92 



Great LcveL 



ture a long way above the water level ; and this excessive moisture 

 is injurious not merely from its quantity, but pernicious in conse- 

 quence of its noxious, astringent, irony, and corrosive qualities ; 

 the roots of the plants suffer from this turf- water extremely, 

 causing them to turn yellow and sickly. Formerly the practice 

 of paring and burning was depended upon as the only means of 

 obtaining produce from the arable land ; the common method of 

 farming having been to pare and burn for coleseed (or rape), fed 

 oft* with sheep ; after that, three or four crops of oats in succession, 

 and the land was then laid down with grass-seeds for six or seven 

 years. It was then pared and burnt again for coleseed, &c., the 

 produce of the oats rarely exceeding 4 or 5 qrs, per acre. 



During the last twenty years an entirely new system of fen- 

 farming has been introduced and brought into universal operation, 

 that is — the clay is lifted up and mixed with the surface-soil. About 

 the beginning of the present century Arthur Young thus writes : — 

 *' In digging wells at Wimpole, Lord Hardwicke penetrates 140 

 feet of what, in Cambridgeshire, is called gault, that is, a pale 

 blue clay, seemingly free from sand, and consisting of impalpable 

 particles. Some of it being used to level the gardens allotted to 

 cottagers, and also spread on grass land, it was found to have con- 

 siderable fertilizing qualities. As there is a prejudice against 

 deep-2iloughing, lest any of this substance should be touched, it is of 

 some consequence to ascertain the fact. His Lordship's bailiff, 

 Mr. Patterson, from Lothian, is a friend to deep tillage, and has 

 yet found no evil to result from gault. Shells are sometimes 

 found in it, even at the depth of 140 feet.'' The farmers were 

 actually afraid of that substance which time and experience have 

 shown to be an invaluable treasure. After this alterative has 

 been applied to the peat soil, which by itself is of little value for 

 arable culture, it forms the most productive of all soils, yielding 

 the most luxuriant crops of wheat, oats, coleseed, and turnips; 

 but whenever clayed land becomes wet, the greatest injury is 

 sustained, and in that state is often less productive than the moor 

 without clay. The peat soil itself possesses the requisite fertility 

 and productiveness, but cannot fully exert and preserve those 

 powers and display its capabilities until it derives greater con- 

 sistency and solidity from the admixture of a heavier and more 

 tenacious substance, which thus prevents a too rapid evaporation 

 of moisture by the sun, &c. 



The operation of '"claying" is performed in the following 

 manner : — Trenches are made about [0 or 12 yards apart, parallel 

 to each other, across a field, and varying in width according to 

 the depth of the clay and the quantity requisite to be taken out, 

 but generally from 3 to 4 feet. The workman commences at one 

 end by digging a hole as wide as the intended trench, and about 



