2GG On the Agricultural Geology of the Weald. 
1866. 
1867. 
1868. 1 1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
Total for Ensland .. .. 
Total for Wales 
36,367 
8,488 
4,763 
2,119 
2,321 
1,881 
623 
40,762 
9,989 
5,335 
2,992 
2,421 
2,193 
581 
41,087 
10,107 
5,564 
2,517 
2,430 
2,208 
542 
38,606 
9,613 
5,736 
2,536 
2,. 522 
2,209 
561 
37,490 
9,445 
5,798 
2,530 
2,606 
2,152 
559 
36,672 
9,412 
5,998 
2,625 
2,672 
2,128 
515 
56,562 
14 
64,273 
7 
64,455 
33 
61,785 1 60,580 
6 14 
60,022 
■ 7 
Total for Ensrland and Wales 
50,576 
64,280 
64,488 
61,791 
60,594 
60,029 
Of the total acreage under hops in England, 63 per cent, or 
nearly two-thirds, are in Kent alone. Whilst the four south- 
eastern counties (Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Hants), have together 
86 per cent, or nearly nine-tenths of the whole. 
In taking a general glance over the district it must be con- 
fessed that the points which strike one as most characteristic of 
the Wealden area proper, as an agricultural district, are not to 
its credit. They are chiefly these : — A superabundance of hedge- 
row timber ; broad strips of underwood, called " shaws," in place 
of hedges ; small fields, and badly-kept roads. Concerning the 
last, there is less reason for complaint than formerly ; but with 
many there is an enormous waste of land from their great width. 
Possibly, if the hedge-rows were cleared of timber and the 
useless " shaws " cut down, there would still remain too much 
wood in the country for it ever to rank as a first-class wheat- 
district. Woodlands, as is well known, cause a damp climate, 
increase the rainfall, and lower the summer temperature — all 
unfavourable conditions for the growth of wheat ; but a very 
great improvement might be made by the changes indicated. 
It has often been said that hop-culture has a most injurious effect 
upon Wealden farming, and there can be no doubt of its truth. 
High manuring is absolutely essential to success, and many 
farmers expend their energies on the cultivation of this most 
precarious crop, content at the same time to reap poor yields of 
oats from land that, with better management, would give very 
fair crops of wheat. 
The following is a recent notice of the country in the Society's 
Journal. * The district referred to is Ninfield, near Hastings, 
by no means the most unfavourable specimen that could be 
• 'Keport on Steam Cultivation,' n.s., vol. iii., p. 142. 
