Page:VCH Kent 1.djvu/556

 A HISTORY OF KENT Dairying is engaged in near London, otherwise not many cattle are bred or kept in North Kent, and on the whole the number of sheep is smaller in proportion than in other parts of the county. The flocks increase towards the eastern part of the division, and in the same direction the size of the farms also increases in a marked degree. Mid-Kent. — This division lies between the one last described and the Weald. Its eastern boundary is East Kent and its western the county of Surrey. Across it in succession from north to south run the Chalk, Gault, Lower Greensand and Weald Clay formations, the greater part being on the Greensand. The soils on this formation vary in quality, being generally sandy and poor in the west, but of finer quality towards the east of the division, notably near Maidstone. Along the sides of the hills, overlooking the Weald, is found a narrow belt of soil provincially called ' Coomb,' which, though very heavy in texture, is extremely pro- ductive and suitable for filberts and fruit. The Chalk soils in the north are of little depth and only moderate fertility. In the south a good deal of the stiff Weald Clay land is improved by admixture with the Greensand loams. There is no regular rotation of cropping. A century ago wheat and beans occupied the principal place, and on some of the best land in the Maidstone district sometimes alternated with one another for years without a break. Very few beans are now grown, but wheat is still cultivated to a fair extent except in the west. The principal grain crop, however, is oats. There is a comparatively small extent of barley, this crop not yielding first-rate samples for malting. Roots and potatoes are exten- sively grown. A large proportion of the land in the extreme west is under grass with a not very considerable amount of hops and fruit. In the remainder of the division, but par- ticularly in its centre, a great amount of land is devoted to these two kinds of produce, and, except on the Chalk soils, the fruit area is being continually added to. On the slopes of the hills below Maidstone the blossom presents a wonderful sight in the springtime, the trees stretching away east and west as far as the eye can reach. A great amount of manure is required for the hop lands. Formerly almost every farmer tied up bullocks for this purpose, buying Sussex animals from breeders in the Weald. Now it is cheaper to get stable manure by rail and river, consequently but few bullocks are fattened, though Sussex and Shorthorn cattle are somewhat extensively bred. There are ample facilities for the conveyance of produce and of farmers' requirements by rail and river. The Medway is tidal as far as Maidstone and a canal runs thence to Tonbridge. The Weald. — This division lies south of Mid- Kent below the line of railway from Guild- ford to Ashford and is bounded on the east by Romney Marsh. The upper parts are princi- pally on the Weald Clay with soils of stiff yellowish clay except in a few places where they are overlain by loams and gravels. Towards the Sussex border the Hastings beds occur, and here the soil is of a lighter texture with admixture of sand and occasional patches of loam. The clay lands are susceptible of great improvement, but being essentially wheat and bean soils they have keenly felt the depression in prices, and though both these crops are still largely grown they occupy a subsidiary position. Barley is scarcely grown. The principal corn crop is oats ; on the better lands it sometimes follows wheat and then the land is sown down to grass for several years. Arable farming altogether is of much less importance than in any other part of the county except Romney Marsh and Sheppey, about three-fourths of the cultivated area being under grass. In some parts of the district, notably near Goudhurst and Brenchley, the soil is well adapted for hop-growing, and the Weald contains about one- third of the whole acreage under this crop in Kent, most farms having a few acres of hop land. Apple trees thrive well in most parts of the Weald. The extent of land under orchards is large, but small fruit is little grown. Large numbers of cattle and sheep are kept ; the Sussex breed of cattle is found on most farms and some are bred in the division. During the summer the majority of the sheep are grazed in the eastern or lower parts. Many lambs are taken in from Romney Marsh for the winter, and Kent sheep are bred on the larger holdings. As a rule farms in the Weald are smaller than in other parts of the county. The fields too are small and hedgerows numerous. Thanet. — The Isle of Thanet, in the extreme north-east of the county, contains an area of about 29,000 acres, and is divided from the mainland by the Stour and its northern branch the Wantsum. The latter, from being a considerable stream, has dwindled to insignificance, and on either side along its course there is now an alluvial soil affording valuable marsh pastures. In the higher part of the island there is an outcrop of the Chalk. Some of the uppermost land is rather thinly soiled, but on the whole it is described by Marshall in his Rural Economy 462