Farming of Kent. 
279 
are of the very finest qualily. His best sorts were planted in 
trenched ground, and trained to the very extensive walls of the 
farm buildings ; and in many instances from 20 to 50 sorts were 
even worked on the same tree ! Tiie choice sorts are the Maria 
Louisa, Williams, Bon Chretien, Charmontelle, &c.* 
Beside the three crops already mentioned growing on the same 
ground, several others are sometimes seen ; as gooseberries, 
raspberries, white and black currants, &c.; every inch of soil 
being turned to some profitable account. The fences of this dis- 
trict are commonly quickset and very ornamental ; they are neatly 
trained, and around hops and fruit are allowed to attain a great 
height to afford shelter from high winds. The height of quick- 
hedges varies from 5 to 16 feet, or upwards, being kept within a 
width of 2 or 3 feet. This part of the county stands unrivalled 
for hedge management. In short, the beauty and immense pro- 
ductiveness of this district must be seen before it can be fully un- 
derstood. 
The slope of the rag-stone hill, looking over the Weald, is the 
most favoured spot of this most-favoured locality. It abounds in 
hop gardens and fruit plantations of the most fertile character, 
and is peculiarly adapted to the filbert. There is a very narrow 
belt of land running along the escarpment of the rag-stone, pro- 
vincially called Coomb (the debris of the Green-sand, connecting it 
with the Weald clay below), which, although of a very heavy and 
adhesive texture, is astonishingly productive in hops, fruit, and 
grain. This land is sometimes so wet and stiff as to set the opera- 
tion of ploughing at defiance; draining it, however, will mate- 
rially alter its character, and this method of improvement is being 
extensively practised. The natural fertility of this soil is owing 
to its happy mineral composition and the large amount of calca- 
reous matter it contains. It is worthj' of remark in reference to 
fruit, that mowing the grass in cherry orchards is a most injuri- 
ous practice, causing the fruit to fall before it attains maurity, by 
suddenly exposing the surface of the ground to the action of a 
powerful sun. The most common sorts of cherries are Adam's 
Crown Hart, May Dukes, Black Hart, English, Flemish Bige- 
roon, &c. 
In the hop districts of Mid-Kent no set system of rotation can 
be said to obtain ; comparatively speaking, but little corn is grown, 
the main staples being fruit and hops. All the operations of the 
farmer have, more or less, a reference to these principal crops. 
Farms are generally small, from 20 to 100 acres. Rents will 
vary from 30s. to 41., according to the quality of the land and the 
amount of hops and fruit. The usual course of cropping among 
• Mr. Thomas Kemp, Loose. 
