VII] THE RISE OF THE SANDS 105 



the small modification that they often grow two corn 

 crops in succession after the turnips. 



But it commonly happens in the history of agri- 

 culture that improvements are adopted only very 

 slowly, and Townshend's improvements were no 

 exception to the rule. Certain difficulties also arose 

 which Townshend did not overcome. Turnips were 

 found to be liable to attacks of a minute beetle, 

 Phyllotreta nemorum, commonly known as the Fly, 

 which in dry weather sometimes almost destroyed 

 the crop and left the animals without any food for 

 the winter. Red clover (the ordinary variety grown) 

 will not always grow every fourth year, but sometimes 

 fails after the second or third course for some reason 

 which is still obscure. Thus under the combined 

 attacks of Turnip Fly and of Clover Sickness the 

 farmer might find himself with a number of animals 

 on his hands and no food for them, an awkward 

 predicament from which he rarely extricated himself 

 without considerable financial loss. 



Fortunately another public-spirited landowner in 

 the same district came forward and continued the 

 experiments. Thomas William Coke, afterwards 

 Earl of Leicester, inherited in 1776 his uncle's estate 

 at Holkham, about twelve miles north of the scene of 

 Lord Townshend's labours. The country was poor 

 in the extreme. "All you will see," said old Lady 

 Townshend to young Mrs Coke as she was going for 



