274 Norfolk Farming. 



and the banks properly made up and the ditches scoured out. The 

 high fence was regarded as affording capital shelter in that 

 open district, though loss of crops on the headlands told that 

 such shelter was dearly purchased. As it is nearly all arable 

 land, the shelter to stock can be of little value. Sheep feed 

 off the turnips in folds, and on a cold night are as likely to 

 be in the middle of the field as near the fence ; and though 

 they may have more liberty on the grass lands in summer, they 

 deposit the manure where it is not needed if they seek the shade 

 or shelter of the fences. To ewes and lambs these high mounds 

 certainly were of some service in our cold bleak springs, but 

 closely-made wicker hurdles, and other temporary means of 

 shelter, are more conveniently multiplied than these high fences. 

 There has been a wonderful change lately. Instead of those 

 great mounds of whitethorn, neat little lines of fences are seen 

 all over the district. The soil, being dry, requires no ditches; 

 these have been levelled in, and the high banks reformed, some 

 of the mould carted away, and the turf replaced. The old 

 fences when cut down are not all chopped off close to the bottom 

 as formerly, jjut large stuljs are left from G inches to 3 feet 

 high, and some long pieces are braided across the weak spots. 

 Each cut is given upwards, so that no stake which is left is 

 splintered. The fence is trimmed every year with a long- 

 handled hook or scimitar, and is allowed to grow 4 feet high. 

 It is perfectly sharp at the top, and about 3 feet wide at the 

 bottom. Such is tlie theory, but, like many other new prac- 

 tices, it cannot be regularlv carried out on all farms. First, 

 then, on tliin soils these little whitethorn fences cannot bear 

 this annual trimming. Now and then they want rest, and once 

 in four years they should be permitted to run wild. The best 

 time is when the field is a layer, as it prevents the sheep from 

 browsing into the fences so much, and there is no danger of the 

 trimmings making them lame, which is sure to be the case be 

 they ever so carefully collected. On very cold and exposed sites 

 the 3 feet fences are too thin ; the cutting winds blow through 

 and destroy them. They should be at least 4 feet thick at the 

 bottom, and formed after the fashion of a pyramid, care being 

 taken to make the fence lap well over the back of the bank and to 

 cut the face (or ditch side) closely up. With such little varia- 

 tions from the general rule, hedges of this kind are likely to 

 stand many years, will make strong and capital fences, present a 

 neat appearance, and do no harm to the growing crops. 



The next observable improvement is one of far greater moment. 

 It is the increased productiveness of the wheat crop. Compe- 

 tent authorities assert that this district now grows a quarter of 

 wheat more -per acre than it did 15 years ago. Formerly all the 



