Farming of Cambridgeshire. 
55 
the land in dry weather, or for drawing off. I think if turnips are 
grown on heavy land they should always be drawn off, and the 
land sown with wheat, as I believe wheat succeeds better after 
turnip or mangold than either barley or oats on such land. 
This district contains a fair portion of good grass-land. Several 
spirited farmers have lately been rearing suckling calves ; they get 
the best short-horn calves they can, brought up out of North- 
amptonshire, which are fed with milk and boiled linseed, &c., 
having a warm shed to go into, and a run into some rich young grass ; 
as soon as they can eat it they have a little linseed cake allowed, 
are so kept the summer, are well wintered on cake and turnips, 
turned out to grass the following spring, having cake every day, 
and are then fit for the butcher, being made fat about the age of 
20 months to 24 months. 
No one can travel through this district and the heavy clay dis- 
trict on the western side of the county without being struck with 
the superiority of the system here pursued over the other — both 
being heavy clays and requiring draining. In the eastern district 
every field being ploughed in straight lands of one uniform width 
to fit the drill, all treading and poaching are thus avoided. The 
great advantages also of cross-ploughing the fallow, and when 
fresh drains are required, of being able to put these drains 
across the former old ones, are not to be lost sight of. In the 
western district we have nearly all the lands on the high backs, 
scarcely any of them straight lands, but varying in width from 5 
to 10 yards, and when the land requires fresh draining, the 
drains must be put in the same furrows as before and in the same 
direction ; no deep cross-ploughings can be given, but always 
ploughing in the same direction. 1 cannot but think that the 
day is not far distant when we shall find the example now being 
set by Mr. Franks, of Childerly (who manages Colonel Calvert's 
estate), in getting the lands gradually ploughed down and sized 
into straight uniform lands, generally adopted. 
The Third District 
Consists of the parishes lying on the western side of the county, 
abutting on Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Huntingdonshire, 
commencing at Guilden Morden, and running in a northward 
direction by Whaddon, Barrington, Harlton, Barton, Granches- 
ter, and crossing the turnpike-road leading from Cambridge to 
Huntingdon, and proceeding in the same direction until it joins 
the Fen District, gradually becoming better and stronger land as 
it nears the fen. Those parishes abutting upon the first or light 
land district are also good useful land ; so also is that portion 
adjoining Hertfordshire — the Abingtons, Wendy, and Shingay, 
