Wellmann Imre szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1971-1972 (Budapest, 1973)

Minchinton, Walter E.: The agricultural regions of England and Wales

England and Wales but not yet providing sufficient information from which a national picture can be drawn. An attempt to survey the classification of agricultural regions in England and Wales in this way only serves to illustrate how difficult it is. And the differences in farming practice and organisation is only part of the story. Within any area producing a particular crop there may be many other factors influencing conditions on a particular farm or even within a particular farm. The quality and yield of a farmer's crops may vary from field to field depending upon whether it is facing the prevailing wind, whether it gets the sun, how welldrained it is and a host of other factors. For example, the grain in a field facing away from the sun may not be ready for harvesting until some weeks after that in its neighbouring field exposed to the sun. Micro-conditions also influence farming. It is impractical to consider agricultural regions as small as individual fields or even whole farms or parishes and it may well be that any larger grouping hides more than it reveals. But it is nevertheless necessary, and for many purposes useful, to divide the country into these larger regions. Provided the problems are borne in mind, they can usefully serve to provide a detailed picture of the variety of agriculture carried on in England and Wales. This paper has presented a record of problems and of achievement. Exact definition may be hard and accurate mapping almost impossible. Yet, despite these difficulties, undoubtedly regional variations of farming exist in England and Wales, long recognised by country folk but still changing as the result of technical developments, market pressure and political policies.

25 It remains the job of the student of agriculture and of agricultural history to give these farming countries more precise and accurate expression. 23

GILBERT, EDMUND W. English Regional Novels and Geography. In: Aktuelle Probleme geographischer Forschung: Festschrift für Joachim Heinrich Schultze aus Anlaß seines 65. Geburtstages. Berlin 1970. 47—54.