206 SHROPSHIRE 



Shropshire sheep. The soil was on the light side, 

 sharp reddish loam, whose drift origin was evident from 

 the rounded stones with which it was intermixed ; but 

 the sandstone rock below showed up in occasional 

 exposures and had chiefly contributed to the making 

 of the soil. From its texture and the easy slopes that 

 prevailed, the land was easy to work, while its warmth 

 and excellent drainage rendered it grateful for, if not 

 very retentive of, manure. The chief defect of this 

 class of land is the lack of lime, which was indicated 

 by the very general prevalence throughout the district 

 of " finger and toe," and the occasional failures that 

 occur in the clover crops. At times, again, little basin- 

 shaped areas occur where the drainage is defective, and 

 a black soil, even a layer of peat, has accumulated. 



The farm we visited was an extensive one, which 

 had been subjected to very considerable improvement 

 during the long tenure of its present occupier, who had 

 drained one of these hollows, and had been to consider- 

 able expense in removing the old small enclosures and 

 throwing them into large fields with straight, well-kept 

 hedges. It is astonishing what an obstacle to good 

 farming are the old hedgerows in many parts of the 

 country ; not only is there the waste due to the land 

 occupied by the sprawling bank and fence and the 

 harbour for birds, weeds, and other vermin that it 

 affords, but the greatest loss of all comes from the time 

 consumed in cultivation by the constant turning and 

 awkward shapes of the old enclosures. Small fields 

 and hedgerow timber are incompatible with economical 

 farming, and on far too many estates in England the 

 land never gets the tenants its quality deserves, because 

 a good farmer will not look at a holding that renders 

 his work so ineffective. A green sheltered country of 

 little fields may make a charming property, but to the 



