146 J. y. ELSDEN — AGEICULTURAL 



help, form some opinion of the natural condition of a given soil 

 and of its capabilities for improvement, but he also gains some 

 knowledge of the probable expense of working and maintaining his 

 land in good condition. 



Before beginning the consideration of the area specially set apart 

 for our discussion this evening, it will be well to give a very brief 

 sketch of the general agriculture of England and Wales, in order to 

 obtain a more comprehensive view of the causes which have deter- 

 mined the agricultural position of our county. 



It is well. known that the greater portion of the high ground of 

 England lies towards the west, where the older geological forma- 

 tions occur. The rainfall, also, which is greatest in the west, 

 gradually diminishes towards the east, being in fact nearly propor- 

 tional to the height of the ground. Summer temperature, however, 

 is highest over the eastern districts. In fact climate, in a country 

 of such limited extent as England, depends mainly upon contour, 

 and this we know to be determined by geological structure alone. 



In consequence of this distribution of rainfall, it will be found 

 that the western counties have a large acreage of grazing land ; 

 while the drier eastern districts have a large percentage of corn 

 land. Owing to the influence of climate, also, the limit of arable 

 cultivation, in England and Wales, is, in most cases, reached 

 at an elevation of 1000 feet, above which we find only moor-land, 

 hill-pastures, and waste. Hence the greater part of the central 

 high land of England, extending along the Pennine range, is chiefly 

 either pasture-land or waste according to the quality of the soil. 

 In the Welsh mountains again there is another large unproductive 

 area ; and even in the lower parts of this district, owing to the 

 extreme moisture of the climate, corn-growing is not a characteristic 

 agricultural feature. The same connection between agriculture 

 and contour may be observed in the barren tops of the granite hills 

 of Cornwall and Devon, and the moor-lands of the Malvern Hills 

 and Yorkshire Oolites, all of which are above the 1000 ft. contour- 

 line.'^" On turning to the lower grounds of the midland and eastern 

 counties, we find the conditions of contour and climate more uniform, 

 and the agricultural features, therefore, more dependent upon soil. 

 Extensive beds of clay are chiefly pastures, while light and mixed 

 soils have a preponderance of arable land. Hence the chief dairy- 

 farming districts of England are situated upon the heavy clays of 

 the Secondary formations, and the most extensive corn crops are 

 grown upon the drift-covered formations of the eastern counties. 



This general relation between the corn-growing and grazing 

 districts of England and Wales is well illustrated by the following 

 table, showing the percentage-number of acres under corn and grass 

 respectively for ten counties, arranged in a line from Essex to 

 Merionethshire. f It will be noticed that while the eastern counties 



* Topley, " Comparative Agriculture of Eugland and Wales," Journ. Eoyal 

 Agric. Soc.,' 1871. 



t The percentages are calculated from the Board of Trade Agricultural 

 Returns, 1881. 



