which sends hops, and fruits, and other good things to the London markets; and which too evidently excited the envy of the man of East Kent, at the time he drew up his Report. He therefore got rid of it, in the above ungracious manner. P. 3. "The Weald of Kent, before mentioned, was for merly covered entirely with woods. It has now many small towns and villages; but is more thinly inhabited than the other parts of the county, and of course much less culti vated." .:P. 9. "The Weald. This district of the county was in ancient times an immense wood or forest, inhabited only by herds of deer and hogs, and belonged wholly to the King By degrees it became peopled, and interspersed with villages and towns; and by piece-meal, was for the most part cleared of its wood, and converted into tillage and pasture. There are, however, some woodlands still in their original state," P. 8. Romney-Marsh is an extensive tract of rich marsh land, at the south corner of the county, originally inclosed from the sea, by a strong wall thrown up between the towns of Romney and Hythe." P. 10. Romney Marsh is a spacious level of exceedingly rich land, lying at the south corner of the county. Its shape is nearly that of a parallelogram, whose length from the foot of the hill at Aldington to the sea-shore, between Dengeness and Rye, is about twelve miles; and breadth, from the borders of the Weald of Kent by Warehorn, to the sea-shore, between Romney and Dimchurch, is nearly eight miles.". P. 14. "This marsh is defended from the sea by an im mense bank of earth (called Dimchurch Wall) of more than three miles in length. The face next the sea is covered with common faggot wood, and hop-poles fastened down by oak piles and overlaths, which prevent the sea from washing away the earth. The support of the wall, and the drainage of this marsh, amount to the sum of four thou sand pounds per annum; which sum is raised by a scot per acre, on the whole level of Romney Marsh." CLIMATURE.-P. 12. "The proximity to the German Ocean and British Channel, renders this county very sub. ject to cold sea-winds, which often, near the shore in the spring of the year, injure the tender shoots of corn and herbage of every kind; especially when, after a few days of fine warm weather, a north-east wind succeeds.. "The prevailing winds of this county are, north-east and south-west. When the former sets in and continues for any length of time, which is often the case in winter, a severe frost is always the consequence; the air is them exceedingly E e 2 exceedingly keen and sharp; ponds are frozen to the depth of ten or twelve inches; and turnips are destroyed. The south-west part of the county is more inclosed; and, being under shelter of the ridge of hills running from Folkstone-hill to Wrotham, &c. is somewhat warmer as to climate; but the soil in this part being much of it a cold moist clay, the harvest is later than in those parts of the county which are more exposed to the winds before mentioned. "The effect of the climate on Agriculture will perhaps be best shown, by stating the time when the wheat har vest commences; which, in the most early parts of the County (viz. the Isles of Shepey and Thanet) is, in a very forward harvest, by the 20th of July, and in general in the last week of that month; in East Kent, between Canter bury and Dover, about six or seven days later, according to soil and situation; and still later, by ten or twelve days, on the cold hills which run through the middle of the county.", This may be truly deemed satisfactory Report;-except ing, perhaps, what regards the time of harvest; which appears to be put rather too early. SOILS.-Thanet.-P. 4. "Much of the Isle of Thanet was naturally very thin light land;" (!) “but the greater part of it having belonged to the Religious, who were the wealthiest and most intelligent people, and the best farmers of the time, no pains or cost were spared to improve the soil. The sea furnished an inexhaustible supply of manure, which was brought by the tides to all the borders of the upland, quite round the island; and most likely was liberally and judiciously applied by the Monks and their tenants; and their successors to the present time, have not neglected to profit by their example. Owing to these circumstances, Thanet always was, and most likely always will be, famous for its fertility; and the Monkish tale of Thanet's deriving its superior fruitfulness from its having been the asylum of St. Augustine, is not so far from the truth as it may at first appear. Old historians said, Felix tellus Tanet sua fecunditate;' and modern writers of husbandry speak of it as one of the finest gardens in the kingdom. "In short, is there another district in Great Britain, or in the world, of the same extent, in such a state of culti vation,-where the farmers are so wealthy and intelligent, where land, naturally of so inferior a quality," (!)" is let for so much money, and produces such abundant crops?" Who, reading the above notice, might not be led to believe that the rich soils of the "Isle of Thanet" were a creation of" Monks and their tenants"?Nothing but a mind darkly blinded, or much deranged, by prejudice, could have engendered such an enthusiastic idea. The dis trict of Thanet is, naturally, a singularly well soiled chalky swell. An inconsiderable extent of its uppermost lands, is somewhat thinly soiled, as are the highest "downs" of other chalk hills. But the soils of the middle and lower stages, and especially of the lowest margin, or base, are, evidently, in their aboriginal nature, deep, rich, calcareous loams; such as are found on the lower skirts of other chalk hills; tho rarely of so good a quality *:-a fact, this, which even the Reporter, in a more lucid moment, would seem to have been aware of. P. 13. "The bottom soil of the whole island, or what modern writers in husbandry call the subsoil, is a dry, hard, rock chalk. The tops of the ridges are about sixty feet above the level of the sea, and are covered with a dry, loose, chalky mould, from four to six inches deep: it has a mixture of small flints, and is, without manure, a very poor soil. The vales between the ridges and the flat lands on the hills, have a depth of dry loamy soil, from one to three feet, with less chalk, and of much better quality. "The west end of the island, even on the hills, has a good mould, from one to two feet deep, a little inclining to stiffness; but the deepest and best soil is that which lies on the south side of the southernmost ridge, running westward from Ramsgate to Monkton: it is there a deep rich sandy loam, and mostly dry enough to be ploughed flat, without any water-furrows." Taking it, all in all, the district of Thanet is naturally the deepest soiled, most valuable passage of chalk hill, in this island. Soils of the other Districts of East Kent.-P. 13. "The open part of the district between Canterbury, Dover, and Deal, is of various soils, no one parish or farm being per fectly similar in all its parts. The principal soils are, 1st, Chalk; 2d, Loam; 3d, strong Cledge; 4th, Hazel Mould; 5th, stiff Clay. Besides these, there are some small tracts of flints, gravel, and sand. "The chalk-soils are of various depths; from three to six or seven inches of loose, chalky mould, on a rock chalk Bottom, and are mostly found on the tops and sides of the ridges of this district. At some places there is a little mix ⚫ture of small flints, and at others, of black light mould, provincially called Black Hover. This last, in an unim proved state, is the worst land in this district." P. 14. * See my SOUTHERN COUNTIES-District, Isle of Thanet. P. 14. The loamy soil is a very dry, soft, light mould, from six to ten inches deep, on a red soft clay, which is good brick-earth, and lies in a stratum of from three to seven feet deep, under which is generally a layer of chalky marl, and then the rock chalk. This soil is very good, ploughs light, and may be worked at all seasons; and produces good crops, if well managed, of all sorts of corn and grass. "The strong cledge is a stiff tenaceous earth with a small proportion of Aints, and, at some places, small particles of chalk it is from six to ten inches deep, on a hard rock chalk, and is found on the tops of the bills. When wet, it sticks like birdlime; and when thoroughly dry, the clods are so hard as not to be broken with the heaviest roll. It is very difficult to work, except when it is between wet and dry. This land, when well managed, and the, seasons are favourable for the work, produces good crops, of wheat, alover, and oats; but when unkindly seasons happen, and dry summers succeed, it is very unproductive. "The hazel mould is a light soil on a clay bottom, more or less mixed with flints and sand. It is dry, and, forms very kindly land for barley and wheat upon clover lays." P. 15. The stiff clay lies on the tops of the highest hills. This soil is generally wet which arises only from the rains in winter; for the springs are above 300 feet deep on the rock chalk. It has at some places a layer of a yellow co Toured clay between the surface mould and the rock." "The flat rich lands in the vicinity of Faversham, Sandwich, and Deal, consist of two sorts of soil;, namely, rich sandy loam, with a greater or less mixture of sand; and stiff clay, some of which, in the lower parts, is rather wet. The surface of the first is seven or eight inches deep, with a subsoil, varying in depth, of strong loam, clay, or chalk. This soil is always ploughed with four horses;" (yet) "is very dry and kindly to work at all seasons," (!)" and no ridges or water-furrows are required. It produces great crops of wheat, beans, barley, oats, and pease, and sometimes canary and radish. "The stiff wet clay is that which has a strong, clay bottom, or any substance that holds water. It lies low, is subject to land-springs, and of close, texture, so as not to admit a quick filtration of water. This, when properly drained, and kept cleaned from weeds, and otherwise well managed in favourable seasons, is excellent land, and produces good crops of wheat, beans, and canary; but is generally very expensive to keep in good order." From the sum of these statements it appears pretty evidently, dently, that the various soils of those districts, as of Thanet, are encumbent on chatk; and that the superiorly productive soils, in the environs of Faversham and Sandwich, are deep calcareous loams, similar to those of the lower margin of the district of Thanet, and of other gently sloping skirts of chalk hills. Soils of the Isle of Sheppy-Sheppy is, still, what Thanet was, formerly,-an appertenance of East Kent.-P. 16. Almost the whole of this isle is a deep, strong, stiff clay. Some parts are so very sticky in the winter time, that the plough wheels get loaded with dirt in one mass, so as to form the shape of a grindstone, and are often overturned with the great weight of mould, collected unequally upon the wheels; on which account foot-ploughs are some times used. The horses shoes are frequently torn off, by the hinder foot striking its shoe against the heel of the fore one, before it can disengage itself from the soil. The best time to plough these soils, it is said, is when they are tho roughly wet. Some of the upper parts of the island have a few gravelly fields; but those are very wet in winter, and are rather stiff. The chief part of the upland pasture is ca stiff clay, covered with ant-hills; it is very wet in winter, subject to burn in a dry summer, and to split open to a great depth. The soil of the marshes is also a stiff clay underneath; originally a sediment of the sea. Its surface för an inch or two in depth is a vegetable mould, much enriched from the land having been thickly covered with sheep for a long series of years." SUBJECT THE SECOND. POLITICAL ECONOMY. APPROPRIATION.-P. 127. "The waste lands, the neglected woods, and the impoverished commons, are striking evidences of the necessity and importance of enquiries like the present; and the legislature will have abundant merit in suggesting to the proprietors of these estates a plán of improvement, from which individuals and the community will derive the greatest advantages. "In the county there are the following commons, viz. Bleah Common, Swingfield Minis,' Stelling Minis, Rodes Minis, Ewel Minis, Baddlesmere Lees, |