A HISTORY OF KENT 



Dairying is engaged in near London, otherwise not many cattle are bred or kept in North 

 Kent, and on the whole the number of sheep is smaller in proportion than in other parts of 

 the county. The flocks increase towards the eastern part of the division, and in the same 

 direction the size of the farms also increases in a marked degree. 



Mid-Kent. — This division lies between the one last described and the Weald. Its 

 eastern boundary is East Kent and its western the county of Surrey. Across it in succession 

 from north to south run the Chalk, Gault, Lower Greensand and Weald Clay formations, 

 the greater part being on the Greensand. The soils on this formation vary in quality, being 

 generally sandy and poor in the west, but of finer quality towards the east of the division, notably 

 near Maidstone. Along the sides of the hills, overlooking the Weald, is found a narrow belt 

 of soil provincially called ' Coomb,' which, though very heavy in texture, is extremely pro- 

 ductive and suitable for filberts and fruit. The Chalk soils in the north are of little depth 

 and only moderate fertility. In the south a good deal of the stiff Weald Clay land is 

 improved by admixture with the Greensand loams. There is no regular rotation of cropping. 

 A century ago wheat and beans occupied the principal place, and on some of the best land 

 in the Maidstone district sometimes alternated with one another for years without a break. 

 Very few beans are now grown, but wheat is still cultivated to a fair extent except in the 

 west. The principal grain crop, however, is oats. There is a comparatively small extent of 

 barley, this crop not yielding first-rate samples for malting. Roots and potatoes are exten- 

 sively grown. A large proportion of the land in the extreme west is under grass with a not 

 very considerable amount of hops and fruit. In the remainder of the division, but par- 

 ticularly in its centre, a great amount of land is devoted to these two kinds of produce, and, 

 except on the Chalk soils, the fruit area is being continually added to. On the slopes of 

 the hills below Maidstone the blossom presents a wonderful sight in the springtime, the 

 trees stretching away east and west as far as the eye can reach. 



A great amount of manure is required for the hop lands. Formerly almost every farmer 

 tied up bullocks for this purpose, buying Sussex animals from breeders in the Weald. Now it 

 is cheaper to get stable manure by rail and river, consequently but few bullocks are fattened, 

 though Sussex and Shorthorn cattle are somewhat extensively bred. There are ample facilities 

 for the conveyance of produce and of farmers' requirements by rail and river. The Medway 

 is tidal as far as Maidstone and a canal runs thence to Tonbridge. 



The Weald. — This division lies south of Mid- Kent below the line of railway from Guild- 

 ford to Ashford and is bounded on the east by Romney Marsh. The upper parts are princi- 

 pally on the Weald Clay with soils of stiff yellowish clay except in a few places where they are 

 overlain by loams and gravels. Towards the Sussex border the Hastings beds occur, and here 

 the soil is of a lighter texture with admixture of sand and occasional patches of loam. The 

 clay lands are susceptible of great improvement, but being essentially wheat and bean soils they 

 have keenly felt the depression in prices, and though both these crops are still largely 

 grown they occupy a subsidiary position. Barley is scarcely grown. The principal corn crop 

 is oats ; on the better lands it sometimes follows wheat and then the land is sown down to 

 grass for several years. Arable farming altogether is of much less importance than in any 

 other part of the county except Romney Marsh and Sheppey, about three-fourths of the 

 cultivated area being under grass. In some parts of the district, notably near Goudhurst 

 and Brenchley, the soil is well adapted for hop-growing, and the Weald contains about one- 

 third of the whole acreage under this crop in Kent, most farms having a few acres of hop 

 land. 



Apple trees thrive well in most parts of the Weald. The extent of land under orchards 

 is large, but small fruit is little grown. 



Large numbers of cattle and sheep are kept ; the Sussex breed of cattle is found on most 

 farms and some are bred in the division. During the summer the majority of the sheep 

 are grazed in the eastern or lower parts. Many lambs are taken in from Romney Marsh 

 for the winter, and Kent sheep are bred on the larger holdings. As a rule farms in the 

 Weald are smaller than in other parts of the county. The fields too are small and hedgerows 

 numerous. 



Thanet. — The Isle of Thanet, in the extreme north-east of the county, contains an area 

 of about 29,000 acres, and is divided from the mainland by the Stour and its northern branch 

 the Wantsum. The latter, from being a considerable stream, has dwindled to insignificance, 

 and on either side along its course there is now an alluvial soil affording valuable marsh pastures. 

 In the higher part of the island there is an outcrop of the Chalk. Some of the uppermost land 

 is rather thinly soiled, but on the whole it is described by Marshall in his Rural Economy 



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