30 THE DORSET DOWNS 



blossom like the rose. The rotation followed on this 

 farm was novel to us ; it had for its object less the 

 growing of corn than the provision of as much sheep 

 keep as possible. As in the Wiltshire system it began 

 with two years of roots or rather of green crops, for 

 kale, vetches, rye, or winter barley predominated over 

 swedes and turnips, while mangolds occupied a still 

 smaller proportion of the area. These green crops 

 were, of course, folded off by sheep, cake and corn 

 being often fed out at the same time. After the forage 

 crops barley was taken and in it the seeds were sown, 

 red clover every other course only, for it does not stand 

 very well on the land and is best alternated with 

 mixtures of alsike, white and hop clovers. The seeds 

 were sometimes left down for two years and were 

 followed by wheat. Thus two corn crops only were 

 grown in five or six years, and though this system 

 paid while more profit attached to sheep than to wheat 

 or barley, it is questionable if it will continue to be 

 remunerative with the present trend of prices. 



With our host's resolute style of cultivation the land 

 was clean, despite the season and the large acreage of 

 the farm ; charlock, which is always supposed to follow 

 deeper cultivation on these soils and is therefore made 

 the excuse for shallow-ploughing, was less in evidence 

 than on any chalk land we had seen. The wheat was 

 a heavy crop, especially on some of the stronger land 

 on the hill ; there were some of the blighted heads 

 which were so characteristic of the season, but on the 

 whole the wheat was cleaner and brighter than usual. 

 The barley was Chevallier and a distinctly good crop also, 

 not so much laid as might have been expected from the 

 fact that it followed two years of green crops folded off. 

 Dredge corn was also showing its usual heavy growth. 



The roots, both early and late sown, were excellent 



