308 
On the Farming of the 
herbage upon which contrasted so favourably. The excessive 
drought had so contracted the clay, that the sun and heat were ad- 
mitted freely into it in all directions and to a great depth, literally 
destroying vegetation by this process of baking ; but on the marl, 
which from its naturally dry and friable character admitted of little 
or no contraction, the sun's rays and heat did not penetrate much 
beyond the surface, which every night was in a condition to imbibe 
its proportion of dew; whilst on the hard-dried portion of the field 
it fell as ineffectually as "water on a duck's back." Hence that 
increase of production which Mr. Charnock mentions as the re- 
sult of his subsoiling, even on the dry land. It is always ready to 
imbibe and reap the fullest benefit from whatever moisture falls 
upon it ; and at the same time never liable to that excessive injury 
from drought of which we have just spoken. 
After effective drainage has put the land into a condition to be 
cultivated systematically and economically, the next consideration 
should be the adoption of such a rotation as shall ensure an 
ample supply of green crops for a much greater number of stock 
per acre than is now kept ; this will soon conduce to a higher 
state of cultivation of the land, and at the same time benefit the 
community at large. I hold, too, that — with perhaps an occa- 
sional exception — bare summer-fallows should be wholly abolished 
in good farming. The annual waste of manures of various kinds, 
for want of proper conservation and appliances, is much to be 
lamented ; and more especially so in those rural parts of the 
Ridin": which have not the advantage of beins: within reach of a 
large town. I would recommend to every farmer and proprietor 
an attentive perusal of a paper entitled " The Economy of Waste 
Manures,'" published in the Transactions of the Yorhshire Agri- 
cultural Society of 1843, written by Mr. John Hannam, who is 
himself an extensive practical farmer, and has given abundant 
proof that what he writes may be practically relied upon. This 
paper embraces so completely and intelligibly the entire subject 
of manures in their application and conservation, that if by this 
appeal I should conduce to its being more generally read and 
attended to, I shall be assured that one object at least has been 
attained with more promise of good results than by anything 
further I could say here. 
There is, however, one portion of the general subject of 
manures which, under the peculiarly favourable circumstances 
which many localities in this Riding offer for its effective and 
cheap adoption, must not be suffered to pass without a brief con- 
sideration : I allude to the mechanical afiplication of the sewage 
and refuse of our large toions to the imryoses of agriculture and 
horticulture. So much has been of late said and written upon this 
subject, that but for the facilities of application which the M^cst 
