42 THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL [CH. 



ground for any grain whatsoever. And also, that 

 ground which beareth Reeds, Rushes, Clover, Daisies 

 and suchlike, is ever fruitful in Grass and Herbage.... 

 When you see the ground covered with Heath, Ling, 

 Broom, Bracken, Gorse or such like, they be most 

 apparent signs of infinite great barrenness.... And of 

 these infertile places, you shall understand, that it is 

 the clay ground, which for the most part brings forth 

 the Moss, the Broom, the Gorse, and such like ; the 

 sand, which bringeth forth Brakes, Ling, Heath, and 

 the mixt earth, which utters Whinnes, Bryars, and a 

 world of such like unnatural and bastardly issues." 



It was largely owing to the circumstance that 

 mankind was unwilling to pay for "Whinnes, Bryars, 

 and a world of such like unnatural and bastardly 

 issues" that the "mixt earth" was called infertile. 

 Tastes alter — who would now accept Markham's de- 

 scription of heather as "only a vile filthy black brown 

 weed"? — and a plant despised by one generation may 

 be prized by the next. Perhaps the most permanent 

 piece of advice one can give to the cultivator of a 

 piece of poor land is to find out what plants it will 

 grow well, decide which will be most profitable, then 

 ascertain what is preventing the soil from growing 

 these better, and, finally, if possible, remove the 

 hindrance, whatever it may be. The gap between 

 the ideal and the actual conditions for the crop may 

 be narrowed from both ends: the plant may be 



