318 
Farming of Buckinghamshire. 
exists now, perhaps in an aggravated degree. There are a few of 
the grass-lands managed very fairly : about Marsh Gibbon and 
the Claydons are some dairy grounds which appear to be well 
farmed, and on them the tenants seem to thrive. But these do 
not constitute the majority of instances ; and the few remarks 
which follow apply to the barren and neglected grass-lands which 
so extensively prevail in Bucks. 
Now the cause of this barrenness is, that the ground is a 
tenacious, compact, and adhesive mass of clay. It combines 
with and obstinately retains moisture, thus effectually excluding 
the action of the atmosphere. The ground is a puddle in winter, 
and cracked and dried as hard as a brick in summer. The soil 
and subsoil should be in such a state of friability that roots could 
easily penetrate them, and they should retain moisture by capil- 
lary attraction in dry seasons, and in wet give off the surplus by 
filtration. The most important elements of vegetation — air, 
water, heat, and light — would then have access to the soil, and 
manure would supply decomposing organic matter for them to 
work on. But now, when the sun's rays attempt to warm the 
surface, the ground being damp and having little animal or vege- 
table matter in it, cannot retain the heat. Clay soils, to be 
fertile, should contain 10 or 12 per cent, of organic matter; but 
some soil taken from a poor-clay meadow near Bletchley Station, 
on being analysed, gave but little more than 3 per cent. By 
under-draining, clays soon become friable enough for the grass- 
roots to strike deeply and freely into the subsoil ; this would 
assist the passage of the superfluous water, while the natural 
tenacity of the soil would be more likely than sands or gravels to 
retain sufficient moisture. In order to bring about these good 
results, first let proper ditches be made, sufficiently wide and 
deep to carry off all the surplus water. Tliese ditches should be 
well trimmed and cleansed every year. Next let under- drains, 3 
feet deep, be placed up every other furrow, and, in addition to 
this, in low spots where the water is apt to stand, surface-drains or 
water-furrows should be cut. The parallel under-drains had better 
empty into a main drain about 20 feet from the ditch, and have 
but one mouth for a moderate-sized field. There would then be 
but few outlets to clear, and, if the mouth was properly made, 
would prevent injury from the treading of cattle and stop the 
entrance of vermin. The land should be grazed ns much as pos- 
sible, but never stocked during the winter months. Cattle then 
derive no benefit from wandering cold and wet over the land, and 
they so puddle the soil that the drains cannot properly work. 
Organic matter should be supplied in the shape of manure, while 
the drainage of the yards, and composts formed of roadscrapings, 
sand, and decayed vegetable rubbish, would be very beneficial. A 
