412 



Farming of Burrey. 



top. They are sometimes sown as the land is ploughed, by 

 means of a hand-drill which passes up every other furrow, but 

 more generally by some of the larger drills. Drills of very large 

 construction are objected to on account of the uneven character 

 of the land. Barley is generally the chevalier ; the seeds which 

 are sown with the barley are a mixture of clover, trefoil, white 

 clover, and ryegrass, or, as it is called by the farmers of this 

 district, " bents." Clover upon these soils can seldom be de- 

 pended on alone, although it makes by far the best ley ; and the 

 rye-grass, though objectionable as a cereal, can seldom be omitted 

 without very much diminishing the bulk of hay. Wheat is grown 

 of the best quality ; and Guildford market boasts of samples 

 equal to any in England ; the most approved sort is the Chiddam ; 

 Talavera is preferred for late sowing ; another white vv^heat, 

 called Red- straw, is considered to be more productive, but suffers 

 more in a wet harvest, and does not command so good a price. 

 The quantity usually drilled is \\ to 2 bushels per acre ; old 

 seed is sown dry, but new wheat is prepared as a preven- 

 tive of smut by being limed : 1 gal. of lime slacked in boiling 

 water is poured over six bushels of seed. The leys are generally 

 pressed to render them firmer ; the p-resser consists of a pair of 

 heavy iron wheels 27 inches in diameter, placed at the same 

 width as the furrows ; one or two horses draw the presser, one of 

 which follows every pair of ploughs. The field, when pressed, 

 is left in deep seams of 9 inches in width, and when the wheat 

 is sown broadcast, which in a busy time is sometimes done, 

 the corn, from falling into the seams, comes up with great regu- 

 larity, and can scarcely be distinguished from that which is 

 drilled. Guano and nitrate of soda are extensively used, and 

 upon these soils are carefully applied to assist the poor spots. 



Waggons are universally used to harvest the corn ; and where 

 the land is of such an uneven character, it is very doubtful if 

 one-horse carts could be employed to advantage. Horse-rakes 

 are occasionally employed, and offer such an obvious advantage, 

 that they cannot fail to come into general use. 



The Weald of Surrey borders on that of Sussex, and resembles 

 it in its soil and mode of culture. There is little that is attrac- 

 tive in the farming, which is obviously confined in its character. 

 The subsoil is the ragstone, or more frequently a pale clay, and 

 can only be improved by long and constant tillage, so that there 

 is a natural dread of ploughing deeper than the surface soil : 

 this is sometimes no more than 4 inches deep, at other times 

 upwards of 12. 



The farms are smaller than in other parts of the county : few 

 are more than 250 acres, the average being about 200 acres ; 

 the fields also are small, but are constantly being enlarged. 



