SOILS AND AGRICULTURE OF NORFOLK. 
353 
possible for these organisms. The soil is then of fundamental 
importance, and may be defined as the superficial layer of 
the rock disintegrated by the action of the elements, mixed 
with varying proportions of organic matter, and containing a 
large and varied flora and fauna actively engaged in assisting 
chemical changes. It is from the soil that the world’s food 
supply is obtained. The soil is the ultimate expression 
of wealth and the only thing dignified by the term “ real 
property.” 
Much of the soil of Norfolk is of a poor type, and it is only 
cultivated and kept up to a paying level of fertility by the 
unceasing care of the agriculturist. The Norfolk farmer has 
always been noted for his skill and ability, which, with a 
readiness to adopt any improved method of agriculture, has 
made Norfolk farming the best in England, and brought 
under cultivation thousands of acres of land that elsewhere 
could not be farmed at a profit. Although the practice of 
applying farmyard manure to the soil has only been carried 
out on a large scale since the introduction of roots and 
clover, the advantages of such treatment has been fully 
recognised from the earliest days of farming. 
Most of the lighter soils of Norfolk are very deficient in 
lime and also lack cohesion from the low percentage of clay 
in them. When labour was cheap marl or chalk was, wherever 
possible, dug out and applied to land. The chalk prevented 
the soil from becoming sour and completely prevented attacks 
of “finger and toe” or “anbury,” a disease of turnips which 
only appears in soils containing no lime. The clay in the 
marl improved the texture and assisted in making a deeper 
top soil. The increased cost of labour has almost entirely 
stopped the practice, but the pits still to be seen in nearly 
every field in North and East Norfolk afford evidence of the 
once extensive “ marling” operations. Chalk or lime is still 
applied to acid soils to a small extent as so much less labour 
is required to handle their comparatively smaller bulk. 
