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X. — Farming of Wiltshire. By Edward Little, of Lower 
Sheldon Farm, Chippenham. 
Prize Report, 
L\ writhig on the agriculture of Wiltshire it will always be found 
necessary to divide the county into two districts, — viz.. North and 
South, or rather North-west and South-east. The soil* and the 
systems of husbandry, &c., are as different — as is often the case 
in two separate counties — North Wiltshire being principally in 
enclosed pasture-farms, famous both for their dairies and excel- 
lent quality of cheese, and for grazing of cattle; whereas South 
Wilts consists chiefly of unenclosed arable and down land, in 
large farms, and is celebrated for its extensive flocks and the good 
quality of its corn. The former may also be characterized as the 
oolite district, the latter as the chalk district. I propose to com- 
mence with the consideration of the latter, it being the most ex- 
tensive, having the largest farms, and a far greater breadth of 
corn- land. 
South Wilts, or Chalk District. 
South Wilts comprises the whole of that part of the county 
called the Wiltshire Downs, commencing where they enter the 
north-eastern part of the county from Berkshire, between Marston 
and Bishopstone, and terminating at Maiden Bradley, whence 
they pass into Dorsetshire ; containing nearly 500,000 acres. 
The soil of this district, though various, is more uniform than 
that of the other ; the hills are chalk, with its usual accompani- 
ment of flint ; and in general the land on the sides of the hills is 
a chalky loam, while the flatter parts are a flinty loam. In some 
of the valleys there are veins of black earth without any mixture 
of flints. The sides of the hills are in general the weakest and 
thinnest, and the level tops are frequently the deepest and 
strongest land. There are some singular sand veins running: 
111- 
through a large portion of this district, which deserve notice. 
One narrow and fertile vein enters the county at Mere, on the 
borders of Dorsetshire, and takes a north and north-eastern di- 
rection round the outsioe edge of the downs, keeping nearly close 
to their foot, by way of Maiden Bradley, Warminster, Westbury, 
and Lavington, towards Devizes, where it meets and unites with 
* There is no county perhaps that presents to the geologist a more ex- 
tensive range through the succession of strata in this island. From the 
lias at Box, which is the lowest in the series, he may pass over the marl- 
stone of Smith, inferior oolite, fullers' eaith, great oohte, Bradford clay, 
foreit marble, with Stonestield slate, cornbiash, Oxlbrd clay, calcareous 
grit, coral-rag, Kimmeride,e clay, lower green sand, gault, upper green 
sand, chalk marl, lower and upper chalk, without going one step out of the 
county. 
VOL. V. M 
