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Oxfordshire 

Published in 1844, Pigot's Directory entry for Oxfordshire includes the following: "The soil of Oxfordshire may be considered, for the most part, extremely fertile, yielding abundant crops of corn and grain; it is naturally dry, and entirely exempt from fens, bogs and stagnant waters... In the extensive bed of gravel on which Oxford stands, and which forms one of the geological features of England, are found many extraordinary fossils.  The climate of this county is considered as healthful as that of any other in England, and the quick and limpid streams render the air clear and wholesome...

The system of agriculture is in general good; that of Norfolk is well understood, and is in prevalent practice. On the grass farms much cheese is made, of a good quality, though chiefly the thin kind called 'toasting' cheese. The cows are principally the old Gloucester kind, and the South Down sheep have begun to exclude the long-woolled breed; many boars are fed for the purpose of making brawn and sausages, which form a considerable article of trade at Oxford and other parts of the county.

The manufactures are those of blankets, at Witney; paper, at Burford and other places; plush, or shag, at Banbury, and likewise an article of pastry, for which it has long been famous, called 'Banbury cakes'. The malting trade is carried on extensively, in several towns; and at Woodstock are manufactured gloves, and some articles of polished steel; the former branch still flourishes, but the latter is almost lost, owing to the cheapness of the Birmingham and Sheffield wares..."

Family History, Genealogy and Local History Research Information for Oxfordshire