Ill 



SITUATION AND SOIL 41 



at a considerable though varying depth, and the soil 

 above it, of a sufficient thickness for all Rose purposes, 

 may be gravel, sand, clay, or loam. In many of these 

 places the chalk itself is of a clayey nature, and is then 

 called marl, the fertilising value of which is dependent 

 upon the proportion of clay. Poor dwellings and sheds 

 in Suffolk used to be made of what is called " clay 

 lump." This was marl, mixed with reeds or straw, 

 well watered, and trodden by a wretched horse till it 

 was thoroughly compacted, and then formed into very 

 large bricks and left to dry but not burnt. When an 

 old building was pulled down the " clay lumps " were 

 considered excellent, if broken very small, for mixing 

 with light land, and I have no doubt they were. They 

 were thoroughly dry, and one of the great difficulties 

 of mixing clay with other soil is overcome if it can be 

 got so dry that it can be beaten into powder. Marl, as 

 a mixture of clay and lime, was a good deal carted on 

 to the light lands for agricultural purposes in times 

 gone by, as the many old marl-pits in Suffi^lk testify. 



Some very fertile soils may; be found on the lower 

 chalk or marl formation, particularly on the edge of the 

 greensand. Hitchin would be a case in point, where 

 Mr. E. B. Lindsell has for some years grown the best 

 amateur H.P.s, and where Messrs. Harkness and Sons 

 have also begun tb endeavour, if possible, to better 

 even their Yorkshire fame. 



Sand. — This may be considered in itself to be the 

 worst soil of all, but where it occurs in the greensand 

 from sandy rocks, strong loam is probably to be had 

 within carting distance, and almost all the really sandy 

 part being taken right away to the depth of two feet, 

 good Teas at least might probably be grown in well- 

 made beds in such a place. But in sands like that to 



