600 = 554 
Practical Agriculture. 
troduced. Thus, the rotations are, (1) summer fallow, (2) barlej 
(3) clover, (4) wheat ; or (1) fallow with vetches or roots, (i 
barley, (3) beans, (4) wheat. 
In the Bristol district the rotations most common are, on cla 
land, (1) vetches, (2) wheat, (3) beans ; or (1) turnips an 
potatoes, (2) wheat, (3) beans, (4) wheat, (5) clover, (6) whea 
On loams, (1) green crops or peas, (2) barley, (3) clove 
(4) wheat ; and on the light sandy lands, the ordinary fou 
course rotation. 
In the vale of the Thames with its varied soils, one rotatic 
on the clay is, (1) bare fallows, (2) vetches, (3) oats, (4) clove 
(5) wheat, (6) vetches, (7) wheat ; and the gravelly soils produ( 
roots, vetches, clover, barley, and wheat, — a good course beir 
(1) swedes, (2) barley, (3) clover, (4) wheat, (5) rye and vetche 
followed by swedes and turnips, (6) barley, (7) ryegrass, ho] 
clover, or rape, (8) wheat. 
Irrigated meadows are a valuable feature in the vales, tl 
waters issuing from the calcareous rocks of the Cotswolds beir 
especially excellent for the purpose. Indeed, the water-mcado^ 
at South Cerney are said to be the earliest found in England. 
Herefordshire. Herefordshire^ geologically on the old red sandstone, wi 
portions of the Silurian and Mountain Limestone formatior 
embraces three principal divisions of soil ; the light marly loa 
of the Rylands district, gravelly loam in the neighbourhood 
Hereford and in the valley of the Wye, and a more or le 
tenacious marly clay, which occupies a major part of the coun 
— the whole being intersected by rich grass lands on alluviu 
fringing the rivers. The holdings are for the most part 
medium size, 100 to 300-acre farms being most common. 
Upon the light Ryland soil, and also upon the driest of t 
The five-coiuse gravelly loams, the four-course system prevails ; but soi 
liusb.mdry. managers have introduced the five-course with advanta< 
The reasons for the change and the method of culture are th 
described by Mr. Thomas Duckham : — " I was induced to il 
continue the four-course rotation, partly owing to failures w; 
the clover plant and an increasing tendency to disease in t 
turnip and swede crops, and partly because of the infer: 
quality of barley which followed the use of cake and corn w 
the sheep when folded to eat off the turnips ; the land havi 
been thereby rendered too high in condition for that en 
produced a large bulk of straw which was early laid, and tl 
the yield of corn was small and of secondary quality. Un( ' 
these circumstances, I resolved to try the following five-cou • 
rotation, namely, roots, wheat or other corn, barlej-, clov 
wheat. And although I was told at the commencement 
som^ experienced friends, whose judgment I think highly , 
I 
