The Shire was a rich, pastoral land. Most of its soil was used for farming. The places along both banks of the Brandywine River known as the "marshes" were ideal for growing mushrooms, the supreme delicacy of Hobbits. In the south of the Shire, especially Longbottom, the climate was warm and pleasant, particularly suited to the growth of pipe-weed. Barley for brewing beer was grown in the Northfarthing, while grapes from the Southfarthing's vineyards were used to make wine, such as the widely beloved Old Winyards. But the Shire now faced threats as well—as for where those threats came from, never mind that...
The Shire was divided evenly into four parts, called "farthings": the Northfarthing, Southfarthing, Eastfarthing, and Westfarthing. There were also some regions named for the families that had lived there for generations. The most famous was Tukland, the home of the Took Family around Tuckborough in the Westfarthing; and Buckland, on the east bank of the Brandywine River between the river and the Old Forest, where the Brandybuck Family lived.
The Shire's terrain varied greatly. Green Hill Country stretched west from Tuckborough in the Westfarthing and south to the northernmost part of the Southfarthing, covering most of the Eastfarthing. Scary lay in the north of the Eastfarthing, close against the Brandywine River, and had many quarries. The Westfarthing included the Far Downs and the chalky White Downs.
Several smaller rivers flowed into the Brandywine River. The Water rose in the north—possibly in the Northern Wastes—and flowed through Hobbiton and Bywater. The Shire River, Thistle Brook, and Stock Brook all had their sources in Green Hill Country.
Marshlands included the marshes, the Overbourn Marshes along the Brandywine River in the Southfarthing, and Rushy along the Water northwest of Hobbiton in the Westfarthing. Woodlands included Woodend at the easternmost edge