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Climate, Agriculture

The climate of this county, partaking of that of the interior of England, is not so wet as the western coast, nor so much exposed to cold winds as the eastern maritime counties. The air in general is mild and healthy, somewhat keen on the chalky hills, and moister on the cold, wet clays. The surface of the county is much varied ; but none of the hills rise high or abruptly, with the exception of the chalky ridge, which is a continuation of the Chiltern hills, and which appears high only by comparison with more gentle undulations. Many of the slopes of the hills are skirted with woods and coppice, which add much to the general appearance of the country when viewed from an eminence.

The soil varies greatly. On entering the county from the south the soil is composed of chalk, covered with a very thin layer of earth, which is consequently nearly in a state of nature, and only fit for sheep-walks. On descending the hills there occurs a mixture of chalk and clay, known by the name of 'white land,' which is stiff, but tolerably fertile. Various kinds of loam, chiefly clay, succeed, till you arrive at a sandy belt which stretches obliquely across the county from Leighton Buzzard to Biggleswade and Potton on the borders of Cambridgeshire.

Along this belt runs the river Ivel, which falls into the Ouse at Tempsford. Between the course of the Ivel and the valley of the Ouse near Bedford lies a tract of stiff soil of various texture and quality, but quite different from the light soils found in the belt. Along the course of the Ouse, especially near Bedford, a gravelly soil prevails, covered in some places with a layer of rich, brown earth, well adapted for every kind of agricultural produce.

Proceeding north of Bedford the general character of the soil is stiff, wet, and poor, with very few exceptions. The most fertile spots in the county are in the brown earth before-mentioned in the valley of the Ouse near Bedford, and in the sandy belt, where the soil washed down from the hills has accumulated, in particular basins, on a porous substratum. These soils, composed of rich loam and of great depth, are admirably adapted for market-gardens, for which the county has long been noted. The parish of Sandy in particular, not far from Biggleswade, and some others, produce an abundance of vegetables, not only for the supply of the neighbourhood, but also for distant markets.

At the same time there are spots, both in the chalky hills and in the sandy eminence’s, which are as barren and unproductive as any in England ; especially where a grey, loose sand abounds, on which nothing but ling or heath will grow. These are scarcely of, any use but as rabbit warrens, although some of them have been brought into cultivation. Along the river Ivel, in the parishes of Tingrith, Fletwick, Westoning, Hitton, Maulden, &c, a considerable quantity of ferruginous peat is found.

From this brief sketch it will be seen that there is scarcely any county of which the soil is so diversified, and where experiments on the best mode of cultivating various soils could be made with more advantage. With the well-known patronage of the Dukes of Bedford, especially of the late Duke Francis, and other large proprietors, and the example of their stewards and immediate tenants, one would expect a greater progress in the science and practice of agriculture than will be found in the county in general on careful examination. Many improvements have, no doubt, been introduced since the county has been more generally inclosed, which could not be expected while the system of common fields precluded any deviation from the established rotations of crops ; but much yet remains to be done before the county of Bedford can vie with the eastern maritime counties, from the Thames to the Humber, in the cultivation of the land, or in the management of stock. The poor, cold clays, which form a considerable portion of the soil of this county, as they are cultivated at present, give no great return to the farmer. The chief produce is corn, and it requires much labour and expense to obtain a very moderate crop. This, together with the gradual depreciation in the value of corn when compared with stock, makes the rents very low. Most of the land north of Bedford does not let for above 10 shillings an acre, and some as low as 6 shillings, in spite of considerable expense incurred by proprietors in fencing and making ditches, an essential improvement on this kind of soil. That a better system could be adopted there can be no doubt, but old prejudices interfere with the better management of cold, wet clays ; and while poor light soils, formerly considered as nearly barren, have been greatly improved by the introduction of turnips and the profit on sheep, the poor clays are still managed nearly in the same manner as they were a century ago ; and many practical and intelligent men imagine, that no new method can be adopted with any chance of success. The chief cause of this is, perhaps, the difficulty of converting such soils into good pasture after having been once broken up ; but this difficulty, however real, is not insurmountable.

It must be acknowledged by all those who are interested in the letting of land, that there is a great difficulty at present in finding responsible tenants, with sufficient capital, who are inclined to take a farm consisting chiefly of heavy and cold arable land, however low the rent may be ; and that, when a tenant is tempted by a very reduced rent to take such a farm, he is soon discouraged and repents of his bargain : whereas light lands, however poor, upon which turnips can be made to grow, and sheep can be kept, soon find respectable tenants.

In the light lands the system is well established, and nothing is required but to follow the regular course of crops, and pay some attention to the sheep ; the crops are less precarious, and the weather does not so often interfere with the common operations of husbandry. Hence it is that the chief improvements have been made in the sandy soils ; and it will require some new impulse to agricultural speculations to engage either proprietors or tenants to adopt an improved system on the wet clays. But, even according to the old system of fallowing and cropping, the clay soils in Bedfordshire are not cultivated in the most approved manner, as will be seen by comparing the usual operations with those on similar soils in Essex and Suffolk. The old method in Bedfordshire, which is still continued by many farmers, was to fallow the land every third year, and as by this system there was no means of raising a sufficient quantity of manure to dress the land fallowed, recourse was had to the folding of sheep. This system was well adapted to situations where ample commons gave the means of keeping the sheep at a small expense ; but where such commons have been inclosed, and the sheep must necessarily be maintained on the farm, it is evident that, unless food for the sheep be raised on the field on where they are folded, one part of the farm is robbed to enrich the other ; and the damage done to the sheep by folding them on cold, wet clays in rainy weather is probably not compensated by the good which their manure does to the following crop. The manner, also in which the fallows are treated is not perfect. The old custom was to give only three ploughings, which had distinct names : the first was called the ‘fallow’, the second 'stirring’, and the third ‘laying up’. There seems to have been a prejudice against frequent ploughing of stiff soil, and the drag or harrow were not much used. This is very different from the practice on stiff soils in the county of Essex, where they think they can plough enough.

The usual rotation was, first a fallow, of which as much as could be folded over with sheep was sown with wheat ; the remainder was slightly manured and sown with barley. The second crop was beans or oats ; and then the land was so foul and exhausted as to require another summer fallow. Better rotations have been introduced since the common fields have been divided and inclosed ; but the old and faulty system, under which the ancestors of the present race lived comfortably, and at low rents, is looked back to by many as superior to those which have been introduced since. The great fault lies in the want of balance between the land tilled for corn, and that which is devoted to grass or green crops for cattle. Some farms are managed in a scientific manner, but the example has not been very generally followed.

There are a few meadows along the course of the rivers Ivel and Ouse which are occasionally flooded. Where the subsoil is gravelly and porous, the herbage is good and abundant ; where it is composed of clay, and there is not a very ready channel for the water to run off, the herbage is coarse and full of rushes. These meadows might be much improved by banks and sluices judiciously placed. In no other part of the county is there much good grass-land, a few spots near the larger towns excepted. It has been urged, as a reproach to the soil of the county, that there was no pasture in it that would fatten a bullock. Whether this be correct or not, it is certain that no such rich grass is to be found, as may be seen in some of the richer grazing districts.

There is nothing remarkable in the cattle and sheep in this county, there being no indigenous breeds of either. The cows are of every imaginable breed ; and there are few extensive dairies except some about Ampthill, no particular breed is kept so pure as to deserve a name. Some few individuals have taken pains to introduce choice cattle, but these are exceptions ; and, in general the few oxen that are fatted are bought it of drovers at the different fairs, and are chiefly Scots, Welsh, and short-horns. The sheep are mostly Leicesters and South-downs, which have nearly superseded the old horned breed formerly kept ; for although these were more hardy and suffered less from folding on cold wet land, the improved breeds are much more profitable, especially in inclosed fields.

Formerly there were many rabbit-warrens on the poor, light, grey sands as this was considered the only means of deriving any profit t from so poor a soil. Most of these have been converted into farms, whether with much advantage in general we will not say, but in some cases with a decided improvement ; and rabbits are now considered more as a nuisance to the adjoining lands, than as a source of profit. An attempt was made lately to breed tame rabbits, and to fat them for the London markets, with food raised purposely for them. Many thousands were kept on this plan by Mr. Fisher, in buildings raised on purpose near Ampthill, but the speculation did not answer, and the establishment was broken up. Whether this species of industry might not be profitable to cottagers on a small scale, is a subject worthy of experiment. The chief thing to be attended to in feeding rabbits is cleanliness and air ; and from their prolific nature, and the nature of the skin and flesh of the best sorts, it is highly probable that with good management, a considerable profit might be made from them. The pigs reared and fatted in Bedfordshire are mostly of the Berkshire and Suffolk breeds, but no great pains are taken to keep up their distinguishing qualities, and they are often crossed very injudiciously. No animal varies more in its qualities than the pig, and the different breeds have only point in common, that of being prolific. The qualities of fattening early, and on a small quantity of food, being only to very improved breeds, which are not kept sufficiently distinct in this county.

The farms in Bedfordshire are not In general of great extent. Some few contain from 500 to 600 acres but the average size is under 200. Leases for long terms are not common, which is an obstacle to improvement. Farms held from year to year may be kept in good heart and well-cultivated, on the common established system, provided there be a just confidence in the honour of the landlord, that he will not suddenly or capriciously remove a tenant ; but, no great and permanent improvements can be expected to be made, except by a proprietor or a lessee for a considerable term. A tenant, liable to be ejected at short notice, cannot obtain credit to borrow money to lay out on his farm ; and if he is prudent, will not lay out his own capital, on an uncertainty. Formerly there were many small proprietors and yeomen occupying their own lands to the amount of from twenty to fifty acres, but they are mostly reduced to the state of cottagers and labourers. A very few have had the good fortune to take advantage of the high prices, and to sell their farms to the surrounding larger proprietors ; but many, by increasing their occupations, which required additional capital, have been led to mortgage their land, and have gradually been involved, till they were obliged they to sell their little property to pay the mortgage. In this class of society, between the cottager and the large farmer, has nearly disappeared.

An agricultural society was established at Bedford in 1803, under in the patronage of the Duke of Bedford, which has done some good, and distributed rewards and prizes, both for improvements in agriculture, and to encourage industry ; but the true stimulus to improvement is profit, and of late years this has been entirely wanting. The disheartened farmer has no spirit to try experiments, which require some outlay, without a rational prospect of an adequate return : and the example of rich proprietors is seldom followed, until the real profit is well ascertained, which it is often very difficult to do.

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