ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 209 



grass, partly on account of the difficulties which beset the 

 cultivation of clay land, which I need not repeat, partly also 

 because of the special adaptability of these grounds for grass. 

 On these soils we are deterred from arable cultivation on the 

 one side by difficulties, and are encouraged to lay them away 

 to grass by the great relief it offers, and by the fact that they 

 are thoroughly well adapted for the purpose. On the other 

 hand, with reference to light lands, if they can be taken at a 

 sufficiently low rent, they can be worked at comparatively 

 light expense, they are safe cropping soils, and their products 

 have always commanded a better price. Sheep have been 

 profitable for the purpose of agriculture for very many years, 

 and sheep are still a hopeful kind of stock so far as profit 

 is concerned. With sheep we must take into account wool. 

 Then, again, barley has many points to recommend it to the 

 English agriculturist. The British climate is especially suit- 

 able for the growth of high class qualities of barley. This 

 alone places the barley grower at a great advantage over 

 the wheat grower, because the English climate is not suitable 

 for wheat. Wheat in this country is always somewhat of the 

 nature of an exotic plant, and wheat growers are always con- 

 fronted with foreign wheats of a higher quality ; but that is 

 not the case with foreign barleys. Foreign barleys may be 

 used, but you may depend upon it maltsters will prefer an 

 English-grown barley if they can possibly get it. The 

 somewhat humid character of this country is exceedingly 

 suitable for growing a mellow sample of malting barley. 

 These are important facts in contrasting the prospects of 

 light land with the prospects of heavy land, and they offer 

 good reasons why we should hope that cultivators of light 

 lands will still be able to hold their own, if we can get such 

 a correspondence between the expenses and the produce as to 

 give us a balance upon the right side. 



Another factor in the question is that light lands are not 



