Page images
PDF
EPUB

GENERAL VIEW

OF THE

AGRICULTURE

IN

BERKSHIRE,

WITH

OBSERVATIONS ON THE MEANS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT.

BY WILLIAM PEARCE.

DRAWN UP FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF

The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement.

THIS is an

tr

1794."

original," unpublished Report. Mr. Pearce (if living) is a nephew, and was a pupil (and I believe a partner) of the late Mr. KENT*. His QUALIFICATIONS, therefore, as an Estate Agent, must not be doubted. And he evidently possessed, at the time of writing, the same kind of general knowledge of agriculture, which his relative and tutor possessed; with, unfortunately, the like prejudices.

Mr. Pearce's MODE of SURVEY-his method of collecting information-does not, in any way, appear. His selection of it, however-his PRINCIPLE of REPORT-is highly judicious, and appropriately defined.-P. 16. "It must be admitted, that Berkshire has to boast, of as many of these enlightened agriculturists as any county; but the minute methods followed by them, or any particular system not generally practised, would here be misplaced, and improper. I shall therefore proceed in reporting, in a general way, the present husbandry of the county."-This, I conceive, is the true principle of Report.

Mr.

* The Author of a Report from Norfolk. See EASTErn Depart

MENT.

Mr. P's PLAN of REPORT is likewise peculiar. Instead of blending his own opinions, and his proposals for improvement, with the practice, or incidents of practice, collected,as most others of the Board's Reporters have done,-he first gives the established practice of the County, and then makes his own "observations," distinctly, at the close of each head or division of the work.

Those observations are many of them judicious, and mostly well written; and what may be grateful to some men's minds, they evince a kindness of heart, and an amiableness of disposition.-A few of them are entitled to a place in this register. But, more generally, they are the remarks of a man possessing good natural abilities, and an ordinary knowledge of rural affairs; but without a sufficient depth of experience in Agriculture to improve the knowledge of men of practice.

At the end of his little work, Mr. Pearce has given a description of WINDSOR GREAT PARK, and the many IMPROVEMENTS that have been effected within it, since the rangership," on the death of the late Duke of Cumberland, some few years ago, reverted to his Majesty."

P. 63. It then consisted of about 3,800 acres, of which about 200 acres were covered with water, 200 plantation, 300 meadow, and 200 in arable; the remainder in park. The arable land was ill selected and disposed; and instead of lying compact, was scattered in pieces, a mile or two apart; some of it was in single parcels, surrounded with high pales, separating fine vallies, and concealing ground, of the most beautiful shape. The greatest part of the park, was covered with high ant-hills, moss, fern, or rushes, and abounded in bogs and swamps, which, in many places, it was dangerous to cross. There were about 3,000 deer, in very bad health and condition, kept in it."

P. 64. “The park is now reduced to 1,800 acres. The detached pieces of arable, which intersected, and concealed, some of the finest parts of it, are laid down and thrown into it. The wet parts are rendered firm and sound, by the Essex mode of under-ground draining. The rushes are weakened and destroyed, by draining and rolling; the moss, and small hillocks extirpated, by harrowing; the large anthills cleared, by the scarifier; the fern weakened, by mowing; the irregular banks levelled; pits filled up; the rallies opened, and smoothed; the hills ornamented with new plantations; and the stiff lines of trees, the vestiges of former hedge-rows, judiciously broken; by which means, great beauty is produced in all parts; and it is apparent, that the park thus reduced, supports the same number of deer

[ocr errors]

it did before; and that they are in much better health, and condition."

Beside those well conceived improvements, of the deer park, two farms, one of them after the manner of a Flemish Farm," the other of a "Norfolk Farm," have been laid out and cultivated, within that magnificent royal de

mesne.

The whole of this grand establishment, says the Reporter, p. 69," was formed, and is carried on, under His Majesty's personal, and gracious attention, for the most laudable purposes; and the operative management of it, is delegated to my uncle, Mr. Kent ;"-not merely, as his nephew intimates, with a view to rational recreation; but as a "practical school, from which the most rational, and praise-worthy lessons in agriculture, may be taken ;"-as an "example, upon a great and extensive scale, for the purpose of effecting, in this particular district, such desirable benefits, on which the comfort and happiness, of the community so much depends;-An example well entitled to general attention, imitation, and adoption."-pp. 63 and 64.

Nothing, however, in Mr. Pearce's general observations, concerning the management of those farms, nor in the general economy of the establishment at large, conveys to the reader any resemblance of a RURAL INSTITUTE!

As a faithful account (I believe) of well executed improvements, on an extensive scale, that were prosecuted, if not planned, by "the most illustrious character in the kingdom,"-it is superiorly interesting. The public, therefore, have to regret that it should be confined to an unpublished Report.

There are three plates annexed to this Report; all of them pertaining to Windsor Park; namely, one of cottages, one of ploughs, and the third representing a moveable barn.

The number of pages of letterpress, relating to the Report of the practice of Berkshire, sixtyone,-to the improvements in Windsor Park, twelve.

NATURAL

EXTENT.

ECONOMY.

[ocr errors]

XTENT.-Mr. Pearce furnishes an alphabetical table, shewing the number of acres in each parish, in the county of Berks," p. 11. The total amount, as estimated by Mr. Rocque, who published a map of Berkshire, is nearly 439,000 acres.

P. 13. "From the foregoing table and my general observations, I consider,

The inclosed lands, parks, and woods to con- Acres. tain about

The common fields and downs

The forests, wastes, and commons
Roads

170,000

220,000

40,000

8,977

Total 438,977."

SOILS.-P. 9. "The predominant soil of Berks, is a kind and fruitful loam, in some parts mixed with gravel, and in others with sand; pleasant to work, and grateful in its produce.

"The vale of White Horse, by general acceptation, is confined to a few parishes west of Wantage, which is a rich -deep soil, equal to the best parts of England. I shall not exaggerate however, if I state, that the whole of the county lying north of the Downs, (with the exception of a small district near Oxford,) is likewise of an excellent quality; and though not so rich as the Vale, is certainly a well adapted country, not only for the production of corn, but for the turnip system of fatting off cattle.

"The greatest part of the southern side of the county, from Hungerford, to Windsor, (except a part of Kentbury Hundred, and some land on the south side of the Kennet, and the greatest part of Windsor Forest), consists chiefly of a gravelly loam; and though it may not admit, of so profitable a course of husbandry, as the north side of the county, may nevertheless be applied, to great advantage by the turnip system.

"The hills, and downs, are chalk, with a thin soil on the surface, in some places inclined to gravel, in others to a blackish sand."

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

APPROPRIATION.-Common Pastures.-P. 59. “The

waste lands of Berkshire are very extensive and occupy a great proportion of the county. The Forest of Windsor, Maidenhead Thicket, Tylehurst Heath, Wickham Heath, and the numerous commons that are to be found in all directions, contain, without exaggeration, at least 40,000

acres.

"In their present wild and uncultivated state, little or no

thing is returned by them to the community: except some deer, in the Royal Forest, we generally see on all the COMMONS and WASTE LANDS, a number of miserable cattle, sheep, and horses, which are a disgrace to their respective breeds, and the cause of many distempers, which I am persuaded, have their origin, from the animals, who are doomed to the impoverishing subsistence, of grazing on them."

Common Fields.-P. 49. "A moiety, at least, of the arable land in Berkshire, is still lying in common fields; and though it is not divided into such very small parcels, as in some other counties, the farmer labours under all the inconvenience of commonable land; and by that, is withheld, from improving or treating his land, so, as to return the produce which it would do, if entire, and under a good -course of husbandry."

Principle of Appropriation.-P. 49. "With respect to Tithes, the practice generally followed, in the present method of inclosing, of allotting land in lieu of them,' is certainly a good one:"

POOR RATE.-P. 41. "The Poors Rate is very moderate, in most parts of the county: not above 2s. 6d. in the pound, upon an average; except at Newbury, where it is now so high as nine shillings in the pound, upon the rack rent. But this, may in some measure, be accounted for, by the failure of the manufactory of broad cloth, which is now at a very low ebb; and, as the parish is small, and the popu lation great, unless some new branch of trade is struck out, for the employment of the poor, the land-owners in this parish, will lose half the income of their property, by the decline of the manufactory."-What an instructive lesson is this to men of landed property, not to listen to the flattering proposals of men of manufacture.

MARKETS.-P. 38. "Berkshire, with respect to situation of markets, is peculiarly fortunate. They are distributed so well, that a distance of ten miles to a market, is difficult to be found.

"Newbury, Reading, Abingdon, Wallingford, and Windsor, have all the advantage of water-carriage to London, and the interior parts of the kingdom. The two former send a prodigious quantity of flour to London; and the others barley and malt, to a considerable amount.

"Ilsey has also, of late, become a sheep market, of the first importance, not only to Berkshire, but its neighbouring counties. Not less than 20,000 sheep have sometimes been sold in one market day; and it is computed, that the annual average is not under 250,000, comprising lambs, tags, wethers, and ewes; but they are chiefly lean sheep. Newbury has, time out of mind, been justly con-.

66

sidered

« PreviousContinue »