On the south-west the lands of Stratton and Grimstone are bounded by a stream, the River Frome, flowing towards Dorchester, from which Stratton Mill has the right of taking a defined amount of water. Between the stream and the villages are the commonable meadows; on the north-east of the villages the arable fields, tapering somewhat, stretch up the hill slope to Stratton and Grimstone Downs. The whole arrangement is shown very clearly in the tithe commutation map, dated 1839. The two manor farms were separate and enclosed, and lay side by side along the boundary between the two manors, in each case comprising about one-third of the cultivated land. The remaining arable land in each manor formed, so far as fences were concerned, one open field, divided into three oblong strips, known respectively in Stratton as the East, Middle, and West Field; in Grimstone as Brewer’s Ash Field, Rick Field, and Langford Field. The rotation of crops was: (1), wheat; (2), barley; (3), fallow. The lower part of the fallow field was sown with clover, and was known as the “hatching ground”--a term we find elsewhere in the forms “hitch-land” and “hook-land”--the upper part was a bare fallow. More recently an improved method of cultivation was adopted. The barley crop every third year was maintained, but after it was carried Italian rye grass was sown in the upper part of the barley field (instead of a bare fallow). This was fed off with sheep in the spring, and then put into turnips; the following year barley was sown again. The lower part, however, continued to be sown with clover in the fallow year, this was fed off with sheep, and wheat followed. The arable fields consisted of “lands” or “lawns,”[3] each supposed to be 40 “yards” (_i.e._ poles) long, and one, two or four “yards” broad--hence supposed to be quarter acres, half acres, or acres. Half acres were the more common; but whatever the area in theory it was somewhat less in actual fact. [3] Mr. A. N. Palmer notes the terms “loons,” “lawnds” and “lownts” in N. Wales and Cheshire (“The Town, Fields and Folk of Wrexham,” p. 2). The West Field in Stratton was somewhat smaller than the other two in consequence of the extreme portion--that next the down and farthest from the village--being enclosed. These enclosures in shape and arrangement exactly resemble the lands in the open field; they are about one acre each. They are called “The Doles.” Further there are a series of small square enclosures taken out of the down, called “The New Closes.” All the Doles and New Closes were in grass.