KENT, an important maritime co. of England, occupies a portion of the s.e. angle of the country, and is hounded on the n. by tire estuary of the Thames, and the e. and s.e. by the strait of Dover. Area 1,004,984 statute acres; pop. '71, 848,294. Besides the river which forms the northern boundary of the county, the chief streams are the Med way, which flows n.e. into the estuary of the Thames; the Stour, and the Darent. The surface is undulating, being traversed from w. to e. by the North Downs (see article DOWNS). With a climate which is in general mild and genial, and a fertile soil of mixed chalk, gravel, and clay, Kent is, in an agricultural sense, a highly productive county. Besides the usual crops, great quantities of seeds are raised for the London markets, as canary and radish seeds, spinach, cresses, and white mustard. There are also numerous market-gardens and orchards. Ilops (q.v.) are one of the chief products of the county. Above 40,000 acres, forming in all a hop-field more than four times as extensive as that of any other hop-growing county of England, are here devoted to the cultivation of this plant. Great numbers of sheep are fattened on the excellent pastu
rage found on the tracts of alluvial soil that skirt the banks of the Thames and Medway, and especially on the Romney marsh, which comprises 44,000 acres. The county returns six members to parliament.
Kent is unusually rich in historical association. For its early history, see article HEP TARCIIY. It has been the scene of frequent sieges, battles, and revolutions; and the county is also bound up with the social history of the country through the three well known insurrections which broke out here under Wat Tyler, Jack Cade, and sir Thomas Wyatt. Of its numerous and interesting ecclesiastical edifices, it will suffice to specify here the cathedrals of Canterbury and Rochester. It contains the important dock-yards and arsenals of Woolwich, Chatham, and Sheerness; and the famous watering-places of Margate, Ramsgate, and Tunbridge Wells.