Page:The Victoria History of the County of Lincoln Volume 2.pdf/436

Rh land is mostly warp, silt, and clay, the sub-soil being sand, peat, and clay, and the principal crops are potatoes, wheat, oats, beans, barley, celery, and roots, but chiefly potatoes. In the Grimsby district below the Wolds and along the Humber side, the land is nearly all clay, the sub-soil being clay, while there is good loam on the Wolds with a sub-soil of chalk. Wheat (little more than is required for straw), barley, oats, small seeds, and turnips are cultivated on the Wolds, and beans on the strong land. There is a considerable stretch of rich pasture along the Humber and the North Sea. Round Brigg there is every variety of soil—carr, clay, sand, and warp, but chiefly light loam, the sub-soil generally being clay, though there is a lot of ironstone round Frodingham, and gravel, limestone, and chalk in other places. Here, again, there is pasture near the Humber; the usual four-course system of wheat or oats, turnips and barley, to be followed by a crop of small 'seeds,' is adopted on Wold-land; and beans, peas, and potatoes are grown on suitable soil. In the Caistor district the soil is mostly good loam on the Wolds, but there is a sandy stretch from Barnetby to Market Rasen, peat occurs along the course of the Ancholme, and clay in other places. The sub-soil is mostly chalk, with limestone and sandstone in places on the hills, clay and sand being the subsoil in the low country. The usual crops are grown on the Wolds, and beans below; there is some pasture round Market Rasen. Round Louth there is clay towards the North Sea, and a rich loamy soil on the Wolds; sand in places, and some very light sand at North Somercotes, where are 140 acres of rabbit warren. The soil is chalk on the hills, and clay elsewhere. Wheat, oats, turnips, barley, and 'seeds' are cultivated in the usual course on the Wolds, and beans on the strong land. There is pasture on the border of the North Sea. There is both clay and warp on the Trent side near Gainsborough, the sub-soil being clay, while away from the river the character of the soil is very mixed. The usual four-course system is adopted, and both potatoes and celery are grown near the river. On the north of Lincoln, there is some stiff clay, but the soil in that district is generally loamy, with sand and gravel in places, and some limestone at Coleby; the sub-soil, however, is generally clay. The usual Wold crops are grown chiefly, ut potatoes and carrots are cultivated on the western borders of the county. The Horncastle district is very similar to that round Louth, loamy with a chalk sub-soil on the Wolds, while there is sand with a sub-soil of white clay, sand, and gravel in places. The usual four-course system is the one chiefly adopted, but potatoes are grown in places. Spilsby has around it land varying from sand to rich loam, the sub-soil being clay, limestone, and gravel, while the chief crops consist of wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, beans, and mustard. Round Boston the land is chiefly rich loam, and the sub-soil is mostly clay. The country is very flat, and there are few trees and hedges. Potatoes and wheat are the chief crops, but beans, peas, barley, turnips, and oats are also grown. The land varies considerably in the neighbourhood of Sleaford, including light loam, clay fen, and black moorland, but the sub-soil is chiefly stone and clay. The usual four-course crops and roots are grown. There is also a great variety of soil round Grantham, but the land is mostly strong loam and clay, the sub-soil being limestone and clay. Cereals, potatoes, and beans are grown in the district, and there is some pasture. Rich loam with a clay sub-soil predominates in the country around Spalding, but there is also