culture, and its various relations, we can learn from his performance, only.-Neither on the subject of Agriculture, proper, nor even on that of Estate Agency, (abstractedly considered from Landsurveying); nor on Natural and Poli tical Economy, as they are connected with agricultural science, do we perceive in this work any convincing evidence of much experience or mature judgement; excepting what appears on the subject of Soils, and on that of the Appropriation of Commonable Lands. Mr. Foot's manner is sufficiently appropriate for the occasion; as will be seen in the extracts from his Report. Mr. F's plan of Report would seem to be all his own. The number of pages-ninetytwo. A map of the different states in which the lands of the County lay, at the time of Reporting,-whether in arable"" principally meadow or pasture," or in "nursery grounds and gardens,"-is prefixed to the work. NATURAL ECONOMY. EXTENT XTENT.-P. 7. "It extends about 23 miles in length, is nearly 14 miles in breadth, and 115 in circumference, and contains 240 square miles, or two hundred and seventeen thousand six hundred acres." WATERS.-P. 8. "Besides the river Lea, and the river Thames, aforementioned, there are the rivers Brent and the New-River; the latter of which supplies the greater part of London with water." SOILS.-In his "Introduction," the Reporter is bold to say, p. 8, "the soil of this county is abundantly fertile, and for pasturage, and grain of all kinds, is not excelled by any other county." In his division, ". the Soil," Mr. Foot gives a sketch of the soils of each Hundred of the County, with the states in which they were, at the time of writing. I copy his section, entire. P. 9. "The soil of the Hundred of Edmonton, including South Mims, the land of which is about one-third arable and two-thirds meadow; Enfield, the land of which is about three-fourths arable, and one-fourth meadow; Edmonton, the land of which is about one-half arable, and one-half meadow; and Tottenham, the land of which is chiefly meadow, consists of clay, strong-loam, and a small part gravel. "The soil of the Hundred of Gore, including Hendon, Harrow, Edgware, Stanmore, and Wemley, the land of H 2 which which is almost, without exception, meadow, consists generally of a stiff clay, with a small portion of gravelly loam. "The soil of the Hundred of Oselston seems to be distinguished by five kinds. First. In the vicinities of Barnet, Finchley, Highgate, Hornsey, and Hampstead, the land of which is meadow, the soil consists chiefly of clay, with small portions of gravel and loam. Around Wilsdon a deep stapled soil clay, with a mixture of loam and gravel, prevails. "Second. In the vicinity of Newington, Clapham, Hackney, Bethnal-Green, and Stepney, the land of which is meadow, intermixed with garden-grounds and nurseries, the soil is rich and mellow; but the vicinities of Hackney frequently partake of a strong loam, approaching to a clay of that species which is called brick-earth. "Third. The soil around Islington, Pancras, and Paddington, which is almost wholly employed first in making hay, and then in pasturage, consists of a gravelly loam, tending in some parts, but in small portions, to clay. "Fourth. In the vicinity of Kensington, Brompton, Chelsea, Fulham, and Chiswick, the soil varies from a strong, to a tender or a sandy loam, and from a black and fertile, to a white and sharp sand and gravel; and, in the parish of Chiswick, it is remarkable, that in the deepest soil the gravel lies within two feet of the surface. The land of these districts is, in a small proportion, devoted to the plough, but is chiefly employed in raising plants and vegetables for the London markets. "Fifth. The two remaining places of this Hundred, Acton and Ealing, the lands of which are partly arable and partly pasture, seem to possess a soil in a great measure similar to that of Chiswick; about Acton, however, are sometimes discovered soils of lean gravel, and of a deep staple sandy loam. In the neighbourhood of Brentford the soil is of a deep gravel, and towards Greenford and Perival of a strong loam and clay. The lands of these districts, are, almost without exception, arable. "The Hundred of Isleworth contains the places bordering on the river Thames, viz. Isleworth, Twickenham, and Teddington, the land of which is arable, meadow, and garden-ground, and consists mostly of a hazel loam, or rich mellow soil. The parish of Heston, the land of which is chiefly arable, contains a small portion of light gravel, but is, in general, a strong loam. "The Hundred of Elthorne, in the vicinity of Cranford, Harlington, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, and Cowley, the land of which is for the greater part arable, consists of strong loam, and a small part gravel. "The "The soil in and around the parishes of Harefield and Riselip, the land of which is about three parts arable, and one part meadow, chiefly consists of strong loam, with a small part gravel. The soil of the parishes of Harmondsworth and Drayton, consists chiefly of light loam and gravel, and is almost entirely devoted to the purposes of the plough. The parishes of Northolt, Hayes, Southall, and Northcott, consist of a soil partaking of a strong loamy clay and gravel. "In the Hundred of Spelthorne, the parishes of Teddington and Hampton, which are chiefly occupied by gentlemen, together with those of Sunbury and Shepperton, consist of a lean gravel, and of a light loam; Littleton, Laleham, Staines, and Stanwell, of a lean gravel and strong loam; Bedford, Feltham, Ashford, and Hanworth, of a lean gravel and light loam. The whole of the lands of these districts is chiefly arable." POLITICAL ECONOMY. APPROP PPROPRIATION." Waste Lands.”—P. 30. "There are many thousand acres of land in the county of Middlesex, within a few miles of the capital, which at present lie waste, and are of little or no value to the individuals interested in them; an absolute nuisance to the public; and yet capable of very great improvement." After speaking on the advantages growing out of the Appropriation of such Lands;-on the burdensomness of the present method of procuring separate Acts of Inclosure; and on the benefit that would accrue from a general act, Mr. Foot proceeds to enumerate the Commons in the County of Middlesex. Common Pastures.-P. 32. "Among the commons, now uncultivated in the county of Middlesex, are HounslowHeath, Finchley-Common. The remains of Enfield-Chace. "The commons in the parish of Harrow, are HarrowWeald Common, Pinner-Common, Sudbury-Common, Pinner-Marsh, Roxhull-Green, Apperton-Green, WembleyGreen, Kenton-Green, Greenhull-Green. "The commons in the parish of Hillingdon and Uxbridge are Uxbridge-Moor, Uxbridge-Common, Memsey-Moor, Hillingdon-Heath, Gould's Green, Peil-Heath. "There are also Riselip-Common, Sunbury-Common, Hanwell-Common, Worm-wood shrubs, in the parish of Fulham, and between four and five hundred acres of wastelands in the parish of Hendon, &c." Common Meadows.-P. 69. "There is a large tract of .H 3 excellent excellent meadow land on the Middlesex side of the river Lea, belonging to the parishes of Enfield, Edmonton, Tottenham, &c. The canal is cut through these meadows, and falls into the river Lea, near Old Ford. This tract of meadows, containing about 1000 acres, is divided, as appears by the stakes, to the different proprietors, in allotments, from about half an acre, to four or five acres, but in general in two and three acres. They are laid up to be mowed every year on the 5th of April, and after the hay is cut, and taken off, are opened again for commonage on the 12th of August: and this is what is called Lammas Tenure.' Every inhabitant of the respective parishes claims and exercises a right of turning into these meadows what stock he pleases; there being no stint to this right of common. Every horse, cow, or heifer, thus turned in, is marked by the parish brand for one penny each; and if any are found thereon unmarked, they are taken to the pound, and are not released without paying a fine of eighteen pence each, if they belong to a parishioner, and if otherwise the fine is three-shillings each. "These meadows are frequently flowed both in winter and in summer, not only by the river Lea, but by the canal; but it does not appear that any attention is paid, either by keeping the ditches, or the other drains to carry off these floods, open; by which neglect the water is suffered to remain, to the great injury of the meadows. The reason assigned for this neglect, I understand, is, that the property is in small pieces, intermixed, and subject to Lammas tenure, which prevents any general system from being pursued by one, as all must join in the expences for the improvement required." Common Fields.-P. 72. "The common fields in the county of Middlesex, which are at present in a good course of husbandry, form a large proportion as to the number of acres, when compared to the cultivated inclosures in the county." On Appropriating common Pastures.-Mr. F. brings forward two instances of "Inclosare ;"-namely, that of the parish of Stanwell, and that of Enfield. - Relating to the latter, some memorable circumstances occurred. I recollect its being said that in the inclosure of ENFIELD CHACE, much money, even fortunes, had been sunk. The subjoined extracts show the twofold ignorance through which those losses were brought on. P 40. * See the second edition of my Rural Economy of YORKSHIRE; in which I noticed the subject here under view, and pointed out the way by which those losses might, with certainty, have been avoided. P. 40. "Enfield Chace, though it is now near seventeen years since it was inclosed, has not profited so much by management or exertion, as might have been expected. "The original purchasers of the crown-leases were ignorant both of experimental and of practical agriculture, being, in general, gentlemen retiring from trade into the country, and who, from the former habits of their lives, were ignorant of that regular process of husbandry which new soil requires to bring it into a state of profitable cultivation. "The ground of the Chace was covered with trees; and although the oak found a ready sale, the beech did not repay the woodman's labour. The grubbing and stocking up of the roots was a still farther impediment; and the industry of these inexperienced farmers was alarmed and checked by the considerable advance of money which was immediately required to clear the ground. Partial and penurious experiments made upon a raw and crude soil, that had been for ages shut up from the rays of the sun by the thickness of the surrounding foliage, were not likely to be crowned with success. It will not excite wonder, therefore, that the new soil sullenly and reluctantly yielded to the adventurers from the metropolis, the seed they sowed: The wood, however, at length encreased in price, and, by the monies it produced, opened a way to the farther improvement of the soil." P. 41. "The rise in the value of wood evinced, that though the ground refused to repay the toils of husbandry in the produce of grain, it would, at least for a certain time, produce, by the value of its wood, sufficient to answer the call of the Crown for rent. "The ground, therefore, though rapidly cleared of its wood, lay, for the most part, in an uncultivated state for many years; for the real intrinsic nature of this soil never having been properly tried, remained entirely unknown. Time, however, has lately discovered it to be of a strong clay marl, containing a great proportion of calcareous earth, effervescing with acids, and equal, if not superior, in its quality and effects to most of the marls in this country. "A circumstance of so interesting a nature, not only caught the eye of speculation, but the more useful one of the practical farmer. The gravelly jejune soil, of which the Chace was originally supposed to consist, no longer imposed an insuperable obstacle to improvement; the marl soon produced its expected effect; and the rapid progress which, within these four or five years, has been made in the cultivation of the Chace is surprising." PROVISIONS.-P. 68. "Bread, throughout the county of Middlesex H 4 |