90 
The Farming of Cheshire. 
It may perhaps not be amiss to remark here, that on many 
farms much of the essence of the manure (farm-yard dung) is 
allowed to escape, owing to the want of proper tanks for receiving 
it. Of late years, premiums have been offered by several agri- 
cultural societies for the construction of such tanks ; and many of 
the more spirited farmers are beginning to turn their attention to 
this branch of husbandry. 
Marl. 
Marling, which was thought indispensable till within the few 
last years, especially upon the light soils, is now rarely practised. 
Till very lately the shouts of the marlers were to be heard on fine 
summer evenings in almost every direction, but now their whoops 
are seldom raised. It may be said that the reason there is so 
little marling now is because the greater part of the land has been 
already subjected to that operation. This remark, to a certain 
extent, may be true ; but from what I have heard and seen, I 
believe the fact to be that farmers do not like to incur the expense 
of the process, as light land, particularly for corn, would no doubt 
now be materially improved by it. Marl, like other substances, 
loses its effect in time, probably not so much from exhaustion of 
its nutritive powers as from its heaviness — sinking as it does, in 
the course of a few years, below the reach of a common plough. 
In dividing a strong sandy loam field, which had been marled 
fifty or sixty years ago, I found, when cutting a ditch for the pur- 
pose of making a fence, a regular stratum or bed of marl entirely 
across the field, at the depth of 13 inches ; and there was no ap- 
pearance of marl in the soil above. How far this marl may again 
be made available, by the use of the subsoil plough, I cannot pre- 
tend to determine ; but I purpose giving the experiment a trial, 
of which I consider it worthy, and from which I anticipate bene- 
ficial results. 
Lime. 
Lime is used to a considerable extent in many parts of the 
county, particularly in the Hundreds of Broxton, Wirral, parts of 
Eddisbury, Nantwich, &c. It is generally applied to fallows for 
the wheat-crop, at the rate of 4 tons per acre, either in its natural 
state or in compost ; sometimes to grass-land, previously to break- 
ing up for oats ; and occasionally to land intended for turnips. 
I have seen a mixture of lime and salt applied to turnip-land, but 
the result was not satisfactory. Last year (1843) 1 saved my 
clover from destruction by the slug or small snail, on land bearing 
a wheat-crop, by a slight dressing of powdered lime, scattered 
through a clover-seed machine late in the evening, when the 
insects were busy at work. Lime would be found exceedingly 
useful, if frequently applied in this manner. 
