Farming of Kent. 297 
find farms descendinof from father to son, and in some cases 
through several generations : permanent and expensive improve- 
ments made, at the occupier's cost, affording a pleasing ilhistration 
of the existence of mutual respect and confidence between landlord 
and tenant. I am not aware that there exists in the county any 
strong general desire for leases. Yet it must be acknowledged 
that an improving tenant ought to have secured to him the benefits 
of his improvements. The best guarantee, perhaps, of such 
security is a moral bond, formed by the cultivation of mutual 
good-will between a just landlord and an enterprising tenant. It 
is not meant here to insinuate that a legal document is not needed 
in certain cases, particularly where farms are held under small 
owners or land speculators. In such cases a tenant who under- 
takes expensive improvements ought to be protected by a long 
lease. But I fear there is a tendency in the present day to look 
for too much from mere legal arrangements, apart from those 
higher considerations of a moral nature so essential to social wel- 
fare and progression. 
On the eastern side of the Weald, bounded by the English 
Channel, occurs the rich and extensive grazing district of Romney 
Marsh. This is a level tract of land, originally reclaimed from 
the sea, and still protected from the inroads of the waves by an 
artificial embankment, upwards of 3 miles in length, between New 
Romney and Hythe. 'I'he annual expense of keeping in repair 
this "wall" is very great, and is defrayed by rates termed " Scots," 
levied upon all land in the marsh. These charges, however, have 
of late years been considerably diminished, while the drainage 
has been greatly improved, and the " wall," by employing stones 
instead of faggots, has a much stronger and more durable cha- 
racter. Walland and Denge Marsh, belonging to the same level, 
are not subject to the charge of keeping up Dymchurch ^Vall, 
each paying its own expense for its respective drainage. The 
whole of this marsh situated in Kent is nearly 12 miles long and 
about 8 in its greatest width, containing 44,000 acres. 
The soil is far from being uniform, either as regards its mecha- 
nical composition or its powers of fertility. A large portion of the 
border adjoining the uplands is stiff and heavy, and frequently 
wet ; while the parts adjacent to the coast are commonly light 
and sandy — often poor, and the pasture liable to burn during the 
drought of summer. There are many hundred acres on the coast 
consisting principally of beach and sand that are almost worth- 
less. A pretty considerable portion of land in certain parts of 
the marsh has been for many years in arable culture ; and there 
is reason to expect, when the commutation for tithes shall be 
finally settled, and should corn continue to maintain a tolerable 
price, that a large breadth of land at present in the state of poor 
