LEICESTER IN ITS REGIONAL SETTING if 
Ridge, the Wreake valley to the south of it, the Soar valley in the centre 
of the county, the country to south of the Charnwood, and the district 
around Market Harborough on the headwaters of the Welland are all 
lowland grasslands. ‘They possess certain features in common, and certain 
other features which differentiate them. ‘These features are in part due 
to the physical circumstances, chiefly the soils, and in part to man. ‘The 
soils are chiefly alluviums, heavy clays, or clayey loams. The clays and 
loams are mainly derived to west of the river Soar from the Keuper marl 
and boulder clay ; to east of the river from the lower and middle Lias and 
the chalky boulder clay. ‘The upland grassland to east of the marlstone 
escarpment is capped with boulder clay and the upper Lias clay. Under 
the influence of the differing soils resulting from these different formations 
and of variations in the topography, the human activities of these grass- 
lands and the minor cultural forms tend to vary. 
The main cultural forms of the grassland are the grass fields with their 
herds of cattle and sheep, the farmsteads and the scattered houses of the 
herdsmen, the well-cared-for whitethorn hedges, the broad road spaces 
with their wide grass margins, the scattered villages usually smaller than 
those of the tilled country, and the prevalence of brick as a building 
material. Minor forms are the small red boards warning huntsmen of 
the presence of wire in the fences, and in the milk country the milk-cans 
are to be seen at the roadside either on the ground or on small platforms 
waiting collection by the milk lorries. Where tillage has given place to 
grassland, as in much of the chalky boulder clay country, the ridges and 
furrows of the old drainage system are characteristic. Along the river 
valleys the alluvial lands are subject to periodical flooding. This flooding 
keeps the land well watered and helps to renew its fertility while rendering 
it useless for crops. Raised footpaths on wood or iron posts are common 
in the flood plains of these valleys. 
On the slightly higher grasslands above flood-plain level the numerous 
brooks and rivulets are evidence of a high water table. They ensure the 
land being well watered. There are some 600 of these in the county. 
In the areas of ridge and furrow which give alternate belts of drier and 
wetter land there is always, even in the driest summer, some moist herbage 
in the furrows. ‘This is of considerable importance to the Leicestershire 
grasslands, as the county lies in that part of Great Britain which has the 
most Continental type of climate. 
Of the subdivisions of the grasslands those around Market Harborough 
near the headstreams of the Welland and those along the flood plain of 
the river Soar are probably the richest. In the Market Harborough dis- 
trict the soils are mostly heavy clays or medium loams. In many parts of 
the district neither cake nor fertiliser is used ; the droppings of the live 
stock evenly spread and well trampled are adequate to maintain these 
lands in high condition for finishing full-grown cattle without making 
undue demands on the plant food in the soil. ‘They can feed one bullock 
or twenty sheep to the acre, and it is said that a bullock gains in weight 
about 2 lb. per day on these untreated lands. As is pointed out by 
Mr. Hacking in his chapter on ‘ Agriculture’ in this survey, grassland 
management is here carried to a fine pitch. From this district beef and 
