438 
Farming of Dorsetsldrc. 
with some as healthy airing grounds for the flock, but a had 
down has an universal sentence of condemnation pronounced 
against it. Breaking to tillage is generally commenced by thin 
breast-ploughing tlie turf and burning it in March or April. 
Rape on a light raftering is fed off for wheat, clovered, and the 
third year the land, after being chalked, comes to turnips in 
order for barley and tlie general arable course. Much benefit is 
obtained by chalking those sheep sleights retained as permanent 
pastures, the dressing for which is generally near. The quality 
of the chalk here, as elsewhere, is various ; the best is soft or 
even saponaceous, and readily sliivers with frost on a thaw. 
Other chalks are harder to shiver, and when dry sound, on being 
stirred, like shingle. This' sort is of little or no benefit as a 
dressing, and is commonly that chalk which is the substratum 
of the south side of a declivity, for in many cases the chalk pro- 
curable on the north side of a ridge or hill exhibits a totally 
opposite quality to that found on the south. For building pur- 
poses the lower chalk, a dirty yellow stone, is the best. In the 
railway works on the Wilts and Somerset line, some very careful 
experiments were made to test the strength of lime made from — 
1. the lias of Lyme Regis; 2. lime from the oolite at Up way ; 
and 3. lime from the chalk at Bincombe. Each of these were 
subjected to three tests, and were worked into mortar in three 
several Avays ; the proportions being, 1st, lime and sand equal ; 
2ndly, 2 parts sand to 1 lime ; 3rdly, 3 of sand to 1 lime. The 
tests were, 1st, by setting bricks, forming a beam, and applying 
weights in the centre ; 2ndly, by clamping tv. o bricks together 
against a wall, and weighting the outer brick ; and 3rdly, by 
moulding the mortar into a small beam., clamping one end, and 
applying a weight to the other. It would be tedious to go 
through the minutiae of these trials — their general results were- 
in favour of the mortar from the chalk at Bincombe. 
Improvements since Stevenson s Report. — Although Mr. Steven- 
son admits that " the rotatitm of crops followed is generally 
founded on proper principles," still three corn crops and a 
fallow formed the course of many who, nevertheless, "acknow- 
ledged its impropriety." The Dorsetshire ploughman then, as in 
Mr. Claridge's day, seemed still to be " remarkable for crooked 
furrows." Drilling of wheat " was not much practised in the 
county,"' and hoeing, even by hand, was as little followed. The 
greatest part of the manure was laid on land intended for wheat. 
Turnips were of " comparatively late introduction into the 
county drilling of turnips was " not practised except in a very 
small way," and the after cultivation of the root was altogether 
neglected in some districts, for what was doubtless considered 
a sufficient reason — that they were " liable to be stolen !" 
