ay. NORFOLK. 217 



is this cuflom, that, perhaps, nine of ten 

 of the farmers in Eaft-Norfolk begin to 

 fow wheat between the 17th and 24th of O6I0- 

 ber; — and continue till the beginning of De- 

 eember ; — fometimes even until Chriflmas. If 

 they finifh in November, they confider them- 

 felves in very good time. W heat fown in the 

 ordinary broadcaft manner is, however, here 

 fpoken of : for dibbling or fetting of wheat, 

 Michaelmas is efteemed the heft time. 



The reafon which the Norfolk hufbandmen. 

 give for fowing their wheats fo late, compared 

 with the pra6tice of other light-land counties, 

 is, that their early-fown wheats are liable to 

 be winter-proud, and run too much to ftraw; 

 whereas their late-fown crops afford lefs ftraw, 

 but a greater ^' call'' more efpecially, on land 

 which has been recently marled. 



This laft idea, perhaps, accounts for the 

 origin of their prefent time of fowing. The 

 prefent practice of hufbandry, in Norfolk, 

 was eflablifhcd a century, perhaps two or three 

 centuries, ago ; and has been handed down 

 from father to fon with but very little improve- 

 ment or alteration. The prefent time of fow- 

 ing was, o.f cQurfe, fixed when the land was 



full 



