There are very few ponds for fresh water fish in the county, though, in the vicinity of London, they would pay well ; and it appears, that foemerry there were seve ral ponds of this description. In Foulness Island there are salt water stews for various sorts of sea fish. But eystcrs are the fish for which Essex is particularly cele brated. The spate or small oysters are brought chiefly from Portsmouth, and the neighbourhood of Chichester. The principal breeding rivers in Essex are the Crouch, the Blackwater, and CoInc. Though the produce of this fishery has obtained the general name of Colchester oysters, yet they are of several kinds: the Pycflect is in most request. The creek in which this species is found, extends from the river Co]ne, to the Strode, at the en trance of Mersey Island. The creeks extending from the Thames round Bomfleet are also famous for pro ducing good oysters. The \Valfleet and Burnham oysters arc the product of the creeks and pits of the ri ver Crouch. The dredging boats employed are from 14 to 30 or 40 tons ; the fitting out one of 20 tons, will requite 150/. There are front two to four men in each vessel, who are paid by shares, and the master has a share for the vessel. There has been an increase of boats, and of course of men, of inure than one half, with in the n si 50 years ; the number of vessels being now upwards of 200, and of men and boys above 500. The quantity of oysters taken in a season is supposed to be above 20.000 bushels. The principal market is London ; they arc also sent to Hamburgh, Bremen, Holland, France, and Flanders. Many vessc s belonging to Essex arc also employed in the cod, turbo , mackerel, herring and sprat fisheries.
Formerly Essex was rather noted for its woollen ma nufacture ; but latterly it has much declined. Baize, however, is still made at Pocking, Baintre, and Colches ter ; at the latter place, before the war in 179 1, the mini ber of hands employed, including the neighbourhood, was about 20,000 ; hut the war reduced the number to about 8000. In some of the villages, sacking and hop bags are manufactured. Near Woodford Bridge is an artificial slate manufactory ; not far from Leyton, on the Lea, are mills for making sheet lead ; and in the vicinity of the metropolis, are several large calico printing ma nufactures.
The state, and expellee of supporting the poor, un fortunately constitute a very important article in the statistics of every county of England. On this subject there has been no official and accurate information since the year 1803. At that period, in Essex there were 177 parishes, who maintained the it poor in workhouses. The number was 2969 ; the expense was at the rate of 13/., 14s. for each person. The number of persons relieved out of workhouses was 35.368, besides 6780 who were not parishioners ; the expellee was at the rate of 3!., 16s. 9d. for each person. The number of persons re lieved in and out of workhouses was 38,337, besides non parishioners. The total expellee was 183,582/., or at the rate of 41.: 15 : 9 for each person. The number of parishioners relieved by the boor's rate was 17 in a hundred of the resident population. There were at
that time 238 friendly societies, the number of persons belonging to them being six in a hundred of the resident population. The amount of the total money raised for the poor, was 19s. lid. the head on the population.
Essex is a• very uninteresting county to the minera logist. It is nearly exempt from quarries, or any mass of rocks ; and it possesses no mines of any kind. It has, however, already been noticed, that chalk is found on the borders next Cambridgeshire ; but the most ex tensive chalk quarries are at Purfleet. On the estate of Mr Whitbread here, there is a hold cliff of chalk, co vered by many feet of surface loam. It appears to have been wrought for many years ; but certainly never with so much enterprise, nor in such an economical and effectual manner, as at present. Most of the chalk is shipped in vessels, which can come nearly up to the quarry. But though Essex is so uninteresting to the mere mineralogist, there arc appearances in parts of it, which most be instructive to the geologist. At Har wich, the conversion of the clay ooze into a stone, so hard that it is employed for building, may be distinct ly traced. There are masses of it which are at one end ooze, and at the other stone. There is also, in the cliffs near Harwich, a stratum of concreted shells ; and vari ous teeth of large animals, among which are some ()fele phants, have also been laid bare by the falling of the cliff. Bones of elephants have also been discovered in other parts of Essex. The whole island of Foulness, and pro bably some other of the Essex islands, has evidently been formed, as on it there are layers of oyster and coc kle shells. In the banks of the Thames at Dagenham, a very destructive breach was formed in 1707 by the vio lence of the wind and tide, While the works for repair ing this breach were carrying on, a very extensive stra tum of moorlog, or cotton wood, was found. This stratum was 10 fret deep. Several stags horns were lying above the moorlog.
Numerous antiquities have been discovered in Essex. The great Roman way, now called Stanc-Street, led from Colchester through the middle of the county to Bi shop Storford in Hertfordshire: Of the five Roman sta tions in this county, Camolodunum, the present Colches ter, was unquestionably the principal one. Tessalated pavements have been discovered in several places ; and the remains of a Roman villa near Ridgewell.
Before the dissolution of monasteries, Essex contained 47 religious houses. Of these, two were mitred abbies, six common abbies, 22 priories, three nunneries, three colleges, two preceptories of templars, and nine hospi tals. Of these, so much of the remains of Waltham Ab bey still remain, as to prove that it must have been, when complete, one of the most curious and perfect specimens of the ornamented columns, semicircular arches, and other characteristics of the Norman stJ le of architecture. In the parishes of Chad well and Little Thurock arc se veral caverns formed in the chalk, which are supposed to have been the granaries of the ancient Britons.