The produce of an acre planted with apple trees, will generally be found nearly one-third less than the produce of pear trees on the same space ; but the former begin to bear at an earlier age. As an object of sight, the pear tree is far superior. The orchards are of various sizes, from 4 or 5 to 30 or 40 acres. The principal markets for the fruit liquors of Herefordshire, are London and Bristol. From the latter, great quantities are sent to Ireland, to the East and \Vest Indies, and to foreign countries, in bottles. The principal part of the liquor is bought immediately from the press by the county dealers. They prefer it in that state, in order that the fermentation and subsequent management may take place under their own direction.
In the opinion of Mr Marshall, the Herefordshire breed of cattle, taking it all in all, may, without risk, be deemed the first breed of cattle in the island. Those of Devon shire and Sussex approach nearest to them in general ap pearance ; but they are of a larger size, and an athletic form. The prevailing colour is reddish brown, with white faces. As beasts of draught, their form is nearly com plete ; and the females at least fat kindly at an early age. In Herefordshire, working oxen are the principal object of breeding. Half the plough teams are of oxen, and they are also used frequently in carriages. They are bred chiefly in the north-western quarter of the county ; but more or less in every otber quarter, except the Rye land. The most valuable collection of cattle to be seen out of Smithfield, are often met with at the Hereford Mi chaelmas fair.
This county has long been celebrated for a peculiar breed of sheep, called the Ryeland breed, from an indeter minate district in the southern quarter of the county which goes by the name of Ryeland, on which this breed of sheep are principally reared. These sheep are remarkable for the sweetness of their mutton, but still more so for the fineness of their wool : they are a small white-faced, horn less breed, their form being extremely beautiful. In the
management of the store flocks of this breed, what is pro vincially termed a cot is used : this is a building in which they arc shut up during the night, instead of being folded in the open field. The Merino has been crossed with this breed to great advantage. Leominster is the principal wool market in the county, hence Leominster wool has Iong been famous.
The roads in Herefordshire, even so late as 1788, when Mr Marshall visited the county, were very bad, indeed pro verbially bad ; but since that time they have been much improved.
There are no manufactures of any extent or consequence in the county ; for the manufactures of gloves and flannel in Hereford, and of cloth at Ledbury, are by no means so important as to deserve particular notice.
The returns made under the act of the 26 George III. report the nett expences for maintaining the poor through out the county, in the year 1776, to have been 10,393/. The average of the years 1783, 1784, and 1785, as return ed under the same authority, was stated at 16,727/. In the year 1805, Mr Duncombe estimated them at 20,000/. By a return made to the House of Commons in February 1806, containing an account of all money raised by poor's rates, or other rate or rates, in the several counties of England and Wales, in the year ending 25th of March, 1815, it appears that 243 parishes and places in Herefordshire paid, under these rates, the sum of 81,182l.: sixteen parishes or places had made no return.
e earliest inhabitants of this county, of whom we have anyliotice, were the Silures ; after a long and strenuous opposition to the Romans, they were subdued in the 73d year of the Christian era. Under the heptarchy, Here fordshire formed part of the kingdom of Mercia, and was the last which submitted to the Saxon authority.
According to the act of 43 George III. for taking an ac count of the population of Great Britain, the number of inhabitants in the year 1801 amounted to 89,191. The fol lowing is the result of the population returns in 1811 :