266 Norfolk Farming. 



land. 3rdly, There are the stiffer loams of the county, which begin 

 with a broad patch at the south-east corner, and are interspersed 

 over a good part of mid-Norfolk. 4thly, We have the naturally 

 good soils to the north-east of Norwich ; and under the 5th and last 

 head must be embraced those diluvial tracts which form the fen- 

 lands of the west and the grass marshes of the east of the county. 



It is necessary to make these divisions before the different 

 improvements which have taken place in the last fifteen years 

 can be readily or accurately pointed out. Farming in East 

 Norfolk is quite different from that of the west ; and when it is 

 considered that, independently of numerous subdivisions, the 

 soils of the county may be classed under the headings of rich 

 Loams, Clays, Chalks, Sands, Gravels, and Peats, the variety of 

 its agriculture may be at once accounted for. The treatment 

 necessary to grow the luxuriant crops on some parts of the Holk- 

 ham estate would produce an abundance of nothing but straw if 

 applied to some of the soils of the Elofield hundred ; so, before 

 attempting to arrive at the general advance of the county, it may 

 be as well to consider the progress made in each of these five 

 divisions. 



As often happens, the greatest improvements have been made 

 on some of the worst land. Naturally fertile soils have pro- 

 duced good rents and have grown good crops for centuries ; 

 it is on the lighter description of land that modern agriculture 

 has chiefly progressed, and in Norfolk there are other causes to 

 promote this advance. The land in West Norfolk is chiefly 

 held by large proprietors ; in the East there is hardly one estate 

 of any great size. The landlords in West Norfolk let their land 

 at moderate rents, and grant long and liberal leases. The lesser 

 proprietors of East Norfolk farm much of the land themselves, 

 and let their small farms at high rents. To the west, Norfolk is 

 laid out in large fields, and the soil is well adapted for sheep ; 

 to the east the enclosures are small, the hedgerow timber abun- 

 dant, and most of the land not calculated for sheep. This com- 

 parison might be carried still further, but enough has been said 

 to show in which part of the county the onward movement is 

 likely to be most conspicuous. 



It will perhaps be desirable to consider the improvements which 

 are peculiar to each district separately, and then to glance at 

 such as are general to the whole county, and which may pos- 

 sibly apply to all the well-farmed arable districts of the kingdom. 

 Also it may be as well to review the last division first, and to 

 take the other districts in retrograde rotation, reserving the most 

 important till the last. In this order, the alluvial and fenny 

 districts of Norfolk first present themselves to our notice. As 

 already observed, they form but two tracts of any importance : 



