Land In England Research Articles

The Land of Britain: Its use and Misuse

The Land of Britain: Its use and Misuse

The Land of Britain, Its Use and Misuse

The Land of Britain, Its Use and Misuse

The Land of Britain

BRITAIN has been fortunate in its geographers. As soon as the subject emerged from the purely descriptive to the more scientific stage, the need was realized for detailed studies of the land to find out the uses to which it was being put, and to discover, if possible, why a particular use was adopted. Among the pioneers were H. J. Mackinder who, in his classical work "Britain and the British Seas", discussed the marked differences between the uplands and lowlands of Britain ; and H. R. Mill who, in a paper before the Royal Geographical Society, prepared a specimen description of a 1-in. Ordinance Survey map sheet. But it was Patrick Geddes who gave definite form to the idea of setting out the principles on which a survey should be based : starting with a small area and studying it intensively. The idea was taken up with alacrity by teachers of geography throughout Britain : under the wise guidance of H. J. Fleure, they formed themselves into the Geographical Association, which co-ordinated the methods and arranged for periodical discussions and exhibitions of work. In the various colleges and university departments of geography, students were trained in the methods of detailed survey, the pioneers including besides H. J. Fleure, James Fairgrieve, Profs. Eva G. R. Taylor, C. B. Fawcett, S. W. Wooldridge, Dudley Stamp, S. H. Beaver and others. The Le Play Society, founded by Patrick Geddes to carry on the work of the French geographer Le Play, has through its able and energetic director, Miss Margaret Tatton, arranged for its members to make similar studies in various European countries, and these have furnished wider experience and new ideas. Quietly and unobtrusively a large number of surveys were made by the students and staffs of university departments, but owing to absence of means of publication most of them remained only in manuscript. Nor was the Work confined to the universities : it penetrated to the schools and it gave a reality and vividness to the teaching of geography that the subject had never had before. Even village schools took the matter up, and some admirable local studies were made. The Land of Britain Its Use and Misuse. By Prof. L. Dudley Stamp. Pp. viii + 507. (London, New York and Toronto : Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., 1948.) 42s. net.

Use of the Land in Britain

THE interest in the first annual report of the Local Government Boundary Commission (London: H.M. Stationery Office. 4d. net), which covers the year 1946, lies less in the factual account of changes or proposals for change recorded than in the appraisal of local government opinion in Great Britain which the Commission has such a unique opportunity to present in the course of its inquiries. The task of the Commission is to make, so far as is practicable, all local government authorities, both individually and collectively, effective and convenient units. That in itself is an immense task, involving the review of the status and boundaries of 61 counties, 83 county boroughs and 1,356 county districts, and the Commission recognizes frankly that procedure is experimental and that the task can only be accomplished successfully with the active good-will and co-operation of the local authorities themselves.

Practical Control of Wireworm with 'Gammexane'

IF further work establishes the effectiveness of 'Gammexane', against wireworms1, the problem in future will be to decide which fields are to be treated with this substance. Unless it is to be applied to every field containing wireworms (this would mean most of the cultivated land in Britain) it will be necessary to be able to predict in advance which fields are likely to be attacked. I am convinced, as a result of experiences as a member of the wireworm advisory team stationed at Cambridge during the War, that such predictions are more difficult to make than is commonly believed. The assumption that wireworm damage increases with rising population must be used with reservation in making such predictions.

Fertility, Productivity, and Classification of Land in Britain

Fertility, Productivity, and Classification of Land in Britain

Fertility, Productivity, and Classification of Land in Britain: Discussion

Fertility, Productivity, and Classification of Land in Britain: Discussion

The Land of Britain.

The Land of Britain.

Caesar's Campaign Against the Maritime States

Among the episodes from Caesar's De Bello Gallico that strike a Dutchman most (and this will equally apply to the English, I suppose) are those that treat of the sea. When we read how at the landing in Britain the Roman ships are too large to reach the coast, and how the soldiers leap from the vessels and wade fighting through the water, we can vividly imagine such a scene. Not that we see troops land every day, all Dutchmen are acquainted with the North Sea and its flat beach, so that a perusal of this passage evokes familiar ideas. Personally I find the episode of Caesar's campaign against the maritime States in Brittany very interesting. Now we discover a very similar situation in our own regions, then again we come across differences. Driven by a desire for personal observation we set out to this part of France during the summer holidays to see if Caesar's description agrees with the present situation, and how far the aspect of modern Brittany elucidates the passage in Caesar. And this has in no small measure proved to be the case.

Planning the Land of Britain

Planning the Land of Britain

An Average Slope Map of Southern New England

RIVING along one of the wide valleys of New England one cannot escape noting how distinctly does the slope of the land control land utilization. Plowed fields occupy the flat bottoms, and as the slopes become steeper on the flanks of the valley we find in succession hay fields, stony pasture, and forest (Fig. I). The lines of separation are distinct and can be followed for miles. The angles of slope separating the cultivation types vary somewhat under the pressure of farming population-steeper slopes are cultivated in more densely settled areas-but within limits these angles can be determined. It should be noted, however, that most of New England's land is not utilized to its limits; in many places even the best bottom lands are left in forest. The absolute elevation above sea level is of slight direct influence on cultivation in southern New England; it is otherwise with relative relief, which varies greatly and does not depend on absolute elevation. Anyone who is familiar with the rugged relief of the granitic ledges near Gloucester or even the Middlesex Fells near Boston will realize that steep slopes are possible where even the highest peak does not rise over 200 to 300 feet. The problem of defining quantitatively the average slope of the land, or its relative relief, has been discussed by many European authorities, and lately in the United States new attention has been called to the subject by the map of the relative relief of Ohio by GuyHarold Smith.'

The Land of Britain

THE publication of the first of the contemplated eighty-seven county reports on the utilization of the land of Great Britain gives an idea of the scope and value of the work. The report begins with a summary of the geographical backgcoTOid, geology, Teiief, soils and climate. Then follow accounts of the distribution of woodland, arable land and grassland, which are closely correlated with physical conditions and illustrated with distributional maps. Next comes the distribution of orchards and poultry farming and lastly the distribution of settlements and population in general.

Cæsar's Landing in Britain

Cæsar's Landing in Britain Get access H. Kendra Baker H. Kendra Baker 1Hindhead Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Notes and Queries, Volume CLIX, Issue oct18, 18 October 1930, Page 282, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/CLIX.oct18.282c Published: 18 October 1930

XVIII.—On Basket-work Figures of Men represented on Sculptured Stones

I beg to invite the attention of the Society of Antiquaries to the occurrence of human figures sculptured on stones at Checkley and Ilam, in Staffordshire, the bodies being represented as formed entirely of interlacing bands, and producing the effect of wickerwork images. As far as I know, attention has not hitherto been called to this remarkable and suggestive feature, which seems to throw us far back into the past, and reminds us of the earliest descriptions of the land of Britain.

XIX.—Observations on the Details of Vespasian's first Campaign in Britain

Whilst the progress of Cæsar from the shores of Gaul to the place of his landing in Britain, and his subsequent advance into the interior of the country, are regarded as subjects worthy of the attention of men of the highest eminence in antiquarian and classical science, it may seem somewhat strange that their researches should have stopped there, and that comparatively little consideration has been bestowed on the progress of those military expeditions which ultimately led to the subjugation of the whole of Britain, and its incorporation with the great Roman Empire.

XV.—Correspondence between the Society of Antiquaries and the Admiralty respecting the Tides in the Dover Channel, with reference to the Landing of Cæsar in Britain, B.C. 55; together with Tables for the turning of the Tidestream off Dover, made in the year 1862

At a Council of the Society of Antiquaries held at Somerset House this day, I was authorised, as President, to address your Grace on the following subject:A controversy of great interest has recently been engaged in as to the exact place of Cæsar's landing in Britain. Two essays of especial weight and value have lately appeared upon it: one by Mr. Lewin, separately published, the other by the Rev. Dr. Cardwell, late Principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, which came forth in the Archæologia Cantiana of last year. Mr. Lewin contends that the landing place was at Hythe, and Dr. Cardwell that it was at Deal. The question between them seems to turn chiefly, if not entirely, upon the direction of the Channel tides. It is admitted that Caesar was off the Dover coast at three o'clock p.m. on the fourth day before the full moon (Aug. 27, B.C. 55), and the question is then, whether in that position the tides would have borne him to the north or to the south.

XX.—On the Place of Julius Cæsar's Departure from Gaul for the Invasion of Britain, and the Place of his Landing in Britain; with an Appendix on the Battle of Hastings. By George Biddell Airy, Esq., Astronomer Royal. Communicated by Capt. W. H. Smyth, R.N., Vice-President and Director

The route taken by Julius Cæsar in his Invasion of Britain has been discussed so often by learned men, that I can hardly venture to offer to the Society of Antiquaries a new investigation, leading to a conclusion, I believe, differing from all preceding ones, without a preliminary explanation of the reason which leads me to think that a new investigation is admissible. The reason then is simply this: that, in every one of the discussions which I have seen, the investigator has been contented with fixing upon some one indication contained in Cæsar's Account, and shewing that that one indication conforms to his theory, without any regard to the others. A more striking instance of this fault cannot be found than in D'Anville's essay. D'Anville takes a supposed expression of Cæsar's that his length of passage was 30 miles; he finds that the distance from Wissant to the Dover cliffs, increased by Cæsar's 8 miles' run along the coast, agrees with this pretty well; and for this reason and no other he adopts Wissant as the place of departure. But, in a record so uncertain as that of mere numerals, he never inquires whether other manuscripts give a different number of miles; he never critically examines whether the distance (whatever it may be) applies to Cæsar's passage at all; he never attempts to ascertain whether Wissant could possibly be suited to Cæsar's armament; he never even discusses Cæsar's movements before departing and after returning, or offers the slightest proof that Cæsar had ever been near Wissant. Yet on all these points the indications given by Cæsar are numerous, and are as explicit as they very well can be in reference to a country in which scarcely a single name was preserved by any following historian. Rennell, adopting D'Anville's starting-place, Wissant, without question, has attempted to fix Cæsar's place of landing in the neighbourhood of Deal by a solitary reason exactly similar to D'Anville's. Halley, professing himself totally uncertain as to Cæsar's starting-point, has reasoned with great acuteness on the phenomena of the tides as described by Caesar, and has compared them with his own apparently erroneous information; he concludes from these that Deal may probably have been the landing-place, but has not adverted to any other evidence. Yet there are numerous indications given by Caesar in reference to his internal progress in the country which ought to have been considered, at least so far as to shew that they are not inconsistent with the theory adopted. I might apply nearly similar remarks to the reasonings of other writers.I trust that the Essay which I now offer to the Antiquarian Society will at least be free from the fault which I have pointed out. I have brought together every passage which I can find in Caesar bearing upon the place of his departure, his navigation, the place of his arrival, and his march after arrival. I attach no importance to the accounts of writers posterior to Caesar, for it does not appear that they ever visited the coasts of Gaul, still less the coasts of Britain; and their statements, if in opposition to a clear inference from Cæsar's, must be rejected. So far, however, as I am acquainted with them, they do not in any instance contradict the inference from Cæsar's narration.