CHAPTER II.

FORM, SITUATION, EXTENT, CLIMATE, &c.

THE ISLE OF WIGHT is in the form of an irregular lozenge; its length, from East to West, i. e. from the Needles to the Foreland, is about twenty-three miles; and its extreme breadth, from Cowes in the North, to St. Catherine's Point in the South, is rather more than thirteen miles.

The circumference of the Isle of Wight is estimated at from seventy to seventy-five miles, and the superficial area has been computed to be about 105,000 acres.

It is separated from the main land by the Solent Sea, the channel of which varies from two to six miles; and which, although its navigation is intricate, affords a safe roadstead and shelter to the numerous vessels that are occasionally wind-bound in the channel; or which, in time of war, assemble here, waiting for convoy. Its bold, and, in some places, precipitous Southern coast is washed by the waves of the English channel, which frequently beat against these cliffs with tremendous and destructive fury; a fact sometimes painfully attested by the loss of both ships and crews.

The air of the Island is exceedingly pure and salubrious ;-the mildness of the temperature is evinced by the luxuriance with which myrtles and other delicate

plants flourish, in the open air, and the size which they attain.

The general appearance of the country is exceedingly diversified, possessing almost every feature which can contribute to beauty in landscape scenery: a constant succession of hill and dale,-fine tracts of wood,-a well cultivated and productive soil—and a pleasing interchange of land and sea, along the whole of its coast, some part of which is visible from nearly every point of the Island. It presents thus an endless variety of almost unequalled scenery.

On the Northern side, the banks are clothed with woods and coppices, or gently slope in meadows to the water's edge. The Southern side, or, as it is frequently termed, "The Back of the Island," abounds with scenery of a very different character.-Bold and precipitous rocks, of a highly imposing description, extend throughout the whole line of coast:-in these rocky barriers, frequent chasms, or ravines, called "Chines," are observed, which extend a long way into the land; a trickling brook occasionally steals down the steep descent in mimic cascade ;-though, after heavy and continued rains, it swells into a torrent, which, raging among masses of fallen rock, forms itself into one broad volume, and takes a headlong course to the beach, and to the sea.

POPULATION, REPRESENTATIVES, &c.

The population of the Isle of Wight is estimated at about 40,000 inhabitants-of whom, Newport and its

suburbs, contain 9,000; Cowes, East and West, 5,000; Ryde, 4,000; and Yarmouth, 600. It returns three members to the Imperial Parliament; one Knight for the Island*, and two Burgesses for Newport. The present representatives are the Hon. William A'Court Holmes, for the Island; and John-Heywood Hawkins, Esq., and William-John Blake, Esq., for the borough of Newport. According to the Revising Barrister's list, the number of electors for the county of the Isle of Wight, is 1180, and for the borough of Newport, 540. Previously to the Reform Act, the Isle of Wight sent six members to the House of Commons.

AGRICULTURE, &c.

The superficial area of the Island (as before observed) contains about 105,000 acres, of which only a small portion is waste land, the rest being either arable or pasture. Formerly a considerable portion of the Island was occupied by woods, but these have long since been. much reduced; the proximity of the dock-yard at Portsmouth has tended in a great degree to deprive the Isle of Wight of its finest timber; yet there still remains a considerable extent of ornamental and thickly foliaged woods.

The Isle of Wight has long enjoyed the reputation of great natural fertility; and has been repeatedly called "THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND."

The Island sent one Member to Parliament, in the twentyfourth year of Edward IV.

Both its fertility and its cultivation have been overrated. Its picturesque beauties, and the peculiar loveliness of much of its scenery, are viewed by all with unqualified admiration; but we must use more measured and moderate terms, when we speak of the natural fruitfulness of the soil, and of the means which have been hitherto applied to its improvement.

Its agriculture is of a very varied character, dependent upon the marked varieties of soil into which it is divided. The range of Downs which cross it from East to West separate it into two districts; which in their general character are totally distinct from each other. The greater part of the land to the North side of the Downs being of a stiff cold clay, whilst that on the South side is very generally of a fertile sandy loam.

The cultivation, the size of the farms, the quality of the stock, and the opulence and station of the yeomanry and tenantry, are all more or less affected by this distinction. To the North of the Down, are found small farms, moderate capital, inferior live stock, an indifferent state of cultivation, and heavy attendant expenses; whilst in the more fertile district of the South we find a wealthy yeomanry, an improved system of tillage, and cattle and sheep of the best breeds.

The general appearance of these districts plainly indicate their respective characters. To the North, the passing tourist sees a district abounding in coppices and indifferent pasture-to the South, his eyes are cheered by a rich prospect of fertile and well-cultivated fields.

The course of cropping upon the farms to the North side of the Downs is not of a very fixed or definite kind -a succession of fallow, wheat, oats, clover for one or, in some rare instances, two years, forms the more usual course; and the scanty and indifferent crops, and the numerous weeds by which they are infested, too frequently attest the indifference of the soil and of the tillage.

It is in this district that we may hope to witness, before many more years are over our heads, those great improvements which are now offered by the use of the subsoil plough; the introduction of a system of thorough and permanent draining;-and the more general application of lime, which offers itself in a rich mine of wealth from the neighbouring hills.

For the purposes of drainage, ample supplies of flintstones and of chalk are procurable from the whole line of Downs; or if the more costly, but more effectual and permanent system of tile-draining be preferred, the clays of the low land give facilities upon the spot for the manufacture of excellent tiles at a moderate cost.

Upon the South side of the ridge of Downs, the Norfolk four-course system, turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is making rapid progress.

The increased breadth of turnips in this district, and the air of neatness and good husbandry which prevail, bear witness to the activity of the husbandman and the good quality of the land; and the recent application of bone dust for the purpose of the turnip crop, and of the