Farming of Oxfordshire. 
219 
lands of the county are not so prolific as formerly, but the dete- 
rioration is not to be all attributed to niggardly treatment, but to 
other agencies. Most meadows are damaged by constant flooding. 
Some again are worse since the enclosures. The low-lymg 
grass lands used to receive the washings from the arable lands 
above ; but now that the latter is under-drained, and a fence 
and ditch separate the two, the meadows do not grow so much 
grass as formerly. A good many useful meadows are injured 
by being heavily stocked with sheep. Although sheep may be 
considered to enrich the land, yet it is well known that they 
gnaw out all fine grasses, and so give the coarser sorts power to 
extend. Another serious detriment to wet land is being poached 
and puddled by heavy stock during the entire winter. There 
are some good meadows that are constantly mown twice a year ; 
and it is a singular fact that, if a second crop is fed, next year 
the hay will not be so abundant. The hay is made in a neat 
and economical manner. There are large numbers of hay- 
shakers, or tedding-machines, and care is taken not to expose 
the grass too long to the sun. The principal error in hay-making 
is in neglecting to form large and well-shaped cocks. When 
hay is nearly ready to cart, and is left till the following morning, 
it should be put up in such cocks as will resist a good shower. 
But clover, as well as meadow hay, is thrown into small, ill- 
shaped lumps, which a slight dash of rain is sure to wet through. 
All the grass lands contiguous to the principal rivers are 
subject to extensive inundations. The Thames meadows, west 
of Oxford, are most seriously affected by floods. The water 
stagnates for a length of time, and it was computed that 6000 
acres on the Oxfordshire side of the Thames were under water 
from September to February 1853. In the spring these grass 
grounds resembled fallow fields from the sand and filth deposited 
by the floods. There are summer as well as winter floods. If 
the water passes over the grass while standing, it taints it and 
makes it so gritty that it is unfit for hay. If the overflow takes 
place during the hay-harvest vast quantities are washed away or 
entirely spoiled. All the lands that are flooded in the summer 
are unsafe for sheep in the following autumn, being sure to cause 
rot. Much of the low lands not covered by the waters becomes 
thoroughly soaked. The ditches are full and the under-drains 
stopped. The long continuance of floods kills the finer grasses, 
and rushes and other aquatic weeds take their place. There 
are many artificial hindrances to the free passage of the water. 
The locks, pounds, and weirs are in a most defective state of 
repair, and the water-ways of many are much too narrow. The 
weirs being private property are mostly preserved for fishing 
purposes. Thus, for a few baskets of fish the water is constantly 
