REPORT OF MR. FRANCIS H. APPLETON.
517
other parties, this park is fenced off so as to be inaccessible to hares. The game is all very fat—a buck of the larger sort weighs generally three hundred and ten to three hundred and fifty odd pounds ; a fallow buck a hundred and sixty-five to two hundred pounds.
Before commencing the erection of my buildings and the improvement of my land, it was necessary to get this latter out of the hands of my tenants, and to provide for the immediate shelter of my draught cattle, servants and overseers. For this purpose I bought and hired various buildings in the villages of Freudenck, Bejchor and Ovcar.
On account of its low position.the land was exposed to inundations, as before mentioned, and was therefore swampy and uncultivable. In addition, its nature was very diverse, some portions consisting of drift sand and others of the purest clay. Its powers were also exhausted to such an extent that it was considered at first utterly valueless, and my outlay for its improvement was looked upon with astonishment.
It was necessary, first of all, to increase its extent by the additional purchase of 370 acres containing many varieties of soil. Thus the estate Kolin contains to-day 5,000 acres, of which 29 acres are vineyard; 17 acres are building area; 9 acres are hop-gardens; 1,915 acres are tilled land; 201 acres are meadow; 23 acres are gardens; 10 acres are ponds; 386 acres are rivers, roads, ditches and unproductive area; 39 acres are pasturage ; 2,370 acres are wood. In all, 5,000 acres; of which 139 acres are held by the tenants; 208 acres have been hired to extend the area of the hunting preserves. These are mostly sandy pasturage, and have been ploughed over.
The necessary stock of draught cattle has been procured, together with sowers and other implements, and a regular rotation of crops introduced,
Inundations are guarded against by dams, and the water collecting is led away by a system of ditches. The water accumulating on the inside of the dams is carried otf by wooden pipes passing through the latter, and having valves opening outwards only. These are closed by the inundating water, and on the disappearance of the latter are opened by the water within, which then flows off.