NAKED FALLOWS. 179 



"beatson's system. 



" Knowle Farm, in the neighborhood of Tunbridge 

 Wells, which was a few years ago in the occupation of 

 the late General Beatson, contains about 300 acres of 

 land, of which 112 are arable, and is described as abound- 

 ing with clay, and retentive of surface moisture, but 

 when dried by the summer heat, it becomes as hard as a 

 brick, and impervious to the plough, unless with a great 

 power of animal exertion, particularly as the general 

 mode is to plough deep. The established rotation in that 

 part of Kent and the neighboring portion of Sussex, 

 is fallow, wheat, and oats, with occasionally clover 

 and rye-grass ; and the husbandry appears to have re- 

 mained unaltered for many ages, with the single exception 

 of substituting lime for manure instead of marl. Upon 

 this system the farm was managed during the General's 

 absence, while Governor of the Island of St. Helena ; 

 and finding on his return, in the year 1813, ' that he had 

 no cause to boast of its profit, he resolved to trace the 

 whole progress of the operations, from the commence- 

 ment of the fallow to the close of the rotation ;' the re- 

 sult of which was, that, ' having made a series of experi- 

 ments, to which he devoted his attention during five years, 

 he determined upon the total abolition of fallows.''* 



* His experiments were extended to various objects besides the 

 working of the land ; particularly to the combinations of different kinds 

 of manure, and the burning of clay, (for which, see our vol. i. chap- 

 ters 16 and 17 ;) but our present extracts only extend to the subject 

 of fallowing, the charges of which he states to have amounted to X16 

 per acre, thus : — 



Labor, breaking up the clover ley and 3 subsequent 



ploughings, £3 12 6 



Eleven harrowings, at ten acres per day, 9 



Manure, one and a half wagon-load of lime, between the 



third and fourth ploughings, 7 10 



Carting and spreading ditto, 6 



Seed, two and a half bushels of wheat, at 10s 1 5 



Sowing and rolling, 1 6 



Rent and taxes for the year of fallow, 1 10 



Ditto for the year of crop, 110 



j£16 4 



