extent, it is separated by the Thames; on the east by Surrey; on the south by Hants; and on the west by Wilts and a part of Gloucestershire. It contains 481,280 acres. This, which is one of the most beautiful counties in the empire, is naturally divided into four districts, viz: - First, the Forest district, comprising almost all the eastern part of the county, as far west as the river Loddon. It contains Windsor Forest, part of Bagshot Heath, and some other considerable tracts of waste land. Its surface and soil are various, but the latter is, for the most part, sandy, gravelly, and poor. Second, the Vale of the Kennet, stretching from near Wargrave on the east to Hungerford on the west. Gravelly soils predominate in this vale, but they differ widely in quality and fertility: a good deal of peat is found at different places along the banks of the river. Third, the chalk-hills, or downs, stretching across the county, from near Streatley on the east to Ashbury on the west. And, fourth, the Vale of the White Horse, lying to the north of the chalk-hills, and so called from the gigantic figure of a horse rudely sketched on one of these hills. The prevailing soil of the level parts of the vale is a strong, grey, calcareous loam, producing luxuriant crops of grass and corn; but, in some places, the soil is of inferior fertility. Dr. Beeke, one of the best statistical writers that this country has produced, supposes Berks to contain 464,500 acres, distributed as follows: Arable land, about Meadows, and dairy land in the vale, Sheep-walks, chiefly unenclosed, on the chalk-hills Other dry pastures, parks, &c. Wastes, chiefly barren heaths, Wood, copses, &c. Space occupied by buildings, courts, fences, roads, rivers, &c. Acres. 255,000 72,000 25,000 25,000 30,000 30,000 27,500 *465,500 Agriculture is at rather a low ebb. Principal crops, oats and wheat. The land is usually held on leases for 7 and 14 years; but, as there is rarely any restriction on the tenants as to its cultivation, or the mode of cropping, the soil, unless where it happens to be occupied by its owners, is, generally speaking, very much out of condition. "A tenant, down to the last year or two of his lease, drives the land as hard as he possibly can, and, in fact, leaves it entirely run out.” — (Kennedy and Grainger, vol. i. p. 145.) The ordinary rotation on the turnip land is, 1st, turnips; 2d, barley or oats; 3d, seeds; 4th, wheat; and, 5th, oats: upon the heavy land the course is, 1st, fallow; 2d, wheat; 3d, beans; 4th, wheat or oats; and, if the 4th be wheat, then 5th, oats. The land, as the authorities now quoted observe, is, in most cases, "tried to the utmost." Four or five horses are generally used in ploughing; and it is believed that, of the total number of 12,000 or 13,000 horses, supposed to be employed in the county for agricultural purposes, a third might be advantageously dispensed with. On the heavy soils beans are chiefly dibbled. Berks enjoys considerable celebrity as a dairying and grazing county. The cattle Mavor's Survey of Berks, p. 3. are now principally of the Holderness and Teeswater breeds; but Scotch and Welsh cattle are extensively grazed in the Forest district. The western part of the Vale of the White Horse, and particularly the parish of Buscot, contiguous to Gloucestershire, is celebrated for its dairies. It is there that the "pine-apple" cheese is principally made; but the greater part of the cheese made in the Berkshire dairies is of the description called double Gloucester. Dr. Mavor estimated the total number of cows kept in the dairying district at 5,000; and he states, that from 2,000 to 3,000 tons of cheese were annually sent to London from the wharf at Buscot; of which the quantity furnished by the Berkshire dairies was not less than 1,000 tons. · (Survey, p. 375.) At present, however, very little of the cheese of Berks, Gloucester, Wilts, and other western counties, is conveyed to London by water. The frequent interruptions in the navigation of the Thames, and the liability of the cheese to heat, having occasioned so much loss that it is now mostly all forwarded by waggon. The South Down breed of sheep, but much crossed, is at present the most generally diffused. The total stock of sheep is estimated at about 308,000, and the total annual produce of wool at 4,470 packs. The Berkshire breed of hogs is one of the very best in the empire. They are raised in great numbers, and are mostly made into bacon. About 4,000 are killed at Faringdon only, between Michaelmas and April. Large quantities of onions, asparagus, &c., raised at Reading and its vicinity for the London and Bath markets. Few large estates: property much divided; and a good deal in the occupation of yeomen. Farms middle-sized, rather small. Farm buildings and cottages of a medium quality. Average rent of land, 16s. 10d. an acre. Windsor Castle, the ancient, favourite, and only magnificent residence of the kings of England, stands on the eastern margin of this county. Manufactures and minerals of no importance. Exclusive of the Thames, by which it is bounded along its whole northern frontier, for about 100 miles, Berks is watered by the Kennet, the Loddon, the Ock, and other rivers; it is also traversed by the Kennet and Avon, and the Berks and Wilts canals; and it will be intersected by the great western railroad from London to Bath and Bristol. It contains 20 hundreds and 151 parishes. It returns 9 members to parliament; viz., 3 for the county, 2 each for the boroughs of Reading and Windsor, and 1 each for Abingdon and Wallingford. Principal towns and population, in 1831, Reading, 15,595; Windsor, 5,650; Abingdon, 5,259. Population of county, in 1831, 145,289. Sum expended for the relief of the poor, in 1836, 65,3437. Annual value of real property, in 1815, 719,8901. Profits of trade and professions, in ditto, 299,7047. 2. Wiltshire, an inland county, is bounded on the north and northwest by the county of Gloucester; on the west by Somerset; on the south by Dorset and Hants; and on the south-east and north-east by the latter and Berks. It contains 874,880 acres, of which about 800,000 are arable, meadow, and pasture. It is divided by the rivers Kennet and Avon, and the canal by which they are united, into two grand divisions, popularly termed, from their situation, North and South Wiltshire. But it would be more naturally divided into a : north-west and south-east division, by a line drawn from Bishopston, on the Berkshire border to Devizes, and thence to Maiden Bradley, on the confines of Somersetshire. This would throw almost all the down lands into the south-east division. But, taking the divisions as we find them, the southern one consists, in great part, of Salisbury Plain, extending from Westbury and Warminster, on the west, across the county to Hampshire, and from Lavington, on the north, to near the city of Salisbury on the south. It consists principally of chalk downs, intermixed, however, with some fertile, well-watered, and beautiful valleys. Though called a plain, the surface, as in all chalk land, is undulating the most level part lies round Stonehenge. There is a good deal of rich land in the southern division, between Trowbridge and Pewsey, and between the Willy and the Dorsetshire border, east, to Wilton and Salisbury. Marlborough Downs, which bear, in most respects, a close resemblance to Salisbury Plain, lie in the northern division of the county, between Marlborough and Swindon; but, with this exception, this division consists principally of rich vale land, considerably exceeding in extent and importance the cultivated grounds of the southern division. There are some large estates; but property is, notwithstanding, a good deal subdivided. Farms of all sizes, and generally let on lease, for 7, 14, and 21 years, with unobjectionable conditions as to entry. Farm-houses, in the southern division, were formerly built together, for the convenience of water; but the more modern ones are generally detached. Agriculture in Wiltshire is in an advanced state, and reflects great credit on the skill and enterprise of the farmers. The land under the plough is remarkably clean and in good order. It is believed, however, that tillage on the down lands has been too much extended. When once broken up, it is extremely difficult to get them again into good condition as pasture; while, unless corn fetches a pretty high price, they are most productive in the latter. Principal corn crops, wheat and barley; the latter being, however, confined, in a great measure, to the light chalky soils. Turnips, rape or cole seed, and potatoes, largely cultivated. Much of the rich land in the northern division is appropriated to the dairy husbandry, and the fattening of cattle. The cheese, which, excepting inferior butter made from the whey, is the only product of the dairies, was formerly sold as Gloucestershire cheese; but it is now well known, and much valued in London and elsewhere, by its own proper name of North Wiltshire cheese. Breed of cattle various: they are partly slaughtered in Bath, Salisbury, &c., but the greater number are sold to the London butchers. In despite, however, of the encroachments made by the plough on the downs, sheep continue to be regarded, in the greater part of the county, as the principal support of the farmer. They afford the chief article of manure used on the land; while the sale of the lambs and wool furnishes the principal means of paying the rent. In consequence, as it would seem, of this dependance, and of the high price of wool during the last 4 or 5 years, there have been fewer complaints among the Wiltshire farmers than amongst those of most southern counties. The sheep stock, consisting partly of the native horned breed, but in a far greater degree of South Downs, and crosses between the two, is estimated at about 700,000; of which about 584,000 are depastured on the downs, and the rest on the cultivated land: the fleeces of the former are supposed to weigh, at an average, 2 lbs., and those of the latter 4 lbs.; producing, together, about 8,650 packs of wool. The irrigation of water meadows is to be seen, in the greatest perfection, in South Wiltshire, and is practised on a large scale. Many hogs are kept; and Wiltshire bacon is highly esteemed. In the vicinity of some of the towns of South Wiltshire a good deal of garden husbandry is carried on. Average rent of land, 188. 64d. an acre. Stonehenge stands, in rude magnificence, in the middle of Salisbury Plain. It is a collection of vast stones, disposed endwise, in circles, some of them being joined by immense blocks, stretching from the top of one to that of another. The manufactures of Wiltshire are considerable: they consist principally of various descriptions of superfine woollen goods, made at Bradford, Trowbridge, Westbury, &c.: thicksets and other sorts of cotton goods are also prepared, though in small quantities. Wilton has been long celebrated for a carpet manufactory, established by one of the earls of Pembroke; but this, though it has latterly increased, is not so considerable as formerly. Some articles of a superior description of cutlery are produced at Salisbury; but, speaking generally, manufactures of all sorts are here, as in the other southern counties, on the decline. Principal rivers, Thames, Upper and Lower Avon, and Kennet. Exclusive of some local jurisdictions, Wilts contains 28 hundreds and 300 parishes. It returns 18 members to parliament; viz., 4 for the county; 2 for the city of Salisbury; 2 each for the boroughs of Chippenham, Cricklade, Devizes, and Marlborough; and 1 each for Calne, Malmesbury, Westbury, and Wilton. Principal towns and population, in 1831,- Trowbridge, 10,863; Salisbury city, 9,876; Chippenham, 5,270; Calne, 4,876. Population of county, in 1831, 239,181. Sum expended for the relief of the poor, in 1836, 133,4721. Annual value of real property, in 1815, 1,215,619. Profits of trade and professions, in ditto, 376,0711. 3. Hampshire, Southampton, or Hants, a maritime county, including the Isle of Wight, is bounded on the north by Berks; on the east by Surrey and Sussex; on the west by Wilts and Dorset; and on the south by the English Channel. It contains 1,040,000 acres, of which the Isle of Wight contains about a twelfth part; and, including the island, 900,000 acres are supposed to be arable, meadow, and pasture. This county is reckoned one of the most agreeable in England. Its surface is varied with gently rising hills and fruitful vales, while its climate is peculiarly mild and genial. Soil various, but the greater portion chalky. The northern districts, towards Berkshire, are, in parts, hilly; but between Basingstoke and Silchester there is some of the finest wheat and bean land in the county. A broad zone of chalky hills, or downs, intersected by numerous valleys, extends across the county from the borders of Salisbury plain, on the west, to Dockingfield, Petersfield, and Blendworth, on the borders of Surrey and Sussex. The south-western district, or the country lying between Southampton Water and Dorsetshire, is principally occupied by the New Forest, and by extensive heaths. To the north of Portsmouth harbour there is a considerable tract of forest and down land. But in the southern and middle parts of the county, and particularly in the vales watered by the Anton, the Itchen, and other rivers, there are large tracts of very good land, and some of the finest water meadows in England. Marsh land is found at different places on the coast, particularly on the west side of Southampton Water, near Fawley, but not to any great extent. Principal crops, wheat, barley, oats, beans, and a few peas. Turnips extensively cultivated, particularly on the light calcareous soils. Saintfoin, also, is grown to a greater extent on the chalky soils of Hampshire than, perhaps, in any other part of England. But arable husbandry, though much improved during the last 20 or 30 years, has not attained the perfection that might have been expected. It is usual to prohibit a tenant from taking two wheat crops in succession; but, two white crops not being commonly objected to, oats frequently follow wheat; so that the land, in many places, is impoverished and worn out. But this pernicious practice is on the wane.- (Kennedy and Grainger, vol. i. p. 242.) The old Hampshire plough, usually drawn by four large heavy horses, is a bulky, clumsy, implement; but ploughs of an improved construction, and made wholly of iron, are now in general use. The patent Hampshire waggon is formed by uniting two carts, and bolting them firmly together. There are some considerable hop plantations in the parishes eastward of Alton, and bordering on Surrey. The cattle consist of various breeds; but along the coast, and in the Isle of Wight, the Alderney or smaller breed of Norman cattle predominates: in other parts of the county Devons, or a cross between them and the Alderney, are most common. The dairy is not much attended to; and but little more butter is made than is required for the consumption of the county. The sheep consist of various breeds. In the forest lands, the heath sheep, and the old Wilts breed, were formerly the most prevalent; but they have since been much crossed with other breeds, and, in some degree, su perseded by the South Downs. The stock of sheep is very large; being estimated at above 516,000 in the mainland, and above 60,000 in the Isle of Wight. The annual produce of wool is estimated at above 7,450 packs. The sheep fair, held at Weyhill, near Andover, in this county, is the best attended, and most important, of any in England. A great many small hardy horses are bred in the forest lands and on the heaths. Hants is famous for its bacon: its superiority does not, however, depend on the excellence of the native breed of hogs, these being coarse, raw-boned, and long-sided. The pure native breed is now, however, seldom met with; the prevailing breed being that of Berkshire, or a cross between it and the native breed, or the Chinese, or other variety. Estates mostly large: only a small part of the county belongs to, or is cultivated by, yeomen. Farms of all sizes in the central parts of the county they are large, many comprising 400 and 500 acres, but in the other parts they are a good deal smaller. Until lately they were mostly let on lease; the pernicious practice of tenancy at will is, however, gaining ground. Farm-houses generally good. Many of the farm-buildings are of timber. Average rent of land, 11s. 5d. an acre. The New Forest contains, at present, |