Agriculture of Nottinghamshire. 
25 
limited and imperfect course of cropping has been abandoned for 
one more extended — one which, at the same time that it gives 
greater change to the soil, secures also to the occupier a more 
reasonable prospect of farming with advantage to himself. 
The system of cropping in the clays, now more generally 
adopted than any other, is the following : — 
1st year, fallow. 
2nd year, barley or wheat. 
3rd year, red clover or grass-seeds. 
4th year, wheat. 
5th year, beans. 
6th year, wheat, or occasionally oats. 
So many, however, are the modes of different individuals in this 
district, arising from the various sizes of their farms, the different 
character of the soils upon them, not less than through the variety 
of condition in which they are at the present day, from some 
having been drained and others still wanting that necessary pre- 
liminary to good farming on the generality of strong soils, with 
many other differences, that it is impossible to point out any one 
particular system of which it may be said, at least in the northern 
part of the county, " this is the general practice." To omit altoge- 
ther the modus operandi of the farming in this district would be to 
leave imperfect an attempt to communicate all necessary informa- 
tion ; it is however proposed to treat of mere operations more 
briefly than has been done in the foregoing part of this Essay. 
Besides, as many of the details there alluded to are the same in 
practice throughout the county, irrespective of the character of 
the soil, it will be less incumbent on us to repeat them. 
The ploughing of some of the heavy orders on the strong soils 
is still performed by single ploughs; by which it is to be under- 
stood that the horses walk in a line down the furrow, the team 
mostly consisting of three or four horses, which require a driver in 
addition to the ploughman. It is more than doubtful whether in 
all cases these soils, in their present defective state of drainage, 
could be sufficiently deep ploughed by two horses abreast. One 
thing, however, is clear, that where four horses are necessary they 
would act far more advantageously, as regards draught, by har- 
nessing them in pairs abreast. We are aware that it will be 
answered, that, by so doing, the land would suffer more from the 
treading of the horses ; but we still think that, in many cases, a 
great advantage would be gained from the horses being nearer to 
their work. The lighter orders are now more frequently ploughed 
by two horses abreast, attached to a common swing-plough, for the 
wheel-plough is but little used in this county, except perhaps on 
the borders of Leicestershire. 
First year, Fallows. — As this operation extends over at least 
