110 
FarmiiKj of Yorkshire. 
g^rass-field of naturally good quality, wliicli his landlord liad 
drained the previous year. He had taken some superphosphate 
of lime, made from bones dissolved with sulphuric acid, and spread 
it on the grass in the form of the initial letters of his name. 
When the cattle were turned in to graze, the grass so treated was 
both longer and greener than the rest ; and was soon found out 
and preferred by the stock. The result was so satisfactory, that 
the farmer intended to dress the whole field in a similar manner. 
On arable land draining became an absolute necessity, and 
1848 marked the commencement of a new era in the history of 
farming ; the work was begun in earnest by the landlord and the 
tenant, the country at large reaping the benefit. No district 
offered greater advantages from deep drainage than the Vale of 
Cleveland, where the work has been carried on with much spirit 
during the last ten years. Previously, nearly the whole district 
was farmed under the old ridge-and-furrow system, with water 
grips and open ditches ; no crop was ever expected to grow in 
the furrow, and the consequent deficiency in the yield per acre 
was considerable. Draining the furrows and filling up the 
ditches increase the breadth of available soil, besides, greatly 
improving the quality of the grain. Another result of this im- 
provement is the increased growth of roots, whilst a gradual 
amelioration of these strong lands is being effected which will 
enable the farmer to adopt other improvements practised in 
those districts which have been longer under the influence of 
effective drainage. Six per cent, is charged by many landlords 
on the cost of drainage in this part of Yorkshire. 
The North Riding is better adapted for breeding than for 
the growth of corn, in consequence of the variety of soil and 
subsoil in the same field, the limited extent of the farms, and 
the peculiarities of climate ; and to such purposes it no doubt 
was formerly appropriated. The high price of grain, how- 
ever, between 1790 and 1812 induced the occupier, when not 
restricted from so doing, to take every opportunity for con- 
verting into tillage every kind of land, to his own immediate 
profit, and the ultimate loss of the owner. Efforts are now being- 
made to introduce improved cultivation by throwing together 
small farms and erecting suitable farm buildings. These spirited 
endeavours do not, however, find much favour in those districts ; 
it seems almost hopeless to attempt to change the habits of a 
considerable class, and landlords, meeting with little response at 
home, are constrained to look abroad for suitable tenants. 
• A great part of this county had been laid down probably cen- 
turies ago in what are termed " lands ; " on these Parkes's prin- 
ciple of deep draining was at first carried out regardless of the 
ancient furrows ; nearly all the lands so drained have required 
