LATER HISTORY OF THE MIDLAND SYSTEM I 33 



" If Red-land, whereof there are some quantities in the North 

 and West of Oxford-shire, it must have its tillage as soon in the 

 year as possibly may be, before the clay. . . . This never re- 

 quires a double stirring. . . . Nor is the Sheep-fold amiss 

 either Winter or Summer. . . . This Land, Uke clay, bears 

 wheat, miscellan, barly, and peas, in their order very well, and 

 lies fallow every other year, where it falls out of their hitch- 

 ing. . . . 



" In some parts of the County they have another sort of 

 Land they call Stone-brash, consisting of a light lean Earth and 

 a small Rubble-stone, or else of that and sour ground mixt to- 

 gether. . . . These Lands will also bear Wheat and Miscellan 

 indifferently well in a kind year, but not so well as clay, sour- 

 ground, or red-land; but they bear a fine round barly and thin 

 skin'd, especially if they be kept in heart: They lie every other 

 year fallow (as other Lands) except where they fall among the 

 Peas quarter, and there after Peas they are sown with Barly, and 

 he but once in four years. ... 



" There is a sort of tillage they somtimes use on these Lands 

 in the spring time, which they call streak-fallowing; the manner 

 is, to plough one furrow and leave one, so that the Land is but 

 half of it ploughed, each ploughed furrow lying on that which 

 is not so: when it is stirred it is then clean ploughed, and laid 

 so smooth, that it will come at sowing time to be as plain as 

 before. . . . 



" Lastly, their sandy and gravelly light ground, has also much 

 the same tillage for wheat and barly, as clay, etc., only they 

 require many times but two ploughings. ... Its most agree- 

 able grains are, white, red, and mixt Lammas wheats, and miscel- 

 lan, i. e. wheat and rye together, and then after a years fallow, 

 common or rathe-ripe barly: so that it generally hes still every 

 other year, it being unfit for hitching, i. e. Beans and Peas, though 

 they somtimes sow it with winter Vetches." ^ 



This account makes it clear that in 1677 a four-course, a three- 

 course, and a two-course rotation of crops were in use in different 

 townships of Oxfordshire. The relation between the four-course 



1 Robert Plot, Natural History of Oxfordshire (Oxford, 1677), pp. 239-244. 



