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MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS AND NOTICES. 
XI. — Tliin- Sowing of Wheat. 
REPORT. 
" Report of the Deputation of the Maidstone Farmers' Club, who were 
appointed, at the September meeting, for the purpose of visiting Mr. 
Hewitt Davis's Farms in Surrey, and reporting to the Club on his 
general Agricultural System, and particularly that portion of it which 
relates to Thin-Sowing. 
" Mr. Davis having politely consented to receive the deputation, con- 
sisting of four members and the secretary, they proceeded, on Wednes- 
day the 16th of October, to effect the object of their appointment. They 
met Mr. Davis at Spring Park Farm, about two miles from Croydon,' 
who showed them over his farms. 
" Spring Park Farm consists of about 200 acres. The most striking 
feature observable on entering the land was the care that had been 
taken in grubbing hedge-rows, &c., to lay the land open to the influence 
of the sun and air. The soil of this farm consists of black sand and 
beach gravel, with a subsoil of white sand and gravel. The moor-pan 
formerly consisted of exceedingly hard conglomerate masses of gravel, 
and apparently ferruginous sand, some of which were so large as to re- 
quire six horses to draw them off the field. They were very similar to 
what is called pudding-stone ; and the soil is evidently, from its appear- 
ance, a very inferior one, and requires pressure to consolidate it. Pre- 
vious to Mr. Davis's occupation, a field, termed Starve Acre, from its 
unproductive quality, would scarcely grow anything; but under his 
management it has become the best on the farm, and has produced, with 
thin-sowing, no less than 5 quarters of wheat per acre. The m hole of 
this apparently intractable land has been subsoiled, and a very large 
portion drained by Mr. Davis, who, although his lease has only five 
years to run, is now draining a further portion, 4 feet deep ; the labour 
alone costing him 9(/. per rod. So convinced is Mr. Davis of the value 
of draining, that he believes even this expense will be fully repaid to 
him. His practice is to lay the land in ridges, varying from 12 to 24 
feet in width. The seed having been got in, he generally runs Smith's 
(of Deans-ton) subsoil-plough down each furrow, between the ridges, 
even through the drahied land. 
" With reference to the system of thin-sowing, the deputation had an 
opportunity of seeing the stubbles that were still remaining unbroken. 
The strength of the stubble-roots was remarkable, and they were found to 
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