5279 
With respect to the observations of Mr. Torre; it is 
certainly true that one good crop is better than two bad ones ; 
yet upon the Yorkshire Wolds, from the very nature of the 
soils, all the crops are comparatively light ones ; yet Mr. 
Torre has offered no reasons why tico light crops should not be 
grown instead of one light crop. That this is done advantage- 
ously on other chalk soils, in the south of England, has been 
shown. The observation that the crops in the north of England 
produce more in one year than the crops in the south in four, 
must be received with limitation, and the superiority of the 
north should be ascribed to the true cause. It is not due to the 
superiority in the mode of management that the Northumber- 
land farmer is able to produce 40 tons of turnips per acre, while 
the Wold and south of England chalk farmer can only raise 
15 to 20 tons, but to the productiveness of the soil. There is 
land at Bentley near Doncaster (some of which was analysed 
and described by me last year at Wakefield) which had not been 
manured in the slightest degree for thirteen years (only once 
limed) and which was then growing 15 loads of wheat per 
acre ! and in a general way, no more than six light loads of 
poor manure, applied to these lands, produce such enormous 
crops that they become laid before harvest. But surely it 
would be very erroneous to compare the soils of Northumber- 
land, geologically different, and many of them cropped on a 
six-course rotation, — or those of Bentley, which produce pro- 
digious crops without scarcely any manure, — to those of the 
Wolds ; or to infer that a similar mode of cultivation can be 
pursued on both, or from thence conclude that the Wold 
farmer should not endeavour to grow a greater quantity 
of produce in a shorter space of time. Considerable stress 
has been laid upon getting the land clean for turnips 
after tares ; but it ought to have been shown by some sort 
of argument, that it could not be done : but that this can 
be done is proved by the practice of the farmers of Hamp- 
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