ESSEX, a county of England, bounded on the east by the sea; on the north by Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, from which it is parted by the Stour; on the south, it is parted from Kent by the Thames; and on the west from Middlesex by the river Lea, and from Hertfordshire by the Stour. It extends from east to west 40 miles in length, 35 in breadth from north to south, and 140 in circumference. It is in the diocese of London, and gives title of earl to the family of Capel. The soil of the inland parts is generally sandy or gravelly, and the air good; but in the low fenny grounds along the Thames, and on the sea-coast, it is aguish and unhealthy. The county in some places produces a great deal of saffron, as about Saffron Walden. It is well supplied both with sea and river fish, wood, and wild-fowl. Vast numbers of oxen, horses, sheep, and cows, are fed and bred in the fens; a great deal of corn is raised, and cheese made; the soil being there as rich as the air is bad. In this county, too, a great sum of money is got by DECOYS.