55 



" These groups represent different types of farming. Divisions 

 I and II, if taken together, comprise the principal corn-growing 

 areas and the chief barley-growing districts. Fifteen of them are 

 traversed by chalk hills or downs, and they also comprise the great 

 level tract of the Fen country, and some of the richest land of 

 the kingdom. Bedford, the first mentioned, is noted for its agri- 

 culture, and contains between Sandy and Biggleswade an extremely 

 rich tract of soil devoted to the cultivation of exceptional crops, 

 such as pickling onions, cucumbers, the raising of mangel, swede, 

 cabbage, and turnip seed, and of choice potatoes. It is worth 

 5 per acre, and is only devoted to corn growing when it is worn 

 out for other crops. Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and 

 Kent form a group of counties in which the highest farming ob- 

 tains. Nottingham is the site of the ' Dukeries ', or union of four 

 noted ducal properties. Hertford is distinguished by the celebrated 

 Rothamsted experimental station; while Berks, Hants, Oxford and 

 Sussex are famous for sheep-farming on a large scale. Middlesex 

 boasts of the most approved system of haymaking in the country, 

 and Suffolk is the home of the celebrated Suffolk Punch breed of 

 horses. The Shire horse is bred with the greatest possible success 

 in Beds, Berks, and Lincolnshire, and Northampton grazing is justly 

 celebrated. Essex has suffered in an especial degree owing to its 

 being, or having been, one of the chief wheat-producing English 

 counties. Leicester is famous as the birthplace of the improved 

 Leicester sheep, Long-horn cattle, and the Shire horse, and as the 

 birthplace of Bakewell, the first improver of live stock. Huntingdon 

 forms part of the great level of the fens. 



In these counties the rainfall measures about 25 in. per annum, 

 and the climate is bracing, and well suited for agricultural pur- 

 suits. They are mostly farmed upon the four-course system, but 

 potatoes are largely grown in south-east Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, 

 and Kent. Beans are almost entirely restricted to this province, 

 and peas are widely cultivated. The climate favours arable culti- 

 vation, and rotation grasses are not otten allowed to lie a second 

 year. The best quality of both wheat and barley is produced in 

 these counties. The farmers are men of ability and of capital, 

 and great supporters of the London Farmers' Club, Chambers of 

 Agriculture, and agricultural societies. That they are as a rule 

 prosperous there is every reason to believe, as they have adapted 

 their methods to the times. The marshes of Lincolnshire, Nor- 

 folk. Essex, Huntingdon, and Kent (Romney Marsh) are abundantly 



