46 TURNIP TOWNSHEND AND THE NORFOLK SYSTEM 



four liundred tliousand acres of waste were turned into 

 gardens.' 



But Townsliend's greatest achievement was tli£_£djtL 

 cultivation of turnips and clover. A new vein of agri- 

 cultural wealth was struck ; turnips became the most 

 active agents as well as the surest indicators of good farm- 

 ing. Clover and turnips had hitherto been grown as 

 experiments. Tull brought the cultivation of roots to 

 comparative perfection. ' I introduced turnips into the 

 field,' he says, ' in King William's reign ; but the practice 

 did not travel beyond the hedges of my estate till after 

 the peace of Utrecht.' A similar prejudice existed against 

 clover. ' Farmers,' as Tull states, ' if ad\dsed to sow it, 

 would certainly reply, Gentlemen might sow it if they 

 pleasecLbut they [farmers] must take care to pay their 

 rent.' iTownshend was the first great landlord who proved 

 the value of green crops as the pivots of agricultural 

 improvement. He initiated the Norfolk system, the merit 

 of which depends on the judicious alternation of roots and 

 grasses with cereals. The introduction of green crops 

 encouraged the farmer to observe what, in the absence of 

 chemical manures, was the golden rule of never taking 

 two corn crops in succession ; saved him from leaving a 

 portion of his land every year unproductive ; enabled him 

 to increase his live stock and maintain it without falling 

 oS" during the winter. For the sands of Norfolk, turnips 

 possessed peculiar value. Eoots, fed ofi" on the ground by 

 sheep, fertilised and consolidated the poorest soil. Another 

 portion of the crop, drawn off" and stored for winter keep, 

 enabled the farmer to carry more stock, supplied him with 

 more manure, enriched the land, and trebled its yield. It 

 thus became a proverb that ' a full bullock yard and a full 

 fold yard makes a full granary.' Farming in a circle, un- 



