94 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF YORK AND DISTRICT 



land, there is little fall over wide areas for the field drains. These rivers 

 have left extensive deposits of alluvium in the past, and much of this land 

 is under permanent pasture which will fatten cattle, but wet seasons are 

 very troublesome. 



In some areas, e.g. Sessay district, there is rye and potato land of a very 

 hungry type, deficient in lime and organic matter, but, if lime is applied, 

 the quantity must be regulated with care, as excess, besides encouraging 

 common scab in potatoes, may so accelerate the breakdown of organic 

 matter as to cause a deficiency. In fact, there is a danger that over-liming 

 may lead to the ground becoming waste land, carrying perhaps only a few 

 silver birch saplings. 



The sands near Thirsk which overlie clay do not drought badly and 

 are very productive when well managed. In this district some farms 

 have recently had as much as 60 per cent, of their total acreage under root 

 crops, including carrots and sugar-beet. Rotations here, as in other parts 

 of the Vale, are not followed closely, but of late there has been a tendency 

 to introduce three-year leys in order that the following potato crop should 

 require less farmyard manure, since for economic reasons fewer cattle are 

 now purchased for feeding than formerly. On one farm in this area the 

 rotation is potatoes, sugar-beet, barley, three years ley. Large quantities 

 of fertilisers are used on this land and shoddy is much esteemed. Liming 

 is carried out systematically, and more particularly since sugar-beet has 

 come into prominence. 



Cattle are reared to some extent on most farms throughout the district, 

 and large numbers of cattle are bought in for feeding throughout the year. 

 Many are brought from Cumberland and Westmorland, from other cattle- 

 rearing districts of Yorkshire, and from Ireland. The majority are of the 

 Shorthorn type. Dairying is not a main feature. 



Of the pure breeds of sheep the most important is the Wensleydale, 

 which is crossed with the Swaledale or Scotch Blackface to produce the 

 Masham. The Masham is often crossed again with the Wensleydale ram 

 to produce the ' twice-crossed ' sheep much used for folding on roots. 

 Many half-breds (Border Leicester x Cheviot) are also bought in from 

 the North, and both these and the Mashams are often crossed with a 

 Down ram for the production of early lamb, SufFolks and Oxfords being 

 principally used as tups for this purpose. 



Pigs also are to be found on most farms, the majority being Large Whites 

 and their crosses. A local blue and white breed, sometimes known as 

 the Durham breed, still survives, principally on the northern and eastern 

 boundaries of the area. Poultry are kept extensively, Thirsk being one 

 of the principal markets in the North of England for poultry produce. 



The whole area is predominantly agricultural and there are no large 

 towns. Much produce goes northwards to the Teeside industrial area 

 and the bulk of the remainder to the manufacturing towns of the West 

 Riding. The local market towns serve as clearing centres for this purpose 

 and include Northallerton, Bedale, Thirsk, Ripon, Boroughbridge and 

 Easingwold. 



