it,
as a turnwrest plow, and changing the wrest
at every end. And horses, that have been
accustomed to draw, at length, in the plow-
furrow, require a similar mode of training.
MANURES. The hill farmer '$ chief de-
pendence is on the sheep fold. His yard
.manure, except what arises from team
horses, is of an inferior quality ; being little
moie than straw, trodden down by a small,
inadequate portion of lean strawyard stock.
The strong " cledgey" lands are com-
monly chalked : a practice which is pro-
bably of ancient date ; and may account,
in some sort at least, for the flints, with
which they are generally mixed.
Remark. These lands, and their natu-
ral alliance to chalk, with which they appear
to be ordinarily connected, form a subject
which is well entitled to geological inquiry.
SEMINATION. This varies with the
situation. In East and Middle Kent, the
" stricking plow" is in use ; even on the
4io AGRICULTURE.
strong lands : while, in West Kent and
Surrey, the soil is prepared for sowing, and
the seed covered, with the ordinary plow
and harrows ; agreeably to the prevailing
practice of the kingdom at large : there
being, in the established practice of the
western parts of these hills, no instance of
cultivating, either corn, or even pulse, in
rows. The bean and pea culture, of East
and Middle Kent, may be said to be as little
known, on the Hills of Surrey, as on the
Wolds of Yorkshire.
In the HARVESTING of mown corn,
the practice of Surrev differs, in like man-
ner, from that of East Kent : each part
falling in, with the practice of the vale
countries, which border upon it. In Surrey,
barley and oats are universallv carried, im-
mediately out of swath, without being tied
up in bundles, and formed into piles, or
shucks, as they are, in the East Kent prac-
tice ; and (which is highly interesting) as
are, in Devonshire and Cornwall ;
which are situated at an opposite extreme
of the Island : the intermediate space, of
more than a hundred miles in extent, having
no knowledge of the practice.
On the culture and management of
particular crops, upon these hills, little
requires to be said ; as they partake of the
practices already described.
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 411
The TURNEP CULTURE is, in gene-
ral, well conducted : and, on the drier lands,
is prevalent ; being chiefly depended on,
for sheep food, in the winter season.
For spring and summer food, TARES
are a prevailing crop. On the Middle-Kent
hills, I have seen them used, in different
ways: namely, folded off, as they stood,
in the Gloclstershire manner ; mown,
and given in racks, or cages, within a fold,
on the land already cleared, as in the Wilt-
shire practice ; and, in one instance, I ob-
served them pastured off, as clover, or other
cultivated herbage ; the flock going over
them, a second time, when a fresh shoot
was ready to receive them.
SAINFOIN is much more prevalent, on
this, than on the other two divisions of the
Chalk Hills of the southern counties. It is
grown even on the deeper clayey lands,
with success. These lands having been
chalked, and perhaps contain, naturally, some
portion of calcareous matter, the roots are
led down, to the chalky substrata, and bring
into action and use, what otherwise might,
for ever, have lain dormant and unpro-
fitable.
On the Hills of Surrey, its usual dura-
tion is fifteen to twenty years.
Of CATTLE these hills are in a manner
destitute ; excepting a few cows, kept for
a supply of milk and fresh butter.
4i2 AGRICULTURE.
In breed, they agree with the vale lands,
that skirt them : as, in Kent, the JVtlcb ;
so in Surrey, the rdsbire, are most
prevalent : " Star: re heifers" finding
their way to this the farthest limits of the
longhorned breed: the Chalk Hii.ls of
Surrey, as the Heaths of Hampshire and
Sussex, being a boundary, between the
long and the middlehorned breeds.
The Suffolk and the Alderney breeds are
also found, on these hills.
SHEEP. It has been already conveyed,
in speaking of this species oi ) i, in
the other two Divisions of the Chalk H
that the descriptions of fl in this
Division, are those of
WEDDERS.
The breed, formerly (as has like v.
been intimated) was wholly that of the Wilt-
shire and Hampshire hills. . during: the
last ten years, the Sussex or Soi !> D
breed have been gaining hich
they are likely to hold : as being a more
a!, and, of course, a more hardy, va-
; that is to say, have been less Jo?
from their native, or long inherited quali-
. and habits, than what may be properly
d the . . ety : both of
them _. probably, from the same root.
See Wi Englan
The age of I .se is that of lambs ;
whose ages vary, somewhat, with the breed ;
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 413
both breeds being; bought in, about the same
time ; namely, Michaelmas : when those
of Wiltshire are about nine, those of Sussex
about six months old.
The place of purchase, for the former,
is chiefly IVcyhilU for the latter, the fair of
Lewes,
The economy, or plan of management,
of these wedder flocks, has been, hereto-
fore, that o( folding them, two summers,
and fatting them, the ensuing winter and
.spring. But the South Down breed, I be-
lieve, are more generally fatted, at two
years old : turneps, hay, and cultivated her-
bage being the usual materials of fatting.
In the shepherding of sheep, I met with
little, that is rare or interesting, on this
Division of the Chalk Hills.
In folding, the ordinary calculation is
" three sheep to a hurdle." The hurdles
of these hills (which are formed of hazel
rods, in the wattle or fieak manner) are of
different lengths ; as seven to nine feet :
but the stakes do not stand at more than
seven feet and a half, on a par : so that, on
this calculation, each sheep has a space of
eighteen or nineteen square feet: which is a
narrow space, for large sheep ; and I have
measured a fold, for two hundred six-
tooth Wiltshire wedders, which was pitched
twentyfour yards, by twenty: thus allowing
near twenty two square feet, to each sheep.
414 AGRICULTURE.
It will be right to mention, here, as a
caution to shepherds, and arable-land sheep-
farmers, an alarming incident, which oc-
curred to a valuable flock of sheep, some
years ago, on these hills.
A field of thin chalky loam, had been
sown, the preceding summer, with the seeds
of weld (reseda luteola, or dversweed), and
with a small portion of turnep and rape
seeds, by way of giving some sheep food,
the ensuing spring, and which had been
eaten off, in the beginning of April (agree-
ably to a practice then not uncommon on
the hills of Surrey) leaving the weld to
stand on for a crop, without further care.
But the soil having been made fine and
full of condition, for the crop, and the seeds
of the " redweed," or poppy (with which
the ground was infected) being thereby set
in action, so as to injure the crop of weld,
— three hundred and fifty prime fatting
wedders were turned upon it, to eat out the
young herbage of the poppies ; which was
then (the beginning of May) In a tall gross-
growing state ; rising in tufts, six or eight
inches high.
The shepherd, not being aware of the
danger, left his flock, for a short time; and,
on returning, found the whole struggling
on the ground ! many of them foaming at
the mouth : all of them much swoln. Be-
ing a faithful shepherd, and doating on his
EASTERN CHALK HILLS. 4x5
flock, he was seized with a degree of frenzy ;
and had not their owner's son* fortunately
entered the field, at the juncture, the whole
flock (worth near six hundred pounds)
might have been lost. But, by rousing
them with dogs, getting them upon their
legs, and driving them to a high, airy ground
(the weather being warm, and the field of
accident hanging to the sun), only five of
them suffered.
SWINE. The breed is mostly of the
large, spotted, Hampshire, or Berkshire va-
riety ; or a sub-variety of this breed, called
the " tunback," from the regular curvature
of the spine.
In the fatting of swine, I met with
two particulars of practice, on the hills of
Surrey, which are entitled to notice, here;
they being new to these Registers.
In one of them salt was mixed with their
food, in the proportion of a pint to every
two bushels of barley meal ; under an opi-
nion, that it kept them from disorders,
forwarded their tatting, and added to the
delicacy and flavor of the pork.
In the other, the meal or flour, whether
of barley, peas, or other grain, was given
to them, dry ; — and this in the practice of
one of the largest and best farmers, on these
* Mr. William Ash by of Woodmanston, in the
Banstead quarter of the Hills of Surrey.
AGRICULTURE.
hills ; — under a conviction, resulting from
experience, that the practice is less waste-
ful, than the ordinary one of mixing water
with the flour, and forming them into grout;
which, in winter, is liable to be frozen, and,
in summer, to be baked, to the sides of the
troughs.
POULTRY. The Hills of Surrey have
long possessed a breed or variety of fowls,
which are, there, called the " five-clawed
breed," and are generally known, as Do? k-
ing fowls. They are of a large size, of a
white or yellowish color, and are distin-
.ed from most or all other breeds, by a
double claw, behind. They are fatted very
highly and are sold at extraordinary prices;
being, there, a profitable article of farm-
yard produce.
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
INDEX
TO THE
TWO VOLUMES.
AGRICULTURE, District
of Maidstone, i. 50.
- ft. of Tnan.ii. 8.
, Weald of Sus-
sex, ii. 132.
-, District of Pet-
worth, ii. 170.
-, Sea Coast of
Sussex, ii. 232.
-, Western Chalk
Hilte, ii. 318.
-, Southern Chalk
Hills, ii. 366.
-*— — , Eastern Chalk
Hills, ii. 403.
Analysis of Corkstone, i. 12.
- Ragstone, i. 15.
-i Hassock, i. 16.
■ Boxley Chalk, i.
88. N.
1 Subjects of Sci-
ence, remarks on, i. 172.
Marls of the Dis-
trict of Petw. ii. 176. N.
■Duncton Chalks,
ii. 183. N.
Sussex Marble,
ii. 184.. N.
—Houghton Chalks
ii. 360.
ii. 361. N.
Analysis of Marl of Deans
Wood, ii. 363. N.
Marl of Sea Coast
ii. 363. N.
Aphis, as a Cause of Blights,
i. 403.
Apple Shrubs, District of
Petworth, ii. 192.
Apples, Dist. of Maid. i. 305.
Association of Objects, Note
on, ii. 253.
B
BANK of Romn Mar. i. 368.
Barking the O ik, Weald of
Sussex, ii. 126.
Barley, District of Maid,
stone, i. 123.
, Isle of Thanet, ii.27.
Barns, Dist. of Maidst. i. 32.
, Weald of Sussex, ii.
105.
Beach Banks, on their For-
mation, ii. 225.
Beans, Dist. of Maid, i.126.
, Isle of Thanet, ii. 29.
Beasts or Draft, District of
Maidstone, i. 56.
, Weald of
Maam" Soils,
Kent, i. 347.
ii. 362. N.
VOL. II.
Marl Flower,"
net, ii. 10.
., Isle of Tha-
Sussex, ii. 134.
Weald of
INDEX.
Drying Housr, District of
Canterbury, i. 409.
Duncton Chalk Quarries, ii.
561.
Dung.on tbeQualiries or.
EASTERNChalk Hills,
ii. ;
Embankment of Rc.r
Marsh, i. 36-.
Enem:es of young Hops, i.
198.
— grown Hops, in
the Spring, i. 225.
Hops in Summer,
i. 228.
Hop?, D:
of Canterbury, i. am :
Estates, Dist. of Mad. i. 25.
, Weald of Sus. ii.104.
. Eastern Chalk Hills,
ii. j
Experimenting ; Instance of
its Utility, ii. 236.
FALLOWING, general Re-
marks on, i. - .
Fallows, Isle of Tha. ii. 13.
-, Weak: of 5 issex, ii.
141.
Farms, D : t. of Maid. L 51.
, Weald o;
' -
I J*.
-, Isle of Thanet, ii. 8.
•, Weald of Sussex, ii.
, Dst. of Perw. i
. Sea Coast of Sussex,
Farms, I. of Wight, ii. 2-4..
, -Ik Hills,
• >outh Chalk I
ii. y-
, £.C
-, Remarks on the Size
of, ii. : - .-
Farsh am Valley of. _
Pr_ tral
Remarks on. E - -
Fen Sheep, Note on, i. 380.
Fence:. D >-. of Ma'.c. i. 34.
• ••" .: C ilk Hills,
»• !
— ,f
Filberts, District of K.
stone, L 306.
Fish, Heaths of Surrey, ,
Flax Seed, on grinding, for
Cattle, &c. i.
Fold ot Wiltshire, i:. 349.
■ Surrey, ii. 4
Folding, Isle of Than. ii. 36.
,S.Ch. H 377.
Us, Dist. of y..
Fowls, Dc 4 16.
: Ladders 314.
FuUersear.
stone, i. 18.
, Dis'.rict of
Perworth, ii.
Furze, Method of Cultivating
in Sussex, ii. 143. N.
GATES, Weald of Sac
Gavelkind Tenure
i 26.
, its good Efl
instanced, i. £4.
INDEX.
Gazle Wine, Method of mak-
ing, i. 318.
Geological map suggested,
u. 358.
■ — Remarks on the
formation of Romn. Mar.
i. 361.
■ on the
Sea Coast of Sussex, ii.
222.
on the
Outlets of Rivers, ii, 356.
on the
Origin of Ch. Hills, ii. 39 1 .
Grafting, Remarks on, i.
310.
Grass Pork, instance of, ii.
205. N.
Gravel Banks, on their For-
mation, ii. 225.
Grynes, Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 226.
Gunpowder Wood, ii. 129.
H
HARBLEDOWN, Valley of
of, i. 398.
Harvesting, Dist. of Maid.
i. 97.
* , Isle of Thanet,
ii. 24.
— , East Ch. Hills,
with Remarks, ii. 410.
Hassock of Kent, i. 16.
Hay Barns, Weald of Sus-
sex, ii. 105.
Stack Cover, described,
i. 166.
Heaths of Surrey, &c.
ii. 81.
Heaths of Sussex and Kent,
ii. 93. N.
Hedge Border', Remarks on,
ii. 101.
Hedges, District of Maid-
stone, i. 35.
-, Weald of Sussex, ii.
106.
399-
-, East Chalk Hills, ii.
Hip files of Surrey describ-
ed, ii. 397.
Hoes, Valley of Farn. ii. 67.
Hogs, on feeding them in
Orchards, i. 312. N.
Hoop Rods, ii. 129.
Hop Culture, improvements
of, suggested, i. 292.
Hopkiln, District of Maid-
stone, i. 261.
, District of Can-
terbury, i. 410.
-, Valley of Farn-
ham, ii. 74
Hops, Dist. of Maid. i. 170.
, Dist. of Cant. i. 397.
, Valley of Farn. ii. 5 1.
, Dist. of Petw. ii. 191.
Hornbeam of Kent, i. 41. N.
Horse Rake of Kent, i. 105.
Horses, Dist. of Maid, i. 320.
— — — , 1. of Thanet, ii. 34.
, Dist. of Pet. ii. 193.
Houghton Quarries, ii. 360.
House-Lamb Farming. Re-
marks on, ii. 202.
IMPLEMENTS, District of
Maidstone, i. 58.
, on a public
repository of, i. 66.
, Isle of Thanet,
ix, 10.
INDL\.
Implement*, Weald of Sus- Improvement ?et*.
-, x Pet-: . - -ning
i -2 Lea:e-. | reposed
.. ii. 234 -4,
vlsle c:
-. Westei
rest t
. haft
-
_ 4 "-'. S
Imp: the Bean
Culture prop 1 : . < . : y planting
in r.
Seed Clover, i. 149. ii. _-.: N.
, byi sh ,
.I.156.
-.. by char: - :wns, Re-
Hop Poles . ; : -
of the Hop Cu'.- Ir _>sexj
ture. ;
-- ir. pTbaiit,Ei.
Miid. coi 1 : . St.sey, Note on, ii.
or R :
N .
dot
Kent proposed, i. j
R K
Thaner, KENT K. Re-
marks on its Origin, ii.
-.1" 5ur-
;lt Beech .
N.
:5:
Rubb: L
-nporary LAM J S,
tworth, Pe;
ii. 1S9. ; .
INDEX.
Larch recommended for the
Heaths of Surrey, &c. ii.
88.
Leases, from three Years to
three Years, proposed, ii.
213.
Lime Furnace, Remarks on,
»• 327-
Limekihi of West Sussex, n.
I79-
Limes, on Chalk and Stone,
i. n. N.
:, District of Maid-
stone, i. 89.
— , Weald of Kent, i.
5-P-
■ , Opinions on those of
Chalk and Stone, in the
Weald of Kent. i. 349.
-, on burning, with
M
MA AM Soil of the District
of Perworth, ii. 168.
, General R-e~
marks on, ii. 361.
Maidstone, District
of, i. it
Manures, District of Maid-
stone, i. 85.
, I. of Thanet.ii. 14.
, Val.ofFarn. ii. 55.
, Weald of Sussex.
ii. 142.
, District of Pet-
worth, ii. 175.
, Sea Coast of Sus-
Wood and Coal, Weald of
Sussex, ii. 143.
, the Method of burn-
ii g, with Fagots, ii. 179.
Lining, a superior Method
of, i. 90.
;, Weald of Sussex, ii*
"44- . _
Linseed, on grinding, tor
Cattle, &c. i. 323.
Linshets, Remarks on, ii.
301.
List of Rates, Dist. of Maid.
*• 331-
Loading Corn,Methods of, i.
107.
Hops, Sec. Remarks
on, i. 283.
Long Grass Meads, ii. 338.
Lucern, Culture of, Dist. of
Maid. i. 152.
-, Remarks on its na-
tural Soil, i. 154.
, 1. of Thanet, ii. 33.
sex, ii. 235.
., West Chalk Hills,
ii. 327.
, East Chalk Hills,
ii. 409.
Markets, District of Maid-
stone, i. 114.
, West Chalk Hills,
ii. 323.
Marl, a valuable discovery
of, ii. 236.
Meadows, watered, West Ch.
Hills, ii. 331.
Measuring Strap, forTimber
described, ii. 123.
Mildew, Remarks on, i. 431.
Mills for grinding Chalk,
proposed, ii. 176.
, Tide, Remarks on, ii.
228.
Mould of Hops, Remarks on,
i. 233.
Mound Hedges recommend-
ed, for Koran. Mar. i. 386.
Mules of varieties, Remarks
on, ii. 282.
INDEX.
N
NIDGET, i. 63.
o
OAK, on the natural cl'ma-
ture of, i. 216. N.
, Seedlings, Remarks
on, ii. 1 19. N.
Ocst House, i. 260.
Oats, Dist. or Muid. i. 125.
*— — , Isle of Thanet, ii. 2^.
Objects, Dist. or Maid, i 67.
— , J. or Thanet, ii. 10.
, Weald cf Sussex, ii.
139.
— — — , Disr. of Per. ii. 173.
, Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 234.
, J. of Wight, ii 2->8-.
, West Chalk Hills,
ii. 324.
-, South Chalk Hills,
ii. 368.
-, East Ch. Hills, ii.
406.
Occupiers, District of Maid-
stone, i. 53.
, Weald of Sussex,
ii. 133.
■ -, District of Pet-
worrt., ii. 171.
, Sea Coast of Sus-
sex, ii. 233
Ochre, District of Petworth,
ii. 176. N.
Oil Cake, a Material of fat-
ting S:.eep, i. 327.
Oil Mill examined, i. 323.
Orchards, District of Maid-
stone, i. 303.
. District of Pet-
worth, ii. 192.
Orchwton Meadow?, ii. 338.
Ox Muzzles, Remarks on,
i. 347. and ii. 136.
Ox Paths, Remarks on form-
ing, with broad w-heels, ii.
136.
PEARS, District of Maid-
stone, i. 305.
Peas, Dist. ot Maid, i, 133.
, various Methods of
Harvesting mentioned, t
»34-
r— , Isle of Thanet, ii. 29.
Pebbles of Sand Hills, Re-
maiks on, ii. 167.
Pedestals, on forming, i. 33.
P£tworth, District of,
ii. 164.
Picking Hops, District of
Ma'dstone, i. 240
, District of
L 1 lerburv, i. 407.
Valley of
Farnham, ii. 67.
Plain Tiles, a Method of lay-
ing, ii. 397.
Plan of Husbandry, District
of Maidstone, i. 67.
, Isle of
Thanet, ii. II.
, Weald
of Sussex, ii. 139.
. District
ot Petwonh, ii. 173.
-, Sea Co,
of Sussex, n. 234.
Cha.k Hills, ii. 323.
Chalk Hills, ii. 3(Sfl.
West
South
INDEX.
Plan of Husbandry, East Ch.
Hills, ii. 406.
Planting Coppices, District
of Maidstone, i. 43.
Hops, Dist. of Maid.
1. 191.
District of "• 36o
QUARRIES of Duncton, ii.
361.
of Houghton,
Canterbury, i. 399.
Val. of Farn>
ham, ii. 5 1.
Planting Orchards, i. 308.
Plow Sledge, a simple one
described, ii. 137.
Poles of Hops, District of
Maidstone, i. 210.
, Dist. of Cant. i. 400.
— — , Val. of Farnh. ii. 56.
Por.d of the Surrey Hills, de-
scribed, ii. 598.
Poppies dangerous to Sheep,
ii. 414.
Pork, from Grass, instance
of, ii. 205. X.
Potatoes, Remarks on their
natural Habits, i. 142.
Poultry, East Chalk Hills,
ii. 416.
Prospects, Remarks on., ii.
272.
Prun.ng Timber Trees, in
the Weald of Sussex, ii.
116.
Public Establishment,
its use, as to Implements,
i. 66.
Pub lic Semi names, their
use, as to operations, i. 77.
, a further
instance, 1 102.
another
advantage, ii. 116.
R
RABBITS in a State of
Nature, in the Southern
Counties, ii. 207.
Radish Seed, ii. 31.
Ragstone of Kent, i. 14.
Rats, a Method of Taking,
i. 1 10.
< , on destroying byMeans
of a Count)' Rate, i. 113.
Rearing Calves, the Sussex
Met. od of, ii. 197.
Remarks on River and Ca-
nal Navigations, i. 21.
on Coppice Planta-
tions, i. 44.
i , general, on planting
Coppice Woods, i. 49.
on a Public Re-
pository of Imple-
ments, i 65.
on public Semi-
naries, i. 76.
on a Piural:ty of
Implements, i. 79
1 on Fallowing, i. 82.
on forming Com-
post, i. 87.
on Liming, i. go.
on destroying Sod
worms, by Fallowing, j,
95-
on destroying Rats,
by a County Rate, 1. 113.
IXDEX.
Remarks on C Mar-
kets, for fatJCattle. i. 115.
■ 0-1 the- Q
:-d Beat:s.i. 128
■ — 'j>eans
in Ker.t, and- {ikn
.. i. 130.
< on the Nature and
Hab : - Potato;, i.
en Harvesting Seed
0 the Per-
C 3-er, as an
. 15 i •
on. the natural Soil
ci Lv:i;rn, i. 154.
en sowing c
with 6-iu.fo'n, i. 156.
on the Habits of
Sainfoin, on different Soils.
L 159.
on Cul'.vatlng Sain-
foin, on non-cakareous
Lands, i. 1
on thr cold Soils of
the District of Maidstone^
i. 164.
en analvzirg Sub-
: -;
en t':ic Yant;
Hops, i. 1 1 :
0:1 i-r.ar.u ring Hops,
1. 205
on charring ti.
of Hop Poles i 2i".
on bran cuing- Hops.
1. 124.
on shove'ui:^ the
Intervals of Hops, .
en the Mould of
Ho; s, i :
on the Season cf
z Hops, i. 237.
Remarks on the Hop Har-
vest, i. 258.
, general, on Hops,
a Species of Farm Pro-
duce, i. 288.
or. Grafting, i. 310.
general, on the Hus-
bandry of the District of
en O.x BTuzzl
on the Formation of
inds, i. 359.
-, geological, on the
- . tionorRomn. Mar.
i 3S1.
on the Herb:. :
Roinney Marsh, i.
on the Aphis ot the
Hop, i. 4.- 1.
on the Causes of
Blights, i. 404.
on forcing Hops, i.
406.
on Straw, as a Co-
vering of Buildings, h. 9.
general, on the
Drill Husbandry, ii.
16.
on taking Tithes
i:i Kind, ii.
on en ; Chil-
dren in sheafing Corn, ii.
on sodburning Sain-
foin Ley. ii. 33.
on the Origin of the
Kent Sheep, ii. 36.
on the Hop Cult, of
:. ana Farnh. ii. 55.
on branching Hops,
ii. 60.
on the spare Vines
of Hops, ii. 63.
INDEX.
Remarks, general, on the
Farnham Hop Culture, ii.
. on covering infer-
tile Land?, with Water, ii.
87.
• on the Accumula-
tion or Soils, ii. 90.
on the Coppice Bor-
ders of Sussex, ii. 10 1.
on Wood Clubs, ii.
114.
on pruning
Tim-
ber Trees, ii. 1 17.
general, on the Sus-
sex Management of Wood-
lands, ii. 1 18.
on "Seedling" Oaks,
ii. 119. X.
■ on taking downTim-
ber Trees, ii. 125.
on the Vegetation of
fallen Coppice Woods, ii.
129. N.
on the jDisppiaj of
Woodland Produce, ii. 131
on forming Ox Paths
wi:h broad Wheels, ii. 136.
on the Plow Sic
Sussex, as a simple koau-
maker, ii. 138.
on Wood and Co_.l
burnt Limes, Weald of
Sussex, ii. 143.
on the large Pebbles
of the Sands or Sussex, ii.
167.
on Treading the Soil
with the Plow Team, ii.
»75-
on grinding Chalk,
ii. 176.
on temporary Leys,
Dist. of Petw. ii. 189.
Remarks on the Field and
House-Lamb Husbandry,
ii. 202.
■■ on Swine, as a Spe-
cies of pasture Stock, ii.
205.
geological, on the
Sea Coast of Suss. ii. 222.
on the Formation of
Beach Bu..iks, ii. 225.
on Tide and River
M41s, ii. 229.
on the Utility of Sci-
ence, in Agriculture, ii.
237-
on Swine, as a Spe-
cies of Pasture Stock, ii.
242.
oa Couchgrass, as a
Weed of arable Land, ii.
2+3-
on Rural Scenery, ii.
on the Size of Farms,
ii. 275.
on Breeding, ii. 282.
on Surveying a Dis-
trict, ii. .287. N.
on the artificial Sur-
fape 01 the Chalk Hills, ii.
301.
on inclosing Chalk-
Do ,vn Lands, ii. 309.
on Beech Hedges, ii.
316.
on planting Coppice
Belts, on Chalk Hills, ii.
318.
on the Lime Fur-
nace, 11. 327.
on the want of Sain-
foin, on the West Chalk
Hills, ii. 329.
on the Origin of
INDEX.
forming Water Meadows,
ii. 542.
on Town Flocks, ii.
55-
geological, on the
Outlets or Rivers, ii. 356.
on Maarn So.ls, ii.
361.
1 on the Structure and
Form irion of Chalk Hills,
ii. 390.
on Bell Teams, ii.
3 '3-
on Chalky Soils be-
ing kept open, 1 . 394.
-- on the Hedges of the
East. Ch. Hills, ii. 399.
on the Treatment of
Hedges, on the Hills of
400.
, £e eral, on csta-
blisbe-1 Practices, and the
•11 requisite in mak-
ing Im^rorements, ii. 401.
on present Practices,
and the Origin of that
:, ii. 404.
-v on the Stubbornness
of " Cledgey" Soil?. ii. 407.
on holding the Turn-
wrest Plow, ii. 40S.
on " Ci-fige," as al-
lied to Chalk, ii. 409.
Ripeness of Hops, Criterions
of, i. 234.
River Navigations, Remarks
on, i. ii.
River;, Ir stance of Improve-
ment of, i. jaI. N.
Roads, Dibtr. of Maid. i. 20.
, Weald of Kent, i.
343-
Romn. Mar. i. 365.
Iiltr of Than. ii. 6.
Roads, Weald of Sus. ii. 9§.
■ ' -, Sea Coast of Sussex*
ii. 229.
, I. of Wight, ii. 264.
,W. Ch. Hills, ii. 308
-, E Ch. Hills, ii. 393.
Road-smoother, a simple one,
in Sussex, ii. 138.
Romney Maksh, i. 356.
Rye Herbage, District of
Petworth, ii. 188.
SAINFOIN, Cultureof,Dis-
trict of Maidstone, i. 155.
Sainfoin, on raising fresh
Varieties of, i. 156.
, on raising it with
Clover, i. 156.
•, its Habits, on dif-
ferent Soils, i. 159, &c
, Isle of Than. ii. 31.
, on uncalcareous
Sand, District of Petworth,
ii. 189.
1 , I. of Wight! ii. 280.
, West Chalk Hills, ii.
329-
-, S. Ch. Hills, ii. 381.
, E. Ch. Hills, ii. 411.
Sarderstead Hill, View from,
ii. :
Scenery, Remarks on, ii. 272.
Sea Coast of Suss. ii. 219.
Sea rt .ce, W. Suss. ii. 223.
Sea Mud, its Use as a Ma-v
nure, i. 3-4. N.
Sea W^l of Romney, i. 367.
Seedling O.ks, Remarks on,
ii 1 19. N.
Semination, District of Maid-
stone, L9I.
INDEX.
Semination, I. of Than. ii. 15.
, East Chalk Hills,
ii. 409.
Servants, District of Maid-
stone, i. 55.
, on Changing, Sea
Coast of Sussex, ii. 233.
-, Isle ot'Wight,ii. 276.
Sheep, Dist. of Maid. i. 325.
, Romn. Mar. i. 378.
-, Isle of Than. ii. 35.
, Heaths of Surrey,
&c. ii. 86.
-, Weald of Sussex, ii.
146.
, District of Petworth,
ii. 199.
, Sea Coast of Sussex,
11. 241.
■ , Isleof Wight, ii. 284.
-, W.Ch. Hills, ii. 349.
-, S. Ch. Hills, ii. 369.
-, E. Ch. Hills, ii. 412.
-, on their natural
Food, i. 326. N.
-, on their grazing
steep Surfaces, ii. 302. N.
-, sufflated, by Poppies
n. 414.
Sheep Downs, West Chalk
Hills, ii. 330.
. , South Chalk
Hills, on breaking up, ii.
383.
Sheepfold, West Chalk Hills,
ii. 349.
, East Chalk Hills,
ii.413.
Sheep Rack of Wiltshire, ii.
349-
Shepherd's Crook of Sussex,
ii. 380.
i. Dog of Sussex, ii.
3*0.
Shims, Isle of Thanet, ii.
10.
Shucks of Kent described, i.
103.
Size of Farms, Remarks on,
ii. 275.
Sliding Yoke of Suss. ii. 138.
Sodburning, in Wood ! i. 41 .
, Sainfoin Ley,
ii. 32.
Sodworm,Dist. of Maid. i. 93.
- ■■-, an Enemy of
young Hops, i. 199.
Soils, District of Maidstone,
i. 8. and i. 71.
-, Weald of Kent, i. 342.
, Romn. Marsh, i. 361.
— — , Distr. of Cant. i. 398.
, Isle of Thanet, ii. 5.
, Valley of Farnh. ii. 49,
, of the Heaths of Sur-
rey, &c. ii. 84.
:, Weald ot Suss. ii. 96.
-, Distr. of Petw. ii. 166.
, Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 221.
, Isle of Wight, ii. 256.
, W. Ch. Hills, ii. 303.
, S. Ch. Hills, ii. 359.
, E. Ch. Hills, ii. 391.
— — , on their Accumula-
tion, ii. 96.
South-Down Sheep describ-
ed, ii. 371.
Southern Division of
Chalk Hills, ii. 355.
Sparrow Traps described, i.
96.
Spayed Mare, an Instance of,
ii. 193.
Spearwort, as a Name of the
Rot of Sheep, i. 375. N.
Stack Guard of Kent, de-
scribed, i. 166.
INDEX.
Stallion?, gratis, an Instance
of, ii. 193.
State of Husbandry, District
of Maidstone, i. 328.
« , Isle of
Thanet, ii. 37.
ofSussex, ii. 147.
Weald
Petworth, ii. 2cS.
-, Dist. of
-, Sea Co.
ofSussex, ii. 243.
Wight, ii. 285.
-, Isle of
., W. Ch.
Hills, ii. 351.
Strap, for measuring Tim-
ber, ii. 123.
Srricking,Operation of,i.i 18.
Snicking Plow, i. 63.
Stubble R.ke of Kent, i. 105.
Succession, District of Maid-
stone, i. 69.
, I . of Than. ii. 12.
, Weald of Sussex,
ii. 140.
, District of Pet-
worth, ii. 1 74,
-, Sea Coast of Sus-
: ;8.
, West Chalk Hills,
-, East Chalk Hills
ii. A
Sugar Bikers' Lime, i. i:.N-
1 Colojil:
Hops, i. 266.
race, artificial, Remarks
on, ii. 301.
Sussex, Weal n of, ii. Q)Z.
, District of Maidstone,
i 324.
, Isle of Tha-
, Dist. of Petw. ii. 203.
Swine, a Species of pasturing
Stock, ii. 203.
, Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 242.
, Remarks on, as a Spe-
cies of Pasture Stock, ii.
242.
, E. Ch. Hills, ii. 415.
TALLY of Hop Planters
Dist. of Maidstone, i. 252.
, Dist. of Canrer. i. 409.
of Farnham, ii. 72.
Tares, Culture of, District
of Maidstone, i. 137.
, E. Ch. Hills, ii. 411.
Thanet, Islc ot, ii. I.
Thatch, Remarks on, ii. 9.
Tide Mills, Remarks on, ii.
228.
Tillage, District of Maid-
stone, i. 73.
, Isle of Than. ii. 14.
, Weald of Sus.ii. 141.
, Dist. of Petw. ii. 1-4.
, Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 235.
, West Chalk Hills, 11.
325-
, E.Ch. Hills, ii. 407.
Timber Trees, Remarks on
taking down, ii. 125.
Tithe, Remarks on taking in
Kind, ii. 24.
D Flocks of Wilts, ii. 350.
Town Herds. Wilts, ii. 351.
Training Woods, Weald of
Sussex, ii. 1 13.
Turneps, District of Maid-
stone, i. 139.
, Isle of Than. ii. 30.
INDEX.
Turneps, Eastern Ch. Hills,
ii. 411.
Turnwrest Plow, i. 60.
■ , on its Ori-
gin and Use, ii. 392.
-, further on
its good Qualities, ii. 405.
-, Remarks
on holding, ii. 408.
VALLEY of Farnham,
ii.45.
Vegetation of Stubwood, Re-
marks on, ii. 129. N.
Ventilation, Remarks on, i.
84.
Vermin, Dist. of Maid. i. 1 10.
Vermin Trap described, i.
Views, from Boxley Hills, i.
23-
, Isle of Thanet, ii. 7.
, Isle of Wight, ii. 268.
, Wilts Hills, ii. 311.
from the West Downs
of Sussex, ii. 364.
■ from Sanderstead Hill,
ii. 396.
w
WAGGON PATHS pro-
posed, for the Weald of
Sussex, ii. 155.
Walnut Trees of extraordi-k
nary Size, i. 304. N.
Water Meads, West Chalk
Hills, ii. 331.
Weald of Kent, i. 335.
I
Weald of Sussex, ii. 92.
West. Ch. Hills, ii. 295.
Westminster Abbey built;
with Kentish Stone, i. 13.
Wheat, Dist. of Maid. i. 1 16.
, Isle of Than. ii. 26.
, Dist. of Pet. ii. 187.
— , Sea Coast of Sussex,
ii. 238.
, West Chalk Hills,
ii. 328.
Wight, Isle of, ii. 248.
Wild of Kent and Sus. i. 335.
Wireworm, District of Maid-
stone, i. 93.
, an Enemy of
young Hops, i. 199.
Wood Clubs, Remarks on,
ii. 114.
Woodlands, Distr. of Maid-
stone, i. 39.
, Weald of Kent,
346-
sex, ii. 108.
-, Weald of Sus-
West Chalk
Hills, ii. 317.
-, Southern Chalk
Hills, ii. 365.
, Eastern
Chalk
Hills, ii. 401.
Woods, on Training, it. 113.
Wool of Romney Marsh, i.
378. N.
Woolen Rags, a Manure of
Hops, i. 202.
YOKE, sliding, described,
ii. 138.
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