V] RAISING OF THE FERTILITY LIMIT 75 



6/- per acre. Other parts were dug or forked at an 

 average cost of from 25/- to 30/- per acre. Of such a 

 depth were the cracks, that even this process with all 

 the subsequent operations attending the first crop, 

 by no means got rid of these obstinate scars, which 

 continued until the cultivation of three or four years 

 at length obliterated them." 



Coleseed and Italian rye grass were the first crops 

 taken, and after that wheat and oats could be grown 

 owing to the richness of the soil and its large content 

 of calcium carbonate. Excellent yields of these 

 cereals, of mangolds, potatoes and carrots were 

 raised. 



There remained the more difficult business of 

 rendering fit for cultivation the tract of peat land 

 surrounding part of the old Mere. This was done by 

 covering the peat to a depth of 4 to 6 inches with 

 the marl dug out of the dykes; the operation cost 

 £15 to £19 per acre but proved remunerative as the 

 land readily let at 30s. per acre. 



Thus a vast unhealthy waste of marsh and mere 

 was transformed into healthy agricultural land and 

 made to produce food valued then at over £12,000 

 per annum. To this day it remains a fertile tract. 

 One interesting change has, however, set in. As the 

 water drained away so the soil shrunk, and it has 

 fallen in level to a remarkable extent. Oak posts 

 driven into the underlying gault till their tops were 



