IRISH GARDENING 



45 



A Pilgrimage of British 

 Farming.' 



This book gives a general account of the farming 

 of the British Isles as it is practised to-day. Such 

 an account might be put side by side with Arthur 

 Young's description of the farming of his day. It 

 is ]>ublished at an opportune time, when 

 economists and leaders of agricultural opinion are 

 making a keen study of the ])roblem of getting 

 most out of the land, so that our own country may 

 yield more of the food consumed by the people. 



The author, with Professor T. B. Woodhead, 

 of the Agricultural Hchool at Cambridge, and Mr. 

 E. S. Beaven, as colleagues, started their tour in 

 the summer of 1910 and continued it during the 

 summers of 1911 and 1912. At the time articles 

 descriptive of each phase of their wanderings 

 api)eared periodically in the Times, and the book 

 under review is a reprint of these articles with 

 but slight revision. 



The tour starts in Wiltshire, and the first 

 farming described is that practised on the 

 western edge of Salisbury Plain, where the soil 

 is derived from the chalk — a geological formation 

 which in many ways gives a distinctive feature to 

 much of the farming of England. A brief account 

 is here given of Mr. E. S. Beaven's work at 

 Warminster on the improvement of cereals. The 

 tour is then extended to Blackmoor Vale — an area 

 largely devoted to mixed farming. Somerset 

 next occupies attention, the principal agricul- 

 tural features being barley-growing and dairying ; 

 an account is also given of some newly formed 

 small holdings. The next step is towards the 

 Dorset Downs, the home of a handsome breed of 

 sheep. The farming of Sussex, a county devoted 

 largely to corn growing, is then described, alter 

 which the South Downs, also so well known for 

 their breed of sheep, ai'e visited. The following 

 chai)ter deals with " specialist " farming, and in 

 this connection the poultry fattening in the 

 neighbourhood of Heathfield is described. Hop 

 growing in Kent is next dealt with. This is one 

 of our most expensive croi)S to grow, an average 

 annual expenditure of £50 ])er acre being required 

 for its proper handling. That it is also a specu- 

 lative industry may be seen from the fact that 

 the ])rice of hops may one year be £2 per cwt. and. 

 may rise to £7 the following year. Needless to 

 say hoi)-growing is a highly s])ecialised industry, 

 and one requiring great skill. The h()])-grower in 

 Kent invariably grows fruit also, and the author 

 gives an account of the system adopted. Essex 

 next comes in for description, and we find it ii 

 county largely devoted to seed corn production 

 and dairying. In this county, too, .some small 

 holdings have been established, but the account 

 of theiu is not very favourable, their failure being 

 attributed to the heavy nature of the soil, the 

 Eenland district is then described. This is an 

 area r(!claimed in comparatively recent times, and 

 is comi)osed of a soil naturally very rich in organic 

 juatter, so rich that in many instances cereals 

 cannot be grown, while the lieavy croi)S of root;- 

 are of very ])oor (piality. An account of the 

 arable farming and l)ullock fattening so charac- 

 teristic of Norfolk then follows ; after which the 

 fruit and flower-growing districts in Cambridge- 



* " A Pilgrimage of British Farming." By A. D. 

 Hall, M.A.,F.R.S. Publishers : J. Murray & Co., 

 Loudon. Price, 5s. net. 



shiro occupy attention. In the Spalding district 

 bulb growing for the wholesale uuirket is exten- 

 sively practised. "Lincoln Heathj^and Wold" 

 heads the next chapter, and we^ find barley- 

 growing and the Lincoln sheep the i hiel features. 



The summer of 1911, which saw the i)ilgrims 

 again astir, was exceptionally dry, while that of 

 1910 was dull and wet. A start is again made iv 

 Wiltshire, but this time in the ^'ale of Pewsey — a 

 district of large farms, mostly devoted to milk 

 production for the London market. '\ he fanning 

 of the Ui>per Ihames Valley is then described, 

 alter which the Vale of Evesham is visited. Ihis 

 is a district of special interest to horticulturists, 

 it being one of the most successful fruit-growing 

 districts in the kingdom. The Pershore ])lum is 

 p great si)eciality, and a good deal of attention is 

 also given to vegetable growing, as])aragus being 

 very largely grown. The area of the ho!<liiig! is 

 tor the most ])art small, which goes to show that 

 when specialist farming is adopted snuiii holdings 

 may meet with some measure of success. An 

 account of the farming of the West Midlands 

 follows, after which the farming in the \'alley of 

 the Teme is discussed. This is another district 

 of horticultural interest, as hojis and In. it are 

 extensively grown and a large quantity of cider 

 is manufactured. A description of the lanuing in 

 Shropshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire then 1o11oa\s. 



The pilgrinis visit Ireland, and theii see t)nd 

 tour is completed there. Ihe authc.r lust 

 describes the farming around Belfast Loiith.^here 

 flax-growing is the chief feature. Here is met , for 

 the first time, the tenant-right system of land 

 tenure peculiar to Ireland. Belerring to the 

 fixing of fair rents, the avithor gives the jieriod 

 that elapses between each revision as l.ve years, 

 whereas it is really lifteen jears. An anount of 

 the farming aro\md Lough Neagh is then given, 

 after which the route taken is by the east coast 

 and on to Navan, where tobacco growing and 

 grazing are the chief interests. Ihe farming of 

 central Ireland is then described, alter wliidi the 

 tour is extended along the Western seaboard, 

 where the author gives an ai count ol the jn-e- 

 vailing economic (onditions, and he la\ s stress on 

 the benelits of co-operation to llie small holders. 



During the journeys of 1910-11 a straiglit line 

 of country was taken with a more or less 

 geographical sequence, with the result that (citaiii 

 parts of the country were untoiuhcd. so duiini, 

 this the last tour atti-mpts were made to toi-di 

 on these. 



Those who have enjoyed Mr. Jiall's other 

 writings will not. l)e suri)rised that this work is 

 marked by freshness of treatnu'ut and lucidity of 

 exi)ressi()n. It is, however, a pity that neither he 

 nor liis ])ublisher .saw ht to ])rovide sketch ma] s 

 of the various localities visited. A few \\('ll 

 chosen pictures, too, would have added nnicli to 

 the value of the work. Ihe most disappointing 

 ])art of the book is that devoted to Ireland. '1 he 

 space which could be allowed to oui' islai.d is 

 altogether inadeipiate to a worthy treatment ol 

 the iirescMit position and progress of Irish laiin- 

 ing. Still the author, who is a trained oh 

 server, manages to seize ui)on many of the 

 salient features of agricultural development in 

 Ireland. Altogether the work will l)rove ol great 

 value to all who have the interests ol agriculture 

 at lieart, and will take its i>lace as an authoritative 

 j)icture of the condition of farming in the L'nited 

 Kingdom in the early part of the twcnitieth 

 century. J* ^' 



