514 Report on the Farm Prize Gompetition in 
except the Humber, wliicli is the northern boundary of the 
county, and the Trent, which marks its western limits, only 
entering for a little at its north-east corner. These are both 
liable to disastrous floodings, owing in part to periodical visits 
from a tidal phenomenon called the " eager " or " bore," which 
causes a rise of waters sometimes to the extent of six or eight 
feet. 
Geology. — The concealed rocks, the upper surfaces of which 
are being continually powdered down into Lincolnshire soils by 
nature's constant friction of many kinds, belong to what is called 
the Middle Period. They are found in a fairly complete series 
from the Trias to the chalk, and succeed one another in ascend- 
ing order from the east to the west of the county, so that the 
different beds of rocks lie in parallel belts from north to south. 
Of these beds some are of clay and some of limestone. The 
softer clay yields first to the continual washings, and longitudinal 
valleys in the direction of the beds are thus formed between the 
more stubborn layers of limestone, which consequently in time 
stand out in more or less bold ridges above them. This com- 
paratively simple arrangement of surface soil is, however, com- 
plicated to a rather unusual extent by huge deposits of " drift," 
a material mostly composed of clay and sand which was brought 
down at a later period from other districts on the back of the 
huge ice sheets which slowly swept over the face of the country 
in the glacial period. 
The total consequence is seen in that immense variety of 
Soils which has been previously referred to, and from what has 
already been said of the lie of the rocks it will be seen that 
by far the greatest variation would be found in crossing the 
county from east to west, or vice versa. The soil of the eastern 
range of hills or wolds is a sandy, flinty, or chalky loam, with 
occasionally a rich loam or chalky marl. Along both the eastern 
and western borders of this range, or parts of them, is a band 
of rich brown loam, or of poor cold clay, with, in some places, a 
better clay soil. Easterly of this again is a fringe of rich marsh 
grasses bordering the sea. The soil of the western range of 
hills, which north of Lincoln is called the Cliff", and south of it 
the Heath, varies from a very light to a good sandy loam. 
Westerly of these hills is more grass land of various quality. 
The fens and carr-lands are mostly of two kinds, (1) the dark 
and peaty soils — relics of submerged forests of a former period ; 
and (2) those low-lying lands, or marshes, nearest the sea, which 
have received a greater or less deposit of alluvial silt from tidal 
sources. A very largo area of land has in this way been re- 
claimed from the Wash within recent j^ears. Amongst both 
