Rivers and Canals.— The principal rivers are the Avon, the Boldre, the Exe, the Test with its tributary the Anton, the Itching, and the Hamble. The Avon in the south-west of the county has its source in Wiltshire, and passing Fordingbridge and Ringwood empties itself into Christ Church Bay, where it is joined by the Stour, which rising in Dorset crosses the south-west corner of Hampshire. The Boldre takes its rise in the New Forest, and after collecting the water of several brooks falls into Lymington creek. The Exe near the eastern extremity of the New Forest falls into the Solent at Beaulieu. The Test rises near Overton, and after its junction with the Anton at Fullerton passes Stockbridge and R0m3ey, and forms the head of Southampton Water. The Itching rises near Alresford, and flowing by Kingsworthy, Winchester, and Twyford falls into the Southampton Water to the north of Southampton. The Hamble rises near Bishop’s Waltham, and after a course of about 10 miles falls into the Southampton Water. The Wey, the Enbourne, the Loddon, and the Blackwater have their rise in the north part of the county, but soon pass into Berkshire.

There is one canal, Basingstoke, begun in 1778 and completed in 1794 at a cost of £100,000. It is 37 miles in length and terminates in the river Wey, in Surrey, near its junction with the Thames. Andover canal, begun in 1789, was filled up in 1858 and converted into a railway, forming a junction with the London and Exeter at Andover.

Geology and Soil.— With the exception of the northern and north-eastern corner occupied by the basin of the Thames, another portion about 8 miles in breadth extending along the eastern side, and the New Forest in the southwest, with a small portion to the north of it, Hampshire is occupied by the Chalk formation which runs from Sussex and Surrey north-east into Wilts and Berks. This middle district has a length from north to south of about 22 miles and a breadth from east to west of between 20 and 30 miles. Its soil is in some places of considerable depth, and produces good crops of all kinds, but a great part of it is so thin as to be unfitted for the plough, and is used as sheep pasture. The basin of the Thames to the north of this district is principally strong brown and grey loam, with a considerable number of marshes. The eastern portion forming the Vale of Petersfield, and comprising only about 50,000 acre3, rests on the Wealdean formation, and is a grey sandy loam provincially called “malmy” land, lying on a soft sand rock. The southern portion, which includes the ancient Forest of Bare, Waltham Chase, and the New Forest, consists principally of light sandy and gravelly loams intermixed with clay and brick earth, resting chiefly on argillaceous and calcareous marl.

Agriculture.— According to the Agricultural Statistics for 1879, the total area of arable laud was 706,927 imperial acres, of which 247,958 were under corn crops, 135,982 under green crop, 112,813 under rotation grasses, 184,141 permanent pasture, and 22,967 fallow. The acreage under woods was 87,229. The principal grain crop is wheat, for which Hampshire enjoys a great celebrity. Its acreage has been gradually increasing, and in 1879 was 100,090. The acreage of barley and oats was 66,228, and 64,957 respectively. Barley is usually sown after turnips, and is more grown in the uplands than in the lower levels. Beans and pease are only grown to a small extent, the acreage in 1879 being respectively' 4633 and 10,092. On account of the number of sheep pastured on the uplands a large breadth of turnips is grown, their acreage in 1879 being 81,472. Potatoes are not cultivated beyond what is necessary for home supplies, and had an acreage of only 5039. Rotation grasses are grown chiefly in the uplands, and their acreage is greater than in any other of the southern counties of England. Sanfoin is the grass most largely grown, as it is best adapted to land with a calcareous subsoil. In the lower levels no sanfoin and scarcely any clover is grown, the hay being supplied from the rich water meadows, which are managed with great skill and attention, and give the best money return of any lands in the county. Where a rapid stream of water can be passed over them during the winter it seldom becomes frozen, and the grasses grow during the cold weather so as to be fit for pasture before any traces of vegetation appear in the surrounding fields. Hops are extensively grown in the eastern part of the county bordering on Surrey. Their acreage in 1879 was 3064. Farming is generally conducted on the best modern principles, but owing to the varieties of soil there is perhaps no county in England in which the rotation observed is more diversified, or the processes and methods more varied. Most of the farms are large, and there is a considerable number of model farms. The waste land has been mostly brought under tillage, but a very large acreage of the ancient forests is still occupied by wood. New Forest has 60,000 acres under wood, in addition to which there are in the east Woolmer Forest (5949) and Alice Holt (2744), in the south-east the Forest of Bere (11,000) and Waltham Chase (2000), and in the Isle of Wight Parkhurst Forest (3000). The New Forest was originally formed by William the Conqueror in 1079 after the battle of Hastings, and the greater part of it belongs to the crown. The trees of the forest are principally beech and oak. The oaks, many of which are some hundred years old, do not grow to a great height, but shoot out strong crooked branches which give them a very picturesque appearance. Formerly they were chiefly used for the ships of the royal navy. Herds of small ponies similar to those of Shetland and the Hebrides are still reared in the Forest. It also contains abundance of deer, and at one time it was famed for its pigs. The honey of the county enjoys a special celebrity.

The number of cattle has increased with the improved facilities for railway transport, and in 1879 was 66,059, or an average of 9'3 to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with 16’9 for England and 21Ό for the United Kingdom. Of these the number of cows and heifers in milk or in calf was 35,128. The cattle are of no distinctive breed. The number of horses, to the breeding and rearing of which much attention is paid, was 29,247 in 1879, or an average of 4T to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with 45 for England and 4 1 for the United Kingdom. The number of sheep in 1879 was 552,041, or an average of 78’2 to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with 75'3 for England and 68 ’ 0 for the United Kingdom. The original breed was white-faced with horns, but most of the flocks now are of a Southdown variety which have acquired certain distinct peculiarities, and are known as “short wools” or “Hampshire downs.” The number of pigs in 1879 was 57,122, or an average of 8 ’ 0 to every 100 acres, as compared with 7'2 for England and 6’7 for the United Kingdom. The breeding and fattening of pigs has long been a most important part of Hampshire industry. The original breed of pigs has been improved by crossing with Berkshire, Essex, and Chinese pigs. In the vicinity of the forests the pigs are fed on acorns and beechmast, and the pork of those so cured is considered the best, although the reputation of the Hampshire bacon depends chiefly on the skilful manner in which it is cured.

According to the Landowners’ Return of 1872-73, the land was divided between 27,472 proprietors, holding land the gross annual value of which was £ 2,469,124. Of the owners 77 per cent, possessed less than one acre, and the average all over was £2, 10s. 2⅛d. There were no fewer than 35 proprietors holding upwards of 5000 acres, viz :—Earl of Portsmouth, 16,401; Duke of Wellington, 15,847; Lord Ashburton, 15,330; Sir William Heathcote, Bart., 14,189; Lord Bolton, 13,808; Melville Portal, 10,566; Earl of Carnarvon, 9294; Lord Northbrook, 9236; Earl of Normanton, 9236; Lord Henry Scott, 8922; executors of John B. W. Fleming, 3843; Sir J. B. Simeon, 8724; Thomas Chamberlayne 8535; Thomas Thistlethwayte, 8084; Thomas Baring, 8058; Sir J. C. Jervoise, 7877; College of Winchester, 7269; Sir H. A. Tichborne, 7270; Sir Henry Mildmay, 6762; Crown Property, 6554; H. P. Delme, 6258; Rev. Thomas Best, 6184; F. J. E. Jervoise, 6183; W. W. B. Beach, 6099; Dean and Chapter of Westminster, 5837; W. F. Cowper-Temple, 5780; John Bonham Carter 5621; John Morant, 5596; W. H. Kingsmill, 5361; Lord Heytesbury, 5195; Edgar A. Drummond, 5155; W. H. S. Stanley, 5150; William H. Iremonger, 5103; Edward Knight, 5044; Lady Jane Mill, 5040.

Manufactures and Trade.— The manufactures are unimportant except those carried on at Portsmouth and Gosport in connexion with the royal navy. There are large steam docks and an extensive shipping trade at Southampton. In many of the towns there are breweries and tanneries, and paper is manufactured at several places. Fancy pottery and terra cotta are made at Fareham and Bishop’s Waltham; and Ringwood is celebrated for its knitted gloves. At most of the coast towns fishing is prosecuted, and there are oyster beds at Hayling Island. Cowes in the Isle of Wight is the station of the royal yacht squadron and has building yards for yachts and lar<re steamers. The principal bathing-places, besides those in the Isle of Wight, are Southsea, Southhayling, Bournemouth, and Anglesea, a suburb of Gosport. At Portsmouth there is a convict pnson, at Parkhurst a prison for convict boys, and at lldershott a large military camp.

Railways.— The London and South-Western Railway enters the county at Farnborough, passing by Winchester and from thence to Southampton, a branch diverging from Bishopstoke to Gosport, and again to Portsmouth, Havant, and Emsworth, via the South Coast Railway, by a branch from Fareham. A branch of the Great Western from Reading joins the South-Western at Basingstoke, about a mile south-west from which a line diverges to Whitchurch, Andover, and Salisbury. The Guildford and Reigate branch of the South Coast Railway communicates with Alton and New Alresford, 6 miles west of which it joins the South-Western. Southampton communicates with Dorchester by the Dorchester Railway which, after branching to Lymington, passes Ringwood, from which there is another branch to Christchurch and Bournemouth. Another line connects Southampton with Salisbury, and from this line a branch 4 miles north of Romsey communicates with Andover.

Administration.— Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight, comprises 38 “hundreds,” 10 “liberties,” 1 city, that of Winchester (16,366), which is also a municipal and parliamentary borough; 5 other boroughs which are both municipal and parliamentary, viz., Andover (5744), Lymington (5356), Newport (8522), Portsmouth (113,569), and Southampton (53,741); 2 parliamentary boroughs, viz., Christchurch (15,415) and Petersfield (6104); and 3 municipal boroughs—Basingstoke (5574), Romsey (2056), and Ryde (11,260).

For parliamentary purposes Hants is formed into three divisions, viz., North Hants, South Hants, and the Isle of Wight. Winchester which returns 2 members, and Andover and Petersfield which return 1 member each are in the northern division, which returns in all 6 members; in the southern division are included the boroughs of Christchurch and Lymington returning 1 member each, and the boroughs of Portsmouth and Southampton returning 2 each, and it returns in all 8 members; the Isle of Wight returns 1 member, and also contains the borough of Newport returning 1 member. The total representation of the county is thus 16 members.

The county has one court of quarter sessions, and is divided into 14 petty sessional divisions. The city of Winchester, and the boroughs of Andover, Portsmouth, and Southampton (a county of itself), have commissioners of the peace and separate courts of quarter sessions; and the boroughs of Basingstoke, Newport, Romsey, and Ryde have commissions of the peace. In the borough of Lymington the mayor and ex-mayor are magistrates, and the county justices have concurrent jurisdiction. The county is included in the western circuit, and ecclesiastically is almost entirely in the diocese of Winchester.

Population.— The total population of the county amounted in 1841 to 354,682, in 1851 to 405,370, in 1861 to 481,815, and in 1871 to 544,684 (males, 275,393; females, 269,291). The increase in 30 years from 1841 has been 54 percent., and since 1801 it has been 97 per cent. The excess of males over females is accounted for by the naval and military establishments situated in the county. In 1871 the mainland portion contained a population of 478,465, and the Isle of Wight 66,219.

History and Antiquities.— Before the Roman invasion the Welsh Celts of Hampshire had been driven out or subdued by incursions of Gauls, who first took possession of the country round Winchester to the west of the great forest of Andresweald, stretching into Hampshire from Sussex, and gradually occupied the greater part of the southern shires from Surrey and Sussex to Devon. It was probably during this prolonged contest that the intrenched camps were formed at Beacon Hill, Bury Hill, Danebury, Quarley Mount, and Worldbury Mount. The Gauls whom the Romans found in South Britain were divided into three tribes—the Regni on the coast, the Belgae in the middle, and the Atrebates in the north. Their chief town occupied the site of the modern Winchester, and was known as Venta Belgarum by the Romans, who made it one of their principal stations. From it roads, traces of which may yet be seen, were constructed to Sorbiodunum (Old Sarum), Silchester, and Southampton, and to Porchester (Portsmouth) and Chichester. Next to Venta Belgarum the most important Roman station in Hampshire was Calleva (probably Silchester), where there are yet very extensive remains; traces of a large station {Clausentian) are still to be seen at Southampton; at Portsmouth portions of an old Roman fort are incorporated in the castle of Porchester; at Broughton, near Stockbridge, slight traces of a station are still visible; and an intrenchment at Egbury Hill, near Whitchurch, is regarded by some as the remains of the ancient Vindomis, although others place the site of that town at Silchester. Even before the Roman conquest of Britain the southern shores of England had been frequently attacked by Saxon pirates, and afterwards, in 475, the warriors Hengist and Horsa had succeeded ultimately and with great difficulty in establishing themselves in Kent; but the real conquest of southern Britain was accomplished by a Saxon tribe called Gervissa or Gervissi, who about the year 495, under Cerdic and his son Cynric, landed from five ships on the shores of Southampton Water, and concluded a stubborn contest by defeating the Britons at Charford in 519, from which period is generally dated the origin of the kingdom of Wessex, which had for its capital Winchester, then known as Wintanceaster or Winteceaster. The establishment of the bishop’s see at Winchester, after the conversion of King Kynegils of Wessex about 635, falls more appropriately to be noticed in the article on that city. In 755, according to the Saxon chronicle, Sigebert, king of Wessex, was deprived by the witan of the whole of his kingdom, with the exception of Hamtanscire, the first time that the name occurs. Hampshire played a prominent part in the contest with the Danes or Northmen, who about 860 stormed Winchester, but were afterwards worsted, in 871 defeated Ethelbert at Basing, and in 878’compelled King Alfred to retreat to the woods and fastnesses. The devastation of the Isle of Wight by the Danes in the reign of Ethelred II., and the other historical events connected with that island, will be noticed in the article Wight, Isle of. Under Edward the Confessor and Harold II. the seat of government had been transferred from Winchester to Westminster, but the honour was again restored to Hampshire by William the Conqueror, who made Winchester his principal residence, and for the purposes of sport devastated a large part of the county to form the New Forest. The superstitious fancies of the time traced a necessary connexion between this violent exercise of his prerogatives and the sudden death of his sons and grandson within the boundaries of the scene of his ruthless devastations: his son Richard was smitten with sudden death in the New Forest while hunting; a second Richard, a natural son of Robert his eldest son, met his death there accidentally; and William Rufus, his eldest son and his successor, while hunting within it was shot by an arrow in 1100. The loss which the shire sustained by the final transference of the seat of government to London was partially compensated for by the rise of the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth, which have been an important element in its prosperity down to the present time. The principal other historical events of the shire are connected either with these two towns or with Winchester or the Isle of Wight, the only exception of importance being the siege and capture of Basing House by the troops of Cromwell in 1645.

The principal monastic institutions in Hampshire, dissolved by Henry VIII., were the priory of St Swithin, who was bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862; the monastery of Hyde, outside the walls of Winchester, founded by King Alfred; the nunnery of St Mary’s, Winchester; St Elizabeth’s College, Winchester; the nunnery of Wherwell, founded by Elfrida; the Augustinian priory of Southwick, founded by William of Wykeham; the Praemonstratensian abbey of Tichfield, founded in the time of Henry III.; the Augustinian priory of Twyneham, Christchurch, founded according to some authorities by King Athelstan; the Augustinian priory of Breamore, founded by Baldwin de Redvers; the nunnery of Romsey, founded by Edward the Elder about 910; the Augustinian priory of Mottisfont, endowed soon after the Conquest, but by whom is uncertain; the Cistercian abbey of Beaulieu, founded by King John about 1204; the Cistercian abbey of Netley, founded in the time of Henry III.; the Augustinian priory of St Denis, near Southampton, founded by Henry I.; the abbey of Quarr, Isle of Wight; and the preceptory of Baddesley. The most important monastic remains are those at Winchester; the priory church at Christchurch in the Norman and Perpendicular style; the Norman church at Romsey; the remains of Netley Abbey, with a church in the Early English style; the ruins of Beaulieu...