sidered a most excellent corn market; and still retains some customs, that would be of great use were they observed, in all other markets. Here the grain is pitched in open market, is ingenuously offered to the public, in small, as well as large quantities: thus defeating, as much as possible, the artifices of monopolizers; and holding out to the industrious lowly hand, the chief nourisher of his existence, at a fair market price."

P. 39. "The laudable custom that still exists at Newbury, of a pitched market, is so conducive to the comfort of the lower classes of mankind, that it is to be wished, it may be long continued; and much to be lamented, that monopolizers in most other parts of the kingdom, have contrived to draw, from this most valuable class, a profit of at least 20 per cent. to themselves, without any benefit resulting from it, even to the farmers."

I will here repeat what I have more than once intimatedthat because pitched markets" may be a "comfort of the lower classes," who are resident in their respective neighbourhoods, by enabling them to purchase a single bushel, or a sack, of corn of the grower, it does not follow that quarters, loads, and lasts of corn, that are indispensibly destined to supply distant towns, or the Metropolis, through the media of corn merchants and flour makers, should be dragged bodily to a market which is situated, perhaps, in a direction opposite to the place of its delivery.-I mention this the rather, here, as we are now in the pitch-market department.

RURAL ECONOM Y.

TENANTED ESTATES.

TENURES.-P. 17. “There are many estates, held

by leases on lives, under corporate, collegiate, and ecclesiastical bodies, and some few still existing of a similar tenure, under lay-lords."

IRRIGATION.-P. 51. "The tract of meadows, contiguous to the river Kennet, from Hungerford in the west, to Reading east, are all of them watered in a masterly style; and the burthens of hay, cut from them, independent of the very early feed, evince the great improvement that arises, from this simple method:" The Reporter unfortunately adds-" of creating fermentation in a soil, which, in many places, is sullen and torpid."!

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TENANCY

TENANCY.-P. 17. "I am sorry to find, that the same prejudice, which of late years has so much influenced the minds of gentlemen of landed property, against the practice of granting their tenants leases, bas too strongly rooted itself in this, as well as most other counties; which is, certainly very detrimental to all good husbandry, and a great check to many improvements, which would otherwise, have been long since effected..

"There are, it is true, some Estates granted on terms of seven, fourteen, and twenty-one years; but from the best information I could obtain, the quantity of land so demised, bears but a very small proportion, to the extent of the county."

P. 20. "The usual custom of the county, is, for the landlord to put the buildings into good repair on the tenant's entering; and afterwards to find all materials, except straw for thatching. The tenant after his entry, pays all workmen's wages, and fetches the materials for repairs gratis.”

WOODLAND S.

WOODS.-P.

OODS.-P. 54. "The south, and east sides of Berkshire, have a large proportion of wood land appertaining to them: and, as the parochial taxes are generally very light, on this part of landed property, and the demand for faggot, and hurdle wood, very great, they pay the landlord, in general, much better than his cultivated land.

"The predominant wood in the county, is hazle: sometimes, however, it is mixed with ash, oak, beech, willow, and alder. There are also, some few beech woods to be found entire; which, when in a proper course of falling, are certainly a very productive wood, particularly as they may be planted on chalk, or rocky hills, where there is but little surface, and where other wood does not prosper.

"Hazle-wood, in a country where great quantities of burdles are wanting, is of course very profitable. In a good soil, it is cut from seven to ten years' growth; and will fetch, from ten to fifteen pounds an acre. In other places, it must stand twelve, or fourteen years, to be worth

so much.

"The chief purposes, to which this wood is applied, is making hurdles, faggots, hoops, and bundles of stakes. "Close hurdles are from six shillings to nine shillings a 'dozen.

"Bundles of stakes, seven pence each.

66 Hoops,

Hoops, 3s. 6d. a bundle of 60 hoops,

"The beech woods in this county are exceedingly wel managed, by continually clearing, (which they call drawing out, the beech stems, from eight, down to three or four. inches girt, where they stand too thick, or appear unthrifty and dead. The best of this stuff is sold to coachmakers, wheelwrights, farmers, &c. at 7d. per foot, for making and repairing carriages, and agricultural implements; the other is generally cut up into billets, and faggots, for the bakers of the country; and a great quantity is also sent down to London, for the bakers there, as well as for packing in the holds of ships. The woodman marks the billets, according to their size, with one, two, or three notches, which are considered, as so many farthings-worth, when the billets are sold; and by this means, he is enabled, not only to ascertain the value of the wood cut up, but pays his workmen accordingly, at the rate of sixpence, for 255 notches: which is construed a load.

"Those who take good care of their wood lands, permit their labourers, during the winter months, to take up the old roots, from which no heir or teller is rising; on condition that the workmen plant new sets, in a proper manner; and in case they do not strike the first year, are to replant them the next winter. By this excellent method, a constant succession is kept up, and is a plan worthy of adoption in all beech wood counties.

"The scrubby stuff, is often burnt into charcoal, which pays extremely well, from its vicinity to so good a market, as London.

"Ash, withe, and birch wood, are also very productive, and valuable, for hoop stuff, which is sent down the Thames, in great quantities. Instances have been known, of an acre of withe and ash, in an aquatic situation, at seven years' growth, selling for twenty-five pounds.

"Very little timber, is of course, encouraged to grow in these woods, as their shade, and roots, would be detrimental to the underwood. But, in many parts of the county, there is a great quantity of timber standing; particularly at the eastern extremity, and the parts adjacent to the rivers Thames, and Kennet. The prices" (in 1793-4) “vary, in different parts, according to its vicinity to water carriage, &c.

£. s. d. "From 3 0 0

£.

S. d.

to 5 0 o per load, for Oak.

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for Ash.

for Elm.

for Beech."

PLANTING.-In Mr. Pearce's "observations" no Woods

(tho

(tho mostly judicious) I find nothing of novelty or excellence which was not, in 1794, before the public. The following incident in planting shows, in a striking manner, the utility of covering the soil of young coppice grounds;-agreeably to the practice of the district of Maidston. See my Southern Counties.

P. 56. The ashe, withe, and birch plantations, paying so remarkably well, are an object, which I conceive worthy of great consideration. An experiment, made by a Kentish farmer, on an ash plantation, has succeeded so well, that I recommend every person having this kind of underwood, to make some trial like it; conceiving many substitutes may be found out, in lieu of the hop binds which he used.

"Having a small shaw, or wood of ash, that was planted in beds, and having a great quantity of hop binds, which 'he could not make serviceable in his farm yard; a thought struck him, that by laying them on his ash beds, he could do no harm, and it might tend to smother the weeds and rubbish, which grew up amongst the stems. He therefore, covered every other bed with the binds, when the whole plantation was three years old.-I saw this shaw, when it was five years old, and the hop binds were then, in a perfect state, and no weeds appearing. The wood was full six foot higher, on those beds where the binds were laid, than on the others; and the farmer supposed it would be better stuff, and more fit to cut, at seven years' growth, for hop poles, than the other beds would be, at ten years."

FARMS

AGRICULTURE.

ARMS.-P. 19. "The greater proportion of this county, is divided into what may be deemed large farms: for unless it is from some local circumstance, it is very rare to find a farm, under one hundred pounds a year. In the Vale of White Horse, indeed, some smaller dairy, and grazing farms are found; but I doubt there are more farms, from two to five hundred a year, than of any other size."

HOMESTEADS.-P. 20. "It may be said, that the farm buildings all over the county, are respectable, and convenient and their ox-stalls and yards, in the grazing parts, judiciously arranged for the fatting of cattle."

PLAN of MANAGEMENT.-P. 28. "The mode of cropping followed by the fair and best farmers, on the south side of the county, is divided into five shifts, thus; first year, a crop of wheat (which has been manured for), next year,

barley,

barley, then turnips fed off-The fourth year, barley or oats, laid down with clover; and the fifth year, clover mowed only once. After which, wheat comes round again.".

P. 29. "In the Vale of White Horse, and the country: adjacent, where the soil is a rich deep loam, the general practice is, to take, 1st. wheat, 2d, beans, 3d. barley, or oats. with seeds, 4th. clover one year, 5th. fallow, vetches, or turnips. After which, the wheat crop comes in succession."

In Mr. Pearce's "observations" on this subject, tho they are of considerable length, I perceive nothing of superior value. Yet the "Course of Cropping" is of all other subjects, in agriculture, the most requisite to be well understood by an estate agent. His remarks, however, show that he had not, at the time of writing, been inattentive to that point of his profession. Some of them are just; but not important.

WORKPEOPLE.-P. 40. "The husbandmen of this county, are well-disposed, tractable, and honest; and, when their powers are called forth by fair encouragement, skilful, and industrious.

"Their daily pay, in the winter, is from one shilling to one shilling and three-pence. They come to work about seven, and stay till five; and are allowed an hour in the day for meals.

"In the summer, their labour commences at six, and ends at six. They are then allowed two hours for meals; and the pay is increased to one shilling and two-pence, and more, according to the goodness of the hand, up to one shilling and sixpence."

1

P. 41. Some few farmers in this county, pay their labourers in kind; viz. with wheat and barley, when they choose to take it."

In his "observations" on this head, Mr. P. humanely recommends, to landholders, to bestow due attention on the comforts of the work people who reside on their estates;intimating (and in some cases the intimation is, unfortunately, too well grounded) that "at present, they are too much left to the management and controul of the farmer, whose situation being only temporary, is too often induced to consider them merely as instruments, subservient to his interest, so that the poor man's spirit is depressed, as he sees himself abandoned by the landlord, who, having a permanent interest in the country, is, and ought to be, his Natural Protector." p. 41.

WORKING ANIMALS.-See Tillage, ensuing.

IMPLEMENTS.—Mr. Pearce speaks in high prai of the waggon and the cart of Berkshire; but condemns its plow

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and