CAMBRIDGESHIRE is divided into two parts by the river Ouse. Its most northerly division, which is principally composed of the Isle of Ely, is bounded by rivers and their communicating branches. The limits thus formed are so intermixed as with difficulty to be traced. The southern half has an indented and undistinguished boundary-line on the adjacent counties. The form of Cambridgeshire bears some resemblance to that of the human ear, the county of Huntingdon cutting deeply into its western side by a circular projection. The number of acres assigned to it by Dr Becke is 530,000; but from the agricultural report, and in the returns of the poor-rates in 1803, the number is stated to be 443,300 and 439,040 respectively. When the original agricultural report was made in 1794 by Mr Vancouver, he calculated that, of the 443,000 acres, there were 132,000 open field, and 150,000 waste and unimproved fen; but since that time both these descriptions of land have been very considerably reduced by inclosure and cultivation.

The surface of this county presents considerable variety. The northern part, including the Isle of Ely, is chiefly fen land, and perfectly level, intersected with numerous canals and ditches, and abounding with windmills, for the purpose of carrying the water from the lands. This district is naturally a bog, formed by the stagnation of the water from the overflowing rivers. It comprises nearly half of that extensive tract called the Bedford Level, the whole extent of which is 400,000 acres. This great level has been from an early period divided into three parts, the north level, the middle level, and the south level. The largest portion of the middle level, and a considerable part of the south level, are in Cambridgeshire, comprehending the Isle of Ely, and a few parishes to the south-east of the isle. The principal of the drains by means of which this immense fenny district has been in a great measure rendered either rich meadow or arable land, are the Bedford Old and New Rivers, which are navigable in a straight line upwards of twenty miles across the county, from the Great to the Little Ouse. There are some rising grounds in this part of the county, on the most considerable of which the city of Ely stands. Those parts of Cambridgeshire which lie adjacent to Suffolk, Essex, and Hertfordshire, have their surface varied by gently rising hills and downs. The Gogmagog Hills, which begin about four miles to the south-east of Cambridge, and which are one of the terminations of the range of chalk hills that commence in the south-west of England, are the highest in the county; but their height is very inconsiderable. The district which extends from these hills to Newmarket is bleak and thinly inhabited. This district is connected with that vast tract of land which, extending southwards into Essex, and northwards through Suffolk into Norfolk, forms one of the largest plains in the kingdom.

The substrata of this county are chalk, clunch, gravel, gault, sand, silt, and peat-earth. The chalk extends through the hilly part of the county from Royston to Newmarket. The clunch, an impure limestone, chiefly abounds in the parishes of Burwell and Iselham. On the east and west sides of the upland division of the county, gault, a stiff blue clay, chiefly prevails. The sand enters Cambridgeshire from Bedfordshire, in the parish of Gamlingay. In the northern extremity of the county r , near Wisbeach, silt, a fine sea-sand, is found. The peat-earth extends through the whole of the fen-land.

The principal rivers are the Ouse, and Granta or Cam. The Ouse enters the county between Fen Drayton and Erith, and thence runs eastward through the fens, till, at some distance above Denny Abbey, it takes a northerly course, and, passing Streatham, Ely, and Littleport, flows into Norfolk. From this river are many cuts, called loads. The Cam enters the county to the west of Gilden Morden, and thence flowing to the east, it receives several rivulets. Near Grantchester its stream is enlarged by the united waters of several rivulets from Essex. After their junction it takes a northerly direction, and having passed Cambridge and several villages, it falls into the Ouse in the parish of Streatham.

Besides the numerous canals in the fenny district, principally for the purposes of draining the land, there are the Cambridgeshire Canal, which commences in the Ouse at Harrimcre, and terminates at Cambridge. A cut of three miles extends to Reche, and another of three and a half miles to Burwell; and the Wisbeach Canal, which joins the Wisbeach river at the old sluice in the town, opening a communication with Norfolk, Suffolk, and other places.

The climate of Cambridgeshire differs considerably in different parts. In the south-east it is cold and bleak; in the fenny district damp and unhealthy, though much less so than formerly; in the south and south-western districts the climate is mild, agreeable, and healthy.

Estates vary much in size. There are many large ones, especially those of the Earl of Hardwicke and the Dukes of Bedford and Rutland. College tenures are numerous. There are some farms of a thousand acres or more, but the general size is from a hundred to five hundred acres.

Cambridgeshire is not celebrated as an agricultural county. It may be considered as chiefly arable. Wheat is grown principally in some parts of the fenny district, and in the south and south-western parts of the county. Barley is cultivated in these parts, and in some of the more fertile portions of the south-east district. Immense crops of oats, of good quality, are grown in the fenny district, and also in most ether parts of the county. It is supposed that about one fourth of the fen-lands is cropped with cole, which is principally sown to be eaten green by sheep, very little being now cultivated for the seed. The cultivation of hemp and flax is carried on to a considerable extent in that part of the county which borders on Norfolk, particularly in the parishes of Upwell and Wolney. Saffron has been very little, if at all cultivated, for upwards of forty years. In some parts mustard is a favourite and valuable crop. Sedge is cultivated near Chippenham; but the cultivation of the reed is rapidly deereasing, in consequence of the improvement of the fens. White seed, or fen-hay, is grown abundantly in several places. It increases the milk of cows. Oziers are grown in the Wash, as well as in many parts of the fen, and are a profitable crop in these districts. So great is the value of turf, that the land producing it has been sold at from L.50 to L.80 per aere. At Ely, Soham, Wisbeach, &c. are many large gardens, producing vegetables and common kinds of fruit so abundantly, as to supply not only the neighbouring towns and counties, but even London. Great quantities of strawberries arc grown in the vicinity of Ely, and are chiefly conveyed in barges to Lynn, and carried thence to Newcastle and other places in the north of England. There are numerous and large orchards in the same districts as the gardens; and their chief produce consists of apples and cherries. Soham is remarkable for the latter.
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That district of the county which by old authors is termed the Dairies, comprehends the parishes of Shengay, Wengy, Whaddon, &c.; but the dairy farms in this district are at present much less considerable than those in the parishes of Chattris, Mepal, Sutton, Cottenham, Soham, Ely, and Streatham. The whole number of cows kept in this district is supposed to be between 9000 and 10,000; in the parish of Cottenham alone about 1500 are usually kept; in Willingham about 1200. These two parishes make the cheesc, so much esteemed, which goes by the name of Cottenham cheese; the parish of Soham is also esteemed for good cheese. Little cheese is made in other parts of the county, the rearing of calves and making of butter being the chief dairy management. The butter is sold, rolled up in pieces of a yard long, and about two inches in circumference. This is done for the convenience of the colleges, where it is cut into pieces called parts, and so sent to table. Its quality is excellent. The cows kept on the dairy farms are mostly of the breed of the county. Most of the calves that are suckled arc sent to the London market. Immense numbers of sheep are pastured on the heaths and commons with which the south and south-western districts of this county are intersected. The downs in the vicinity of the Gogmagog Hills are also chiefly used as sheep-walks. The principal breeds kept here are the Norfolk and west country; in the fens the most prevalent sort is a cross between the Leicester and Lincoln. The Cambridgeshire farmers think themselves unrivalled in cart-horses, which are of the large black breed. In the fens they are a source of great profit. In Cambridgeshire there is also a peculiar breed of hogs, some of which are so large as to fatten to forty stones, fourteen pounds to the stone, at two years old.

From the nature of the northern division of the county, great attention has necessarily been paid to draining; and in some places advantage has been taken of the numerous rivers to irrigate and warp land. The interior drainage of the fens is performed principally by mills. One or two steam-engines have been erected for that purpose, and will probably answer better. There is a large tract of meadow land at Babraham, which has been irrigated from the time of Queen Elizabeth, and is supposed to be one of the oldest instances of this mode of improving land in the kingdom. It was first irrigated by Pallavicino, who was collector of Peter’s Pence at the death of Queen Mary, and who, turning Protestant, applied the money thus obtained to the purchase and irrigation of this estate. The practice, however, though evidently beneficial, has extended very little. Near Denver Sluice, on the Ouse, some land has been warped by letting the muddy water of that river upon it, and then throwing it back by means of a wind-mill.

This is by no means a manufacturing county. At Ely there is a pottery for coarse ware; and at this city, Chatteris, and Cambridge, excellent white bricks are made. Lime and chalk are a source of considerable trade and profit; the lime in the greatest estimation is that which is burnt at Reach. At Cherryhinton, at the foot of the Gogmagog Hills, are great chalk pits, noted for the marine productions they contain, and for the many rare plants growing in their vicinity. Elephants’ grinders, and other animal remains, have been found in a gravel pit near ’ Chesterford, and a small tortoise in flint at Miltón. On the borders of Norfolk a little yarn is spun for the Norwich weavers. Malt is made to a considerable amount in the north-west part of the county. There'are" ⅛veral mills for preparing oil from cole and rapc-seed at Witties-ford, Şawston, &c., and a pretty extensweφaper manufactory at the latter place. Near Cambridge· isannualłý held one of the greatest fairs in England; it is called Stourbridge or Sturbich Fair, and is under the jurisdiction of the university. It begins on the 18th September, and lasts a fortnight; it has, however, been declining for many years.

A very curious example, and unquestionably one of the oldest in the kingdom, of Saxon architecture, occurs in the remains of the conventual church of Ely. This building is undoubtedly of as early a date as the tenth century, having been erected in the reign of King Edgar. The two transepts of Ely Cathedral afford specimens of the more massive kind of architecture introduced by the Normans. They were built towards the end of the eleventh century. St Sepulchre’s Church at Cambridge affords a curious specimen of that species of architecture which was introduced into this country in imitation of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem; it is supposed to be the oldest of this form in England, and to have been built in the reign of Henry I. There are some instances in this county of the pointed arch, enriched with Saxon mouldings; a style which was the immediate forerunner of the Gothic. Soham Church, the south doorway of St Giles in Cambridge, and the north and south doorways of St Mary’s Church in Ely, are specimens of this species of architecture. One of the most ancient buildings in the county, in which the pointed arch makes its appearance, is the great Tower at the west end of Ely Cathedral, and the south transept adjoining; they were erected between 1174 and 1189. Some traces of Saxon architecture may be observed in this part of the cathedral. The early or simple Gothic may be seen in the vestibule at the west end of Ely Cathedral, in Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge, and in the chancels of Foxton, Kennett, and Cherryhinton churches. Of the Gothic architecture of the fifteenth century, especially in the reign of King Henry VII. which was distinguished by the abundance of its rich tracery, the finest and most perfect example is found in the magnificent chapel of King’s College in Cambridge.

There are not many remains of antiquity in this county. The most remarkable are the ditches, which formerly extended from the woods on the east side of the county to the fens. The most entire is called the DevU ’ s Ditch, and extends from Wood-ditton or Ditch-town to Reach. Near this latter place it is most perfect, the works consisting of a deep ditch with an elevated vallum, the slope of which measures fifty-two feet on the west and twenty-six on the east side. The whole of the works are about 100 feet in width. The origin and intention of these ditches are not known; they are certainly very ancient, and were probably formed for the purpose of defence.

By returns made to the Board of Agriculture in the year 1804, it appears that the poors’ rates rose, between 1790 and 1803, from 4s. lid. to 5s. 8įd. in the pound; while the expense of maintaining them from Easter 1802 to Easter 1803 amounted to the sum of L.55,954. 14s. 1 Id. In the year ending the 25th of March 1815 the parochial rates in 131 parishes amounted to the sum of L.63,354. !3s. 1⅜d.; forty-four parishes had made no returns.

In the year 1377 the number of persons charged in this county to a poll tax, from which the clergy, children, and paupers were exempted, was 27,350; but it seems doubtful whether it was exclusive ’of the 'town of Cambridge and city of Ely, in each of which 1722 persons were taxed. If they 1 were taxed separately,'the total number in. the. county would be 30,794. In the year 1700 there are supposed to have been 76 r ,000 inhabitants; and in the year 1750, 72,000. ζBy the returns made under the act of parliament for ascertaining the population of the kingdom in 1800, there were then 16,451 houses in Cambridgeshire; of which 16,139'were’ inltabitéd.’ The [7:6:35] total number of inhabitants is stated to be 89,346, of whom 44,081 were males, and 45,265 females. Of this total number there were 28,045 principally employed in agriculture; and 11,988 in trade, manufactures, and handicrafts. The following is the result of the population returns for 1811, 1821, and 1831 respectively.
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