At Heacham the common fields were enclosed by act in 1780, and Young notes:
Before the enclosure they were in no regular shifts and the field badly managed; now in regular five-shift Norfolk management.[[145]]
At Northwald, about 3,000 acres of open-field land were enclosed in 1796 and clover was introduced. The comment made is that "the crops bear quite a new face." The common field of Brancaster before enclosure in 1755 "was in an open, rude bad state; now in five or six regular shifts."[[146]]
Hitherto there had been only one way of restoring fertility to land; converting it to pasture and leaving it under grass for a prolonged period. Now it could be speedily improved and used intensively. Arthur Young describes the modern method of improvement in his account of the changes made in Norfolk husbandry before 1771:
From forty to fifty years ago, all the northern and western and a great part of the eastern tracts of the county were sheep walks, let so low as from 6 d. to 1s. 6 d. and 2 s. an acre. Much of it was in this condition only thirty years ago. The improvements have been made by the following circumstances.
First. By enclosing without the assistance of Parliament.
Second. By a spirited use of marl and clay.
Third. By the introduction of an excellent course of crops.
Fourth. By the introduction of turnips well hand-hoed.
Fifth. By the culture of clover and ray-grass.