We think we may fairly trace the origin of these to the circulation of our Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture; a book which, we are happy to say, has been well received everywhere, and which, we trust, will ere long produce a visible good in every part of the island. In agriculture we do not think any very great improvement has taken place, except upon particular estates. In almost every part of the tract which we passed through, three heavy horses, in a line, attended by a man and boy, were to be seen dragging a clumsy plough, of local construction, at a snail's pace; turnips, almost everywhere, were sown broadcast, or, if drilled, on a flat surface; and in only one or two instances, under the direction of Scotch bailiffs, did we see Finlayson's harrow substituted for the brake or cultivator. Plantations of trees have been made in many places which were unenclosed common when we last passed through them; and by the formation of these plantations, and the increased growth of others, the general aspect of the landscape is, in many parts of the country, entirely changed. We were nowhere more struck with this than on the road between Oxford and Woodstock, which, instead of the bleak and dreary appearance it formerly had, is now bordered with belts of trees, and sprinkled with cottages. There are now on this road no less than three nursery gardens.
