592 = 326 
Practical Agriculture. 
eighth part of the arable is under this crop, sown with the 
barley crop like clover, and left standing for two, three, or 
more years, adapting the period to the rotation of crops 
followed. 
Wiltshire. Wiltshire. — This county is in two great agricultural divi- 
sions : the north-western or oolite district, and the south- 
eastern or chalk district. 
Chalk ilistiict. The latter is distinguished for its large farms ; for its spaciom 
inclosures of arable and its uninclosed chalk downs ; for it; 
flocks of West County Down and Southdown sheep, extensiveh 
used for maintaining the fertility of the thin soils by folding ; fo: 
its courses of cropping which raise abundance of sheep-feed 
with artificial manures ; for its universal growth of sainfoin, am 
for its water-meadows, luxuriant beside every brook and rivulet 
Rotation^. Qjj ^jjg flinty and chalky loams the old rotation of vetches am 
turnips, barley, clover, wheat, has been largely replaced by— 
1st, wheat ; 2nd, barley, half sown with clover ; 3rd, half clove 
mown for hay, half vetches and swedes, with winter turnips an( 
rye sown after the vetches are fed ; 4th, half clover, fed-off, o 
sometimes broken up and sown with green food such as summe 
vetches ; half rye, early turnips, rape, &c. ; and after the rv 
the land is sown with turnips. On the light flinty soils, th 
down or " beak " land, the course is generally wheat, swedes c 
turnips, oats or barley, and the grass seeds for two years, som( 
times broken up after one year for rape and vetches. Sainfoi 
is on almost every farm, varying in extent according to tl 
extent of Down allotted to the holding, and also according to tl 
presence or absence of a water-meadow. It is usual to sow 
piece each year and let it stand five or six years ; about a tent 
or rather more of the arable being under this crop. 
On the chalk marl, a heavy white land, three-field course 
with subdivisions of each, universally prevail. A general rot 
tion is — 1st, wheat ; 2nd, half oats, sown with clover, hr 
swedes, vetches, or beans, &c. ; Srd, half clover, mown for ha 
half turnips, rape, «Scc. Another is — 1st, Avheat, half sown wi 
clover ; 2nd, half clover, mown for hay, half swedes, vetchf 
oats, &c. ; 3rd, half clover, fed or summer tilled, half raj 
turnips, summer vetches, &c. The best farmers adopt — 1 
wheat, one-third sown with clover ; 2nd, one third clover mo^ 
for hay, and one-third beans, oats, peas, and vetches, one-thi 
swedes, with rye or winter barley or vetches, usually sown or 
portion of the swede-field ; 3rd, one-third clover, fed, suinir 
tilled, or sown with a green-crop, one- third early turnips 
rape, one-third rape or summer vetches ; some preferrihg a cle 
fallow after the swedes. 
On the Greensand soils, varying from poor gravelly land 
i 
