RUTLANDSHIRE, an English county, nearly in the centre of the kingdom, and the smallest of all the divisions so denominated. It is bounded by Lincolnshire on the east and north-east, by Leicestershire on the north-west and west, and by Northamptonshire on the south. Its length from north to south is sixteen, and its breadth from east to west is twelve miles. The square contents are 149 square statute miles, or 95,360 acres. It is divided into five hundreds, and contains two market-towns, Uppingham and Okeham, and forty-nine parishes; being a greater number, in proportion to its extent, than any other county in the kingdom.

It gives only one title at present, that of duke, to the family of Manners; two former peerages, that of Ferrars of Okeham, and Noel of Exton, being extinct. Only two members are returned to the House of Commons from the county, and none from either of the towns. In judicial affairs it is on the midland circuit of the judges; and in ecclesiastical matters it has formed, since the year 1541, a portion of the bishopric of Peterborough.

The appearance of this small county is pleasing to the traveller. It is much diversified by ranges of moderate hills running from east to west, in some parts well timbered. Between these ranges of hills, the valleys, of about half a mile in breadth, are luxuriant and verdant. The principal vale, called Catmose, is in the centre of the county, having to the north a tract of table-land overlooking the well-wooded plains of Leicester, Lincoln, and Nottinghamshire. The eastern part is more diversified; the southern division of it consisting of a beautiful valley, stretching towards Northamptonshire, and the western, bordering on Leicestershire; being abundantly wooded.

The soil on the eastern and south-eastern parts is chiefly shallow, resting upon a basis of limestone, composed of clays and loams. The other parts consist principally of a tenacious but fertile loam; but the vale of Catmose enjoys a most fertile soil of good clay, or red loam, or a grateful mixture of both these earths. A peculiarity of the soil is a redness, which generally prevails, and which tinges all the waters of the country.

Mr Parkinson, surveyor for the Board of Agriculture, estimates the land of the county in the following manner, viz. pasture land, 34,861 acres; arable land, 42,536; wastes, 30; woods, 2815; meadows, 9356; commons, 693; plantations, 65; lakes and ponds, 44 acres.

The woods of this county were far more extensive in former ages than they are at present. The ancient forest of Leafield, and the chase of Beaumont, though now under the plough, once occupied a great portion of the surface. The climate is generally accounted peculiarly soft and healthy; and the elevation is of that medium kind which equally exempts it from the pernicious effects of moist exhalations and cold mountain fogs.

The agriculture, though it has partaken of some modern , improvements, is not, upon the whole, conducted in the [7:19:592]best manner. In some parts, the reprobated system of two corn crops succeeding a fallow is still continued. In other , parts, after a fallow, barley is sown with clover; the clover is mowed in two years, or sometimes fed the second year, and then, after one ploughing, the land is sown with wheat. In some cases, on the lighter lands, the four-course system of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is followed. The wheat of Rutlandshire is highly valued for seed, and is much in request in even very distant counties. Nearly two thirds of the land are tithe free, and in all the late enclosures, provisions to that end have been inserted in the acts of parliament for effecting them. The cows of Rutlandshire are remarkable for the richness of their milk, though they yield but a small quantity. The rich cheese commonly known as Stilton is chiefly made in the dairies of this county. As many oxen are brought from the more northern countries, and fattened in Rutlandshire, as are bred within it, the annua! number of each being from 2700 to 3000. The sheep are more numerous in proportion than horned cattle. Mr Parkinson calculated them to be about 80,000; consisting of old and new Leicesters, of Southdowns, and a few Lincolnshires. It has been remarked, that though the quality of the wool has increased in fineness, the diminution in the weight of the fleeces has of late years more than counterbalanced that advantage.

The small rivulets that water this district run into the two rivers, the Guash, or Wash, which passes through it, or the Walland, which forms its southern boundary. The latter river is navigable only to Stamford, on the confines of Rutlandshire; but is useful in opening a communication with the ocean. A canal has been constructed from Okeham to Melton-Mowbray, by which a supply of coals has been drawn from the mines of Leicestershire.

Rutlandshire is neither a manufacturing nor a mineral district, but depends exclusively on its agriculture. By the returns of 1801 the inhabitants were 16,356, viz. 7978 males, and 8378 females; in 1811 the numbers were 16,380, viz. 7931 males, and 8+19 females; in 1821 they were 18,487, viz. 9223 males, and 9264 females; and in 1831 the numbers were 19,385, viz. 9721 males, and 9664 females. Of these there were 2299 families chiefly employed in agriculture; 1102 families chiefly employed in trade, manufactures, and handicraft; and 790 not comprised in any of these classes.