Wealden Clay of Sussex. 187 



ploughed early in one-bout ridjjes, and left exposed to the frosts 

 of winter, the stiffest and closest clay will be reduced to as fine a 

 mould as can be seen on a light-land farm, and this fine mould 

 may be preserved through the summer by the frequent use of 

 the horse-hoe. But this kind of land should never be ploughed 

 or carted over when wet, nor should it be trodden by man or 

 beast, whenever it is possible to avoid it. Howevei', a sharp 

 frost or a summer's fallow will set all right again. 



If left undisturbed till they become dry again, no quantity of 

 rain hurts these lands, provided they are icell underdrained. On 

 the contrary, every shower carries down into the earth some 

 fertilizing matter which the clay detains, while the filtered water 

 passes off through the drains. For the knowledge of this most 

 valuable retentive property of clay we are indebted to Mr. 

 Thomj)son, of Kirby Hall, near York. Indeed, it would seem 

 that stiff clay not only filters but decomposes manure water, but 

 whether by mechanical action or by chemical combination appears 

 uncertain. It is probable also that the clay subsoil may be 

 washed and purified from some injurious mineral matter by the 

 rain-water as it j)asses through it, and is carried off by under- 

 drains. That such hurtful properties do exist in the yellow 

 subsoil, every man farming such land must have observed. The 

 yellow clay that is thrown out in making a new drain is singu- 

 larly infertile ; yet, if after the land was drained, some of it were 

 from time to time brought to the surface and exposed to the 

 changes of the seasons, the value of the land would be greatly 

 increased. " I have never yet seen clay thoroughly drained, deeply 

 cultivated, and reasonably well farmed, which did not speedily 

 lose the name of hungry, and earn the title of yrateful, clay^ 

 (See Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, vol. xvi. p. 308, note). 

 These words may be applied with perfect truth to this district. 



Subsoillng, which on some land has been found so beneficial, 

 appears on the clay to have no good effect whatever. After 

 subsoiling several acres in different years, by way of experiment, 

 with 6 horses, I came to the conclusion that it was so much 

 labour thrown away. 



Though large districts of the Weald consist mainly of clay, 

 yet the soil varies somewhat on every farm. In many fields it 

 is observed to be stiffest on the higher ground, and to be lighter, 

 or to have more sand naturally mixed with it, as it slopes down 

 to a lower level. The subsoil varies from a stiff yellow clay to 

 Avhat is called shrave,* which consists of innumerable fragments 

 of flaky pieces of mixed clay and sand, varying in size from 2 



* Perhaps another word for shale, which, though a provincialism, is used by 

 geologists to denote an indurated slaty clay which splits easily into thin flakes. 



