316 Exjjeriences of a Scotsman on the Essex Clays. 
chain, measuring olF tlie land for the ploughman who comes 
behind. 
The native arable farming we immigrants found on coming 
might be described as an irregular four-course shift : wheat, bare 
fallow, roots, English broad red clover, beans and peas, were 
grown in various orders, to suit particular circumstances, the 
wheat and fallow occurring as often as possible. The bare 
fallow was the onlj'- thing to which we had particular objection, 
as on the face of it we could not see how cheap Avheat was to 
jDay the expenses of a dear fallow, and its own expenses as 
well. Of course, fallowing is not entirely unknown in the 
North on clay soils, but it is the next thing to being unknown. 
The Agricultural Returns some time ago showed that, while 
in Scotland only 1 acre is fallowed out of every 254 (arable), 
in England there is 1 in 27, or, taking Essex alone, 1 in 15. 
Climate has, of course, a good deal to do with this, fallowing 
being very difficult in a wet district. But a ver}- slight acquain- 
tance with the philosophy of farming showed us that the 
benefits to be derived were purchased too dearly. It is carried 
out for the purpose of killing weeds, and for mixing and 
pulverising the soil, so that more plant-food may be set free. 
Hegarding the killing of the weeds, I shall have something to 
say later on ; but I may here say that it certainly does not kill 
thistles ; it simply breeds thistles," and they increase in direct 
proportion to the amount of land fallowed. Any one can see 
this proved by noticing how soon a heap of bare earth in a grass 
field gets smothered over with them, as the down blowing in 
autumn is fixed by the loose soil, and every seed grows, while 
not one in a thousand takes root on the grass. Regarding the 
second point, every one knows that removing a crop, without 
replacing by manure the ingredients removed from the soil, 
must eventually impoverish that soil. In fact, the soils of many 
farms known to me have been so reduced that only a very poor 
crop can be reaped, and the new men have had to launch ^out 
money very largely in order to bring the soil up to a fair 
standard. 
It is a proof of the great natural fertility of the Essex clays 
that they have stood this scourging system so long without 
absolutely giving out. It is wonderful the effect that dung from 
cake- and meal-fed cows has on such a soil. On our farm 
at Ongar, we were informed on taking it that it did not 
require manure, and had seldom had any supplied. We find 
that a respectable crop is not to be had without a dressing of 
some sort, and it is only getting into form now on going through 
the second rotation, and there are dozens of farms of the same 
