On the Causes of the High Nutritive Value and Fertility of the Fatting Pastures of Romney Marsh and other Marshes in the S.E. of England

Abstract

The coast of Kent and Sussex is to a great extent bordered by flat areas of alluvial land, elevated but little if at all above high water mark, known as the Marshes. Though certain portions are under the plough this land as a rule lies in permanent grass and affords some of the best grazing known in the south of England. The largest of these areas is Romney Marsh which with the adjoining Walland and Denge marshes forms a single area extending about 20 miles from east to west, and 10 miles or so broad. All the marshes possess very similar characteristics and the description which follows of Romney Marsh may be taken to apply, with certain local differences, to the others. The whole of the land has been reclaimed from the sea comparatively recently.