interwoven roots of timber trees and underwoods, had almost insuperable difficulties to struggle with, while those which were planted, "by a by a man who took great delight in planting," had, from their infancy, the entire ground to themselves. The quoter should have recollected, before he wrote, that the quotee was a planter.

Box of Boxhill.-P. 445. "Box.-This is known only as a dwarf, or garden shrub, in most parts of England: in Surrey, and the adjoining county of Kent, however, it flourishes as a tree of considerable size. The hill in Surrey on which it is found, was originally called the Whitehill" (?); "but from the great number of box-trees with which it has long been covered, it is now much better known by the name of Box-hill.

"The common report, probably handed down by tradition, is, that the Earl of Arundel, in the reign of Charles I. brought the box-tree from Kent, and planted it on the White-hill*.

"The soil of Box-hill is a thin pale-coloured loam, lying very near the chalk: the elevation of the hill is considerable, and the greatest quantity of box is found on the south or precipitous side.

"The period of time required by the box-tree to arrive at a proper size and quality of timber for cutting, is not exactly known; but it is supposed, that more than half a century is necessary for this purpose. The succession of the crop is kept up, partly by the seeds which are annually scattered, and partly by the shoots from the stools, after the timber is cut.

"The price of this wood was formerly much higher than it is now: this is owing, in some measure, to the diminished demand, and the importation from Holland and other parts of the Continent; but principally, to the greater quantity which has latterly been cut on Box-hill. The former proprietor of the estate sold the box for 15,000l.: the purchaser was to be allowed 14 years to cut it down: hence the supply has been much greater than formerly; and as, while it was scarce and dear, substitutes had been found for it in many manufactures, the price has necessarily declined very considerably. In the 1802, 40 tons were cut on Box-hill; and when the limited use to which

this

"Mr. Manning, author of the History of Surrey, is of opinion, that the box on Box-hill is coeval with the soil;" (?) "it can actually be traced back to the beginning of the seventeenth century: in a lease dated 1602, the tenant covenants to use his best endeavours to preserve the yew, box, &c. In an account taken in 1712, it is supposed as much had been cut a few years before, as amounted to 3000l.”*

this wood can be applied, is considered, it is by no means surprising that the price should have fallen more than 50 per cent. It will not now bring more than 5l. or 67. per ton."

AGRICULTURE.

FARMS.-Sizes.-P.

ARMS.-Sizes.-P. 84. "The Weald of Surrey offers less variety in the size of its farms than any other part of the county; and the further we advance into the Weald, and recede from good roads and a dry soil, the smaller the farms in general become. There are scarcely any farms in this part of the county which reach 300 acres; most of them run from 100 to 150, and the smallest do not contain more than 40 or 50 acres.

"The size of the farms on the sandy loams is also small in general, running from 100 to 300 acres: a few falling below the first number, and perhaps a very few rising above 300 acres.

"In the western parts of the county, about Bagshot and Cobham, there are scarcely any farms above 200 acres; and in general they run from 150 to 200 acres.

"On the borders of the Downs there are a few very large farms, i. e. farms from 600 to 1200 acres. Within seven or eight miles of London also, especially about Streatham and Norwood, there are some farms of from 500 to 700 acres and upwards. But the usual size, both in the Downs and within seven or eight miles of London, is from 250 to 300 acres. Nearer London, the ground is in the hands of market-gardens and nurserymen, and of course is held in small quantities.

"The largest farm in the county is at Wanborough, between Guildford and Farnham: it contains 1600 acres, comprising a considerable quantity of chalky soil, on that part of the ridge, which from its appearance, is called "The Hog's Back." It is in the possession of Mr. Morris Birk-, beck, whose activity and intelligence are fully equal to the proper management of this large concern."

1

HOMESTEADS.-P. 79. "In passing to the Vale or Weald of Surrey, the eye is not more struck with the appearance of inferiority in the management of the lands, the badness of the crops, the uncouthness and want of intelligence among the farmers, and the general circumstances attending inade-i quate skill and capital-than it is with the rumous and mean appearance of the farm-houses and offices. In the other parts of the county, the farm-houses are generally sufficiently

large

large and convenient, in good repair, and kept neat and clean: their size, and the mode and materials of their construction, vary with their age. The oldest are built entirely of brick, and their covering is generally of large heavy slatestone; others are of brick-nogging, covered with tiles; and many are built of a framing of wood, lathed and plastered, or rough-cast."

OBJECTS of HUSBANDRY.-P. 146. "In the neighbourhood of large towns, little arable land, in general, is to be seen; and this is the case on the Middlesex side of London: but in Surrey, on the contrary, the proportion of arable land is very great, all over the county; and this proportion hardly seems to diminish as we approach the metropolis."

PLAN of MANAGEMENT.-The Reporter has extended his section"Course of Crops" to an unwarrantable length; seeing how little it contains, respecting the established practice of the County under Report. It commences with a discourse concerning the author's own ideas of the subject; a dissertation, by the way, which does him credit as a writer. He next enumerates, a la Secretaire, strings of courses, on the several varieties of lands in the County, as they were found on the farms of individuals; in all or most cases putting down what may be well termed, in ordinary situations, the impracticable course.

Having past over nearly twenty pages of the section, we come to the following ingenuous notice.-P. 196. "Before proceeding to state the rotations pursued in the different parts of Surrey, that go against the fundamental maxim of agriculture, by bringing two white or corn crops immediately together, it is proper to premise, that the rotations already mentioned, are by no means the most common in the several districts where they are said to be followed. There is perhaps, a greater variety of rules and practices, even within the compass of a single parish in Surrey (if the Weald be excepted), than in most of the other counties in England: so that the practices adopted by one farmer are frequently very different from those of his nearest neighbour. The judicious and commendable rotations already noticed, are to be found in a more or less extensive degree, in the several districts specified along with them, and there is good reason to believe they are becoming more prevalent; but whoever from this account should expect to find that practices directly opposite were banished from these districts, would be much disappointed."

The fact is, the County of Surrey has-had some years ago-NO REGULAR COURSE OF CROPS; every occupier appropriated his fields and parcels of lands to the purposes to which he knew they were best adapted. And, by the

above notice, it pretty evidently appears that the same principle of management was pursued in 1807, by professional occupiers.-Even on the chalk hills where regular flocks of sheep were kept, and where regular supplies of food, in summer and winter, were of course to be provided, every man, speaking generally, provided them in his own way; according to the existing circumstances of the lands in his occupation, and the principles of management which long experience had led him to adopt.-It only remains to be added, that, under a plan of management, so pursued, there were, then, many good farmers"-"knowing men" -"capital agriculturists"-on those hills.

OCCUPIERS.-P. 88. "The character of the farmers, like the size of farms, is very various in Surrey: there are still to be found, especially in the Weald, and the more remote parts of the county, many of the old class of farmers; men who are shy and jealous in their communications; unwilling to adopt any new mode of husbandry; in short, with much of the ignorance and prejudice of former times, and with all its rigid and inflexible honesty-on whose bare word the utmost reliance may be placed, and who have so little of the impartial spirit of commerce, that they prefer selling their grain to an old customer at a lower price, to deserting him and accepting a higher offer from one with whom they have not been in the habit of dealing. The roundfrocked farmers' (for they pride themselves on frequenting the markets in the dress of their forefathers) are equal enemies to improvements in agriculture and relaxations in morals."

P. 89. "In other parts of the county, less remote and distant from the metropolis, the farmers are more on a level with the age; they understand their own business, according to the new and more improved methods of conducting it, extremely well; but they are either unable or unwilling to communicate the knowledge they possess. To this general character there are, however, many exceptions: there are among the Surrey farmers, men who would lose nothing in point of liberal and useful knowledge, if they were placed by the side of the most intelligent agriculturists in the island."-And so there were, half a century ago; as will appear under the head, Turneps, ensuing

WORKPEOPLE.-P. 540." It is a very general and wellfounded complaint in Surrey, that it is extremely difficult to get a sufficient number of hands to work the land properly and that the servants are extremely unsettled, continually wandering from one master to another."

A remedy for this evil is suggested by the Reporter:first, in the legitimate section, "Labour;" and, afterwards,

large and convenient, in good repair, and kept neat and clean: their size, and the mode and materials of their construction, vary with their age. The oldest are built entirely of brick, and their covering is generally of large heavy slatestone; others are of brick-nogging, covered with tiles; and many are built of a framing of wood, lathed and plastered, or rough-cast."

OBJECTS of HUSBANDRY.-P. 146. "In the neighbourhood of large towns, little arable land, in general, is to be seen; and this is the case on the Middlesex side of London: but in Surrey, on the contrary, the proportion of arable land is very great, all over the county; and this proportion hardly seems to diminish as we approach the metropolis."

PLAN of MANAGEMENT.-The Reporter has extended his section" Course of Crops" to an unwarrantable length; seeing how little it contains, respecting the established practice of the County under Report. It commences with a discourse concerning the author's own ideas of the subject; a dissertation, by the way, which does him credit as a writer. He next enumerates, a la Secretaire, strings of courses, on the several varieties of lands in the County, as they were found on the farms of individuals; in all or most cases putting down what may be well termed, in ordinary situations, the impracticable course.

Having past over nearly twenty pages of the section, we come to the following ingenuous notice.-P. 196. "Before proceeding to state the rotations pursued in the different parts of Surrey, that go against the fundamental maxim of agriculture, by bringing two white or corn crops immediately together, it is proper to premise, that the rotations already mentioned, are by no means the most common in the several districts where they are said to be followed. There is perhaps, a greater variety of rules and practices, even within the compass of a single parish in Surrey (if the Weald be excepted), than in most of the other counties in England: so that the practices adopted by one farmer are frequently very different from those of his nearest neighbour. The judicious and commendable rotations already noticed, are to be found in a more or less extensive degree, in the several districts specified along with them, and there is good reason to believe they are becoming more prevalent; but whoever from this account should expect to find that practices directly opposite were banished from these districts, would be much disappointed."

The fact is, the County of Surrey has-had some years ago-NO REGULAR COURSE OF CROPS; every occupier appropriated his fields and parcels of lands to the purposes to which he knew they were best adapted. And, by the

above