Farming of Oxfordshire. 
193 
cluilk itself contains 97 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and will 
crumble into fragments on exposure to the atmosphere. 
The soil naturally produces short jjrass of <jood quality for 
sheep, and thousjh poor and lij^ht, is grateful, and when well farmed 
under arable cultivation, will grow good crops of wheat, barley, 
sainfoin, and turnips. Corn is not easily lodged on the chalk soil, 
and if there is a full crop of straw there is generally a good yield 
of corn of excellent quality. The extent of the upper clialk, 
which forms the Chiltern district, has been computed at 65,000 
acres. This formation is of considerable thickness. At VVat- 
lington Park it has been pierced to the depth of 390 feet ; and at 
Swyncombe the well is 216 feet deep. There are no springs in the 
chalk hills, as the numerous open partings give the formation a 
dry and pervious character. There is consequently a scarcity of 
water, and tanks and ponds are constructed to secure a supply. 
Some springs at the foot of the hills burst out in wet seasons, 
and flow witii gi'eat rapidity for months, and are not seen again 
for years. The spring at Assenden, after having been dry since 
1842, sent forth a very considerable stream during the chief part 
of last year. The seasons ai'e much earlier in the chalk range 
in Norfolk than in Oxfordshire. Not only in this district much 
more elevated, but wherever the plastic clays exist to any depth, 
the soil is cold, backward, and difficult to cultivate. It will, 
when highly manured, produce good red wheat, but the chief 
grain sown is the Tartar oat. This is naturally slow of growth, 
and requires a long time for ripening ; and during the past year 
failed to arrive at maturity at all. The harvest was tlie most 
lingering within the memory of man, and on some farms ex- 
tended over a period of thirteen weeks. There was a very large 
extent of corn still in the field at Michaelmas (O. S.), most of 
which was seriously damaged by the continuous rains. 
On this high tract, in late or wet harvests, it is questionable 
whether placing the sheaves in shocks is the best way of j)re- 
serving tlie corn. It would be well for the occupiers of land in 
this locality to consider if the introduction of mows — little stacks, 
shaped like a decanter — containing about 100 sheaves, wliich 
are common in damp climates, might not with benefit be occa- 
sionally used in their harvest fields. An illustration of one 
appears in the Society's Journal, vol. x. p. 492. 
At Maple Durham and Whitchurch, the chalk hills terminate 
abruptly on the banks of the Thames, leaving only a narrow strip 
of meadows between them and the river ; but from Caversham to 
Henley the hills are not so derided, and recede to a considerable 
distance from the stream, leaving at their base a tract of gravellj 
loam, some of which is of excellent quality, while there are 
numerous Aveak spots which speedily burn. This soil requires 
VOL. XV. o 
