. —õyõõ 9 3 1 Kixplanations Y he Ground Plan FARM YARD. e |, wp x\vilvalithial i ae wy Pe be, chruluunlithiliolulde, See: \ futiahiay his Uf a% ¥i 2 i ae Rae a 4 g i at ty, by ANU MUNI A Hu if A Dwelling House, Orchard& Hop-Cardn. EF. Out lard. M- Cart Stables Sheds, Hav Stack, the op fold High FENCE« 3. Poullry Lloitses, G. Dore Ole, N C. Ow louse, Ox Houves, Store Botlug Mouse, Lig Styos RO. WLedard Dawn and 1%. O.Akeadon’s» D. Shreching Mill Barn, Granary, Cui Moises,| L. Lirtidions of thekold-iaird, P. Saddle Shree Stables, Lool-House, Sheds,&e Corn Macks, Mu} KN.fond,. O. Lahourets Colla, Ci P: 9135 ’’ see awe 21d. 1} A fy‘, 4’) y ay Le SLAV black, fi lad, iF CPB IAS O heave h ATT ao 731 Be flere. 2 4 i ‘saan ian ante een eins, ia / 747, P*, THE NEW FARMER’s CALENDAR: OR; MONTHLY REMEMBRANCER, FOR ALL KINDS OF COUNTRY BUSINESS: COMPREHENDING ALL THE MATERIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NEW HUSBANDRY, WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF LIVE STOCK. INSCRIBED TO THE FARMERS OF GREAT BRITAIN. ‘BY A FARMER AND BREEDER.~~ -* meth etsy, cy GOVE TREE le ay RCLACH ES mews eas sy\\ ait a Third Coitior, ae Deke ii ee +% sae| Ps Rs = a ee:- ee es 5= pean at a es aa it Be a ae SSS ae==== V1 PREFACE, raliy adhered, im mine, as faras my plan would admit, since such ts still the best prevailing system of the country. LI have afterwards stated yay sentiments at large on the Drill-culture,‘with a few words on folding sheep,« a practice which appears to me rather to appertain to the old system, and to be by no means attended with those benefits usually taken for granted, rather than proved. But a circumstance here presents 1 ae which it concerns me, by no means, to | 82) pass over in silence: in revising the arguments I have made Ai ty use of, although long and maturely digested in my mind, they have been delir vered with too much warmth; aweakness fort which I entreat, and trust I shall experience, the pardon of the candid reader: however incautiously I may have ex- pressed myself, I mean not the smallest disrespect to any man. I hold no Fea which Tam unwilling to subnut to the nost rigid test; and trust I preserve my mind, always open to conviwtion. Tt-ts hoped, that no material branch of the science or pr actice OF AST. wculture é, nor the account of any New mecha~ nical wn provement of consequence, ts omitted. Such infor- - mation as I needed, 1 have dre awn from those which I Beat the purest and most authentic sourees. But the + branch, on which the greatest stress will appear to have been laid, is the raising and economical expenditure of provision for Live Stock; a business which, at var ious periods, has had i CO misier. able share of mi attention. sto style, the chief ce has been to render it as plain and as perspicuous as possul ible; and after begging the rea- der’s attention to a too numerous list of errata, the book ts respectfully commited to his patronage; the Author flatter- ing honself with the hope, that it may become, a faithful Guide to thase who need instruction, a convenient Remem- prancer to the already experienced, and an offering not un- eptable to the Public at large. APRIL 28, 1800. 4DVERTISEMENT THE THIRD EDITION \, THE distinguished reception with which | 4 Iwo Editions. of this Work have been honoured by the Public, and by the most | respected Friends of the Author, demands l! the warmest sentiments of his gratitude, and the utmost evertions of his diligence. Two large Editions have been disposed of in the course of a few months, and the demand Sor the work still increasing, a third im- pression is now respectfully tendered to the lovers of agriculture. AUG, 10, 1801. CONTENTS. HE Calendar, ora summary of the Business of each Month, from January to December...........66: is; 1118 On Hiting and Stocking Farms....... Fe ee Ee MOS tere,<< 12 .. Soils and Nantirés™.:....2... wee oe . Warping.. Denne. Sechivwcatoctesice MORO See acc ogee. i iipacteccne doteenent eric a Homestead, Farm, or Fold-Y ae T he Implements of Husbandry Feneespr8ic. ii. n cn% ES EE rt otis ine re see th cetes 240 Woods, Coppices, and Plantations............ ae eo 263 Tillage, and the various Crops Phe rw COL 5. icc. egies ce on'v kee R- las WGN ae Me wees ss 280 Phe GGOrse CE CTOPS: oF sic cceik cacgauaceccovesendeed ages geseeet 354 Blights, Mildew,&c. Change of Seed . The Green and Root Crops for the Ceres of f Cattle.« 382 .. Miscellaneous Articles Quantities of several Species of Winter-Food required by Cattle cc. Bet rey A Oe ce erece Meadow and Pasture The Nature and Management of Domestic Animals’... 453 ThGsd ofse!.tasseas ves ages ddwadd=«-vegebodyons os Sc Pe ee 479 West Cattle= ix istcre. evict ees tide Secs saan POO ee ne 519 Swine 536 FRY ya POUMTY and Rabbits..5...c..c.ca geese teers ai Ook Direction to the Binder. Pian of the Farm- Yard to face the Title, PT THE NEW FARMER’s CALENDAR. JANUARY. Lhe general Course of Business upon a Farm, dur- ing the present Month, ts as follows: Thrashing —Superintendance of Cattle—Cartageof Manure or Earth—Road Work—Making or repairing Fences—Draining—Repairs of any kind befit ting the Season—Sawing and preparing Timber Sor Use—Destruction of Vermin—or, in short, any useful Application of the Servants and Team, zn order to profit by the Opportunity of all Til- lage being at a stand. THRASHING. ie every county, this labour is performed after a twofold method, according either to stand- ing custom, or the particular ine ination of the farmer; that is to say, the labourer works by the day, or by measure. Whichever method may be adopted, the eye of the master, or some indivi- dual of his own family, or of a faithful bailiff, is required, to be a constant watch on the conduct of the thrashers; to ascertain, that if they work by measure, they make clean work; or if by the day; that they not only clear the straw perfectly, but that they do not lose their time. It scarcely B need ern Maen SSS wy) FARMER’S CALENDAR.[JAN. need be repeated, of what great consequence this attention is, whether in a private or public view; and that it is too generally neglected, any person may be satisfied by an examination of the straw soldinthe Londonmarkets. A dishonest thrasher, either from motives of interest, or indolence, will employ himself chiefly with the largest heads of the corn, which yield most freely, slighting and hurrying over that part which requires more la- bour, and is less productive: such anone may also commit considerable depredations in a length of time, by concealing and carrying away the corn in small quantities; therefore, in order to prove good, as well as bad characters, and to prevent the dangers of temptation, the conduct of all Ia- bourers, without exception, in the barn, the gra- nary, the stable, and in all situations of trust, should be sedulously watched, both early and late. Care should be taken to keep the poultry from the barn, in the casual absence of the thrashers, either by closing the doors, or watch- ing. _CarrLe—Atthis precarious season, such cattle as are trusted to shift abroad, should have at least daily inspection, to prevent, or relieve accidents; and the utmost care should be taken, that such as lie at home, be well and plentifully supplied with fodder, both for food and comfortable dry lodging; for without this last, the cattle will never look thrifty and well, even with good food. Watchfulnotice should be taken of the time when the ewes may be expected to lamb, or the cows to calve, and some weeks previous to this critical , period, Bie JAN.|. FARMER’S CALENDAR, 3 period, they ought to have the best food the farm will afford them, with dry and comfortable shelter. Fences—One of the most useful applications of the leisure afforded by the winter season, is making good the fences upon a farm, and when the importance of this business is considered, the constant losses which must surely accrue from its neglect, together withits disreputable appearance, it is not a little wonderful, that in a country with such high pretensions to cultivation, this neglect should be so often seen. There is another species of negligence no less prevalent in many parts, that of suffering improper stock to run at large with- out a keeper; these will break through the best fences, and are doing constant mischief both to their owner and his neighbours. The example of a spirited farmer, who will suffer no trespasses of this kind, without requiring ample amends, and who has a strict regard both to the state of his own fences, and to the keeping his cattle _ within bounds, is of real utility in a parish. Drain1nc—When thevast and immediate be- nefit of draining landis considered, it seems strange to behold any in a wet and unproductive state, in the occupation of a man of property. Meadow land, in particular, is neglected, and suffered to remain in a state of swamp or bog, over-run with flag, rushes, and all kinds of sour and useless rub- bish, to the immense loss of the infatuated owners, and of the public at large, which properly drained, seeded, and kept clean, would produce abundant crops of the most valuable herbage; and the far BZ greater ee eee 4 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[JAN. greater part of that arable and, which is a mere puddle of water during all the wet season, or| being partially relieved by surface draining, re- mains ina cold, unwholesome, perishing state all winter, to produce acrop of corn at harvest, which barely pays expences, would return in one year the expence of draining, and continue during a long lease in a sound and healthy state. On wet and difficult clays, or boggy grounds, which the tenant has not property or leisure to drain, it would be highly to the advantage of both landlord and tenant, were the former to advance the necessary sums on proper security. At the commencement of a new year, we will suppose the careful farmer has before him a correct statement, lately taken, of his stock, its condition and value, with a general prospect of the present and probable future situation of his concern: from such certain documents, he will be able to pro- ceed on his business in a regular and methodical way; and consequently with a greater assurance of success than if every thing(a too frequent case) were left to custom, mere chance, and the exertion of the: moment. He will have a clear view of his funds, and how far they may be equa} to any eligible improvements; he will combine his own convenience with the actual and probable state of the markets, in order'to an advantageous disposal of his corn and cattle, and will determine from experience and reflection upon the propriety of continuing, or varying his course of crops, or of making any changes in the quantity or quality of his live stock. FEBRUARY Cm FEBRUARY. Ploughing for the earlest Crops, such Lands as are sufficiently dry—tIrrigation, or floating Lands for their Improvement—Manuring Grass Lands —Top dressing VW‘heats—Sowing Beans, Black Oats, Hog Pease, Cabbage Seed, and Tares— Planting—Felling Coppice Wood—Clearing and dressing out Borders—Sale of fat Beasts—Fat or Store Pigs—Clearing old and cutting new Water-furrows—compose the leading Objects of Employment for the Month of February. PLOUGHING. HE lands which were fallowed upin autumn, with a view to the first spring crops, should be stirred as early this month as the state of the soil will admit, both on account of the general advantage of early sowing, and for the sake of ob- taining future leisure by the present dispatch of business; but it may be safely laid down as a maxim, rather to defer the sowing, or even lose the season, than to go upon the land whilst in a state of puddle or mortar for it is only sowing to reap loss and‘disappointment, as those farmers may be convinced, who willbe at the pains to compare such a crop with the expences. ~ Beans are put into the earth in various Ways, according to local custom; with the drill, broad- cast, or dibbled in by hand: sometimes they are cast over the land, and ploughed in; at others, harrowed 6 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[ FEB. harrowed in after a ploughing, whether on ridge or level tilth: but the most prevalent method, in those counties famous for the Bean culture, is either dibbling, or rilling them in channels drawn for that purpose, with a plough, the distance be- tween the rows being regulated by the wheels of the plough. The first mode is most suitable for heavy, wet lands, which must be laid up in ridges. The distance between the rows should be sufficient to admit the plough or horse-hoe, namely, full three feet, that between the plants, two or three inches; and in dibbling, great care must be used, that the setters do not drop more than one or two beans ina hole. Bean-setters, which are generally a mixed company of men, women, and children, need a very close attendance, both to keep them diligent, and also to oblige them to do their work in a fair and proper way. When paid by the bushel, the rate of which is from twenty pence to two shillings, they have sometimes no other care than to expend as many beans as possible, which they will attempt by filling up the holes, and even throwing away quantities of seed into the hedge- rows. I hope such profligacy is not common among our labourers, but I am sorry to say I have witnessed it. In some parts, they have a method of planting in clusters, four or five beans in a hole, the holes eight or nine inches apart, for the con- venience of hoeing; but I should doubt of their podding well, under such management. Quantity of seed must vary according to distance, and is from a bushel and a half to three, and even four bushels. The sorts are, the fine, and very small Horse- ————————— a-= ee FEB.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. q Horse-bean, which usually bears the best price; the larger Horse-bean: the Tick, or as they are called to the westward of London, the Kidwell bean; and these vary insize, the smallest being the best; and the Mazagan, or Purple Bean: of Horse beans and Ticks, itis not very material which are sown, the superior product of the latter, bringing them about upon a level with the former, in point of profit; sometimes the demand for exportation raises Ticks nearly to the price of Horse-beans.. Produce from two and a half, to five quarters per acre. Beans will thrive on any soil sufficiently stiff, and are advantageous to the farmer, as one of those hoeing crops, which pay the expence of fallowing and cleaning his land. When a wheat crop is intended to succeed beans, it is plainly of importance to sow these as early as is practicable, and evenanautumnalsowing would be preferable, both in point of produce and early harvest, could a mild winter be insured; but in case of severe frost, all the beans not well and deeply covered with snow, would perish. Oatrs—Of this grain we have the black, white, red, naked, and the Tartarian Oats. The white are well known as the most valuable.. The black are perhaps equally good in guality for cattle, as, are also the red, cultivated chiefly in the north- western parts of England. The Naked Oat, so called because it threshes clean out of the husk, is, I believe; nearly unknown in the southern parts. Oats will thrive upon almost any soil, and are very productive upon land newly broken up. The White require the dryest and best land, but ! Black 8 FARMER'S CALENDAR,[FEB Black Oats are more hardy, and may be sown as early in February as the land will admit. Seed, from three to six bushels per acre; but I am in- clined to believe, the Oats thrown upon the sur- face by the harrows andlost, form the chief reason for such an increased quantity of seed. They are commonly harrowed.in, upon land ploughed in autumn, and would pay well for a seed plough- ing, which would bring the land toa finer tilth. If is only on fresh soils that Oats are expected to be very productive; in the general course of husbandry, they do not seem to share so much of the farmer’s attention as his other crops, never receiving the benefit of manure.‘There is no doubt, however, but that Oats would pay well for manure, could it be spared, and that by such at- tention, even seven or eight quarters per acre might be obtained, which is nearly double the common product. In cheap times for wheat, such practice might be particularly eligible. Oats have been both dibbled and drilled in some few places, but thesuccess has not been well ascertained; the row culture of this grain, yet deserves further trial, for several obvious reasons: the Tartarian or Reed Oat, which produces such large quantities of long, husky corn, has been lately improved on the farm of a curious cultivator, by picking the seed, and sowing only the shortest and plumpest kernels. It may appear strange practice, but I have heard of Black Oats sown upon light land under furrow, and kept clean with the hoe, as a preparation for a wheat crop. PrasE—These are generally looked upon as a risk ae TE Lg Tee per en aon Ge” FEB.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 9 risk crop, which no doubt arises, in a great mea- sure, from the groundless prejudice, that they neither demand, nor merit the attention of good culture; on the contrary, no article of produce demands it more, and it is the only mean in our power to obviate the natural, uncertainty of this crop. Pease are too well known in their chief divisions of the Grey or Hog Pea, and the White Garden Pea, to need any particular de- scription. They are sown upon almost all soils, according to the convenience of the farmer, and are supposed a proper crop for fresh land. The Hpg Pea admits of early sowing, and will succeed upon strong land, the white sown afterwards, rather affect a healthy, light, dry soil, or that which has been chalked. It is unnecessary to repeat the common method of getting in a Pea crop, but of some consequence to remark, how ill it answers the general purposes of agriculture. Pease natu- rally belongto the hoeing and ameliorating course, and besides, the hoeing method is most likely to secure an abundant crop. A portion of manure ought to be allowed them, the land brought to-as fine a tilth as is practicable, and the seed either dibbled, drilled, or rilled by hand, at such inter- vals as will at least admit the hand, if not horse- hoe: such measures, should the pea crop fail from accident, will at least assure a fine preparation for wheat, or any other crop whichcircumstances may render desirable. Quantity of seed, from one bushel to three; and of product at harvest, from a quarter and half, to five quarters per acre. Upon warm and fertile turnip soils, a crop of : Pease y Set 10 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[FEB. hor . been| Pease may be obtained, and harvested from the shere land, in time for a crop of turnips the same year. vera The Pease(the Charlton, or forty day species) met sowed early in March, will be off in July; but ci 0 they ought, particularly in this case, to be set in neat rows, and sedulously hand-hoed, asa preparation Pa for the turnips; not a moment being lost, but the Ati land slightly ploughed, as fast as the pease are car- a ried, and the turnip seed harrowed in upon the the V fresh earth. Grey Pease, on the above noted soils, Wirt will bear to be sown in autumn, but I should doubt mil its success on clays. Winter pease sometimes pro-‘hal duce great bulk of haulm for fodder, and also pe considerable quantity of grain; but I have not ob- Ai served them to come very early at harvest, nor ie have I known the experiment of a very early au-| ye tumnal sowing, recommended by some persons. Dae October and November are the usual seasons. bs . The first opportunity should be embraced of| a stirring those lands which are intended for Barley,| ve Carrots, Cabbages, or any of the spring crops; pn towards the end of this month, a seed bed may be Lite made for cabbages, and even the seed gotin, should Wher the season be favourable. The bed should be rich,| ough and may be harrowed fine, or prepared by hand,| culty ; according to its extent. Three or four rods of| and ground will produce plants enough for a single ie acre; and about a quarter of a pound of seed, or Sei somewhat more, will suffice. The bed of course| tho must be kept perfectly clean from weeds.|; Whi Tares are divided into the Winter and Spring fallo Tare, and will thrive on most soils, being fre- Bie quently found a spontaneous growth. It having| been| FEB.| FARMER'S CALENDAR. 11 been hitherto an undetermined point, whether there exist any specific difference in the seed, se- veral ingenious cultivators have made experi- ments, which seem to countenance the affirmative side of the question. According to a late experi- ment of the Reverend Mr. Laurent of Bury St. Edmunds, recorded in the General View of the Agriculture of Suffolk, the Spring Tare sown in autumn, was destroyed by the winter frosts, whilst the Winter Tare sustained no damage; and the Winter Tare sown in March, became in the end mildewed, nor did a single pod of it ripen. Al- though they may answer equally and indiscrimi- nately for the spring sowing, with the view of fodder, the necessity of keeping them separate for the autumnal is evident. The smallness and blackness of the seed, are said to be the distinc- tions of the Winter Tare. As a seed crop, Tares are generally supposed precarious, and the produce not expected large, perhaps from one to three quarters per acre; but this arises in great measure from defective culture. When a good crop of seed is the object, Tares ought ever to share the advantages of the Pea culture; they should be drilled upon a well-tilled and manured soil, and may then in truth be esteemed one of our best ameliorating crops. Seed, a bushel uponan acre. In the common me- thod two or three bushels of seed are required, which may be harrowed in upon the autumnal fallow, or what is preferable, upon a fresh plough- ing. Rooks and pigeons are well known to be dreadful 12 FARMER'S CALENDAR.(FEB. bd d dreadful enemies to this crop, a circumstance which forms a strong objection to the broad-cast culture,inwhich the seed ts insufhiciently covered. But the great objects of the Tare culture, are, spring fad. for cattle, summer herbage, hay, sub- stitution for clover, where that ve catable has tired the land,and as manure,to be buried by the plough. In these various lights, the tare is absolutely in- valuable, and since its merits have been known such a number of years, common sense is sadly at fault, to account for its frequent neglect. The winter crop is obyiously the mast important, and perhaps with the view of obtaining spring feed “very early, the first week in August Is not too soon to sow Lares: should they be drilled, rowed in any method,(an uncommon practice when they are intended for seed) the rows ought be hoe-ploughed early in October, and the plants earthed-up ashighas possible, whichalways hasan excellent effect in keeping them warm, and encouraging their thick and early growth. They may be also sowed equally mixed with rye,(the Flanders method) which nourishes, protects, and draws up the Tares; and it is not easy to contrive a crop which will pay so w ell; leaving the land at the same time in so favourable a concition. It matters not how early Spring Taresare sowed, provided no hard frosts ensue, and their seed time lasts to the end of April. This gives a good 0 pportunity for successions of them, to the great convenience of summer feeding.‘They may be advantageously mixed w ith oats or barley, either for green herbage or hay, of both of which they make FEB.| FARMER'S CALENDAR. 13 4 make a very heavy bulk, ma favourable season. When intended to be ploughed in for manure, some broad-cast four bushels upon an acre, that there may be as great a bulk as possible. The farmers, near London,make a considerable profit of their Tares, by selling them green, as soiling for horses; and I have seen in Kent, drilled crops of them of immense weight, Juxuriantly covering the whole surface of the soil, as though they had‘been broad-cast. Some of these crops mowed forhay, I have reason to believe, produced more than three ton per acre; and upon others, kept for seed, the land being in good heart, the product was considerable in proportion. Piantine.— the planting either of fruit-trees, or of quick-growing wood, fit for various pur- poses, will contribute largely to the convenience of a tenant, who has a long lease, and pay him very good interest for his money. The aquatics in general, are proper in this intent; namely, the willow, osier, sallow, alder; and for dry situations the upland, or red willow, which although not so quick a grower as the other, produces a very du- rable wood. Willow wood resists water, and re- mains sound many years after that period at which almost any other would be totally decayed and useless.,“These quick growers, planted in large stakes, form an exceilent repair for decayed fences, and properly managed, with other aids which may be at hand, ina very few seasons pro- duce a full and flourishing hedge-row. In short, it is a disgrace toa man of common activity, to rf live upon a farm naked of wood, when a stock may a— ee mee 14 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[FEB. may be so quickly and profitably raised, and upon those spots too, which must else be useless. FELLING copses—lIn this month, the business of felling and clearing of underwood, is usually, or rather ought to be, finished. CLEARING BORDERS—The borders of arable fields, are too much suffered to remain in a state of neglect; uneven and irregular, over-run with weeds, brambles, underwood, and all kinds of useless rubbish, when they might at little or no expence, and a trifling yearly attention, be ren- dered both very seemly and ornamental, and very productive of good herbage. The latter consider- ation ought not to be slighted upon a farm con- sisting chiefly of arable land; nor need the far- mer, in such case, be afraid of extending his bor- ders. Where wood is scarce, the Clearing of old borders pays well. Cut up all the wood for fag- goting, and grub up the roots for the stack. Shave the brambles close, which prevent walking near the hedge or ditch; and make the fdot-path on that side. Cast your ditch deep and well, throw- ing up the earth upon that which is obtained in levelling the border, all which will be a valuable acquisition to your compost dunghill, and may remain in the field, the dung being carted to it. The borders ought to be sowed with good grasses, and if their spontaneous growth should be rank soytr and sour, culture and the scythe will soon produce al finer and sweeter herbage. a ca Buttocks anp Hocs.—There is frequently a$0i great overflow of fat cattle upon the markets, in and the autumn, and about Christmas; and those stall- ed, FEB.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 15 ed, or home-fed oxen, which can bekept, may find anadvantageous market inthe course of this month. January and February are also good seasons for the sale of pig-stock of all descriptions, fat or lean. WATER-FURROWS—Constant attention must be paid throughout the winter season, to the state ot the water-furrows, in the wheat-grounds, that they be always kept free and open with the spade, the earth being liable to fallin from various accidents. Let all new-ploughed lands be regularly water- furrowed, as soon as the plough has finished, which is necessary as well at this season as in all- tumn, more especially on stiff or retentive soils. MARCH. Shutting up Meadow and Pasture for the Grass Crop —S§ced Tillage for Oats, Furze, Pease, Spring- Wheat, Cabbages, Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, Chicory, Canary, and Radish-seed—Sowing Grasses—Turnip Fallow—Breeding and fatiing Stock—Barley. MEADOW AND PASTURE. 1 the beginning of this month, inspect the meadows and pastures, make all the fences and gates secure, beat and spread the dung left by cattle,also the ant and mole-hills; roll, where the soil will admit, leaving the land ina clean, even, and husband-like state, free of wood, stones, or rubbish, which may obstruct the scythe. The . a rN I SER OO i i ony Gui = Sn RAAT RS ES nll nme APRIL.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 35 succulence.. The juice of it, however, is watery, and far enough from nutritious. Hogs fatten nei- ther so fast with it,(and I have tried many hun- dred quarters for that purpose) nor is the flesh so firm as that faited upon corn. I have expended it in large quantities, ground, with hard working- horses, both draught and saddle, but the difference of price by no means compensated for its inferi- ority to oats and beans, and besides, it did not always agree; we sometimes fancied it had a kind of stupifying effect. I tried it with a stock of se- veral hundred head of poultry, and it was in the same degree inferior, both with the fatting and Jaying stock. I do not hear that it.is very highly prized in the distillery. In fine, Brank is surely valuable upon land that will grow nothing else, and is produced with small expence, but when ready, its best application is to the market. My last crop of Brank was in 1791, upon four acres of clayey loam, of moderate fertility, but lately old meadow. A bushel per acre was sown the first week in June; the green crop most luxuriant, but being late, it was got up wet, and the stack at the same time left without thatch, of course the sample was spoiled, and what was worse, the product did not amount to, two quar- ters per acre, not worth, as feed, fourteen shil- lings per quarter. it has been said, that this grain being black, cannot be discoloured by wet, which is by no means a practical remark, since its discolour consists in the loss of its fine black; beside which, the grain feels cold and damp, to the great injury of the sample: wet, or dry, the only DZ use So tN Ne hes RA TP tee NEM s/ Ifa Ty 36 FARMER'S CALENDAR.| APRIL. use of its haulm is under foot. To those who expect to get money by Buck Wheat, I recom- mend early sowing, and even to allow it the ma- mure necessary for a following wheat-crop;{ should think by such management, five, perhaps ten, quarters might be obtained from an acre of good land, whicl would remain in excellent or- te oe This necessatily supposes land in no want of late spring tillage. In this case, should a suspicion be entertained of the crop run ning too much to haulm, it might be advantage- een ae und hoed. I have rather eninecd upon the article, having read so much in its re- commendation. Hemr.—Suffolk and Norfolk are the head quar- ters of this.culture. The fittest soil is a moist, but loose sandy loam, or the rotten black mould in the low lands, near water, or old meadow broken up; in short, the richest land that can be found; but it must be amply manured for Hemp, after the firsterop; with such liberality; and garden-culture, the crop may be successively, and successfully re- peated for perhaps even a century. Otherwise, being manured, it leaves the land in a very fine state of preparation for wheat, or any other crop. ‘Twenty load of dung, or thirty load of dung and virgin-mould, or any good compost, should be pl idughed into the ahd in autumn, after wheat- seed ome: two, or three spring-earths, with good harrowing will be required, when the tilth must be left level, with as few furrows as possible. Sow eleven, or twelve pecks upon an. acre, (present price, eighteen pence per peck) at the cy earliest OP 3 aac AT~ é CY Rend APRIL.| FARMER S$ CALENDAR. yr) earliest season which can be catched, in April, or May: recollecting that the earliest sown Hemp is best in quality. Tt requires much w atching from birds, butnohoeing, or weeding; Hemp destroying every other plant. dn three or four months it may be pulled, according to the season, a dry time agreeing with it better than much rain. The lege es turning yellow, and the stalks white, arethe signs of ripeness. An acre will produce from air ty to sixty stone of Hemp, and forty stone may be accounted a good crop. LinskED or FLAX, requires a similar soil and culture, two, or three bushels per acre being sown; butwhen good seed is the object, it may be advantageously drilled, in roods twenty inches asunder. LiquoRIcE a the same kind of sail, above eek d, or arichand deep sand. The land must be double ploughed, or aoe dug to the depth of three, or four feet, which serves for two crops. The surface being fine and level,« libble in thesets, to nearly their full depth, one feat apart, in dou- ble, or treble rows, leaving two-foot spaces for horse-hoeing. The sticks to be had at the drug- gists, 1 am alornie will grow, but they ought to be inspected, to ascertain that they have at least one eye, or bud, without which it would be useless to plant them.‘The crop must be con- stantly kept clean, and towards winter the earth thrown up to the plants. It is also good prac- tice, to cover them in winter with fern, haulm, or long dung; the roots req uire three summers’ erowth, but ought not to be left longer in the eround,‘They may be dug up as soon as the sap ee a PR 38 FARMER'S CALENDAR.| APRIL. sap is at rest, and the leaves and stalks thorough- ly withered, by going to the depth of the prin- cipal roots, pickers being at hand, to gather after the spade.‘This crop, wasting in weight upon hand, is best sold immediately, and has sometimes produced more than three thousand weight, or from sixty to an hundred pounds per acre; but I have given these few particulars, rather as matter of curiosity, than real use, since such an expen- sive, lengthened, and precarious culture, can ne- ver be an object with farmers. Ruveare stands in the same predicament with the last article, and farther, on consulting certain professional persons lately, I find, notwithstand- ing all which has been said in its favour, British Rhubarb is of a quality so inferior tothe Turk- ish, as in that view to. be no desirable object of culture. The seeds may be sown either in spring or autumn, in beds, well manured with rich and rotten dung, and the plants when fit, that is, about four inches high, set out at four feet dis- tance, in pits, three feet deep, filled with manure, sifted coal ashes, slaked lime, and mud. Keep the plants free from weeds and vermin. When the stalks are withering, take up the roots, clean them, cut them into small pieces, string them on packthread, and dry them gradually. Tozsacco—The culture of this herb, upon a farm, is byno means improper, since, where much live-stock is kept, Tobacco may be applied to va- rious useful purposes, and its efficacy is consider- ably greater, while fresh and green. The law allows the culture of only fifteen square yards of Tobacco, APRIL.| FARMER’S CALENDAR, 39 Tobacco, for the purpose of“ Physic and Chi- rurgy,” and a patch of that size is fully sufficient for home-use. The seed may be had in London, and in some parts of Yorkshire. Sow in’ warm erowing weather, either April, or May, ona piece of rich, deep, and well-manured ground, made into fine mould. As soon as the plants will bear moving, set them out upon a spot well sheltered, with a warm aspect, In rows two feet apart, the plants one foot asunder. Observe the hoe-cul- ture strictly, and suffer no weeds. In autumn, as soon as the flowers begin to drop, cut and dry in the shade; when dry, pick off the leaves, and_ press them close in Cask. Mapper and We tp for the dyers’ use, are both lottery-crops, some years paying a very large profit, in others, the price being low and the demand slack, no sale at all for the articles. For Madder, the soil should be a deep, rich, sandy loam, sufficiently dry and healthy, nor can it ever possibly answer upon inferior land, or at a less price than three, or four pounds per cwt. The land being ploughed deep in autumn, and laid dry, must be, by this time, by repeated ploughing and harrowing, brought to the finest tilth. In order to planting, plough twelve, or fourteen inches deep; women attending to place the plants about eight, or nine inches apart, in every other furrow, leaning off from the plough; thus every time the plough returns, the row of plants laid in by the women who follow the plough, are covered with the earth of the furrow, and the rows will be about two feet apart. Mad- der =r aes 40 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[ APRIL. der maybe successfully planted from the mid- dle of March to the end of May, a warm show- ery season being preferable; but. the Kentish practice, that which I am detailing, inclines. to the late splat The sets for planting are ready for drawing by the end of May, or beginning of June; the proper time, when they: are ten, or twelve inches high, and have produced— branching out from the bottom of the suckers, which may be ascertained by drawing upa few; an acre requires twenty thousand plants. Every plant must have some small fibres at the root, and be moistened when set, particularly if obtain- ed ata distance; and about a third of the top may be cut off. The crop must be perfe ctly clean by hoeing and hand-weeding, during the summer months; and the rows eanithield up with a plough each autumn, until the third after planting, when the roots are dug up by trenching two feet dee ep. Two children at tent each digger, to pick out the rds the workmen Eeanats to pieces every spit earth. The roots being cleaned, are dried upon a“aa oe they are brittle enough to snap asun- der freely. They are then fit to be packed 1 bags for sale. Product from eight hundred to one ton. per’ acre, Should ppolitaide be repeated on the same land 1, the allowance of manure ought to be very large, It may be cultivated upon ridge- work, with any number of rows which may appear nost convenient, but the horse-hoe is apt to da- mage the tender plants, Some cultivators have advised covering the bedsin frosty weather, which, however good, is not so practicable on a large scale APRIL.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 41 scale. Within these few years, a native plant of this country has, been discovered, which 1s both a substitute for Madder and Weld, but an account of it hasnot been yet made public. Wetpv.—This articlé recommends itself, by two favourable circumstances; it will grow ona poor, light, shallow soil, stiff chalk, or gravel, and the expence of culture is under a pound an acre. It may be sowed the first week in July, upon any spring-crop; in Kent, they put it among their beans, before the last hoeing. Quantity of seed, a gallon, or ten, or twelve pounds per acre. Mix the seed with sand, or fine mould, often stirring. It is of slow growth the first summer. Hand- weed and clean with a narrow hoe. Early:in the following July, the bloom of the plants will be up to the top of the stem, when they may be pulled up by the roots, and tied bya single stalk in small handfuls, setting them up in a conical form to ripen. When thoroughly dry, the seed is shaken out on a clot), or into a tub; the plants are then bound withrope-yarn, into bundles, each weighing thirty pounds; sixty bundles make a load of Weld, which sells for from four to ten pounds. Produce, from half a load, to a load and a half per acre; and the best time of sale is usu- ally inthe spring, The seed is marketable with the seedsmen. Ihave known: Weld grown in Kent, as a single crop, when it has produced nuch more than above noted. Another conveni- ence may be stated in its favour, the leisure-season in which it is gathered, Woap for the dyer’s use, is cultivated in Somer- setshire chiefly, in a farmore expensive way than the oS .) FARMER'S CALENDAR.[| APRIL. a the last article, and to much higher profit; they grow it upon their deepest and best sandy loams, on narrow ridges,commonly on land fresh broken up. The plants, in a moist and favourable season, appear in a fortnight, and in three weeksaftermay be hoed and set out to the distance of six to ten inches. As the goodness of the plant consists in its size and the juiciness of its leaf, much depends on constant hoeing and weeding, that the land may be kept in a garden-state. From this care, three or four crops or gatherings will be produc- ed in succession; but the two first are the. best. The leaves are gathered at the full growth, and on the first appearance of change. They are cut into hand-baskets by women and children, who deliver them into a deep cart at the edge of the field. After two cuttings, the crop is suffered to go to seed for the next year, if seed be wanted, but if only one crop be. taken, the seed will be finer.‘The pods turning dark in colour, the seed is ripe; the stalks are then reaped like wheat, and spread abroad, and in favourable weather the seed may be thrashed in a few days. The green crops being carted home, are thrown into a mill, constructed with a heavy itron-ribbed roller, something hike that used for bruising bark, which cuts and bruises the Woad to a pulp: it is thenlaid in small heaps, pressed close and smooth, and as the crust formed on the outside, cracks, it is closed again to_ preserve the strength of the substance. After lying a fortnight in this state, the heaps are broken up, the outside worked into a mass, and the whole formed by the hand, or sometimes by wooden moulds, into oval balls, which ee APRIL which to tht APRIL.| FARMER'S CALENDAR, 43 which are dried on hurdles, undera shed exposed to the sun. In this state they are sold to the d and are valuable in proportion to their weight,and a purple cast in the inside. An acre will pro- duce a ton and a half, of course if the price be moderately high, the profit is considerable. Bu this plant is supposed to exhaust the land, and therefore more than two crops are seldom taken. In the culture of dying’articles, if the land bé manured, it must be in the autumn, before sow- ing, as fresh dung might affect the colour of the plants. Wheat nal beans succeed Woad. Mancet Wurze_,or PueRoor or Scarcity, a species of the beet, suppose ed an article of great promise, as food for cattle, on its first introduction into this country, since which, however, it has fal- Jen into neglect. As it cannot be conceived, that the high character given of this root, by persons of the first respectability, was without grounds, it would be improper to omit its culture, which may yet be revived. Both the leaves and roots are good food for man and beast; nor are they liable to be destroyed by insects, which will not touch them; they are also proof against the summer’s drought and the change of season. The weight of the roots, from five to ten pounds, according to" the quality of the soil; the leaves, which grow to the length of thirty or forty inches, by tw enty broad, are produced four or five times a year, in a middling, but nine or ten, inarich, soil; cs grow two inches by one and a half, in twenty- four hours; and may be gathered every twelve or fourteen days, without injuring the root in the least. The root is relished by all cattle and pigs, and _— 4-4. FARMER'S CALENDAR.(APRIL. and when cut small, by poultry>,‘The leaves are said to be excellent for milch cows, if mixed with other green meat, otherwise(a very extraordi- nary assertion) they would be too nutritious, and abate the quantity of milk. To prevent this root from degenerating, it requires an annual change of soil from light to heavy, or the reverse. Sow the seed very thin, covering it an inch only —-from the beginning of March to the middle of April, ina well-prep red bed, and as soonas the plat its reach the size of a goose-quill, transplant, dibbling them upon a fine level tilth, well manured, eighteen inches apart, in eighteen inch rows. The 1 root 1s net to be eee b ut the leaves cut at the top, and the upper part left about half an inch out of the ground eine see strike root in twen- ty-four bcs; and after one hoeing, will take care of themselves, by smothering all other vegetation. They may be sowed until the! beginning of July, Ohba StCEES ssion. —_ In the beginning of July, when the leaves are hered for the first time, by putting the thumb into the inside, about a foot long, they may be gat v4 and stripping them off close to their insertion into the stem.‘Those which bend towards the earth, are to be gathered; those forming the heart of the plants, to remain. The earth around the plants should now be well stirred, care being ta- ken to leave the crowns of the roots uncovered, an incl-, ia Jan ority of common turnips over the Ruta-Baga, if drawn together in autumn, chiefly as to the larger quantity of the former, but he still allows the latter to be more substantial, and the yellow kind to bear some afhinity, in taste and quality, to the carrot. He used them only with sheep and swine. It will be of use to the cultivator to reflect, that as this root is frost-proof, no good objection can lie a- gainst early sowing.. For Turwrp-roorep Cap- BAGE, see Index. Hops are to be digged and hilled up this month, the stones turned up being carried off the planta- tion. The weeds must be pulled, or cut up clean. Towards the end of the month, or the beginning of June, the vine will be ready for tying to the poles; the strongest vines must be chosen, and constant attention paid to retie such as become loose by accident. The old plantations are also poled this month. BuRN-BAKING, OF PARING and BURNING the surface of the soil.—This ancient practice is the best possible improvement of Bog, Moor, Heath, and Fen-land, or in general, of any old tough sward, overrun with moss, rushes, and other rub- bish, the nettings and roots of which cannot be de- stroyed nor the earth pulverised by the common methods of husba indry, under great length of time, and at vast expence; after w ee be ae. the land will not be in so good or productive a state, when burned. E very agriculturist knows, roe Is an old subject of dispute in husband ry; but what I have seen, and the evidence I have ee of the practice, incline me to be its decided advocate, without, MAY.| PARMER’S CALENDAR. 61 without, however, entirely condemning the con- duct of those landlords who interdict it to their tenants; because being a great prov ocative to fer- tility, farmers of a certain description make use of it to run the land entirely out of heart. Paring and burning are by the enemies of the practice supposed to rehnainisll the staple of the soil; anidea purely chimerical. Mr. Young’s arguments of this head, with the facts he has adduced, appear to be entirely conclusive. It is admitted, that some land in this country, as well as in Ireland, has been totally exhausted and’ ruined by the pr actice whilst large tracts of a staple equally thin, have -been immemorially burned, not only without per- ceptible diminution of their staple», but to their ob- vious great improvement. ie eiaucaae and ruin of the lands after burning, have, in all pro- bability, resulted from the Sai treatment of plying them with successive corn-crops, without rest or manure; a method, in truth, fully adequate to the ae ticeon of the richest lands, without the aid of paring and burning: but in order to prove fairly the evil consequence of the practice, it be- hoves the enemies of it, to produce examples of lands injured thereby, which have at the same time been cultivated in a fair and husband-like. manner; namely, by having onlya single corn-crop taken at first, to be f ealliesed by hoeing crops and seeds, a due proportion of manure being allowed to the succeeding corn-crops. Turnips or rape harrowed in on one shallow earth, are usually the first crops after the operation; and if the latter, they are used as spring-feed, oats and seeds follow- ing: ing: or instead of the oats, regard being had to the nature of the land, a nee crop of pease may be taken, to be followed by wheat, with which seeds may be sown: or in lieu of pease, potatoes, to be succeeded by other hoeing-crops, which are es- sentially necessary, on some soils, in order tho- roughly to eradicate the seeds of ling, furze, and broom, previously to laying down to grass. Paring may be commenced, any time between March and May, but the burning ought to be de- ferred, until dry and settled weather may be ex- pected. If desired in a county where the practice is not common, or understood, it will be necessar ¥ to procure one or two qualified hands, with proper tools, from the nearest quarter in w hich the art is sictaect The expence is about or under a pound per acre, one of the cheapest surely, as well as most importantof all agricy ultural improvements. Paring is sometimes perierncd with the plough, ~ but more mequeniy.: and more effectually with the paring spade, the sods being laid to dry reversed, or with the roots upwards. Care should be taken that the digging be given sufficiently deep, or the operation will be imperfect, the roots of the grass and rubbish being left for future vegetation. The paring finished, ee the sod heaps sufficiently ry, ] she strength which can be mustered, men, wo- men and children, must be set on, to take the ad- vantage of a dry time for burning, and spreading the ae equally over the field; but as rain, or even exposure to the air, detract BAG the strength and goodness of these, it is better to turn dacvh ia m with the plough, as fast as they are made, ex- cepting 62 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[MAY lve fert aor |- Hae MAY..| FARMER'S CALENDAR. 6' eS) cepting the surface be very rough and cloddy, when it will be necessary, previously to run the heavy drag-harrows several times over it. Thus is finished this most beneficial operation, which at a stroke,~as it were, effects more than could be atchieved in many laborious and expen- sive seasons. The soil is purified, and its natural fertility revived, by that grand destroyer and re- storer of all things, fire. The tough, untractable hide-bound surface, with its mossy and sedgy her- bage, the mole and ant-hills, the innumerable roots of rubbish, the hosts of insects and vermin, with their eggs, within the soil, before such uncon- querable obstacles to fertility, are now suddenly changed into its most certain medium, that of a rich manure; and the earth left clean, friable and level, fit for every purpose of agriculture, to which its nature may incline.. After all which has been said about the waste of staple, by burning, it is highly probable, or rather certain from experience, that the loss of substance is not perceived, before itis recovered from the air, from the accumulating process of vegetation, and from the addition of manure. If the heeing system be early and well pursued, burned land will remain clean, and free from all weeds for many years, or indeed for ever; and the benefit of the original operation will be felt during half a long lease, but if ina few years, a renewal of paring and burning should appear necessary, it evinces either very defective and shameful husbandry, or that the former operation was superficially and improperly conducted. Old hide-bound meadow, on cold infertile clay, is re- covered 64 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[ MAY. covered and improved by no other means so effec- tually and speedilyas by burn-baking. The rowen may be left until April, and then be close shorn with the scythe. If an immediate renewal of the meadow be desired, the land, after being burned, may be laid down with grass-seeds alone, in the autumn, with the certainty(granting the seeds be perfect) of a crop the next year. I have been fully convinced by repeated experience, that the difficulty, or rather pretended impossibility, of ob- taining a good fresh sward, is, in general a mere apology for indolence. Weepinc Wueats.—Provided the corn be not too high, so as to receive damage, nor the weeds got into seed, no matter how late weeding be deferred, as one operation clears them. The common method is, to use the hook and pecker, with occasional hand-picking as required. I have tried the method of drawing all up with the fin- gers, allowing the weeders gloves; they com- plained, but the job was very effectual, the weeds being taken pretty early. It is an excellent prac- tice to mow.the weeds in the hedge-rows and lanes, for being suffered to seed there, they sup- ply the adjoining fields with everlasting crops. — tea ul=- JUNE. Cabbages—Turnips—Rape and Coleseed—Hoeing the different Crops—Finish sowing Buck-Wheat —Cut Grasses—Stir Fallows—Fold, Sheep- shearing and M anage.—Cart-Manures. Ce have already remarked the advantages of their early planting, but should it be deferred, either by necessity, or choice, to the present month, it will be agreed on all hands, that no time is now to be lost. A reserve of good plants, in the seed-bed, for filling up vacancies, or for succeeding turnips destroyed by the fly, will be found convenient. The growing plants will in course now demand another horse and hand- hoeing, an interval of about ten days being left between the two; the hand-hoe will leave the rows in a clean and handsome garden-style, the -arth being well drawn up around the plants. Turnips.—By long established custom, June 1S the general seed-season for this vegetable, but as all customs ought to derive their sanction from thorough and impartial investigation alone, let us attempt it on this occasion. Itis not pretended, that there lie’ any solid objection to early sowing of Turnips, simply considered; on the contrary, such seems to be generally acknowledged the most proper mean of obtaining a full crop; but the advantages of early sowing, whatever they be, are given up, and the season postponed, from F three, — a, ee — nS a ae CE _ a ee oe Bi eae= peg 06 FARMERS CALENDAR.| JUNE. three, to near five months, by way of retat‘ding the erowth of the crop, that it may last to a later pe-| riod in the spring, and receive less damage from| the frosts, than that to which it would be liable in its early maturity. The di sides arsies of this plan are, a crop, far inferior in weight to wha might be obtained from the land; the very com- mon risk of destruction from drouth and the fly;| the other, although not sa common, yet far worse| = q casualties of a total loss by the severity of the winter, and the exhaustion of the land by the roots remaining too late in the spring. Indu-| bitably, if there be no crop preferable to turnips as spring-feed, and no other method of obtaining , os SS 5 them, we cannot do better than adhere to the beaten track. The matter, like many others, rests on a single point; the decision of one sim- ple question, would at once resolve us; but un- fortunately and unaccountably, we have hitherto no sufficient data from experiment, on which to ground a judgment. Can Turnips drawn from the land, be byany means preserved good through- out the winter-season? Letthe affirmative of this be once proved, and not anly the far greater. part of the difficulties of the Turnip-crop is at an end, but the weight and worth of it may‘be nearly doubled. Phe weight and perfection of the Turnips being thus the object, instead of the mere endurance of an impertect- crop, to a cer- L B nerian+ lavere) a1 neha= j tain period, the land may-be got ready for them,! or:/} 7 Qa 4~ LQ rir v vee, Peery S|> cA fal iS: TOT any OtMer Cal Sprins Dp, anda the seed sown with the first warm showers.“his will af-| Yb 7 a° 5|~ ford ample scope for resowing, should the first , rok f oO? + aye SsececG } { i ry=< 5= 7 bce Sete es— ree acd* ato Leh tt a er= := pn ce Te SS JUNE.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 67 seed fail, of which, however, granting it to be good, and the land sufficiently fine, I believe there 1s scareely any risk; and the crop may be har- vested in the highest state of perfection, during any two or three days, between the end of Sep- tember, and the middle of the following month; wheat being instantly harrowed in upon the ley. Clover, or seeds of any kind, may be sown upon the wheat, either directly, or as is more usual, in Pa| early spring, with full as good a prospect of a crop of grass, as with Lent corn. Should the cul- tivator be dubious of a crop of wheat, after draw- ing from the land a heavy bulk of‘Turnips, let him throw it into a good form of winter-fallow, and it will be ready in the spring for any purpose which his interest may require; nor ought it to be forgotten, that an extraordinary crop of Turnips will fairly entitle it to an additional coat ,of ma- nure. As to any advantages of a crop previous to the Turnips, nothing surely can stand in com- petition with a full crop of roots, succeeded by wheat, and the seed course preserved. In Nor- folk, the soil has for some years past been supposed tired of Turnips, I submit, whether a change of culture might not,in some degree, prove a remedy. It is not a little extraordinary, that the result of stacking Turnips against winter, practised in so many parts, particularly in Norfolk and Suffolk, has not been yet clearly ascertained, and some- what curious, that I have myself formerly practised it without any attention, and am at this instant ignorant of its success. Supposing the root well and carefully stored, remain sound until April, F 2 will 68 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[JUNE. will it not become more nourishing and hearty food, in its dry and preserved state, after the eva- poration of its crude and watery juices? We know that both Turnips and Potatoes are render- ed more nutritious and fattening, by the draining off their watery juices, through the means of cookery, particularly steaming and baking; and that old dry corn is preferable to new. The storing and preservation of Turnips surely merit farther attention. The true TFurnip-soil ts a deep sand, or sandy loam, and doubtless they may be produced with considerable success on loams, or even clays ren- dered sufficiently loose and friable; upon these last, so difficult of approach, and impracticable in winter, the advantage of early harvesting Tur- nips, must be striking to every one. If early sowing be intended, as much as possible ought to be done to the land before Christmas, and afterwards; if it be not im a very clean condition, much and early exertion with the hoe will be required. Every gardener knows the proper time to begin hoeing Turnips, and should there be, at this mature agricultural period, any parish upon the island, in so shameful a state of back- wardness and barbarism, that Turnip-hoeing is not yet understood, a gardener will be the most proper instructor, or a Kentish woman. In ge- neral, when the plants spread a circle of about four inches, they are ready for the first hoeing. Sqme farmers harrow them previously, with a light harrow, once, repeating it the contrary way, after the first hoeing, should they be getting too forward, pe IIE Ti JUNE.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 69 forward. They are commonly left about a foot asunder. The second hoeing, three weeks after the first, and at half the expence, that is at two shillings per acre, should perfectly clean the crop. The large round Turnip produces the greatest bulk, but it is probable the yellow has the most substantial nutriment. They whe desire to go extensively, and successfully into. the Turnip- culture, should grow their own seed, from the finest transplanted reets. It is wonderful what a small quantity of seed suffices an acre of ground, and indeed equally so, how it can be delivered and spread over such 4 breadth. A pint might be more than enough, but it is usual to broadcast a quart, over an acre. I have heard much in fa- vour of transplanting‘Turnips, making use only of the finest plants from a rich seed-bed; but I should conceive no method so likely to produce the heaviest possible crop of roots that the land could bear, as that recommended by Mr. Middle- ton. in his very able report of the agriculture of , uy p§ the county of Middlesex. It is, to drill them on one bout ridges, the manure having been thrown by the plough, and concentred within the ridges. The intervals may be hoed, and the plants earthed- up, with a light swing-plough, and the weeding, thinning, and hoeing, will thus require so little skill, that it may be performed by women and children. Another great advantage of this me- thod, assisted also by manure, or lime, is, the plants will be stronger in their early season, and better able to resist the fly, against which, per- haps, those numerous and. infallible remedies which ~~ A ae et PS ie ae oe oe ae'g at ae FARMER'S CALENDAR.| JU NE. which have been taught at different times, are purely fanciful. The only effectual remedy is hand-work(ever the most effectual and accurate) flies, caterpillars, slugs, eS> like, must be picked, wherever they abound, by women, and children, or suffered to remain.‘The only ques- tion is, is the six-pence a-day earned? Of this I ani so satisfied myself, that I shall never grudge tt. Ihave repeatedly tried ducks, several scores, in a gang, bint atihoud! 1 they destroy a great deal of, the vermin at first, as soon as the novelty of the thing is over, they become weary of it, asa task, cid of that kind of f food, so that, in fact, it is mere deception to expect any effectual assist- ance from them. I shall make free to borrow part of a note from Mr. Middleton, as a conclusion to this article of Turnips;.remarking, at the same time, that where the implement recommended, is not to be had, common tools, and rilling the seed by the hand, as with the gardeners, will answer perfectly well. * Mr. Mure’s drilling-piough, with two mould- boards at once going, forms the ridge with the dung in the centre of it, makes a dri A; sows the seeds, and covers it. The plants being reduced to proper distances, with the short- hoe, a man and an old horse with the same plough may hoe four acres a day, pare the sides and bottoms of the furrows, mix the soil, lay it up to the plants, and leave not a weed to be seen. Turnips so grown, exceed in weight per acre the broad-cast method fifty per cent. See a plate and coolio tion in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. ix. p. 432 to ar ar| aa JUNE.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. to 443.” This method, Mr. Middleton says, is equally applicable to beans, cabbages, potatoes, and, Sune carrots, parsnips, peas, and tares. Raps and CoLEsEeD, cultiv ated both as sprit ng- food for cattle, and for the seed, from which oil is drawn,‘This plant, is not perk haps wor rth atten- tion on any but rich and deep sol ils, for instance, those luxuriant slips that-.are atl by the sea- side, fens, or newly broken grounds, where vast crops of it may ie raised’; hence it is, we have heard such different accounts of its produce and use. In another respect, ¢ pinions differ widely; some cultivators asserting ee rape exhausts the soil exceedingly, yehus others. have tried it a number of successive years without-an} y such ef- fect. It may be ee that the ee terms, exhausting and am veliorating, have been hitherto rather vague, of which more in another place. Although 7] have seen much of the plants, I have not ne the Se difference between Rape and Coleseed; and in Essex, where I hav most observed the crop, I believe they are ee rally grown mixed. Cole,; Ae d, grows to a greater he ight than Rape, and the stalk is more cele and(eeu r, indeed sufficiently so, when in leaf, to be eaten almost entirely. The stalks of Rape are more tough, bushy, and branching, en- dure the frost better, and produce more seed, It might answer a g od purpose to separate the seeds, I mean whilst in the straw. This article is a striking example of the fallibility of our ge- neral rules in-husbandry. Cole is but.cultivated charlock, and who has not seen abundant crops r and eyen very poor sous? of that weed, upon miadgil 4 ony 72 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[JUNE. soils? Rape is cultivated upon such in Kent, Yorkshire, and elsewhere, but they ought to be dry, for on cold infertile clays, it rots in the winter-seasons, and becomes‘a mere dunghill upon the land. The turnip-culture is in use for this crop, and if for food, it is sown in the turnip-season; if for seed, the beginning of August. Q uantity sowed from a quarter to half a peck per acre, which will produce from sixteen to forty bushels of seed; and upon rich fresh land much more. It is threshed upon cloths in the field, and in York- shire this Rape-threshing Is a sort of festival, at which all the neighbours attend, and for the music and good cheer afforded by their brother- farmer, they return him their united assistance to the speedy housing of his crop: an example worthy of general imitation. Cole is very fattening provender for sheep, highly relished by them, and much productive of milk, but must be given to cattle, in general, with due caution, as it is apt to heave and burst them, When it succeeds, the produce of feed in the spring is great; it may afterwards be shut up for seed, but in that case the quantity must not be ex- pected so large, as if reserved entirely for the pur- pose. As feed, it is worth from forty shillings to three pounds per acre, for ten or twelve weeks in the spring; which time an acre will carry from seven to ten large sheep. The haulm is commonly burned, and-in some parts the ashes, equal to the best pot-ash, are sold: that being the practice, the money ought surely to be expended in manure of some kind, or the means of obtaining it, other- WISE Salas ee pun== 3 yor ames Lane To PEE ce } JUNE.| FARMER'S CALENDAR. 7 foe) wise the soil-is injured. As to treading’such hard substances in the farm yard, I must acknow- ledge, having often essayed, I have no very high opinion of their profit. Rape is of the description of plant, I conceive, which would reward the labour of transplanting from a seed-bed. A rood of ground would pro- duce plants enough for ten acres. They might be set on ridges, as lately recommended for turnips, and the land kept as clean asa garden; this bene- ficial culture duly observed, and manure allowed, the common objection to seeding Rape and Cole, would lose all its force. Iam sorry to remark, I have seen the crop in several counties, in the most slovenly state, over-run with rubbish of all kinds; well might it prove exhausting. In Lincolnshire, they sometimes lay their lands down with Rape, under which the seeds are said to thrive to ad- miratién that does not shew any thing like ex- haustion, Rape, as has been observed, is an ap- propriate crop to fresh broken up, or burned land; 6r’as a successor to early pease, or green crops mowed for soiling. 1 HorING THE DIFFERENT CRuPS.—One horse- hoeing will be required this month, by which the ridgewill be divided as before directed. The last hand-hoeing must now be given to the potatoes, as there will be a risk afterwards of cutting theroots; they ought nevertheless to be hand-weeded, if ne- cessary,and kept perfectly clean to the root, both for the profit and the credit of the farmer. This observation extends of course to all the hoeing- crops, which ought to be industriously attended through the piece, as long as aweed shall remain. Dig

| may be immediately turned in, and particularly the mowine-grounds, the instant, if possible OL 2 bP] A 3 Ls ag= 1 A~ r a cient SP« Ce 1S Gie€areG DY tHhe'Ssc tn>{h Exe lung bane harrowed —__=——— SS , Ae tha So 30 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[JULY. harrowed in, and the roller used afterwards, if the Jand be light, and not liable to bake in the sun. FaLtows anp Covcuitnce.—This month and the succeeding, afford the dog-day-fallow, of such great consequence for the eradication of couch and twitch grass, and every rubbish of that species, upon stubborn and binding clays; such it hath been, of late years, my lot to culti- vate, and those by no means of first-rate fertility. As to light and sandy soils, they surely ought not to be stirred under the hot and parching sun, and a general system of summer-fallowing such, ap- ears to me an absurd and barren practice. Light summer fallows should be moved and cleaned in ge) a moist state. With cold and binding clays, whilst wet, no good can be effected by tillage, and were it pos- sible for the ploughs and other implements to work, clays would be most successfully tilled in a perfectly parching state; for if you move them wet, and more rain ensue, you have only made batter; if drouth, hard cakes, impenetrable even to the severest frosts. I have seen land of this description, loaded, above and beneath the sur- face, with seed and root-weeds, so abundantly, that a spectator would naturally have concludec such a crop must have been the farmer’s grand object. After bearing many repeated corn-crops, it had been left to fallow itself, until the begin- ning of August, when it has been torn up by great force, into huge clods, in order to have part of the couch drawn out by the harrows, to re- ceive a thin and paltry coat of dung, and to be got ready again for wheat. Strong ‘iii daierhas. datameenet JULY:) FARMER'S CALENDAR. 81 Strong land, in such bad condition from root- weeds, as to require a whole year’s fallow, should, if possible, and the season be sufficiently dry, receive repeated plowings, harrowing, and rollings in the autumn, and be then laid up as high and dry as pos- sible, for the winter. The spring-tillage should be given with the utmost diligence and care, every six weeks, and in the following dog-days, the land will break up in a tolerably mellow and loose state, pro-- per for totally eradicating the remainder of the grass- roots. As to dock and coltsfoot, I know of no im- mediate remedy, but the spade and hand-labour; they who do not chuse the labour and expence, may even keep their dock and coltsfoot, as far as I know. For the finishing stroke, a dry and leisure- time being fixed upon, between haysell and harvest, plow as deep as may be judged prudent, and follow the plow, with the spiky roller, or for want of such implement(a lamentable want on a strong soil) with the roller and drag, without any apprehension of too fine a tilth, a thing impossible upon such land. Cross harrowing or plowing are strongly ob- jected to, upon land full of knot-grass, on account of its breaking and dispersing the grass, and ren- dering it stil more difficult to gather. The drag will tear much of it up by the roots, the remainder must be drawn up by hand, and the whole collected in heaps, and forthwith burnt upon the land. I am aware that some of our ablest cultivators ad- vise the carting couch to the compost dunghill, or the farm-yard, and I have myself taken so many waggon-loads from a field of a few acres, that I dare not mention the number, for fear of being G sus- 82 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[juLY. suspected of exaggeration; but Mr. Parkinson, a good practical writer, assures us from experiment, purposely made, that this accursed weed will vege- tate after having been trodden in the yard, and mixed with the dung; and considering the expence and labour of its eradication, it is a thing not to be trifled with. Care having been taken in autumn and spring, the labour at this season will be less, the fallow now complete, and the land, however foul in its pristine state, rendered as clean, and the moulds as fine asa garden. If seeds and rest be desired, a good season may be secured for spring- feed; for example, tares and rye mixed, or if the land will carry it, coleseed, under either of which grasses will prosper very highly; or any hoeing- crop will be advantageous, without excepting wheat itself, provided the rows receive an ample bed of manure. When manure is scarce, impoverished land of this kind will receive considerable imme- diate benefit from surface-burning, quantities of dry fern, stubble, furze, or any rubbish being col- lected and added to the grasses and weeds, which have been rooted up. Farm-Yarp.—lt ts taken for granted, that every opportunity, since the clearing the yards in May, at the breaking up of the winter-fold, has been em- braced, to replenish them with a foundation of earth and manures, for the succeeding winter; and that such necessary business will be occasionally conti- nued, until the period of again opening the straw- yard. In the mean time, if the land be farmed ac- cording to the maxims of the new husbandry, there willbe also a summer straw-yard; in fact, the home- stall ene pe eee NS— rile a tle gel rae JuLy.| FARMER’S CALENDAR, 83 stall will at no time of the year be without feeding and lodging a stock of cattle, by which method the profits of farming are increased in a twofold view; ample time, labour, and expence onght to be al- lowed for these very important branches of the farming business, and without regret, since they are its main, pillars and support. Manvres.—The hot and dry season is proper for emptying ponds, collecting mud and weeds from rivers, ditches, drains, commons,&c.: Make this collection into a mass, with a proper quantity of virgin-earth, and with it stir as much unslacked lime or chalk, as you choose to afford. It will fer- ment, and become an excellent compost for your pasture-land, by the beginning of November, hav- ing been once previously turned in October. Barty Harvest.—lIt is a great convenience, when the different crops at Harvest proceed in suc- cession.‘Tares, pease, rape, barley will come frst; oats and wheat follow; beans, hops, and the latter seeds, conclude the bountiful scene. The first, i a forward season, should all be carried by the end of this month. Tares and pease had need be well watched, or the pigeons will harvest a vast quan- tity of them; in wet weather also, the wads ought to be sufficiently turned and attended, both for the sake of the haulm, which makes good fodder, and the pease, which must be housed perfectly dry, in order to secure that colour and plumpness, in which, at market, the value of the sample consists. Karly sown barley will-in general be sufficiently forward. Whether the species make any differ- ence, in this particular, I am unable to ascertain, 3 G2 but oo 4 FARMER’S CALENDAR. fyULY. but I suspect not. As to the famous Teddington, or Fulham sort, sowed and reaped in less than two months, and of such remarkable fineness and weight, I apprehend the whole lies in the warm, “genial quality of the soil, and its peculiar aptitude for barley. Leta farmer upon the cold clays of the north of Middlesex, try Fulham barley, and he will perhaps not Gnd it earlier to harvest than any other sort, but assuredly much degenerated. Again, a poor species of barley sowed in the neighbourhood of Fulham, I doubt not, would be much improved in al] respects. AUGUSF. General Harvest for Corn and Seeds—Field and Home Management—Hoeing Crops—Lattermath and Pasture——-Fallows—Sced-Season, Wheat, Cab- bage, Sc.—Folding as before. NENERAL HARVEST.—The period of Har- vest, is obviously to the farmer the most im- portant of'any throughout the year, as then it is he expects to reap the reward of his anxious and watchful daily labours: but the assurance of this, will now materially depend upon a system of ma- nagement, both spirited and correct, the conse- quence of a plan previously adjusted,.in which the hands are fairly apportioned to the quantity of la- bour, and these well and reasonably satisfied,. that the extraordinary exertions, which circumstances fre- _— ee OO ee) AUGUST.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. fF with cheer- frequently render necessary, may go of fulness and even enthusiasm. Of all penny-wise savings, those at Harvest-time are the most foolish and unprofitable in pounds; and it is much more safe to be over, than under done, in point of strength, whether of men, or cattle; for not only the mere Harvest ought to be minutely attended, but at the same time, no other necessary branch of labour should be neglected or postponed, under the old pretence of the superior consequence of Harvest- work. It should be remembered, that hocing, fal- lowing, folding, sowing, stock-feeding,&c. are all great instruments, and means of a successful har- vest, and therefore should at no rate be slighted: those besides will be very much forwarded by a Jju- dicious use of leisure intervals. With respect to the method of engaging labour- ers for the Harvest, it is nearly similar in general, throughout England: part, or all of the constant workmen upon the farm, receive Harvest-pay for a certain number of weeks, and the extra hands agree for their work by the acre, according to the condition of the crop, heavy or light, lodged or upright, It is the farmer, or his bailiff’s look-out, that these acre-men do not make too much speed, by cutting or binding, in unseasonable weather, and that He make the sheaves of proper size, with regard to the quantity of weeds to be withered, and the state of the corn. Itis a good method, to agree with mowers and reapers, both at Hay-time and Harvest, to finish by cutting down all the weeds in the hedge-rows WHEAT 86 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[ AUGUST. Wueat.—Farmers are not agreed upon the «point, whether it be better to cut Wheat before it be thoroughly ripe, or to leave it until nearly ready to cut and carry. To adopt a medium, with parti- cular regard to taking advantage of a fair time, is no doubt, the safest course. Ifthe corn be cut in too green a state, no time in the shock will ever make it a fine sample, as I have often observed; too many of the corns will be shrivelled, pale and sickly. The greatest disadvantage of letting it stand to be full ripe, is its shedding at almost any motion, on which account it should be cut with the morning-dew upon it, and if it has not sometime to stand in the field in sheaf, the weeds will not be dried. I could wish to see Wheat-crops so clean, that no objection of this kind might lie. Reaping Wheat is well known to be the general practice, but I see no solid objection to mowing that grain, which, on large farms particularly, is at- tended with the great and valuable conveniences of expédition and saving of labour, so much in de- mand for various purposes. Several objections to the practice are urged. Mowing, it is said, shatters, or causes the Wheat to shed more than reaping. which, however, I do not find to be the case; Iam rather inclined to a contrary opinion, particularly with many strong and boisterous reapers, who will throw and dash the sheaves against the ground, without the smallest consideration.‘The greatest, perhaps the only, disadvantage, 1s the cutting more weeds, on which head I have just made a remark, deserving, I think, of attention.‘The other disad- - vantages, AUGUST.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 87 vantages, of having a weightier cartage from the Harvest-field, the necessity perhaps of another stack, and a little more labour in threshing, I con- celve are amply balanced by the superior quantity and quality of the straw, for thatching, hat-manu- facturing, and every other purpose. They who have the convenience of a threshing-mill, will think nothing of the extra Jabour of that kind. In carrying corn, three waggons and five horses to a field, make all needful dispatch, as they will keep the proper number of hands busy, both in the barn and the field. As to stacking abroad, or hous- ing, it isa thing nearly indifferent upon the balance, et course referable entirely to local convenience. The only inconveniences of stacking, are, danger of storms, and difficulty of removal to the floor in wet weather: these are easily obviated. The most valuable ricks may be sheltered by straw or wood- stacks, or those of less value; some ought also to be placed close to the barn-side, where may be made a window, tkreugh which to pitch the corn, accompanied wih a sail-cloth-awning at top, in case of rain. There are also many ingenious con- trivances for covering ricks with oil-cloths, er tar- paulins, articles which may sometimes be purchased cheap; but if at a considerable price, with care, they will last a life: their use is various and great upon a farm. Barurey.—As has been already remarked of hay, all corn must remain in the field, until perfectly dry and cured; this is absolutely necessary to its preservation. Barley usually lies abroad from three aS NT hen ls, eer ns ohana | a ame aaeeiis 88 FARMER’S CALENDAR.| AUGUST. three days to a week, nor will a heavy shower or two injure it; on the contrary, it will imbibe the moisture, and swell much to the farmer’s profit, and the colour may yet be preserved; but in case of constant soaking rains, the value both of the sample and the fodder will be much diminished. Many farmers cut and carry barley, with great success. It 1S customary to rake after all crops, wheat ex- cepted, the scattered gleanings of which are left to the poor. Raking is performed much more ex- peditiously, either by the horse-rake, or the dew- rake, drawn by a man; butin my opinion the ob- jection to both are insurmountable. In a driving soil, they rake as much dirt as corn, and in a stiff one, the rake jumps over the clods, and misses half the corn. Wherever accuracy is required, nothing is comparable to hand-labour, and if care be taken to rake clean after the load; the remainder is very easily performed. It is true, I have seen good ac- tive women-rakers earn three and sixpence a-day. Oats are extremely apt to shed in cutting and moving, of course require great care in that parti- cular, and also in the other of preserving their de- licate white colour, in making. These are often the first new corn wanted upon a farm, on which account they should be placed in a convenient si- tuation to be come at. Ina want of old oats, the new had better be dried in an oven, or kiln, for the use of the horses. Pease are hacked, or cut with the reaping hook; when carried, they are safest in the barn, out of the danger of rain, unless indeed, they can be a peas— ee = SEO EE — AUGUST.| FARMER’S CALENDAR, 89 be thatched in the rick immediately, and very se- curely. Serps.— Turnip, Rape, Grasses,&c.. Inhar- vesting Seeds, much depends on the fortune of good weather, and if a farmer be weather-wise, this is the season for an exertion of that faculty, The next object is, getting Secd while the sun shines; to which end a great number of hands is necessary, and such liberality will, in the end, be found the greatest economy. Seed is commonly threshed abroad. The most careful reapers should be se- lected, for your giddy, or aukward fellows, will dash out half the seed upon the land, either in reaping, or afterwards moving the haulm. As this work can only go forward in fine weather, the thrashers must be constantly attended with supplies, and at the same time the Seed moved homewards, until all be finished. Vhere are various. contri- vances for moving the crop to and from the thresh- ing floor; some use little covered one-horse-wag- gons, constructed with poles and cloths, fixed upon truck-wheels, the number of men, women, and children, must at first be properly apportioned to these various services. Grass-seeds being har- vested, of course, after thrashing, the grass 1s made into hay; which although of an aakcliee kind, will make good fodder for store-cattle. Biker and Homs-M anacemMent.—Gleaning by the Poor, was formerly held to be a right depend- ing upon ancient custom, but within these few years, such right has been legally abrogated, as will appear by a reference to the trials in the court of King’s Bench; and it was indubitably an act of patriotism 90 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[ AUGUST. patriotism in the farmer who tried the cause, since not only the frauds of the practice were con- tinual and enormous, but the principle itself was vicious.‘The gleaning-field was a school for j juve- nile thieves, as I have observed in too many in- stances. Qn the other hand, considering the situa- tion of our labouring poor, it would be cruel and liberal in the ae seks to deprive them of any accustomed, or fair gratuity. Let them glean as usual, after the las¢ sheaf shall have ea carted, and let not the farmer turn in his cattle, until the poor shall have fully gleaned the field. This I take to be a fair and reasonable settlement of the matter, and such custom has been some years since adopted and established by Mr. Arthur Young, and various other eminent cultivators of the country. With respect to agreéments with MHarvest- Jabourers, it is ever understood, but perhaps is al- ways deserving of a particular mention, that in Harvest, there are no set hours, set days, or holi- days: night, or day, they must be at the master’s call; in fact, they are engaged in the service of the nation; they are securing its bread! Nor are they hired for this or that particular service, ev ery thing which may become necessary to be done about the farm, whether of Harvest, or other work, during the intervals of bad weather, is theit proper aa ness. The reward of this extra labour, is included In the extraordinary pay of Harvest, and in the good cheer made by the farmer. A considerable number of Harvest-men are boarded in the house, upon many farms, and our ‘farmers are not apt to be niggardly at this joyous season, avcust.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 91 season, when however, excess, although it may tem- porarily gratify, is a real prejudice to the poor la- bourer. Those who have been liberally.accus- tomed to over-do in this matter, I would advise to retrench, within the bounds of a plentiful modera- tion, and if their hearts overflow, to reserve the sur- plus, with which they may administer comforts to the poor families, in the severe and chilling season, The health of the labourer under the burning sun, should, be particularly considered, as well for the farmer’s interest, as that of humanity; and I am sorry to say I have sometimes seen men much in- jured by drinking quantities of wretched thin and sour small beer: I have known it so bad, that the fellows have emptied their cags upon the earth, to replenish them from the ditch, at the same time, loading the name of their master with execration, and demonstrating by their language and actions, how little they regarded his interest. When small beer is allowed in the Harvest-field, it should be of sufficient substance, pretty well hopped and brewed from soft-liquor; it is then’a great refreshment and support to labour, much more so than strong li- quor. In order to contract the Harvest-expences, within the narrowest possible compass, every supply of provision which can, ought to be derived from the farm; thus a bullock or two, ora few sheep, should be fatted for the Harvest-occasion. The teams which have been soiling through the summer, will require, during the exertions of Ha- yest, the best dry meat, and stable-attendance. Hoerne Crors.—Hoeing, and the drill-culture, must not be neglected, on any pretence of more pressing i Vi Hh J\ # W 92 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[| AUGUST. pressing business; for it would be to throw away great part, both of the past expence, and future advantage. Turnips will demand another hoeing this month, and the harvest-field must supply the necessary hands, either male or female. Hand- weed potatoes, also carrots, which may perhaps re- quire a slight farewell hoeing, that at digging the crops, the Jand may turn up in style, or perfectly clean. The cabbages and lucern will require hoe- mg, weeding, and earthing; in general, all rows or drills, should receive a stirring with the plow or cultivator, to loosen and pulverize the soil, and to feed the roots of the plants with fresh and renova- ted earth, two, most important advantages of the roe-culture. LaTreRMATH AND Pasture. Where Latter- math or Rowen can be got ready so early as this month, it is a vast advantage, on account of the greater warmth and certainty of the weather, to what may be expected later in the season, and such advantage may always be secured by high manuring, without which, indeed, no second crops of grass can be expected on most soils: on that condition, a second cutting of saintfoin may always be had, without the smallest injury to the grass, or future crops. Upon most farms, green food is plentiful in autumn, after clearing the corn-fields, but on all, hay in the winter-season is particularly valuable. It is now proper to determine upon the quantity of fog, or old grass, which will be wanted for the use of. the stock in the spring, and to shut it up accordingly. THE a SEPT.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 93 Tur Fattows ought, by this period, to be in 2. state of clean and fine tilth, but some few remaining weeds, or a baked surface, may require another stirring, which on no pretence ought to be neg- lected; previously to this, they should receive the benefit of the fold. Serp Season for wheat, cabbages,&cc.—I am a strong advocate for general early sowlng, and when a part of the wheat can be got in upon the fallows at this time, it is an advantageous point gained. Rye and tares for spring-feed, may now also be put in. Sow for early cabbages. Make your seed-bed as fine as a pinch of snuff, manure to the utmost, with rich and rotten dung, and sow thin, that the plants may have room to come up strong. This is a general rule for seed-beds. SEPTEMBER. Latter Harvest—Wheat, Beans, Hops, Frutt, Fern, &c-—Shack—Catt le— Pastures—Stubbles, Wheat- Seed, and Fallows—Ffold. | eM sedi HARVEST.—Wheat-harvest in all yarts of our island, in a good season, is finish- ed in the course of this month. Beans are seldom got in until this month, as they require some time in the field, from their bulk and succulence. They are cut with the reaping hook and bound in small sheaves, to the end they may be = —— > —— 7 th ie| 1 14 ia 8 hy 1) yt} 1 1h \ i} 94 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[SEPT. be the sooner dry. It is preferable to bind the sheaves with tarred twine, which being hung up at threshing-time, will last three or four crops. I greatly prefer pulling the bean-stalks to reap- tng them, but then care must be taken to clean the roots before thrashing, for the sake of the sample, A true bean-fallow, that is to Say, one In a state of garden-tilth, the soil also disencumbered of the roots, which, in fact, are a nuisance any where, but under the feet of the cattle, will furnish an excel- lent bed for the w heat-seed, with very little labour, perhaps only a slight operation of the plow and har- rows. It must be acknowledged, however, that bean-pulling, upon a bound soil, and in dry weather, 18 a tough job; and if the crop be very ripe, the labourers will scatter great quantities upon the ground, which in order to conceal, I have known them cover with earth. Flops are picked by men, women, and children, at, from a penny, to two-pence the bushel. The vine being cut close to the earth, the pole is drawn with an iron instrument called a dog, and carried to the bin in order for picking; being measured, the Hops are taken to be dried. As to picking, all the care necessary is, to have plenty of hands, and to see that they perform their business properly. The poles being stripped of the vine, should be se- cured, under cover, if possible, until the next spring. or season for poling.- Some burn the vine, or haulm, upon the land, but it amounts to much more, trod- den in the farm-yard. Haw tr The orchard-product, although gather- ed with so much care, in fruit-counties, is frequent- ly a SEPT.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 95 ly much neglected in others, upon large farms in the press of more important business, which, how- ever, is improvident enough, since fruits which will keep, will always pay the charge of gathering, in one way or other. Every body knows that when the leaf hegins to wither, and the pips to become brown, the apples, or pears, should be gathered with as little bruising as possible. I shall only add on this head, that I know a number of people who keep parcels of ground, under the name of orch- ards, in a state of mere waste; the trees old, de- cayed, and nearly useless, and the fruit besides, of inferior sorts; instead of which, they might have at a very little trouble and expence, new plantations teeming with the very best fruit. If they are too indolent. for the‘trouble of an orchard, they had much better grub up their old, moss-grown trees, and convert the spot to some useful purpose. Fern, or Brakes, should by no means be neg- lected, where is a scarcity of straw. This vegeta- ble is of great substance, and full of salts, therefore useful as a manure, but requires much and long treading, to break its substance, and put it in a State proper for putrefaction: should it be backward in that respect, at the time of making the compost dunghill, a few layers of lime will forward the ope- ration. All the fern upon the farm should be an- nually cut and stacked for use, and if an addition can be made from the wastes within a reasonable distance, it is an object not to be neglected, since farmers do not usually complain of having too large a bulk of manure to bestow upon their land. I cart Fern _ SS 96 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[serr. Fern three miles, and for cutting pay five shillings a waggon-load. Sirack 5; a term applied to the waste corn, left in the fields at harvest: pigs are the stock usually em- ployed in gathering this, and in some parts flocks of geese and turkies. Where pigs are clovered through the summer, they are finished with the Shacks and the acorns, but I have known some farmers so improvident, as neither to feed their clovers, in that advantageous way, nor even keep pigs enough to pick up ie waste corn, which has absolutely lain to rot in the fields. Young pigs are very proper for this purpose, as they grow excced- ingly at Shack, and they should be bred upon the farm. CarrLe.—All the cattle, stall-fed, or otherwise, and fat pigs, which are marketable, should be, ge- nerally speaking, disposed of before the second week in September, when the price may be ex- pected to begin to decline, from the quantities of summer-fed stock, for various reasons, coming upon the markets. If possible, nothing should be kept, that will not go on until February. The autumnal is the proper season for purchasing store-cattle of all kinds; oxen for grazing, or the yoke, cows in calf, sheep for breeding or fatting, horses and colts for all the various purposes Pastures.—The inclosures of fog, or after-grass, reserved for spring-feed, are naw oe to be shut up, also the- durnet, whith 1s never to be fed in autumy. The grounds fed bare may, in this, and.the following month, be scarified, and the al- lowance' bial SEPT.|“ PARMER’S CALENDAR: 97 lowance of compost given them, or they may re- ceive the fold, as happens to be convenient. As soon as the cutting of Jucern is finished, dress the land with twelve, or fifteen loads of the richest com- post to be procured, after the operation of the sca- rificator or harrows.: If the lucern~ be drilled, spread your compost over the field, and then draw a furrow with the plough, in the midst of each in- terval, by which the manures and a portion of mould are thrown upon the rows of plants, and they lie covered, warm and dry, all the winter: as early as possible in the spring, cross-harrow the ridges sufficiently to level the whole field. There is no winter-management of lucern, or indeed any grass, equal to this. The most careful water-furrowing is understood. SrussLes.—Cutting and carting Stubbles, is an object of some importance when the straw is left high, as in many places; for stubble not only con- tributes much to the bulk of manure, ina farm-yard properly stocked, but it is a real impediment to the plough if left on the Jand. Chopping and raking is worth from twenty-pence, to two shillings per acre. Thjs operation is surely more profitable than burning the stubble upon the land, but I would rather chuse to keep a wheat-crop clean, to the end that I might cut the corn close to the ground, and save. the trouble and expence of either cutting, or burning Stubbles. WHEAT-SEED.—September is universally, in our’ climate, the chief seed-season for Wheat, and when the bulk of the business can be dispatched so early, H expe- ~ 08 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[SEPT experience proves the favourable result. The sum- mer-fallows will in course be first ready, and they ht to be in fine condition, or much time has been wasted to little purpose. Potatoe, carrot, and clean bean fallows, will probably be next ready. the clover-ley makes a most excellent bed for - the but it is much the best practice to trench OLS UUs Oo plow it, burying the sod with a cover of mould, which will harrow to a fine tilth. It is a gross er- ror to sow Wheat, or indeed any thing else, on rough clods., As to the form and width of the land, for Wheat, and whether on flat, Gr ridge-tilth, the mat- ter must be determined by the nature of the soil, vhich if cold and wet, must, of course, be laid in that position most proper to keep it dry. Water furrows should be sufficiently numerous, in every f the field, where required, to_keep the’ sur- face perfectly free; and in bottoms or de pd —e SCLTVILIES h 8) vhere is a double slope, the furrows oug be ut double, a few feet one from the other, that the water may run from each descent. With respect to different species or wheat, tne grand| divisions are into white, red, and bearded; the sub-divisions, or varieties, are numerous and very aN nportant, in any point of view. The best in y~ 7> Eneoland, adeording to my experie nce, are the Essex and Kentish white and red, and the Taunton Whe (Somerset) which appears a mixture of both. Bearded Wheat, Rivets, Clog-Wheat, or Cone- Vheat, is an inferior species, large, thick oo be hump-backed, its flour less tenacious and clammy, by consequence of less substance, and the eeiauel spre a EES ET SET I a) TS - oe- om y) al“AT—_—— P SEPT.| FARMER S CALENDAR. 99 jess weight per bushel than that of the other sorts. The price is sometimes very much below that of fine mealing wheats, nor is: saleable for starch, producing less of that article, by‘eight or nine 7 pounds per bushel, than good black or smutty wheat, which generally weighs well, and 1 is thence nie best for starch. But the difference of“price is somewhat dependant upon circumstances, and is not always so considerable, particularly in times of scarcity. The produce is sometimes, and on‘certain soils, considerably above that of white, or red Wheat. Suffolk is, I believe, the chief county for the growth of Rivets. From two bushels, to two and a half, of Wheat, are sown broad-cast; as to drilling or dibbling, there is in those practices, a g rreat saving of seeds. The unspeakable nonsense of steeping Wheat- seed, with the intention of preventing the ears from being blighted by certain airs, or devs which may. chanoest to fall upon them, nine months ahonvatdé, seems to have revived again of late. There can result no harm that I eae of, from a farmei ‘amusing himself with these steeps or brines, sc may possibly tend to fructification(although I doubt that) at least to drive away the worm Aad vermin from the seed. Washing repeatedly with fair wa- ter, has certainly the excellent use of detectingthe light and barren grains, which should never be sowed.. Every one knows the common practice of laying the seed on a heap, and drying it with lime. Fattows.—The stubbles intended for winter Fallows, should now be| oegun, and receive one, or Oo hae jnore 100 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[SEPT. more stirrings, between this time and Christmas, in conformity to circumstances. According to the old system, lands were left rough in their stubble, and perhaps deluged with wet for want of surface draining, all winter, even until April, for the alleged purpose of starving and rotting a few miserable dragegled sheep. The loss from this practice was enormous every way. Exclusive of the want of that profit which would have accrued from a pro- per management of the sheep, and of the actual da- mage sustained by them, the land missed the greater part of the immense benefit of being pulverized and mellowed by frosts, and was injured in an equal degree by the seeds of weeds being locked up se- curely in its bosom, to vegetate in abundance after the first spring-stirring; instead of being exposed by the tilth, to destruction, either from the winter- frosts, or having vegetated, to be smothered by the spring-culture. Lands, winter-fallowed early, and harrowed fine, will produce a crop of weeds to be smothered by the plough’before the frost sets in. The fold, may still go on, through this, and the ensuing month, wherever its services are most in request. OCTOBER, \ at ———— eS eat Lisa Rania 908 0 OCTOBER. Digging and ploughing up. the Root Crops—Hiring Servants—Finish sowing Tares—Planting Maza- gan Beans— Fallows— Commencement of the Straw-Yard— Fatting Beasts— Hog— Sheep— Cows—The Teams—Brood Mares—Sick Horses —Plant Fruit Trees and Quieks. OOT-CROPS.—Porarors, Carrots, Map- pER, and Liqvorice.—It is very common to leave Potatoes and Carrots in the ground, until very late, and the latter even until the spring, digg- ing them as wanted: but this is upon favourable soils; which may be trodden at any time of the year; yet even on those, it is hazarding the crop., As to the culture of these roots, on stiff soils, nothing can be more imprudent than to leave them abroad late; when they will be most probably taken up, all mud and puddle, with scarcely a prospect of getting them sufficiently dry to store in safety; hence they ought always to come in with the bean-harvest, or the “instant, if possible, that they have arrived at per- fection, which is known by the decay of the haulm and tops. It is by no means improper, and by much the most expeditious method, to plough up potatoes; the few that are hurt may be used first, and those left after the harrows, will be rooted up by the pigs. Nevertheless in my own practice, I always take them up with the spade and three-prong-fork, the Same as carrots, : CARROTS, SS Bi TR 102 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[oer. Carrots, are often ploughed up, where they are not cultivated with that nicety the crop r quires, the ground perhaps being left hard and alihost as fullof weedsas roots. I have often heard of such inattentive practice, unc der which, I should think this crop can) scarcely be an object. Car- rots should be taken up c arefully with the spade, or fork, and spread in the field to dry, if needful; but if the land bé in fine dry order, the roots had better be taken home, and. spread in a barn or out- house, where the tops being cut off, and thrown to the pigs, the Carrots will soon become in proper order to store. Mapper anp Liquorice, are generally taken up towards the end of this month, as already noted in the account of their culture. Hirine Servants—Old Michaelmas is the > usual time for hiring Servants, throughout the country; but I must a“knowledge myself entirely of Mr, Marshal’s opinion, that it is one of those customs, which déught by all means to be changed for a better. Michaelmas brings with it a great pressure of business, of every description, and to be looking after servants at that time, or even to adinit new ones entirely unacquainted with your pe culiar methods and n dees aie extremely incon- venient, Old Christmas, as of more leisures would surely be a more proper period for this affair. As to farming servants, the best counsel I am able to give is, for an employer to receive no known thief or idler, to give the greatest possible encouragement, to overlook trifles, and to trust mplicitly to no man’s honesty or industry, but to Pp! Wt ti} ocr,| FARMER’S CALENDAR 103 put both to the severest test; so shall he have“a choice of the best labourers in the connie atid enjoy the profitable reputation of the best master. In a small concern, a farmer may himself superin- tend his whole business; but a gentleman-farmer, or the cultivator of an extensive tract, particularly if managed in the more varied style of the new hus- bandry, will require a bailiff,‘and overlookers, in proportion to the extent of the business. The baili of a gentleman, who cultivates a hundred acres ic land,“fot his convenience or amusement, wiil have leisure to work himself, which ts= or ra- ther totally out of question, with one who has ex- tensive business to superintend, since that alone, if he be industrious, will take up his whole time any and late. In very large business, a bail need occasional lookers under him. A bailiff ought to have had some years expe- rience of, at feasts the common methods of husban- dry and gardening, of the management of all kinds of live s shock: and of buying and selling; he should be able to keep common accounts; in shiowettc must be something either: from nature or habit, above the common labourer. But then he must have a bailiff over him; and',such must be the proprietor of‘the business, unless he rather choose to risk the conse- quence. As to entrusting these upper servants with buy- ing and selling corn and cattle, I would advise no persons to do it, except indeed those whose situa- tion is so elevated, that such engagements might be thought inconvenient and improper: still, it 1s no derogation from the honour of a Prince, to 2 well informed 104 FARMER’S CALENDAR.[oer. informed of market-prices, and to be able, by in- spection, to form a judgment of the worth of cattle. I dwell a moment on this head, because I have seen too much, both of the gross ignorance, and iniquitous collusion of bailiffs and managers, in bargaining. It is a common saying,‘¢ Oh! your master is a gentleman, he don’t want to get money, but we must live.” Indeed it 1s no wonder that gentlemen so often farm their own estates to joss, considering the sottish, ignorant, and knavish instruments which they employ, under the name ‘of bailiffs..I[ have a farm now in. my view, of about one hundred and seventy acres of rough land, which the owner has kept in hand some years, to the loss, as I am convinced, of a hundred pounds per annum at least, exclusive of the rent which might be obtained. The bailiff, of all things in the world, fats poultry for market, with the view of profit, and when he attends to sell them, often gets so drunk, as to be unable to return until the following day; in the mean time the fences upon the farm are so bad, that the few€attle and pigs upon it, are a perfect nuisance to the‘neighbours. It has been recommended to vest a bailiff with full power of discharging the servants, and labourers; the propriety of which I am rather‘inclined to’ dis- pute. Invested with such a power, there is. no check upon his conduct; whereas, were this par- ticular made matter of reference to the principal, all necessary information on both sides would come out. ' One of the first qualifications of a bailiff is, to -have a mind perfectly indifferent to all prejudice in or =~ Mas Fm a a ee ee ocr.| FARMER’S CALENDAR, 105 in favour of the old system of husbandry; and where things are upon an extensive or improving scale, it ought to be an invariable maxim to receive no servant or labourer, who will not positively agree to follow directions, in default of which, he ought instantly to be taken hefore a justice of the peace. I have known several instances of a combination among the ploughmen, not to work without their accustomed number of horses. Sow1ne Tares.—Winter-Tares are sown as late as the end of this month, but I should think with but an indifferent prospect of success, on any soil; if mixed with rye, or some kind of corn for their support, it is probable they cannot be sowed too early. MazacAn-Beans.—I am not aware of much benefit from the culture of these. They are not of advantageous home-use, and I~have known them extremely unsaleable, when other beans have been much in request. The land had probably better lie until January or February, for a crop of com- mon beans. J wish to speak, however, under cor- rection,’ As to the husbandry of Mazagan, it is the same as ofother beans precisely. Get the land fine, throw it upon ridges, and drill, or dibble on the crown of the tidge, your own distance, FatLowinc should go on briskly, during this month, according to the directions often repeated. CoMMENCEMENT OF THE STRAW-YARD.—Ear- lier, or later, in this month, according to the wea- ther, all the cattle upon the farm must be taken jnto winter-quarters; for in that season, they not only damage themselves, but the land, fences, and woods. 106 FARMER S$ CALENDAR. oer woods. Under the chilling rigours of winter, cat. tle require both shelter and dry fodder. We will proceed upon the supposition, that every leisure opportunity, since clearing of last year’s straw-yard, has been embraced, to cart and spread to the depth of two or three feet, virgin-earth, chalk, rubbtsh of any kind, turf, marle, clay, or sand,&c. as a need- ful foundation for the present. Upon this base, the waste-fodder must be spread, and constantly re- newed, that the cattle may always lie dry; and should there be a suspicion arising from a good fore-reckoning, that the litter will not last through the season, no part of farming will pay better than to purchase 3 which ought to be done at first, and whilst it may be had. i There is a piece, of advice, which Mr. Young gave. many years ago, and which at first struck me of the highest importance to a farmer upon the new system. A cheap and commodious method,] mean, of enlarging the bounds of the farm-yard; for without convenience in that respect, to the most needful extent, all a man’s resolves at im provement are mere air. No possible application of the ground, near home, can ae so advantageous as this: and if the landlord will not, it will answer the tenant’s purpose, to make the addition himself, and he may do it at a very trifling expence. Let the ground be marked out on the most convenient sidé of the homestall, and inclosed with a stack- of long straw, stubble, rape-h 1? &zc. al bout a yard thick, and eight feet high. For " | ] a| Efe& the winter-fallows completed, and the lands laid up, round and dry, in order to teceive the benefit of the winter’s frost. Such land as is intended: for root-crops, will of course have been trench-r ploug ed to the required depth, and left on the proper ridge, with a_ sufficient number of well-placed water-furrows. Those last recuire constant in spec pO P a eS SE a Lm)“As at oy Be AS* CR 5 tion, and IMMealate repair, VnNen necessar y; ae no surface-water be ever suffered to lodge upon the Fotp.—On a dry, sandy or chalky soil, the Fold may go on throughout the winter, bate g sever frosts. Ona poachy soil, this is i impracticable, nor eadid I ever see the ad vantage of keeping this stock ¢o shift abroad on such land; comparatively I mean with better methods.. Folding is surely of the ereatest benefit to such pastures as will carry the sheep, not only entiching them in the most advan- tageous method, but. farther aeneens them by treading and destroying the moss, with which old meadow is so liable to be over-run. kept, thi rashing can at no rate be de ayed very tae ee after harvest, asthe stock of old straw wil] seldom over-run, and besides, new must‘be had in plenty as Iresh provender.’ Very different farming this from the old system, under which I have seen such mountains of straw, that it perfecth y obscured the view, and it was.a little A Alpine expedition to climb “across the farmer’s yard! 7 Tar Teams.—Because all the fallows may ; be finished, is a very. poor reason that the Tearns wov.|‘FARMER'S CALENDAR. iit should stand idle. It is of the very essence of the practical economy of a farm, to execute the irre- gular business at those leisure intervals, which oc- cur in almost every season, and‘b ay atte ntively em- bracing those, no thing, even to that w hich may em trifling and minute, need be neglected. There ut ‘ a time for all thin ngs, to those alias possess fore sight, and the means! Digging, carting of mae chalk, or manures of any kind, from the neighbor ur- ing towns, should have its due share of attention this month, that the stock of such necessary mate- rials may be always kept complete. Dressing grass- lands with compost may still go on, carts with broad-wheels being employed, that will not da- mage the swa pms CT) — ° LeveLitine Pasruriés.—The eattle secure In winter-quarters at the homestall, and the grass-lands free, this is a proper time to commence any requisite improvement: that of cutting ant-hills and levelling the surface as before be ae is att improvement of great consequence to those who know the value of Bias and hay. The parings be- ing left to be puly rerized by the frost, may be spread over the land with the fresh di ressing. FLroopinc Mzapows.— This most beneficial richest coat of manure, may now commence on grounds which lie opgration, superior in effect to the convenient for the purpose.‘The reader is referred to the word, Irricarion, in the Index. DrRAINING—~E aE Nae and Timper— DECEMBER being now-» a DECEMBER. Break-up Old Lays—Thrashing—The Team—Caitil: —Hedging and Ditching—Manuring—Conclusion of the Year, with a General Survey and correct Account of the Stock, and Property of all Kinds, upon the Farms REAKING-UP OLD LA YS.— As old sward cuts easiest and best, when the staple is soaked through with moisture, the latter part of the autum- nal quarter is a fit season for breaking it up. The breaking up of old worn-out cedod. 3 is one of the most profitable opel rations within the circle of agri- cultural practice, and should never be withheld by a landlord from an intelligent and able tenant. It is a mistake to suppose this practice attended with immediate benefit to the tenant solely, since unde: . proper regulation a lasting improvement is also in- sured to the land. Old seeding grounds, which have been neglected for aoe series of years, un- til they become covered with mole-casts, ant-hills, and moss, and of which the far greater part out of a poor produce, is bad herbage, weeds, and trum. pery; or mowing-grounds starved, hide-bound, matted at the root, and tired out with the seythe, can no otherwise be effectually reclaimed, than by the loosening operation of the plough, and the con sequent exposure of the heart of the soil, to the pu- ‘rifying influence of the air. Trench- ee—= Pa Sey oe a~“—_—= : Sse=> etm: aie_ E es ee : H DEC.| FARMER'S CALENDAR, 113 Trench-ploughing is most effectual in this case, and the sod being buried, a bed of mould is left for any crop which may be chosen, but this should ever be a hoeing-erop, even if oats; or one great object in the change, that of a clean tilth, will be lost. It must be remembered, however, there is a very strong objection to the sowing a fresh crop over the buried net-work of the roots of weeds and grasses, which, instead of rotting and turning to manure, according to expectation, may lie years in the soil, throwing up a constant and gradual produce of grass and rubbish; on this material ac- count the operation of breaking up‘turf, seems incomplete, without burning the roots. It may be done, however, at any convenient time, even after taking a crop; pease, for instance, which being cleared off, the land may be dragged and couched, and the rubbish burned, in good time for sowing it with wheat. Turasuinc.—In the dispensing of straw, it is most prudent to begin at first of all, with the best, for instance, the oat and barley stover, which is most tender, ahd ought at least, to be well mixed with clover, because the cattle have just come from succulent food; this regimen being con- tinued awhile, proceed by degrees to the wheat and bean straw, having care, so to manage, as to be provided with plenty of the best, provender for the last and most pinching part of the season. On a farm provided with proper and convenient stow- age, the corn may be housed, or stacked, in such sort, that any part, or species of it, in request, may be immediately commanded. I Tue ~ ee ——= 114 FARMER'S CALENDAR.[DEc. Tue Tream.--Various useful jobs may be found, on which to employ the Teams, in the eafly part of the month; the latter end seems appropriated, by universal consent, to rest, during. which, the most necessary business of thorough inspection, may be conveniently pursued. Carrie.—The ewes with lamb will now require cood attention, and good nourishing keep, that they may be in heart to suckle their lambs; nor is there a more unprofitable practice, than keeping breed- ing animals in a poor and low state, since, grant- ing the young to be brought forth of the full size, and in good health, of which there is yet great tisk, the dams will fail of strength to support their growth, and very often even to bring them forth. Whatever course may be taken with the store- stock, neither the ewes, nor the fatting sheep, should ever be exposed to the storms, deep snows, and extreme cold of winter. They should have the benefit of at least somé kind of shelter; for it must be remembered, that good keep loses half its efficacy, unless aided by the genial comfort of warmth. Fatrinc Oxen anv Hocs.—This is the mid- dle of the season for fatting those animals; should any of the former be now ready, if the heads of them, they may find a good market, since large beasts are always in request against Christmas. The fatting-stock, in general, must be served with a constant, unvarying attention, or. the feeder, in the end, will come sadly short of his expected profit. Herpcineé ne pr ate DEC.| FARMER'S CALENDAR.— 1h5 Hepeine anv Dircutnc.—This is an employ- ment proper for the season. It affords support to those labourers, without whose constant and regu- lar assistance the business of husbandry cannot be carried on, and being mindfully attended, at every leisure opportunity, the fences on the farm will be, in process of time, in the most perfect state. Mr. Young advises to get the fences of a farm into good order, in the three first winters of the lease; and afterwards to divide them into twelve ie and to do one every year, which will bring the whole to regular cuttings.‘Truly valuable advice, which deserves the attention of every farmer. Manvurine.—I think the manuring of- land should be finished before the frost, that there may be a chance for the manure to get beneath the surface. As to those fallows a have not been dressed, frosty weather affords a good oppor- tunity for carting dung upon the land, where it may be left in beaps until the spring tillage; for dung ought never to be left, for any length of time, spread upon the surface, either ia wintef or sum- mer, since much of its virtue is, in that state, dis- sipated and lost to the land; nor is there any other use, than saving time, in this wie gaare of Lic }| ae 1% Sapien ais ee H dung, to be leit on the surface of fallows ad ! 1 yp CONCLUSION OF THE YEAR, WITH GEN UNT OF Srock.—Every Panes who desires, to know correctly to what sort of purpose he does his business, should provide himself with a-book, i / which he may call his GenreRAL gaa I ster pnts sult of a general survey of the conditicn and worth of I 2 cus tS and in this book, he shouid now reg lad a 116 FARMER'S CALENDAR.(DEC. his whole stock and property, of his debts, and his credits. Having ech a book to refer to, at all times, and on all occasions, will afford an unspeak- able satisfaction to his mind, nor ought he to en- joy the festivities of the season, until he shall have completed his survey. Let him, in the first place, order in all his tradesmen’s bills; im the mean time, he may take an examination and account (slight as he pleases) of his household goods; then a very particular one of his horses, cattle, and poultry, corn in straw, or thrashed; hay and. fod- crops, and fallows, der, wood, manure, growing Wwaggons, Carts, ploughs, sacks, and implements of tk every kind; finishing with the state of his fences, gates, drains,&c. ae an estimate of the necessary repairs on all sides. Memorandums being made upon waste paper, the particulars may be after- wards copied into the Stock- Book, with whatever degree of minuteness shall be judged necessary. After this general register, a D' and C' account may be drawn ¢ out, the balance of which will ex- actly shew the present worth of the farmer’s estate. The form of the account is as under Stock; D2. Contra, C’. On the D side must be entered all the farmer owes, beginning with rent, tythe, and taxes; on the Contra, or contrary side, all he possesses, and all which is owing to him. He must rate every thing at what he judges the fair present worth, was it then to be ee manure and tillage per- formed, must be valued at the common rate of the "country; corn aeened&c. he must take by estimation. DEC.| FARMER’S CALENDAR. 117 With respect:to a general system of accounts, upon a farm, speaking to well-informed people, I, without scruple, recommend the Italian method, a beautiful system of arithmetical presen by: which fills the mind: with the satisfaction of certainty, and may be extended to every concern of life: but this methed is out of question with common far- mers, to whom common accounts are more suita- ble, and may be fee ee perfectly sufficient. A farmer should keep a day-book and ledger; the first, because memorandums are so necessary in his business; and he need not be over studious of forms, entering down in his day-book whatever he may think needful to remember, with the day of the month. Every practical man knows the acci- dents that so: frequently happen, from want of timely care of animals about to bring forth; by consequence, the date of their being put to the male should be correctly taken down: it is also of the greatest use, to keep an account of the dates of every sowing, and indeed of all the various transactions of tillage. Common accountants are apt to be frightened at the very idea of the trou- ble of Tetian book-keeping; but there is a useful kind of half-method, unattended either with in- tricacy, or trouble. It is merely to erect what are called Stock-accounts, in a Ledger, without any of the usual connections by reference. Thus, if a farmer desires to be very correct in his calcula- tions of the profit, or loss, upon a lot of stalled oxen, for instance, on the crop of any particular field, his readiest method is, to make:an account, for either the one or the other, in his Ledger, Dy oo og= a SS eT- 118 FARMER'S CALENDAR:(DEC. D' and C’. On the D’ side let him place the cost, including every minute Le ee on the C’, the returns; in course,.on sale of the articles, the ac- count 1s closed, and the balance demonstrates the profit, or loss.“This will be found a much more certain future euide;, than the best eae I am well aware, what an alarm this recommen- dation of accounts will give to the indolence of O many, perhaps of most farmers. I have done—but with this observation, that the regular taking stock every year, and the keeping fair accounts, is, on calculation, attended even with less trouble than the everlasting puzzle, confusion, blindfoldedness, counts and annual valuation, wil not only afford 1 1:- 1;= and loss, of heedless negligence. een ac- aman an exact knowledge of his real situation, but wonderfully improve and sharpen his judgment, on the real worth of all those articles in which he deals; and in the necessary contemplation of the final accident, he will have-the‘satisfaction to re- flect, that all stands fair for the benefit of his fa- mily, and as little liable as possible to loss or dis- pute. INsuRANCE against accidents by fire, should ne- ver be fenicoed or postponed:an hour, in a situa- tion like a farm, surrounded as the Homestead 1s with combustible matter. ‘ND 0 iE THE 4| 9} N[" H s Ve CA i E ND AR vis ——— eee ST ON THE MOST IMPORTANT BRANCHES OF THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE, AND OF THE MANAGEMENT OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. = - cui | | \ a> 2 S32"ss—= S- So OE Uh S”.hClUrhS== fa SS=> eS eR Oe == Ea|= S:5 5 Sy Al Se f Soc ee=~~ * oy HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS.] QT OF goodness of the prospect. As to the first, on per- it a ceiving them, aman instantly turns his back on the business. In my own ideas, tythes taken in kind; a number of common carriage-ways, or paths, and the lands intersected by other property; far distant nd 2 markets, and roads impassable in winter, are ob- Dro. jections of that class; and granting pecuniary com- he} pensations can be made, there can be none found nd:_ adequate to the anxiety of mind, which must be in- ave evitably suffered in such a situation. Of those de- fects, with which a person is content to put up, he ought to have a very correct estimate, that he may y really know when an offer is made deserving of 7 his acceptance; an important point, where many ; contracting parties fail. Every practical man knows, that in bargaining as in angling, there is a critical moment, atime to strike, which may never return. The heads already enumerated, will furnish mat- ter for an estimate in writing, taken’on the actual survey. Thence will appear the sums necessary to be expended, and the deduction of rent, or other ri recompence, such expenditure will airly warrant. :[t may be proper here to enter a little into particu- lars, calculated chiefly for those who possess a ca- pital adequate to the undertaking in which they are about to engage. I pass over the dwelling as a mere matter of comfort; on that head, referring the farmer to the counsel of his wife, if he has one; if not, advising him to take one with all convenient speed. Tue Homesreap should contain ail the needful a := BB fe- d}£411"Ce BOE ary. he re { UUGINGS, an the{uu space necessary for tne re- ception s G Se= i a————— em ‘a aa< 123 HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS: ception of a stock of various cattle, in proportion to the quantity of land. Nothing is more mates rial to be attended to than this, nor is there a more common defect all over England, nor a more ob- vious reason, why so many farms are understocked with cattle, to the great detriment of individuals and the public. Barns, Granary, Stables, Cow- houses, Calf-pens, Ox-house, Pig-styes, Cisterns for Wash, Cart-sheds, Poultry-house, Sheds various, for the reception of harness and implements, are indis~ pensable conveniences, and‘which ought to be found on an‘ample scale, wherever much business is intended to be carried on. The buildings ought invariably to be tiled, or slated; if not already so, one of the first improvements should be a demoli- tion of the old dangerous and disreputable thatch. The granary, secured upon piles from vermin, should be sufficiently capacious to hold the whole, or nearly the whole; annual growth of the farm; that the farmer may, at no time, suffer the want of fodder, nor be exposed to disadvantageous markets. The cow and ox-houses ought to have convenient standings or stalls, in which those animals may be confined; and the styes must have room, as well for breeding, as fatting pigs. The advantage of ing, shelter for carriages, ploughs, harrows, and other implements, would be found very considerable, on fair calculation of the damages which they annually suStain from exposure to the weather. The want of convenient, or of good water, either at the Homestead, or in any part of the - grounds, is a-most serious defect; the remedy should be well-weighed, and the expence calcu- lated HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS.. 1929 lated. The annual loss also from common paths across the land, where they abound, will be found much heavier on a strict examination, than any one could suppose. Where such have been es- tablished, rather from inattention, or accidental circumstances, than usage founded in good right or reason, it is highly for the interest of landlord, te- nant, and the community, that they be abolished. With respect to the fences, exact account should be taken of the number of perches to which the iecessary improvements or repairs, will amount; -and of the nature of those repairs, whether new planting, plashing, digging ditches, raising banks, repairing old, or rearing new walls. The calcu- lation will, in course, be made, according to the usual rate, or charge of the county. Hedges with- out a ditch, or ditches only, are an insufficient fence. Dead hedges are a shabby apology for se- curity, and in a living hedge, where the breaks, or gaps are numerous, and only stopped with bushes, the trouble and expence is everlasting; and the- damage accruing in one half-hour, may amount to moré than the cost of a perfect repair.‘A tenant of property who reflects, and is capable of calcu- lation, will never be satisfied unless the whole of his land be amply secured, by living hedges and ditches of sufficient depth; but one less fortunate must put up with the condition of the fences, what- ever it may be, at least, until he shall acquire let. sure and property equal to its amendment. No- thing can be clearer, than that it would pay a land- lord good interest for his trouble and advance of money, to let his farm in a perfect state, as to K fencing == a i 130 HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. fencing and draining: no tenant, whether rich or poor, but would catch eagerly at such a bargain. ‘The game, in some counties, forms an aPatle of eee consideration, since the quanti ty of corn they devour and spoil, is past all calculation, great. Where nurseries border upon a farm, the tenant is justly entitled to a large abatement of rent. It needs no proof, that leases under equitable covenants, are beneficial, in an exact proportion, both landlord and tenant; and it seems to be agreed, that the usual term of twehty-one years, is the fairest for both’parties. Landlords who de- termine to grant no leases,(and the disposal of their own is an unquestionable right) ought, in justice to themselves, as well as tenants, to do all ‘the permanent lin provemerits with their own pro- perty; a ae which can never be expected from a renter at will, who, was he to chalk his Jand, for instance, na ia obliged to quit, before he had even tasted ike benefit is that costly amendment. It is matter of regret, that nee should be so much necessity for certain restraining clauses in the lease of a farm; but these are rendered absolutely necessary by an indolent and slovenly husbandry, andjin truth, there are too many narrow-minded and ill-judging people, who delight to catch at every petty advantage, and who wil) not incur the expence or trouble of improvements, although a fair proportion of the. benefit. must inevitably fall to themselve Were all out-going tenants to act, liberally, it must result to the common benefit of all. On the other hand, there are certain burdensome and unprofitable restrictions, of which a good te- nant caecum hits ceastanitat ate —— aS HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. 131| i, nant has just reason to complain. These seem to be ticks derived from a period anterior to the modern im- o ti provements in husbandry, and to be continued by ott unenlightened agents to estates, to the absolute ex- sats tinction of the very spirit of agriculture. I hint chiefly, at binding the tenant’s hands by the inter- ath diction of particular crops, and that most impoli- en tic obligation upon a good farmer, to keep a part nbhe of his land fallow and useless. The fallowing system is evidently incompatible- with wintering “We large stocks of cattle. a The following obligations upon a tenant, in a lease of twenty-one years, the rent payable half- sid yearly, appear to me perfectly reasonable. oe: No old meadow, or pasture, to be broken up ae without licence. oar No straw, dung, or manure to be sold, being the ie property of the soil. Tenant to carry all He I materials for repairs, at his expence, and to “i pay for labour of all kinds, the landlord sup- Un plying timber in thé rough. All timber and it young trees, or saplings; to remain untouched, ef the property of the landlord; the loppings of it the pollards, and underwood only, belonging nied to the tenant. ch at| Landlord to be permitted to plant trees in ie} any fit situation.‘Tenant to house or stack, gh 4 in the last year of his term, all his crop of ly corn or hay, upon the premises, and to na| leave the old dung properly turned up in fe| heaps. || All hedges, ditches, banks, or fences, to~be kept tee| in perfect repair, one twelfth part of the Pot at| ee K 2 whole. ee oe / 132 HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. whole,. being new made, or sufficiently re- paired every year. Hay and turnips, or other winter-feed, to be left on the peabe eg for the landlord, or succeed- ing tenant, to be taken at a fair valuation. Succeeding tenant to be permitted to sow seeds on the lent-corn, of the last year of the term to be harrowed for him gratis. The in-coming tenant to have liberty to enter upon the yards, part of the stables, and upon such part of the arable Jand as may chance to lie fallow at midsummer, previous to his taking the farm, for any necessary purpose of cultivation. The in-comer to be entitled to all the straw and chaff upon the premises, on condition of his thrashing out the corn, and carrying it to the usual markets at his expence. The out-going tenant shall 1 be permitted to re- tain he use of the barns and stale! yard, until the follo ving May. To conditions like those, no man of sense would object; but as to those clauses, frequently intro- duced, which prescribe the precise method in which the land is to be cropped and managed, however necessary they may be to the ignorant, they cannot be otherwise than dissusefull to. the intelligent and able cultivator. It is to commit a man’s property, to take it entirely out ef his own government, and to preclude both the ambition and the opportunity of improvement. It: is to be lamented, both on public and private groun that estates are ever superintended and leased out ’ by other than able judges of cultivation. The —" [Sie] &2 HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. The half-yearly period of payments is, I believe, in general, matter of form, the liberal custom of landlords allowing the tenant twelve months credit with the rent; nor is the custom more liberal than politic; as an industrious tenant is thereby enabled to do more ample justice to his land. Some improvements might yet be made on the usual condition of a lease. The disadvantages of old; hidebound, and unproductive pastures, are obvious.::: It would be equally to the interest of both parties, forthe landlord to consent to the breaking up‘of any quantity of old meadow, on the condition of the tenant’s laying down a like quantity. of land of equal worth, seeded and ma- naged»to the! landlord’s satisfaction. The land- lord, indeed, ought to take upon himself the task of providing ithe grass-seeds, on being re-imbursed the: cost.» In those parts, where from the inferi- arity of the husbandry, it is held absolutely neces- sary to:stipulate for fallows,. would it not be an improvement, to substitute the obligation of hoe- ing a certain number of acres yearly? In:the conduct of the farming business, it has always been the fashion to lay much stress on the difference between the gentleman and the labour- ing farmer, and to allow a decided superiority to the latter, nay, even to deny all possibility of the former deriving profit from the practice of hus- bandry. The matter has been improperly stated. No- thing can be more true, than that the man, whether gentleman or farmer, who determines to remain ig- norant of his business, and who indolently suffers, himself Se 134 HIRING: AND STOCKING. FARMS. himself to be cheated through the nose, will have a fair chance to be everlastingly unsuccessful.“But grant the gentleman a moderate portion-of the science of agriculture, and a decent competency of activity and resolution, and I conceive the. ba- lance will preponderate even heavily on. his side; whatever may be the quantity of: land, from a cabbage-garden, to a farm of a thousand) acres. The personal labour, and superintendance, of the mere common farmer, in the old beaten track, can never stand in competition.with the advantages of the new husbandry, of the most productive’ kinds of live stock, of an ample portion of manure,and of the garden cleanness of the hoe-culture. Agriculture, viewed in a trading light, perhaps makes as ample a return for the use of money,’ as any. domestic concern whatever; and: although such be not the general custom, it is easy enough of proof, that very great capitals, to the amount of twenty, thirty, or forty thousand pounds, and up- wards, might be safely and prosperously employed upon an extensive farm.‘The cultivator of two thousand acres, who should fully stock according to the principles of the new husbandry, breed and fat his own cattle, consuming all his spring-corn at home; bacon his hogs, and meal his own wheat, would find occasion for sums of very high account. His articles being all those of the first necessity, and being without the obligation of allowing credit; the profits would be more certain, and the risks less, than in any mercantile concern. In what consists the new husbandry, so often quoted by agricultural writers, without a defini- 4: tion? HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS.£35 tion?—In allotting certain portions of an arable farm to the purpose of summer and winter-feeding a stock of cattle, sufficient, with their dung to ma- nure and fertilize the whole of the land. In the eradicating, as far as possible, all useless vegeta- tion with the hoe. In the use of the various im- proved, or newly invented implements, for the pur- pose of expediting, or abridging labour, and in the judicious sélection of domestic animals. The usage of the old husbandry,(too generally prevalent indeed at this hour) is to place very Irt- tle dependance on the profit of live stock, to feed’ very few, excepting those animals absolutely ne- cessary for labour; to reyect the hoe-culture, per- haps altogether, to foul the land by repeated corn- crops, and to clean it partially and insufficiently, by summer-fallows, or seed it in its foul state, for a temporary ley.; The rate of stocking farms, may vary from three to fifteen pounds per acre. Many farms are taken by needy persons at the former rate,,and if the soil be of natural fertility, the husbandry good, and the renter frugal and industrious, he may stand a fair chance, besides spending a life of cheerfulness, in- dependance, and‘comfort, to enter the ranks of property, before the expiration of his lease. Such are the peculiar and glorious privileges annexed to the cultivation of the soil! Sums of such magni- tude, as from ten to fifteen pounds per acre, are of absolute necessity, either for stocking according to the new principles, or improving to‘any consider: able extent. Were it demanded of me, generally what is the inost advantageous application of land > 1 I should 156 HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. I should be inclined to answer, that. of dairying, or feeding a large number of cows, for the pro- duce of butter: but with the reserve, that the bu- siness be conducted with great variation from the common modes. The dairy-man must himself be a perfect judge of the live stock which he enter- tains, and they of the improved species; no bad milkers must be kept, nor indeed any képt too long; the profit of grazing must come into the ac- count, and of pig-feeding to a much larger than the usual extent.[he winter provisions for the cows, both green and dry, must be so ample, as to equalize the produce of butter, in monéy, at least, with that of the summer, and it will be clearly ad- viseable. to have a considerable breadth of land under.the plough. If this, however, be the most profitable, it is, no, doubt, the most troublesome scheme of husbandry.| The next in point, of profit, is two-thirds arable, one-third grass; the most advantageous winter- feed provided, and. cattle enough, of the best kinds kept,. to. furnish annually from twelve to fif- teen loads per acre of rich compost. This may prove more profitable than if all the land were grazed, since it is to,divide the risk of markets between corn and cattle, and large crops of the former may of right be expected, where the quantity of manure shall have been so liberal. A family which cultivates a parcel of land,with the prudent view of increasing itsancome and) do- mestic comforts, should keep,a small dairy, with two. or three breeding sows, a small flock of sheep, 75. ¢@ SO some tame rabbits,.and a few hives.of bees.. It should ' sues TO eee. ——— HIRING AND STOCKING FARMS. 137 should not be forgotten, to stock a fish-pond or two, if there be such aconvenience. The plan will also admit of the fatting a few bullocks annually. Hay-farms and grazing-farms are obviously at- tended with the least trouble. Hay-farming is by no means the most profitable branch of husbandry, as it lies under the constant disadvantage of inca- pacity to feed live stock to any good purpose, hence much after-grass is annually. wasted. Grant- ing a hay-farmer has fatted a lot of beasts, they must be late in the season, when beef is usually cheap, and he cannot keep them until after Christ- mas, for fear of injuring his future crop of hay, which is his grand dependance. As to grazing, however profitable, or void of trouble it may be, I would advise every person to be cautious how he enters into it, to any great extent, unless he shall have previously acquired a considerable knowledge of live stock. Most bailiffs know much worse than nothing at all of the matter, In the common advice given on the head of breeding animals, aptitude of situation and room have always been very properly insisted on, but the consideration the most important, perhaps, of all others, hath hitherto been neglected, which 1s, aptitude in the breeder himself for the undertak-' ing, without which, I will venture to affirm, no adequate success ought to be expected: A man ought to be possessed of much sensibility for the brute ¢reation, with a considerable spice of the mania of improvement, who sets up for a breeder. In his daily or weekly bible-excursions, he must be sure never to forget the book of Job. He must enter te irae gD? i i | i 138 HIRING AND STOCKING FA S. enter fully into the spirit of a thousand little ni- ceties, both of judgment and practice, which it would take a good volume to describe. He must find a pleasure in never ending care and solicitude, and keep a perpetual watch. On such conditions, a breeder will acquire wealth and fame.‘The ge- nerality of cultivators, whatever may be their situa- tion, had, perhaps, better purchase their live stock ready made. W ith respect to fatting animals for market, the greatest difficulty occurs with pigs, as s sufficiently manifest from the accounts of our nu- merous experimenters. The English of that mat- ter is, the, business requires a correct judgment both of that species of stock, and of the markets. I have room to spare, but for one or two con- cluding remarks. There is a false pride amongst farmers of inferior property, which demands ex- amination, if not correction. A man will make any shift, even to the neglect of the important ad- vantage of purchasing cattle in the autumn, rather than sell his oats during harvest, or his wheat at Michaelmas. His importance is much diminished, unless he can make a capital display of stacks. But fair and impartial calculation alone, must be his guide in this case, who pursues his real interest. The profits of cattle, manure included, the waste in measure from the drying of the corn, and the consumption by vermin, must be:strictly calculated, and set opposite to the probable rise of markets in the spring. In general, I pronounce. without hesi- tation, it is nothing short of madness, for a grower of corn to hold it at a h igh price; and the most ar-, rant and sottish stupidity for him to fix upon a flat- tering ‘ ON SOILS AND MANURES,| 139 tering and imaginary rate, under which he will not sell.. I could filla number of pages with ludicrous anecdotes of this kind. There is also another error dmongst farmers who have acquired property, which has an extreme ill effect both upon their own, and the public, interest! As their money abounds; they have no idea but of purchasing into the funds, or of some other investment foreign to their proper concern. Instead of which their sur- plus cash ought to be invariably applied to the im- provement of their farm, until their husbandy be complete, a’mode of employment, by which their money, instead of five, would earn them more than three times that rate, per cent. Those who desire to enter fully into the subject of hiring, stocking, and improving, I refer to Mr. Young’s admirable work, for the moderation and truth of the calculations in which, on live stock par- ticularly, I can vouch, having repeatedly seen them not verified only, but exceeded in practice. ON SOILS AND MANURES. DY the soil, is generally understood, the upper stratum, or covering of the earth, which is the object of cultivation; the next layer, or bed of earth, is termed the subsoil.| The 140 ON SOTLS AND MANURES. The component parts of soil or mould, of what- ever colour, proper for vegetation, are Argill, Sand, Water and Air, for unto these original principles may all earths be reduced, how- ever blended, or joined with apparently foreign substances. Argill is the soft and unctuous part of clay. The primitive earths, Argill and Sand, contain each, in perhaps nearly equal de- grees, the pabulum, or food of plants; but in their union, the purposes of vegetation are most com- pletely answered. The precise quantities of each, necessary in this union, or whether they ought to be equal, is neither easy nor very material to as- certain, in a general or theoretical way; since that point is best determined in practice, when the soil proves to be neither too stiff ahd adhesive, from the superabundance of clay, nor of too loose. and weak a texture, from the over-large quantity of sand in its composition. The happy medium in general it is, which constitutes the richest soils, but an excess towards adhesion or stiffness, is obviously most safe. These moulds will! retain the rain suf- ficiently to absorb all its fructifying virtues, but not so long that it becomes stagnant, chilling, unwholesome: they are known to experienced people by the sight and touch, and although they adhere to the feet in passing, they may be rubbed off without any great dithculty. The subsoil, whether it be retentive or porous; springy, or dry and warm; and the situation of the land, whether of level or irregular surface, togéther with the ex- posure, form very material points in the estimate of its fertility. and The —$ ON SOILS AND MANURES, L41 The mixed or secondary Earths are, Clay, which is compounded of Argill and Sand—Loam, or a mixture of Sand and Clay—Gravel, or Sand and Stone—Till, or iron earth—Silicious and calcari- ous, sandy, stoney, or finty Earth, Chalk, and Lime ——Marl, which is composed of Stone, Argill, and Sand, and is usually denominated after that ingre-. dient which may chance to predominate; thus the soapy, Or unctuous kind, is called argillacious; the Stoney, calcarious; and the sandy, silicious marl. The various Soils, compounded of the above earths, will rank under some of the following com- mon denominations:;. Clays, Sands, Loams, Gravels, Chalks, clayey Loams, gravelly Loams, sandy Loams, chalky Loams, Peat and Bog, Moor and Heath. The soil of Bog generally inclines to Clay, that of Heath, to Sand. These terms are subject to an accommo- dating variation, and we frequently hear of a loamy Gravel, as well as a gravelly Loam; in the first, the gravel is supposed to be the base, and to pre- dominate: so of other variations. Manuring, or amending the soil, is performed by mixing with it certain substances, known by expe- rience to contain a portion of that matter which is the food of plants, or to possess the property of loosening and decomposing the earths, and exciting into action their dormant virtues: and simply in- creasing the dep of mould: by a th of its staple, with the addition ltering and correcting its quality, ‘with that species of earth in which it may be de- ficient, as in giving friability to clay, by the assist- ance t | | i || \ ay 142 ON SOILS AND MANURES. ance of sand, and tenacity or stiffness to sand, by the admixture of clay; by Draining off stagnant water, above or below; by Irrigation, or Flooding with simple water; or by Warping, which is, to flood the land with thick river-water, for the sake of a considerable settlement of mud: by Paring and Burning the surface: by Fallowing. Vegetable, as well as animal bodies, are furnished by nature. with absorbent vessels, through which they attract, or suck up, from the surrounding earth and air, that matter destined for their nou- rishment: the fibres of their roots do the most ma- terial part of this office of nutrition. The pabulum, or food of plants, consists, I think, obviously, of elastic, and non-elastic fluids; of‘steam or vapour, and of water, which are drawn in various forms, from both earth and air. It is not possible that any gross, or terrene substance, could pervade the minute and almost imperceptible organs of plants. Their food is the essence merely, or so to speak, the essential substance of the bed of earth in which they are posited, in the form of gas, or steam; hence probably, a given quantity of mould, after having thrown out a large vegetable weight, shall have lost scarcely any of its own, as hath often been experienced. By way of illustration, this essence may be compared with the spirituous part of al- cohol, which bears no comparison in weight with the mere liquid mass. The hypothesis naturally extends to those manures, we select to teplenish the earth, when exhausted of its vegetable nourish- ment. It is the essence of those substances which goes ON SOILS AND MANURES: 143 goes to supply the defect of the soil; and experi- ence, as old as the supposed date of the world, has proved that such as abound most in oils, mucilages and alkaline salts, are the most powerful fertilizers of land. Perhaps any substance susceptible of putrefaction or dissolution, and which contains no- thing noxious to the vegetabie creation, Is con- vertible to the food of plants. The above desultory ideas ought, by no means, to be construed into any intended disrespect to the authority of the celebrated Hassenfraz: the labours of such eminent professional men ought to be ac- cepted by the world with gratitude, and their opi- nions received with all but implicit deference. I am aware that the theory of the carbonic sub- stance, or the coaly residuum of substances, as the food of vegetables, is now generally received by our chemical agriculturalists. But I beg leave to ask, are we sure there is any novelty in this dis- covery, or does the novelty consist, as in certain other discoveries, purely in the nomenclature? Virgil, Cato, and Columella, I believe, were equally well aware with us moderns, that vegetation would be promoted by the charcoal of almost any sub- stance, that the putrefactive heat, as well as actual combustion, might be likely to produce a coaly substance, and that such substance must necessarily be soluble before it could become the food of plants. If it be pretended, that carbon is exclu- sively thesfood of plants, I conceive such a notion is contradicted by every day’s experience, which demonstrates to our senses, that vegetables are nourished by the essence or vapour of fresh dung, aS 144 ON SOILS AND MANURES. as well as by that which is arrived at its carbo- nacious state. It is in course to give a catalogue of the various animal and other substances, which are proper for manure, and it has at least one particular use, that of reminding the cultivator of some articles within rr| his reach, which might else have escaped his notice; but respecting the particular application of these, dependent as it is, upon such numerous contingen- cies, which may entirely alter the state of the case; every one must be left to his own experience and discretion. None other than general rules, founded| on evident and permanent principles, can, with: propriety, be given, as the numerous agricultural] instructions, perfectly ludicrous from their direct opposition, sufficiently evince. The principal Manures will be found in thé following list: The Excrements of all animals, in- cluding Bones, Hair, Blood and Offals; Feathers: the auxiliary Earths, Chalk, Lime, Rubbish,&c. be- fore-mentioned—Putrefied Vegetables, Bark, Wood, and Leaves—Soot—Ashes— Malt and Rape-dust —Saw-dust—Salt— Woollen Rags—Scrapings of oiled Leather—Sea- Water and Weeds—Fish Blub-| ber——Oil—River and Pond-Mud and Weeds—Sul- lage or Sweepings of streets and roads—growing Vegetables turned in by the plough, or green ma- nures.| The principle seems to have’ obtained general assent, and with good reason, that animal-manures‘ ate the most powerful, and that the excrements of fat, particularly corn-fed animals, are far superior to those which are-dean and‘stare-fed. Human ordure, ON SOILS AND MANURES. 14.5 ordure, putrefied fish, and powdered bones, are, perhaps, superior to all other substances, for fer- tilizing land in general, and for their quick as well as lasting effect. Next to those, indubitably, I conceive, stands stable or horse-dung, and«in suc- cession, the dung of the fold-yard, and sheep-fold. Cow-dung is generally held to be cold and watery, but however that be, I have seen it work wonders on cold clays, doubtless, because any dressing is better than none. The opinions concerning hog- dung are laughably contradictory. Authors teach us, that it is the fattest and most beneficial of all sorts of dung, and that one Jjoad will go as far as two of any other sort, and yet many farmers assert with the gravest conviction, that it is good for no- thing, but to poison lands with weeds and rubbish. Of this I do not speak without book, since, in the year 1780, I humbly entreated the farmers around me to accept, gratis, a large lot of many hundred loads of the best swine’s dung, which they unani- mously refused. Doctors differ so much upon the point, that some vouch it to be hot, whilst others are equally positive that it is cold. They may, perhaps, be both in the right,.as it sometimes hap- pens with your strenuous argumentators: the ex- crement of corn, milk, or offal-fed swine, is, no doubt, hot and stimulating; that of such as are poorly‘kept, the case also of animals in general, but of moderate warmth and fruitfulness. I once sowed Poland oats upon a piece of land of a black, garden-soil, highly manured with hog-durig, and whilst green, experienced farmers laid the crop at twelve quarters per acre: it was, however, cut L| green ~ 4 eo“=-~“~ . ae aa eee ree et a a Baa ee-> a ae a ae ee I reer 9— 140 ON SOILS AND MANURES ereen for fodder. Farmers on the cold wet clay: of Sussex, have assur ad me of their pre ference of this dung before all others, and one In particular woes out a heap, ee! he valued at twelve shillings sa eas whilst on the still stronger clays of Middlesex. I have been assured, that hog-dung is cool; weak, flimsy, and good for nothing. My informants were all ice men, and I hae en- larged upon this one of a multitude of‘similar in- stances, to shew how little worth is sometimes, that thing commonly nicknamed, experience. The manure in question, ,is probably* among the The chug of sheep, goats, deer, rabbits, and fowls, is known to be specifically hot, abounding in salts and oils, whence sa. smajl a quantity is found efficacious: but I have ever suspected, those far- mers deceive themselves with this- general idea, when they place so great a dependance on a fold of half-starved sheep. I would not exchange my compost ASS for their fold Bon es have ever proved a most beneficial and lasting manure: it is reasonable to expect more J 4 oe& 7 speedy effect from them, when broken, or wl aT lat 18 preferal yle, reduced to powder; and some eminent cultivators have the convenience of two cylinders, which lock into each other, for this purpose. From thirty to sixty bushels, ground, or ungro ound, are laid upon an acre.‘The price of bones, SIX-_ pence per bushel. Feathers are highly spoken of; the quantity, ten bushels the acre. No doubt, that Feathers contain the‘principle of, manure, but J have never had experience of them, a| had I } any ee ON SOILS AND MANURES. 147 any to spare from a different purpose, I think J should prefer mixing and rotting them in the com- post dunghul.‘ The propriety of throwing urine upon the soil has been sometimes ques ened and if I remember aright, Mr. Marshall, in his Minutes, does not prove, that-the use of dung-water from the farm- yard, answers the expence of carriage. I have myself carried urine upon grass-land without any perceptible effect. On the other hand, it has often been found to answer greatly, and the urine of the hogs at a distillery in Herter dshire, is constantly aaPett yO BESET aes rh I ¥ pi(iy FE pe sold, and has, worked great effect in the neighbour- hood. I, nevertheless, prefer mixing both urine and dung-water, with the compost, to px uring it in a liquid state upon the land. Both the putrefaction, and the ashes of vege- ables, contain an essential salt which enriches the land.‘Tanner’s bark, partaking both of vegeta- ble and animal salt, is a yery forcing and strong manure for cold stiff lands, warming and opening them in a very eminent de: gree.. A load gener rally sufices an acre; but I think the best method’ of using bark, when intended to loosen clay,is to mix it with sand, light mould, and a moderate quantity of lime, or Sone ch alk. With, respect.to ve- getables, if reduced to ashes, their virtues come quicker into action, but the effect of.putrefaction is more substantial and permanent; for that rea- son, it 1s better to rot, if possible, all vegetable matter, leaves, fern,\straw,&c. than to reduce, 17 them to ashes,. Fern and all hard stalky substances will rot-in length ef time, being-mixed with earth, Las stable- —— a= San re eee aaa ec Se aft a eed— eee i 148 ON SOILS AND MANURES. stable dung, or ordure, and lime. Leaves and a> weeds may be collected in fans, and the concomi- tant advantage of clearing away the latter, will render the business worth while. Where expe- ditious manuring is desired, either fern, or stubble and straw, may be burned upon the land, to the quantity of five or six tons per acre; but should straw run short, virgin earth or sand, and some lime, may be mixed with the ashes, and the whole buried immediately. Ashes in general, and soot, are of a warm and stimulating nature, and always proper for cold and stiff soils. They are both turned into the land, and used as a top-dressing, in which latter case, cate should be taken not to burn the crop. Soap and coal-ashes are the strongest; the latter I have observed to destroy worms and insects, but they have one ill effect, which is, to cut of the tender fibres of plants, and I have often seen the stalks of young seedling cabbages entirely cankered by the friction of contact with the rough ashes. Peat- ashes are burnt from black, moorish, or marshy ground. Ellis writes of fat and lean peats, by which, I suppose,.we are to understand it, fat or lean, as the clay or sand predominates.‘The fat peat-ashes are judged very hot and sulphureous. From ten to twenty bushels per acre of these, are used, but, in general, a load and-a half or two loads of ashes are allowed. They must ever be kept dry, or their goodness will be much dimi- nished, Grasses, in general, are much benefited by them, at least, for a crop or two. Malt-dust, or combs, as it is called, is.a bene- ficial os nate ON SOILS AND MANURES. 149 mt ficial dressing for almost any land, to the quantity vil of fifty or sixty bushels to the acre. Saw-dust “pe also, which will help to loosen stiff clays, 1s ad- bbl vantageously mixed with sand and lime for such 0 the end. Rape-dust, abounding with oil, must be be- boul neficial on poor soils, Rags, particularly woollen, sie are used with advantage upon stiff soils, after the hol rate of twenty or thirty bushels per acre, chopped : small; I have, however, observed, they make ea good nests for worms.‘To be convinced of the Meal Saenay of rag-manure, one need but examine the Tht corn-crops adjoining to the paper- mills in Kent, fl which are most abundant. I have heard of seven ., quarters of wheat growing upon an acre of Jand, iS highly dressed w ith the refuse and water from a :- paper-manufactory. The water in which hemp is they aa;“4 retted, or soaked, is also said to be a good ma- nder:: ii. nure, iS al The circumstance of human ordure, the most the pow erful of all manures, being so totally neglected Peat in this country, has often RecA remarked by fo- atshy reign agriculturalists. It is a truth not to be de- , by nied, that in a few of the most material points of lat or husbandry and tillage, we are at this day far be- he Tat hind our continental neighbours, and even the reouss Asiatics, however antiquated and sunvarying the se, ate practice of these last; one of these points is the or two use of manures. In Flanders, ordure is in such ever De request, that it is carefully collected, and. tran- dim sported from place to place at great expence: enefed they even mix it with ,the soil, fresh, and in a l- quid state; sometimes pouring it into the holes, as , bene- they dibble the plants, Nay, the Chinese are so ficial; fearful Te arm a ER 8 rae A—————————— | 00 ON SOILS AND MANURES. fearful of suffering any needless waste of a com- modity so precious, that it isa common thing for their farmers to erect by the way-side, a commo- dious house, from the door of which an appro- priate rhyme invites the traveller to deposit his welcome contribution.‘The reason for our neglect ,of this manure, appears to be threefold: the natu- ral fertility of the soil of this island, and its pecu- liar fitness for the product of corn and grass, the great_ quantity of cattle-dung made from our ex- traordinary at a) of flesh meat; and a e against the manure in question. Of this Sind I have seen various strong inveterate prejudi mstances; I was once consulting a carter about the use of bog-house-soil, upon a piece of cold, iron clay, on which nothing would grow, when the fellow turning up his nose most delicately, told me, he hoped I would then get people proper for the employ. Mr. Middleton assures us that ninety-nine’ parts in a hundred, of the soil of privies, in London, is carried by the common sewers into the Thames: ’ thus, alth ough we loath the essence of this manure im our victuals, we ¢ and as the Thames water, strongly as it must. be impregnated with the infusion, is so renowned for iO NOt scruple 1 in our drink; its superior excellence, surely we ought to expect analagous effects in the pioanetars of the earth, aiiéliqrated by the same substance.‘A similar proportion of this valuable substance; is, I dare say, lost throughout the ee and as it Is aver- red, that three or four cart-loads of it are‘sufficient for the first dressing of an acre,. and that after- J wards pas — 5. nO ene - a ee Vote gee— eerste Cth. 5 fy NM. pt t his } Bt ect 2 Oa a re a ON SOILS AND MANUREBS. 151] r wards, one load per acre, per annum, will keep the land perpetually in heart, the public loss, and public negligence, in thiginstance, must be great indeed. I have seen ordure laid upon land by itself, in its fresh and gross state, w wonderful and sudden effects; but certainly the most proper and cleanly method is, to mix it in the‘compost dunghill, which it will enrich in an extraordinary degree. Every body knows that lime, charcoal powdered, or ashes, cast upon orcure, will absorb and neutralize its disagreeable effuvia, and render it tolerable to work. Mixed with lime and earth, it makes a compost fit for all kinds of soils. - Fish, and those gelatinous, or slimy substances which are washed on shore by the sea-coast, make a very strong manure,. when rotted with earth. Whale blubber is also used with good effects, in those parts where it can be had at a reasonable ex- pence; it is commonly mixed with other manures. Sea-water abounding in a fertile salt, is,(twelve gallons being allowed to the acre) sprinkled upon the land with good success; foul salt is also used } 4 in Suffolk, and other parts, at the rate of ten to sixteen bushels per acre: and sea-sand being’im- pregnated with saline particles, is thence of a more enriching quality than any other. Sea, river, and pond-weeds, flags, and mud, sullage, or sweepings of streets and roads, particularly of the latter, when made of Fimestone, are all highly useful in- gredients in a compost. Of the earths proper for strengthening and amending the soil, virgin-earth, or such as has not been’ bd Or ~ 4 ON SOILS AND MANURES. been exhausted by vegetation, is too much neg- lected: this should ever form the bottom layer of composts, and if the farmer has nothing better to lay upon a piece of ground, which has been hard driven(a case too common) he would reap much benefit by a good covering of fresh ditch earth, or rotten mould, which must necessarily contain a cer- tain quantity of the food of plants; and should his land be of a thin staple, or stoney, there would be the additional, and lasting benefit of an increase of substance. But fresh earth. and lime will always make an advantageous dressing for land, and with those ingredients, which‘are sometimes, and in some situations, easily commanded, the. cultivator should eke out his more scarce and valuable ma- nures. It must be acknowledged there are poor tracts, where no valuable earth can be obtained, in any considerable quantity; it‘may also frequently happen, that either: sand or clay, may be very de- sirable manure, and yet quite out of the farmer’s reach, at any reasonable charge. Sand and clay, as has already been hinted, reci- procally manure each other. Marl, Fuller’s Earth, Chalk, and Lime, which is either lime-stone, or chalk, reduced to powder by combustion, or burn- ing, are beyond all doubt, endowed with the vir- tue of promoting vegetation, by their unctuous and alkaline qualities, as well as of decomposing, or loosening the soil, either by their weight, mechani- g cally insinuatin earth, or by the power of raising a fermentation r themselves into the pores of the = as 1]] a} Ly sien dic Ets> therein. Chaik being reduced to the state of lime, its virtues are. probably concentred; but a part ox them oS k f [ id f ON SOILS AND MANURES. 153 them lost or dissipated by the action of fire; hence, the effects of the latter are found more immediate and striking, but less permanent.‘The very es- sence, as it were, of the manure, is at once brought into play, and the substance reduced to minute particies, fitted for immediate insinuation into the clods of earth. The same effect has been before noted of ashes in general. But the powdering of chalk, either by grinding, or manual labour, seems to secure the double advantage of immediate and lasting effect, probably saving much useful sub- stance which would be dissipated by the action of fire: not but that the stimulating properties of lime, or ashes, are exceedingly desirable upon cold, clung, and sluggish soils; and they are of singular use in the destruction of weeds, worms, and insects. It appears thus to be advantageous, to powder the soft and unctuous chalks, reserving the very calca- reous, and the proper lime-stone, for burning. Sea-shells burned, produce the finest lime, and it is probable most of the stones found upon the shore would answer that purpose. The burning of clay, in large piles of wood, as a manure, has been re- commended,; but I am not aware that.it has been often, or profitably essayed. Chalk and Marl, are species of the same genus, composed of the same elementary substances. The indications of their goodness are, solubility, and a facility of being rubbed to a pure, unctuous pow- der, free of dross and grit. They do not always effervesce with acids, the defect of which isa proof of inferiority. Marl is found in various parts of the island, on calcareous and sandy soils; a soapy- SpeCleg pe SS raz—— ahi aaa et: eee Fn ae == ou att= a Piste a oR eg D4 ON SOILS AND MANURES. species of different colours, is also met with on clays. The shell-marl, or marine-shells in a crumbling state, is sometimes found near the sur- face, and. the stone-marl at a considerable depth. The former may be pulverized between the fingers, and is, of course, fit for use, without any operation in which, probably, and its fine aiid pulverized state, capacitating it for immediate action on the soul, its presumed periority consists. The effects (2 ee} 1 im| is 7 t of marl on both sae and grass land have been most extraordinary, but it has frequently failed, or turned out pernicious, from an erroneous aj p ylica- tion;.sometimes from overloading meadow with it, at one dressing, which has had the same effect as too large a quantity of quick-lime upon green wheat: the present sward has been nearly destroyed, yet as soon as the land has recovered, and the marl has become mixed with a larger qua mes of soil, the grass has shot up in a most flourishing state, and continued in-high thrift. The atcideeenctl is, from its nature, adapted to clayey soils; the shelly and argillaceous, to sands and light lands. The good- ness of marl must vary with this soil, and the Nor- folk marl is held superior; it is» reasonable‘to suppose that nee w Bick is found nearest to the sea, or large rivers. But even the inferior kinds of these valuable earths possess a considerable oe of amending the soil, and should not be neglected in districts where those of superior quality cannot be obtained. They are of so varying a nature, as to be fit for nearly every kind of soil, that excepted which 1s plainly composed of them; this, however, regards merely a ON SOILS AND MANURES., 155 merely the upper stratum, since sands, clays, of loams, which contain chalk, or marl, beneath them, have a mine of wealth in their bowels: yet suche an immense advantage is neglected in some parts of the country, although in others, marling and chalking have doubled the value of the lands.. As a farther instance of the power of custom, chalk- stone surfaces are, in some parts, chalked and limed, and lime laid. upon burning sands, as a cooler! Lands are chalked, to the amount of from thirty to eig casional assistance of the farm-dung, will produce and continue the desired effect, for twelve or four: teen years. It may be better to use half the quan- hty loads Ee acre, which, with the oc- tity at first, and the remainder in three or four years.- A good artificial marl, for light lands, may be made of pure clay and lime, alternate layers, the heap being left exposed to a winter’s frost: if intended for strong ant loam and oe must be substituted for the clay. Gypsum, or plaster of Paris, as an improver of land, is yet in its proba- tionary state, both in America and Europe; I have paid due attention to the various experiments with this earth, without having any reason to suppose it superior t6 the richer marls and chal’ s, nor, in my opinion, ae the want of it be at all regretted, _ where these can be had. I shall conclude this subject, as I proposed, with a few general rules, originating, I conceive, im the rational principles of agriculture, not daring to make any nice scientific distinctions between hens, rabbits, pigeons” dung, or feathone, or to point out the peculiar adaption of each, to this, or that particular a 156 ON SOILS AND MANURES. particular soil, or crop: a practice which I ever compared, in my own ideas, with the sage advice of my grandmother, who taught me to catch sparrows by laying salt upon their tails, but that I must use bran for pigeons. I must remark too, that no part of the present theme ought to be obtruded upon the attention of those jolly cultivators, whom the blind goddess has blessed with a soil of unconquerable fertility; who have no other care than to sow and to reap, and to do their utmost possible, to keep down rampant vegetation, unmolested by the plague of cattle, and the contamination of filthy excrement. It may be true, that even an Indian soil will be exhausted by everlasting giving without any return; but what of that? the evil day is afar off, and the farmer will be rich and indifferent, ere its arrival. It as lost labour, to reason on any subject with indolence and wealth. The perfection of the culture of land, consists in returning to it, through the medium of manures, the whole of that essential substance extracted by the crops—in the total eradication of weeds, and in the dispersion of stagnant water. Presupposing industry and capital, nothing can be more easy than to keep a farm, as well as a gar- den, in constant heart; for the bountiful earth al- lows us the advantage at starting, not requiring any returns until it has’ presented us with various crops. As to the pretended impossibility of en- tirely extirpating weeds, setting aside the example of other countries, China particularly, in the hus- bandry of which not a weed is to be seen, every one ON SOILS AND MANURES. 157 Lee one possessed of industry and resolution, may be vee convinced it is a mere pretence: We have only to oe kili them by all the various and well known methods, as Ust ye fast as they come, and there must necessarily be anend to their coming. I freely acknowledge this to be an pest expensive process, in the beginning; but[I fully ton of defy any man to disprove that it 1s true ceconomy ss has in the end. eth Manure amply stifficient to recruit the exhaustion aan of cropping, ought to be produced by the animals npant kept upon the farm, with the assistance of the straw 5 » and beside which, nothing even to the most minute i trifle, should be neglected, which may, Inany way, Ae contribute to enrich the compost dunghill. Thus tof every farmer, if he shall SO chuse, may be abso- ail lutely independent in this respect, in full and safe ia reliance on his own home resources. His cattle . will make him a present of their dung, as well as a pay him a good price for their keep. But in times es unlike the present, when flesh provisions may chance to be low-priced, and not ready of sale, the 3. case will be somewhat altered, and the wary farmer y;: as will rather resort to purchased manures, of which ee— See creme os all the various kinds have been pointed out. , In the choice of dressing, a man will consult the a} nature of his land, his own ability, and debate ig within himself, on the scope of his intentions. If be his land be in a worn-out state, exhausted by per- iat petual cropping, at the same time, perhaps, of too a- thin a staple, it is his business to recruit by those manures which’ will give permanent strength and pe substance; laying as much of it down for a time, es and putting as much of the arable under the hoe, ery ey as one ;— ae se i tht AE= 158 ON SOILS AND MANURES as he has ability. The proper manures are mart and chalk, or in defect of these, clay upon sand, or sand upon clay, in quantities, according to the state of the case, and of the farmer’s purse. Sea-sand 1s proved to be an excellent manure, and the Nor- folk farmers on the coast, spread it in their stables, and fold yards, to the depth of several feet,‘itter- ing over it. Cold and wet lands naturally require warm and absorbent substances, such are chalk, lime, and ashes. These suck up the superfluous moisture, and render the soil dry, mellow, and friable. It is curious, that lime is recommended for’ precisely | ° 7+ opposite eres, 2 in both sand and clay: i. it, that being more substantial than sand, and lighter than bee it sia the one, and loosens the aE gern At vould be wonderful, did we not know of the con- stant recurrence of such contrarities in agricul- tural practice, that lime has been often found, both f the utmost advantage, and perfectly noxious, by differe‘nt cultivators, on soils of a perfectly similar nature. For my own part, used with discretion, I have known It succeed on most soils; chalk too, by some accounts, has done wonders on grass-land, according to others has had none, or a very ill ef- fect. I have known it produce fine carpets of srass; a similar effect I have witnessed on clays, from a compost of bricklayer’s rubbish, and cow- dung. Two remarks on chalk and lime ought not to be omitted: it is averred by an ee physician, that these possess an antiseptic quality; that is, they 4 resist putrefaction, and by their She ent powers, attract we Tract NY] map iz wi?‘aes Se! a eS oe rm+e+ aliract and SUCK Up the unwholesome VaApours Oi A iH| Se oe ES 7 LAE Rie ea i BS ees Pare Sy a the ath hospi UG. CMCC td. Dogs VY aha marshy situ- :-< fics: essere Aral cate Be ations, it is extremely beneficial to chalk the land or roads.- The other remark I have to offer y. Bee ics Ser ee EAS A oe oe that as li mi e-burnit ung j is expensive, from the s arclry ¢ a< Bigs fee Spey zit PE j eS Oe be more anda increasing vali€ Of fuel, woul 1.4 De more 2 ceconomical, and ec qually ech. to See aus the powder of chalk, or lime-stone? and if in any case, a stimulant eh be held necessary, would not ashes of some kind, mixed with the powdered chalk, answer the desired effect? A man will break from thirty to forty bushels of chalk or lime- stone, to the size of a hazel-nut, in three days; but this operation would be much shortened, as well as performed in a more effectual manner, by machinery, in which the threshing-machine might probably be rendered instrumental. Dr. Mitchell says, they are decors: who mix lime in a com- post, by way of forwarding putrefaction, on ac- count of the ieee quality of the lime; and of the same opinion was the late in wenlous agri- culturist, Mr. Baker, of.Dublin. Parched and thirsty soils, gravels, or sands, apt to scald, a€cording to the common term, require manures which are cooling and phlegmatic, bu which will, at the same time, impart Cé whereon to feed and allay the superfluous heat Such are composts made of cow-dung, mud, weeds, ditch-earth; with the gddition of any co ling and fattening substances. These pe thoroughly rotted. and friable, make a most Aes le top- dressing in the spring, for the corn upon the lands under description, preserving a necessary coolne: — creme a TE at a aR retary eee => SS 0 ee 160 ON SOILS AND MANURES. and moisture about the roots, defending them from the violence of the dog-day sun... By a parity of reasoning, the spring-crops of cold and wet lands, which, probably, on account of the autumnal rains could receive no marfure, are highly benefited by a top-dressing of an opposite, that is to say, of a warming and stimulating nature, which may protect them from the inclement effects of cold‘easterly winds, during a backward spring.‘Soot, ashes, and the dung of fowls, and of the smaller animals, are in common use for this intention; but a compost made of those, with the aid of powdered chalk and sand, I believe to be still more effectual, because more substantial. The chalk and sand alone, other ingredients being unatté unable, are a good dressing; as is clay and eleatle. rendered Gidble by a winter’s frost, for lands of‘the first pesos I should suppose vegetable manures turned in by the ee are fit for hot and thirsty soils; alt though that is practice I never have, and probably never shall use. The advantage of collecting at leisure-times, a large heap of earth to lie until it become mellow and crumbling, will be found great; if mixed with one third of chalk, still greater. Respecting the season of laying manure upon the land, it must depend upon the convenience of the farmer, and the state of the soil. The leisure of summer, and the dry time, or frosts, of autumn and winter, are the common seasons. The ot J jections to summer-manuting, are a presumed ernien of the virtue of the dung, from the attraction of the sun; nor can any apprehension be more-rationally founded: for although men reason, that the aqueous, or watery particles ON SOILS AND MANURES. 161 particles alone, are exhaled: that granted, for ar- gument’s sake, such articles must possess virtue; and because dung dried by the sun still possesses virtue, the circumstance affords no proof, that the same unexposed and unexhausted, would not afford stl more. This leads to the old argument con- cerning raw or fresh, and rotten dung: the rationale, or truth of this subject appears to me to be, that dung, even in its fresh state, contains the food of plants, and that every atom of gas, or vapour, ex- haled, is a loss to the farmer; but it is one of those unavoidable losses to which we are necessi- tated to submit, for the sake of other and superior conveniencies. Long, heavy, and bulky manure is extremely inconvenient, upon a stiff soil, al- though perhaps desirable upon certain loose and sandy ones. Granting moreover, the quantity of essence, imparted to the land by green manure, to be superior, its effect will be more gradual, and, perhaps, from imperfect fermentation, its virtue less elaborate and subtil, than that of dung tho- roughly putrefied in a mass. Hence the most advantageous method is, to use the dung im- mediately after the first fermentation shall be thoroughly finished, which may be expected in a well-managed heap in about six or eight weeks, ac- cording to circumstances: nevertheless, let not any one apprehend ill-consequence, or loss, from the use of dung, even fresh as it falls, should his convenience require it; he will perhaps find, as I have done, that it fattens the worms to a monstrous size, but many of those may be also converted to manure, by quick-lime and ashes. The plan of M the {62 ON SOILS AND MANURES. the late Mr. Bakewell, to dry his dung to the fine- ness of a pinch of snuff, I have ever thought ab- surd and unprofitable in the extreme. Dung, lime, and ashes, should ever be covered, in order to preserve, as much as possible, their ef- fluvia from dissipation, whether in the heap, or in the field. If in the latter, in summer or winter, and the heaps cannot be immediately ploughed in, they ought to be left defended by a complete co- vering of mould; this is particularly necessary with lime and ashes: and those manures will often be found more profitable for stubborn clays, in a wet state, when dung would make them still more quagey and intractable. It is the practice of some to bury the dung, in the drills, wherein plants are to be set; which is, in truth, to make a sort of hot-bed for them. In the common method of spreading, all possible care should be taken to break, and immediately mix, the manure with the soil; in this respect, the Devon- shire practice, in liming and chalking, ought to be an example to the country; they spare no expence in manual labour with the spade, and other conveni- ent implements, to effect this desirable union, in- the completest manner. Cautions have sometimes been given not to bury the manure too deep, so as to place it without the reach of vegetation: there cannot be much in this, since it is the nature of exhalations to ascend, but it is probable, the use of manure may be so retard- ed. Ponderous substances, such.as chalk, or marl, may perhaps sink deep, and be afterwards ad- vantageously recovered, by deep ploughing. By xe ae ploughing aa pict ON SOILS AND MANURES. 163 } | the|. a ploughing deeper than common also, the soil may Me| be advantageously mixed with fresh and unex- | hausted moulds, but the benefit of this will mate- ml| rially depend on the depth of the staple, and the oi mature of the subsoil; the latter may consist(as I on have lately experienced) of a sour, infertile earth, inter, which will bear nothing, until exposed, for a con- in siderable time, to the ameliorating influence of the + C0» sun, dews, and frosts. In fallowing land, to lie for ssary a considerable space, deeper ploughing than ordi- often nary may be adviseable. ha The bulk of the manure, upon a farm, should nore ever be bestowed upon those crops, whether tur- nips, cabbages, carrots, tares, pease, beans, grasses, in, or the like, which are intended for the support of Is, cattle, by which measure, and the use of the hoe, In those fallows, as they are styled, will be in the most are rich, clean, and beautiful ordér, for the production the| of corn. But this measure is essentially necessary “On upon soils apt to run riot from superabundant fer- mm tility, when fresh dunged and sowed with corn >in broad-cast: the consequence too often is, one con- att tinued bed of weeds, and a forest of reedy straw, vin borne down to the earth by its own weight. I | once saw a remarkable instance of this kind, in a buy three-acred piece of the most fertile land, by a river- tthe side, on which a wheat-crop was absolutely spoiled, this and a succeeding crop of beans nearly so; nor did ut the farmer get it into moderate tilth, under several sib seasons.‘The soil was so happily mixed(a. deep on hazel loam upon a healthy gravel) that it was na- ji turally fitted“to any crop, and would have done By. wonders, with either carrots, lucern, or cabbages; M2 either ing I es 3 ea ETRE=~—== a A a a en a 164 ON SOILS AND MANURES either of which I recommended, but was answered only with a very significant shake of the head. Where they farm in the old style, fallow for wheat, and afford no manure for any but their wheat fal- lows, it is a common practice to lay on their dung immediately before sowing; and that from neces- sity, for they probably have none ready before that period; but if their land be stiff and clayey, the fresh dung may make it work badly; and it were, under this system, far better to get their land and their dung ready as early as possible in the sum- mer, when the latter should be spread and turned in immediately. The true management of dung in the farm- yards, is to get it ready for use, that is, to expedite a dué fermentation as early as possible; and to throw it into convenient situations, in heaps of ad- vantageous size. Dunghills of moderate size, are most favourable to fermentation, and are besides ready at hand, for choice, on any emergency: and it is much better to continue at every opportunity, making hills in proper situations, either at home, or in the field, than to suffer the dung to lie all the season, trod down hard in the fold-yard, and ex- posed to a winter-flood of rain. Every dung-heap should rest on a foundation of mould, so placed for the purpose of catching the draining of the manure, which would else soak into the earth, but which fully impregnating the bottom Jayer of mould, renders it nearly equal in goodness with the rest. The dung ought to lie loose, that there may be space for the act of fer- mentation, on which account, the cart ought by no means ON SOILS AND MANURES. 165 means to be driven upon the heap. Should the heap be left a sufficient length, to produce weeds, let them be drawn previous to seeding, and either burnt with some rubbish, or buried with the dung, and a quantity of lime. It is doubtless advanta- geous to have a dunghill‘under cover, but such convenience is rather out of question, on account of the expence; nevertheless, a light covering of earth is no despicable substitute. Various receipts, how to make a compost, are given by our scientific agricultors; some of them, laughable enough, on account of the expensive- ness, scarcity, or hard names of the ingredients. The best receipt is, for the farmer to get all the various articles of manure he can possibly lay his hands on, the fatter the better, and so. form his compost dunghill. The different ingredients should be equal as possible, no one lying too thick, nor should lime, or hot ashes(this, however, cannot be very material) lie in immediate contact with dung, but with earth or vegetables.© Every practical man knows when, and how, to turn over the heap, and to divide and break lumps and adhesions; but this ought never to be done, so as to impede fer- mentation, namely, whilst that process is going for- ward: such task, however, ought to be well per- formed, at first, on making the heap. In forming a compost of slop articles, the follow- ing is a good method: first ratse a pye of earth, the bottom crust and sides being of sufficient thickness, and the latter of sufficient height, to contain the fruit. The carts being backed to the sides of the pye, into it are shot mud, scourings, ordure, weeds, flags, 166 ON SOILS AND MANURES. flags,&c. a quantity of lime being added, and the whole inclosed by an upper crust of mould. These pies, in due time, will cut up very fat and rich, and being stirred over, may be again slightly covered with mould, and left for use. Some persons are so curious, as to thatch their dunghills slightly with straw, during the summer- heats; a practice which I recollect to have seen in the yard of the late Mr. Rawlins, of Dartford, in Kent, of whom I heard the character of a very able, and very liberal, practical farmer, Wood has been said to contain the virtues of manure, and I have known it left some years in the earth, with that view; to be taken up at last in a sound state, after having acted no otherwise, than as an inconvenience to tillage. Sods laid up to rot, grass to grass, become a rich earth, which being mixed with ashes, the compost will form a good dressing for the gardens of those who dislike the contamination of dung in their culinary vegetables. Farmers in the environs,of the metropolis, who cart ashes and bones from thence, I think, should not forget oyster-shells, of which also a consider- able quantity might be procured. Let it not escape the memory of any one con- cerned in manuring land, that lime, ashes, burning, and all forcing articles, or methods, by warming, loosening, and intimately dividing the particles of the soil, stimulate to its utmost exertions; which, if continued, without the support of the most sub- stantial animal manures and earths, must end in total exhaustion and barrenness, IRRI- nS a I ne a P= tor" IRRIGATION, Or warerinc Meadow-land, is a very excel- lent, at the same time, an expensive, and not un- frequently, dificult mode of improvement: the intent is, to cause water to overflow the land, so long, until it shall have deposited its sediment, at- ter which, the mere liquid itself would be preju- dicial. It hath been matter of dispute with many, particularly Mr. Boswell and Mr. Wright, eminent writers, and judges of this matter, whether for the purpose of Irrigation, the preference be due to turbid or limpid water. Mr. Boswell inclining to the latter opinion. It is probably not too much to assume, that they may be both in the right. It seems reasonable, that when there is much warp, or sediment, the produce of grass may be more abundant, but of a rank and inferior quality; the crop from pure, limpid water, impregnated how- ever with lime-stone and marly particles, may con- sist of a finer, sweeter, and more valuable herbage. The peculiar benefit of watering and warping is, that we thereby make use of a gratuitous manure, that otherwise is wasted, or becomes a nuisance; and it is much to be lamented, that the’ sediment of either spring, brook, or river in the country, which can at any reasonable expence be floated upon the Jand, should remain useless. Having myself never attended much to the practice of Irrigation, I shall offer only a few ge- neral hints, which I have casually collected from others: in fact, although I were able to-give di. rections 168 IRRIGATION. rections from experience, I believe the best I could possibly give to a beginner, would be, to send into Gloucestershire for a regular floater, on which head, I refer the reader to Mr. Wright’s excellent pamphlet. The water should be a full sheet, quickly flow- ing to the depth of more than an inch, at least, and the first consideration no doubt is, that the stock of water be sufficient, lest the expence be incurred in vain, or‘for an ifadequate return. The begin- ning of Novembe# is the usual time of flooding, for a crop of grass, to, be ready for stock in the beginning of March, which may remain nearly April out, but no longer, a crop of hay being de- sired. The water lying upon the land during frost, is supposed to preserve the roots of the grass warm, and free from injury. After securing the hay- crop, the ground may be again irrigated; the ad- vantage of water to perform this, in a parched season, must be singularly great. The ingenious Mr. Wright proposes the follow- ing necessary questions, previously to the attempt at floating a meadow.‘ Will the stream of water, to be employed in floating, admit of a temporary wear or dam across it? Can you dam up and raise the water high enough, to flow over the surface of your land, without flooding. and injuring your neighbour’s adjoining land? Or, is your water already high enough, without a wear; or can you make it so, by taking it out of the stream higher up, and by the conductor keeping it up nearly to its level, till 1t enters the meadow? and can you draw: the water off as quick as it is brought on?’-— There eee a IRRIGATION. 169 There is full scope for ingenuity in a cultivator, who wishes to turn an adjoining stream or brook, or to convert the waters of a convenient pond, to the use of flooding his meadows—to adjust his levels, to regulate his acclivities and declivities, to lead his carrier trenches, and cut his: outlets, or drains. The trenches should stand as a fence to the land. The method of constructing a wear or dam, recommended by Mr. Wright, being simple and unexpensive, is worth transcribing.“ A strong and effectual frame of a wear, composed only of two rough pieces of timber, and a few stakes, in the following manner: one of the pieces of timber, or beams, was laid across the bottom of the stream, below the water, the other across the top, above the water, each beam having its ends firmly fixed in the banks, on each side of the stream; and the stakes were placed in a perpendicular direction to the front of these beams, the lower end of each stake resting in a deep groove, cut along the uppermost side of the lower piece of timber, and the upper end of each stake bearing against the upper piece of timber. For the position of the uppermost beam, and the upper ends of the stakes, see the wears across the stream, in plates, 2, 3. The lower piece of timber, in this case, is always placed a few inches higher up the streams, than the upper one, that the stakes may stand perfectly upright, at the same time that they bear against the uppermost piece of timber. Having thus obtained the out- work, or frame of a wear, it will be no difficult matter to fill up and complete it with a variety of materials, such as each situation shall most conve- niently m— a ae 3 3 eesstittld a< Eee <.. een xs ee ee: r ee ail rer gs a a a SS — eae 170 IRRIGATION.= niently furnish. When the stream, which is to be obstructed or diverted by a wear, is as much as three or four yards in width, it is generally found requisite to complete it, by placing portions of boards to the front of the stakes, nailed together in quantities agreeing with the dimensions of the stream: but when the stream is of less width than three yards, it will be thought supérfluous to give any directions respecting the materials which ought to be used in a wear. Behind each wear and flood-hatch, a board or plank is always laid over the streamer or feeder, for the person to stand upon, who is to make or regulate them.” The expence of preparing a meadow for water- ing, will be upon an average of situations, from three to seven pounds per acre; the annual im- provement will be best illustrated by the following account of the produce of an old watered mea- dow, in Gloucestershire, containing eight acres. On the 2d day of April, 107 sheep, 8 cows and 7 colts, were fed on this piece during five weeks; that is to say, until the time of shutting up for the hay-crop, for the keep of which the proprietor re- ceived$3.35. 1s. 10d. after the rate of 10d. 4 head; per week for the sheep, 3s. 6d. the cows, and 4s. the colts. The crop of hay was afterwards about fifteen tons, which was six weeks in grow- ing. WARPING WARPING\ Was first practised in Lincolnshire, about forty years since, and what may be truly thought absurd, considering its instant and immense advantages, was discontinued for twenty years; it will be an absurdity yet more admirable, should other coun- ties, watered by maritime rivers, delay to follow the example of Lincolnshire. Granting it a risk of expence and trouble, what man even of a mo- derate share of spirit and activity, but would incur it on the prospect of so precious a return; even that of covering with the richest soil, to any de- sired depth, a bare rock, or the most barren heath, with the power of renewing it at will for ever? The sediment warped along by the tide, appears to consist of silt or sea-sand, and slime, such as is ge- nerally seen accumulated in the obstructed parts of navigable rivers; and it is inconceivable that the warp of the Lincoln rivers alone, should be fruc- tifying to land. Again, how an improvement like this, should have been discovered so late, with the ancient and illustrious examples of the Nile, and other rivers, before our eyes, that annually enrich with the slime left behind, those lands they overflow, is truly matter of wonder. But the discovery made, and its immense profit established, by numerous, clear, experimental proofs, it will, no doubt, have the most extensive effects.- River-mud, of all kinds, will now come in for its just share of repute,:as a manuf’re. me a—- se ag pgp SE eg PELE EGE AORTA Sa ec nent Te 172 WARPING. manure. There can be no doubt at least of the fructifying quality of the sediment of all waters, near the sea; as the fertility of marsh-land fully evinces. The goodness of the Thames warp, will also be readily answered for, by the farmers in the neighbourhood of Gravesend, where a spring- tide will leave an inch or two of the richest sandy slime, through which presently shoots a most lux- uriant crop of herbage. The few following particulars. are extracted from the Board Survey of the county of Lincoln; and to that noble and truly national institution, and its indefatigable secretary, the country at large is highly. indebted for information, which surely cannot fail of being attended with wonderful con- sequences. The warp, or sediment, is left by the tides of the Trent, Ouze, Dun, and other rivers, which empty themselves into the Humber. These waters are muddy to excess, insomuch that a cylindrical glass of them, twelve or fifteen inches long, will(in sum- mer, or the dryest time, which is most favourable to the. purpose,) deposit presently, an inch and more of warp. The process of warping is perfectly simple; only to let the tide in upon the land, either arable or grass, at high water, and to discharge it again as the tide falls. This is effected by a cut, or canal, from the river, having a sluice for the admission and_ discharge of the water, which is also confined to the grounds intended to be warped by surround- ing banks raised to the required height, which may be from four to seven feet. The cut, or carrier, | may i Ee 5 ees a WARPING, 173 may extend several miles, in proportion to the quantity of land to be warped, on each side, lateral cuts being made in proper directions. It will be easily conceived, that as in irrigation, the farther the course of the water, the smaller must be the quantity of the sediment deposited. A sluice for warping, five feet high, and seven wide, will do for fifty acres per annum; if the land lie near the river, for seventy. Cost from four to five hundred pounds. Warped land has been sold for one hun- dred pounds per acre. Warping creates a soil of any depth you please. It leaves one eighth of an inch of sediment every tide, on an average, and the layers do not mix, but remain in leaves distinct. With but one sluice, every other tide only, can be used, as the water must run perfectly off, that the surface may en- crust; and if the canal be not empty, the tide has not the effect. At Althorp, Mr. Bower has warped to the depth of eighteem inches in a summer. Every hollow upon the land is filled and levelled by the warp, and the stiffer and firmer it is, the. better. A certain spot’ was warped to the depth of ten inches in eight hours. Mr. Webster at Bankside, has in about four years, warped his farm of two hundred and twelve acres, to various depths, from eighteen inches to three feet and a half. Some of it was moorland, worth only eighteen pence per acre, which now equals the best. He gave for the land, eleven pounds per acre, which is now, by warping, improved to the worth of from seventy to one hundred. The expence has been twelve pounds per acre, from eo: i ne a eon 174 WARPING. from which, however, may be deducted, five pounds an acre, on three hundred acres, offered him by a neighbour, for the use of his sluice and main cut, in order to warp that quantity of adjoining land. Warped land lets at from fifty shillings to five pounds per acre, producing vast crops of-corn, grass, potatoes, and flax. Great crops are pro- duced from three inches of warp. In some sea- sons, corn is sown the year after warping; if deep, a greater time required. Barley and turnips seem excluded from the crops in this improvement. A wheat-stubble warped, and sowed with oats the fol- lowing April, produced twelve quarters per acre. Wheat afterwards thirty-six bushels per acre. Oats scuffed upon the fresh warp, the scuffle being drawn by eight, and held by one man, produced on three acres, particularly, fourteen quarters one sack per acre. Beans ninety bushels per acre: one acre measured to decide a wager, yielded ninety-nine bushels. An hundred and forty-four pods have been taken from one bean on four stalks.- Tartarian oats seven feet high. White clover and hay-seeds, mown twice the first year; the first cutting three tons per acre, the second one ton, afterwards an immense eddish. Warp brings plenty of weeds; mustard, cresses, wild cellery, docks, and thistles, but kills rushes: its effect is very lasting upon land, which requires no farther manure for many years. DRAINING. . — ace~~———— 20 Sa we ea a_-= aS Sa SATOMI ONS NU witene a Te te ‘ 4A with | ee ee a a a ae ity= aa es == t | f ; tad be Hi “176 PRAINING.. with a strong double-breasted plough, drawn by three or four horses, made on purpose, split that balk, and leave a clean furrow, fourteen or fifteen inches below the surface; but where the depth of soil requires it, touch the clay, by a second plough- ing, to eighteen or twenty-inches: it is then ready for the land-ditching spade; with which dig a nar- row drain fifteen inches: deep. Examine(your- self) the drains before filling up, but let them not lie open long, lest they be injured by wet or frosts: fill up every day.. “A+1 na may be cut off from injuring the sou. Boring has jew) mt C4) pt eel C €e€n Success! x water downwe 5 a toa ee Ee f.“ sh have been aiterwa useful purposes \king the drains ated, was no the art of draining itself; but to that able and justly celebrated rural ceconomuist , it probably first occurred, to use the aucur in this business: Mr. Elkington has also employed it to the same ts se, with success, and this improved system of promises to be attended with the most beneficia 1 consequences to public. Each of thes e gentlemen has published upon the> to whi on atl cations, in all cases of material consequence, I refer the reader.: In unde moe& af this kind, of any consider- able extent, it surely behoves the cultivator to be very circumspect, lest he put himself to great ex- is Sapte Cee ten IS Camry lace dia on oe pe aide ana pence, and afterwards finds his drain ogee usly Ba 4< eS| gs ean ee eee| r Veacrae- posited, and his jand arcely any the dryer; a piece. of ill fortune cee which I have ie fre- j 1 7 A a eee ieee ee quently made acquainted. As was observed in the ase of Irrigation, it is much the more prucent AL Sai aeee{ a 7 se rlinx 7° metnod, ar once to employ experie need men, such, in. ine araimme vorancn are most readily Mee ty ee hen minty At Rancal is Cc mikes oS el: i oe or Ovens ue Hi Sel Gye ete Gu OLS Q Sy wane Gore aor, if co fe L Ds= On 0 io) i al cot RCA MAE my eae ear OI— a Re US St oom Oy et i= W> tw Y|=f ie a~~=(49 Ea se aera)*) Xs OO aA ie p) ms Vw~—) iy Ey 59» oO oO ci>) Se—~<) Soni tat C) om mee con fa 13°) ter ee chet Soa( pee Ae care: RD Ye Upto Ped 5 May ces) oO vs Pe a ada™ fe hn a TE oo peed) Ge= BU aay eee eet ee OE ee C ‘=«4(e) Ja] bo Le AN ea GAGs) an sian, f wa[ey 4 es| Y ot 1 co 44 ] Se ea pene ea de ASN Eee cel am ie ess ae t Ce faa le a ao FO) i 4 any S ghee LN alex tel) oie A aarp eee cre Ss Bat eg RG eS Q ae Comer: ae; pas a~ ray) QQ a~ C 54 4 al SS i woh fe) Bree) Oat ae a+ Ore eee BO. 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C0; =)- qe} Nj: Gy CO a) p= Q v =! ae. picopenls S Ueates 4nd ed i> hid Hi u by i 7 § u | =e 2 Sine ee aoe 4 F: x Sipe CON gk ee at eee x ¢ S<=== Ze) q> x » wires ae i ee ee S S cot. soa cs s»<> Ss>—p— ZB ct=<2= x=) a OQ eer ce mh= 3-2 EF ais) Z bo G B a<= oo 3 Be Ree 8 i— a rae el ea=. eS ee OS ae collected and reserved in Sper receptacles, with } 180 ON THE MESTEAD,&C. élement, and which generally delight in a good soil, well worth the expence of np In ie subterraneous an id waste-water many situations 3, t convenient sluices, for the would render a most abundant prolit eee ee HOMESTEAD, FARM, OR FOLD-Y ARD. I wave already adverted to the absolute neces- sity of ample> hous sing and ya rd-room aos a farm, which the occupier purposes to keep immer stato, OF fertility and improvement, with the aid of animal also, to the too common defect of such a } manures; The general outline, and palpable conv enience. the particulars which follow, will be found apphi- cable to a considerable scale of fart ming‘eae= farm of smaller extent. it would be nugatory, to hold forth about as- pect, straight lines, 01 right angles, in the forma- ver 110n OF a farm-yard; such considerations will eV local convenience: it t SiN tO e Of vill be sufficient to insist, that the space be ample and properly divided, the offices st ifaciently nume- re omin ul i the whole sheltered in a In tof the offices, namely, the welling, bat tables, cattle-houses, and sheds, the material objects are, such a pos sition as may conitibute to-convenience and the abridgment of labour, and at the same time afford the largest possible ok NS eee= ae ao" .————— a—— a= os ah 77 ee pact—(PAS —_ FARM-YARD. 18] possible proportion of shelter; this last, however, must obviously give way to the former considera- tion, and as a substitute, all the vacant places or posures, may be well barricadoed with a lofty, warm, and substantial fence, such as has been’al- ready ee Mr. Marshall’s aes of an angle of the buildings presenting. to the northy by which rs the two sides’ cee afford shelter in the most material points, from the N. W. to the Nees; Tethrak: happily conceived. Respecting the number of yards, no precise rule be expected, any farther than to state, that in will the smallest concern a division is necessary, and in those of greater magnitude, two main yards, with appendages for'stacks, and other purposes, conve- niently situated, will properly describe the home- stall. A barn seems the natural division of two yards, since it. will serve the common purposes of both. The proper form of the surface oe yard, 1s concave, or that. of the dripping-pan, which will drain all liquid manure from the stables and other offices, and from the cattle a to the centre; in order to its preservation: and also the rain and waste-water, keeping the fold always dry and com- ‘ But to avoid the, inconvenience, in rainy weather, of, more water than the bottom- crust, or layer of earth in the centre, will soak ur Ds an outlet or sub-drain will be neces: ary, Communi- cating with a pit of sufficient size and depth, and railed‘round, on the outer side of the yard-fence. This pit may be so placed, as to serve two yards, and may be bottomed with rammed clay, a — s te oe ats a— SS er ee oe eee rare Sot Oem ne— 120! pee 182 FARM-YARD. and its side s plastered with some’ composition which will make it retentive.-Into it may be shot as much ditch-earth, as it will probably hold, with- out causing an overflow; and instead of the liquor out, in the end, as has been recom- mended, I have generally shot in earth sufficient to absorb it, AE carting the whole away to the compost-hill, which I believe the easier neihod of the two.‘The materials for bottoming the farm-yard have been already particularized: no- y) thing is equal to deal that bottom, the layer of manure-earth is to be spread, ta. the thic( throughout the who centre, or eet ae increased two or three-fold, « for this purpose: Upon cness of a foot, if possible, le area, the quantity in the o part of the moisture to im- bibe.~The anes must be kept sufficiently littered, that‘the cattle may not poach in*the oad with their feet. The above, or some method. of similar effect, for he ces yf articles so precious to the armer, as the dung and urine of-his cattle, one pose so simple and« ybvious, that common sense could never miss it. How strange then is it, hat we see such beneficial measures| 1- ere s Y“2 ae ab i lected, and that by men who have it in their power sae Fad OES a Vey eee| Sn a PA EN= a to compass them, and who pretend to be sensible ><1 Ras Bae Oy ated Gl Renee eae eng en igs>= of the value of manure? How many hundreds of farm-yards are there, either mere bog, or with a Pp) 2? el bottom which absorbs and devours. the most valu- ahlea nart>} Aa many a. Roe}>+++ x79ar able Part of the manure, or W wha descent towards Se yee,: 2 s a pond, a road, or a ditch,\vhere it runs off, to be 2 Vi eeAls 3 cee dear: as- 2 That ie in part, or totally dissipated and lost? But whats still ea a ae= ee—— RR STA a,— ! fe » bo) i | e) c Xs) still more singularly absurd, a pond or drain, shall fortunately stop the.ABTOERC er parts of this waste, and et it shall be suffered to,accumulate for years un- ee and unt eth| I once assisted at work- ing a mine of this kind, left by a generous prede- cessor, whence we drew an addition to the com- post-hill, worth a considerable sum. A pond is always recommended ina Farm-yard, but L must own, I would rather have it without the fence; for within, it is ever a receptacle of filth, and a drain.forthe urine and liquid part of the dung, the farmer mever scrupling to drench his cattle with the delicious cofiee-coloured beverage. An adjoining pond, Lee situated out of the reach of the dung, is an indispensable convenience, I hold it of importance to dyed health of cattle t hey have clean water to drink, with which, a yard ] T\T) 1 at= y T tr a Cc may, be well supplied by larg troughs, or a bricked cistern made water-tight, and always kept full. | a “1 Ot a ea ee oe Should the ground not readily admit of being if eee i stiolicwslacni even mended. should tmrown into the ni iow rorm recommended, SNOUIG there be an objection to it, or should there already be a declivity forming. a sufficient drain, all that| remains is, to remind the farmer, that the richest 4 part of his manure be not suffered to run away in q waste. When the ground happens to be of irre- 4 cular surface, and it is thought too great a trouble:B or expence, to level if, the mext remeagy, °) “- bp or a w LL A _ lay) 1 t Soe be any desire to preserve ine Manure, and a ary « —— pa A fothenucatile:.eemeatan i severa standing ror the. Cattle, SEEMS 16 ME; tO: dle SeVera os apt eke:} Peet=| oR Ae] yit-drains In the yard, Which may De inclosed by posts and rails, with hurdles. _——=—=e—————s See eee" Pp ae, a Se—_ eS ne a Ee=< a——= z-— ——— a:===—— a a S ee —~< ee FARM-YARD. From every stable, or cattle-house, a drain will be necessary in order to conduct the urine to the proper receptacle: not a meré common Bees in which the liquid sinks or stagnates, keeping a con- stant puddle at the heels of t ought to be a grating, or sink-plate, to every two stalls at least, which, with the drain itself, should always be kept free and pervious.‘The entrance to the chief cattle-house, is usually over a pave- OF L Vis of the animals; there ment of convenient width -« The dung from the different houses, must, both for convenience and preservation sake, be stowed near at hand, for should it be wheeled into the area, it would be trodden to waste, that is to say, either bound down too hard, or too much scat- tered: instead of which it may be at once placed in a state proper for fermentation and perfection, Either, pits may be made opposite to the stable doors, and bottomed with marl or earth, or the dung may be made up in clamps, or hills; in both Ww whi a cases, the nice and scientific cultivator may, f he please, cover with straw Or stubble, in‘order to prevent exhalation, ina to promote the putre factive process. The heaps growing to an incon- venient bulk, an auxiliary dung-hil must be pitched in the nearest situation; thus in a certain, perhaps sufficient, degree, withattention anda little ingenious contrivance, the dung may be preserved from exposure to the external air; incase. of 1f: too great aridity, or drowth, in the hot season, and with the view of reproduci x fermentation, no method is better than to stir into the heap mud and pe Br. i weeds, slop of any kind, or foul water from ponds and ditches. aa , FARM-YARD. 185 all I have been hitherto speaking of the plan, or outline of a homestall, its constituent parts. de- tached and ee as generally found, preserib- ing only certain additions and alterations; but in case of beginning entirely afresh, of projecting a y Wo new plan, and raising the building anew, as far Suid I can at present judge, I should aoe to the‘ tralice lowing scheme, which seems to be the most ¢ no rt 2“2 ONTO. ViTe}+h COR paves pact and comprehensive, to unite all possible con- ranje sa=F= Vee foe ON Se ILS PARAS; veniences within the least possible room, and to be , doth eepalale Of extension: or contraction,«10.-serve aail ah os lat lowed equa lly the] argest or the smallest concern—it 15, ': 7 1} Avwxellinico atha;> ) the to inclose the homestall, the dwelling perhaps ex- ]=} 1 e 9(+p Arr r, a NTT» 69Y, cepted, in the figure of a GircLe-or‘Roetunpa: 7= S:- Ixy“>AmMm sand We lad 1 nae rat This figure was lately recommended to comprize‘a ; IS pe Bo Les peepee oa[eae ST ke ec country gentleman's stabling and oOfnces, and the " idea has been sanctioned by the at probation of A r 1 ice SR pees, ree ral mee ale Mr. Young, who has prescribed the circular form (eee mgs 1 ibe stay Bes pee Tee ok ene el IM ae the toy a I armers stack-yard and“Seas. ot Lv- ma Sais ae[ie Lan a ae Waves Sener a hae athe£ oth which he has given a plate in the Annals of Agri- — 14 T)> 1 iD| ue Pie 7 ee culture, No. 189. But with all due respect and nay,? t “Ale deierence to the opinion, and unequalled expe- cer i: JUL L i Be rN 5 APNG Boe| A ort Pe ee Be - rience of Mr. Young, I conceive that certain int- - eee ea ae; geet 2 lace cae oS i portant advantages would be lost, by placing the On: p’« plo LD ees pe os toide ty} iT % stacks within, and the cattle withcutside the circle. UL Le i yee Se bp t 7 a] enw 1 ri if] Sy Bae oe ihe buildings would be placed’out of the way of ain-@} i 7 Ldaiisy= : i ee NPE St fA Pap SRE AU fo ee Sf apa 8 OR re fi oe A aoin: the Ir Dest secondary oiice, that or atordin=f ue a z eee 7} Th 2 ae]: zs bea 2 a1 AF ees| a; 3s snelter, and the benefit of a fold-yard, an import- ved ee ak]}= Ayah~ ay] a ant One INGeed, to-:growilne, ana ican Cattic seems ; eCntireiy CEXciudead.{ should greatly prerel DliaCings a b/- I oS :} 1,} it fi J-y+> mio the St KS Wil| the n ai d] ppendant circle, { rrantine that foure t) be necessary fc- the yaliy- oe rat EhilS that bi 5 iS HC wie PICA e ox ary OY ERE Vail able purpose Of(Nelr Siiains aiongs an iron groove, | i i be) fo) o: nds f! or ) v é>—==— a ee =— a: i~ Ra. is™ thes Se— ee;= ' Although not absolutely necessary, 1t would be ence for the backside of the dgiry and part of the Fold-yard kind from kitchen and a point ot great conveni the Ng llvatiiouce, consisting of other ou, to form The wash of every saved with the utmost -oftices, circle. dairy, should be care, and led by proper sinks and pipes, into’a capacious under-ground from whence it may be into the styes being a reasonable distance for the sake of Adjoining the dairy should| cistern, pumped hog-troughs, the placed within a that convenience. found the cow-houses and fatting houses s for oxen; the pig-styes next: betwe stalls, is a handy situation for a boiling and a wash- =en the styes ¢ and the ox- ing-house, in which an oven also, or kiln, is an ex- cellent convenience. The lofts above the a, ferent cfices might communicate, by doors throu their several partitions, with the granary, thrash- ing-mill, and‘barn, affording the convenience a rheeling sacks of corn, or chaff, to ay part. nust be afforded] eSy and every other’ ar- 1 hae or below 1 lik ewise a PMLA ae RR Re potatoes, Cavdag ' provision of that species. In feeding 4 }- 41 Ver‘ P to approach them at the head et 1+ (eq xen, 4 Cl Orr) ”» 1 Gihe Tae eee ee a 5 eee acs of the feet 21s much the best=method, fer which a ae OS as Bee eben ebro anes— end, a gang-way, Sumicient. tO admit. a large bar- Han ee ore] cd A ee a a ter; row, may be left between the wall and their head- 7 1. z 7 Sit fakes a]. é mS z boards, these being made to slide. Such is the ¢ §s which teed OXen; Bia epeqiee« several distii-houses e feed at sliding i and it has been recommended, where cattl he c barn-side, to have racks appending to th boards through which the thrashers may push the straw, V oa t having to quit. the barn, in order to©. oh replenish i f 4 (8) 1 —= +4 rfl A) pat % ¢ a) py as) r 7; 9) ¢‘ 2” 363 2 pa oc \ oy x a aah op)) wo) ta 4 DN MS q)°rm am(e2) pened PR mt@ ge). + at dD Laud te ar a) an A% os a pe ad a [4]—_ 7 14) hot fal ei nas- n Ww Mie ie conne ot sacl 210804 1/ e t L may d4liay Yin ¢ a we ra] eet v7)(o 4 Y YV oN A rat qa—= rc ed DO vA oS pa ea e Re(PS > rp) ned r 7 o> DB) iat Ne 49} WB) A oe + aed pa oc N re -\ ees rae e“ is SD ree om NO on Seo ei ee —~ ME BOE A) Pree eae 7 r Une ae both ge aes! ~~’ —=. es) eae a cm Lamhe oy Si hea te RAS: ~~‘@) Sea pw Bn he ene SD= © wh) ‘het>(ex) A aol CoB) x cen co TD iit cet,(te S-“i© t Y€ D) Es " Ned: A Sf 4 Oe caso. oe = a x ss a> S += — as©S ; i. 1 OF SO rea Ided shameful V7 \ r} r« mmon anda vet i rom that qarawnh aS, den intial WOOdCE!I ic MAN VllS itl Tk Ba ald 192 FARM-YARD. Every barn ought to have a chaff-house, or two, insuch situations as to communicate, if possible, on each side, with those houses in which chaff is peu>d; but the general use of the thrashing- > very great length of time, is so machine, in n¢ g probable, that barns will serve to no other purpose than that of ee It may be thought a simple and trifling thing to repeat, but if-profit be the object, it is clear, no poultry ought ever to be admitted into a barn- yard: instead of barn-door fowls, they ought to be ealled rather, barn-fowls, for I am‘ convinced, they generally get their good plight from thence and to trust tothe care of thrashers,:in that ie ticular, is a notable dependance. When corn- fields adjoin the home- an a thing to be avoided if possible, the fences. should he well-secured against the above depredators. I often smiled to see two or three broods of young ducks,‘in. the wheat of aman who had industriously bushed the top, and middle of his gate. In every cart-stable, there should be a conve- mient space, or room adjoining, for the purposes of containing the chafi-bin< and< chest;. this. last to be furnished with a good lock, and to be filled under the eye of the master.or his deputy: here also the harness should be hung Ups.a Sreater 2at- tention to which than common, would be a ma- terial help in the payment of the collar-maker’s bill. A tool-house under pee and key, where all ittle necessary implements may be se- the various little nec cured, to n Ss CG©(e wanted, isa place of some consequence in a farm- A yard. 4 be forthcoming the instant they are FARM-YARD, 198 ue yard. To return to the stable, cart-horses should ei not stand without.separation, for the reason al- oe ready assigned, respecting the food. The most ih powerful, or courageous horses, will rob the weaker, Ie, 19.99 biting and keeping them in a constant state of tre- purpose pidation at feeding time..As to the watchfulness 4 of the keeper, in this and all similar cases,. the Huns 10 very idea isajoke. Swinging-bars are dangerous, ar, no and if stalls be thought too expensive, partition Dato. head-boards, of conaideraile width, from the rack oht to to the manger, will be useful. No kicker ought lnced, ever to stand among other horses. nce; The granary and thrashing-machine, will in par- course join, and I have often thought, that grana- m-: ries in general, were too distant from the barns; ed where tide buildings are newly erected, cranes ed and spouts, and every thing instrumental in the to abridgment of labour, otght to be previously the niasiBered. the In an extensive farm, where it is ever so incon- venient and expensive to cart manure to the-dis- Ie= tant grounds, the great convenience of Ovu’- of STALLS, appears to me very striking. I do not act mean to insinuate, that there’ are never any out led yards upon large farms, but I think they are not, ere in general, enough attended to, so as to render af them of sufficient utility: A yard of this deserip- a tion, well fenced in, might contain a cottage for a a labourer and‘his Canis a stable for a clare s il team, with sheds for straw, cattle, and sheep: but thrashing in distant barns, is imprudent, and of two iC":, zi 4 evils, it would be the least, to cart the straw from . home, stacking, or housing it at the out-stalls. : fo) The 194 FARM-YARD. The unlucky possessors of aukward, straggling incomplete Farm-yards, will do well to strike a fair and impartial balance, between the expence, and probable advantage of improvement; between im- mediate, but temporary, and everlasting trouble. In the case of new erections, the defect of proper arrangement is gross indeed: and with respect to necessary conveniences, and such as will make a return of both comfort and profit, they surely ought not to be neglected, although attainable only in the meanest style—A shed or stable, run up with a few posts and faggots, and roughly, but warmly covered, never fails to make a good return for its little cost and labour. On the precise form of Sracxs little can be said; those are undoubtedly best which.are most securely thatched, and’ defended at bottom from vermin and wet. In respect of beauty and neat- ness, no doubt the globes of the Isle of Wight, and the South-West are.superior. Where the homestall is distant,. business pressing, the weather uncertain, and the thatcher at hand, the practice of field-stacking deserves attention: you still have but once to carry the corn home, and stacks pro- perly hurdled round, may serve the purpose of shelter. ee [have already given a memorandum of the great use of sailcloths upon a farm; the best method of rendering them completely serviceable, in cover- ing a stack, whilst making, is to fasten two tall poles or balks, upright, one at each end, in the centre, another being attached lengthwise atop, of the proper height; over this ridge the cloth 1s thrown, a: a My ye eee VERMIN. 195' ae thrown, and in such position, shoots off the rain v4 hike ah umbrella: but in contemplation of the om great saving in barn-room, to be induced by the i: adoption of the thrashing machine, surely some rouble additional expence might be bestowed upon the proper rick-yard; and itis submitted, whether cheap sheds, pect to sufficient to cover all the corn and hay, at the same nake a time admitting a free current of air, would not be surely both useful and profitable; they would besides le only serve other valuable purposes. un Up ly, but=== retun VERMIN. 1 be a nost SURELY the general obligation of taking all fea- rom sible methods to destroy those vermin which prey neat- upon corn, was never so strongly incumbent as at ight, the present alarming crisis: and it is to be hoped, . the that their own interest, enhanced as it is by the ather present enormous_ prices, will urge all those im- ctice mediately concerned, to the most indefatigable ex- have ertions. What does it annually cost this fertile pr: island in corn’ for the maintenance of that enor- se of: mous stock of Rats and Mics, which the too in- dolent and full-fed sons of property suffer to range ore uncontrouled, and to propagate in myriads, as ; if though they were animals of the chase, kept sacred: sth for the necessary” purposes of diversion? How vl many of this species of game, has the cultivator of ithe a corn-farm, of three hundred acres, the honour to no feed?~how many pints of wheat, per week, willa fh. fine, full grown-rat consume, including the waste? 02 wheat owl, 7 ee eee ee— a—— ia a mre oe ai per eget ee eee ns< —~~ gO ae c STAR RE SEAT OT 196 VERMIN. wheat in England twopence a pint in November! Suppose a rat will consume half a peck of wheat in a week, which is sixteen pence, and a man has only two score.of them quartered upon him, their board will stand him in upwards of Firry SHIL- LInGs a week—the rent of a good farm! I would advise my brother farmers when they have nothing of greater importance. to take up their attention, to make a few calculations on this subject: and if any man be desirous of ascertaining the quantity of corn a rat will eat, let him take one alive, and make the experiment for his satisfaction; allow- ing, however, for confinement, since there is no doubt these animals consume much more at their liberty. Being at some degree of certainty as to the fact, may stimulate to radical measurcs. I do not pretend to say, but people employ rat-catchers, set traps, and lay pastils and poisons: and so did their erandsires—that is to say, when the vermin get to an intolerable head, we draw them, thin them, and cull them, leaving a sufficient breeding stock, about the increase of which we feel perfectly indifferent and at our ease, until they return in shoals, and wake us again. Are there then no measures which would go to the entire extirpation of these vermin? I have faith to believe there are: it has been said, faith will remove mountains, but-I should think, persevering exertions full as well calculated to answer such, and every other end. I will next describe my method, at no rate anew ove, and I heartily wish every other farmer may «nda better; it must be understood, I confine my- self to the farm-homestead or country-house, solely, leaving a v Fa: a SS ee= VERMIN, 197 leaving town-warehouses and mills, to men of the profession. Every farm should be provided with a compe- tent number of Ferrers,’ and of true vermin- bred Cours, such as are commonly kept by rat- catchers and labourers. An hour or two should be reserved, weekly, for a general hunt(in all ac- sey[ete) A Be| Eure Rese mera oe cessible and likely places) when the beer-can ought to pass‘ about pretty£ briskly, to make the business go down with chéerfulne ess, and to keep the hunters Ue of it as a pleasing t task. Lhe ferrets and dogs should be in the care of him, among the servant: either the best skilled or most attached to the sport. The holes and haunts of the vermin, in and around the premises, are sah | st out, the master never fa ilin: gently to be soug 5 to allow trifling premiums to those who make dis- 4 a . 1 1 coveries thereof. No r espite to be allowed to the delinquents, but a war of extermination to be con- stantly carrying, and carried on, from January to December. If by these brisk measures, you do not entirely destroy your rats, you will not fail, in time, to drive the major part of them to the home- stead of your next neighbour, by which you will have the additional satisfaction of doing him an unspeakable kindness, if he be an indolent man. In aid of these measures, others also may be adopted, if necessaty:’ a instance;_ but these ought to be of the cage-kin nd, and by no means such as to endanger the cats, a most us seful species of domestics Fill ly entitled to our care and kindness. The qualific cations‘of a good cat are, that she will not touch young poultry, and wil hunt a a cameo a a 198 VERMIN. hunt from mere sport, rather than from the impulse of hunger. Eating their prey, injures them, and lessens their exertions. They should be kept well with flesh, and a little milk, for it is a curious fact, which I have often experienced, that milk, which will fatten a pig, will, if freely given, make a cat Jean and unthrifty. It is a disagreeable drawback upon the services of these animals, that they soil with their devilish excrements, as if by choice, the finest and purest part of the corn, they are destined to guard; the only probable remedy for which is, to place some sand and ashes in a convenient corner, with some valerian and a little milk, il of car- raway, it is said, affords the proper scent to entice rats and mice, and a paste is recommended, of flour and sugar scented with that oil, Ferrets are best kept in huts like rabbits, their food is well known‘to be carrion, or offal of any kind, with occasionally, a little boiled skim-milk and bread. Before I quit this subject, I beg leave to speak a word or two, on the most proper dogs to guard-a house and yard; which I am fully con- vinced, are those of the small yelping kind, the tongues of which there is no charm to tie, and which may be taught the highest degree of jealous vigilance.‘The security attributed to the keeping of fierce and savage yard-dogs, is purely imaginary, as I know to my cost, being perpetually robbed, whilst I kept a dog that was a terror to the neigh- bourhood; once in particular, of all my most va- luable Rhone ducks, Chittegong-hens, Shackbags, Polanders, and I know not what, about which I was so curious and so solicitous! What a blank-leaf In —_ VERMIN. 199 in my poultry-journal, and what an unlicky end to all my fine experiments! It is well known that thieves of any,eminence in their profession, care nota fig for the largest and sharpest dog, and with| respect to your own labourers, who, although not professional, may yet be very capable thieves, they are his cronies—where then is your safety? you have mighty little to plead, as a set-off against the breach of humanity in. keeping these savage anl- mals, in a land where are no wild beasts, the de- fence against which, is the only use of mastiffs and bull-dogs. I have known several accidents to the children of the poor, from yard-dogs, too horrid to relate; and abhor the idea of having all access barred to the benighted traveller, or the messenger of distress. Bull-dogs are useful to no other pur- poses in the world, than those of the most wanton and stupid barbarity, and it is much to be desired that the whole species were extirpated. The best guards are unremitting vigilance, good locks and bolts, and good fire-arms. _The-same remedies apply equally to the field vermin, polecats and weazels, with their varieties, which, unless checked, commit such frequent con- siderable nightly depredations in; the Farm-yard, taking even young pigs. Neither these, nor the fox, would be heard of near premises well guarded by vermin-dogs.‘Mr. Marshall, in his survey. of Kent, has favoured us with a good method of trap- ping field vermin.‘ A wooden box, resembling a dog-kennel, divided in the middle by an open wire partition, running from end to end, and reaching from the ridge of the roof to the floor. One side of a eae. vf em i ee— é: a 200 VERMIN. of this partition is again divided into two parts, or cages, one of them for a rabbit, and the other for a jive fowl, to allure the vermin; the other half formed inte a falling box-trap to take them.” This, whether new, or old, is an ingenious contriy- ance, but[ wish the amendment of it, which hu- manity requires, had proceeded rather from Mr, Marshall, than myself. It is a most unnecessary piece of cruelty, to expose a poor wretched fowl], or rabbit, to the sight and the claws of their dreaded enemy. Kill the baits, and the scent of the fresh blood is the greatest possible enticement. I know not that vipers, efts, toads, or any other poisonous class of reptiles, are a whit more neces- sary here ee in Ireland, and I conclude, if country people would be unanimous and steady in their endeavours, the entire genus of these animals might in time be extinguished. Would a single fee make the essay of rooting out all useless Sin dangerous vermin, they would soon find: their ac- count in it, and would undoubtedly be’ followed' by their neighbour parishes. The only method is, by allowing handsome premiums to those who shal] produce the vermin, or discover their harbour, or their eggs. Steps like these, it is well known, have been taken in various parts, but in so loose and indifferent a way, as to be entirely nugatory. was there a determined resolution to hunt out and destroy any species whatever, where is the possi- bility that it could long exist? These, and a thou- sand other evils, are purely the offspring of a ge- neral indolence. Birds af prey, such as hawks and carrion crows, which VERMIN. 201 ants,° 4. Mt which endanger he poultry, and will even attack se lambs; and bull-finches, pyes, and jays(the last, :| very devils in feathers, for perserving impudence) them’|: Peer co i which are such destroyers of fruits, can only be ea 4 combated by the gun. I usually allow boys, a ch ht| penny each, for the eggs or birds; was the prac- m My tice general, those birds would soon become high- a| prized rarities. fv But it is necessary to look on the other side of thei this question, and to discriminate before we put ent of in force measures of absolute destruction. Pro- nent, bably there are few classes of the feathered tribe, other which we could well spare; and they are in eCES. general our defence against the tribe of insects, , it which would else, by their multitudinous increase, rin devour all the fruits of the earth, We cannot ls’ enjoy the benefit without its natural drawback, gle therefore must be content to allow those a share of and our goods, which are so materially instrumental in “acs their protection.. It is a kind of wages, which wed these little feathered servants.dearly earn, by work- is, ing laboriously nine months out of the twelve, to hall maintain themselves upon insects, blights, worms, or slugs, and seeds of weeds. The proposals for the wh,| general destruction of sparrows, I think, were ill- ose| advised. Bradley relates, that he found a great ory.: number of caterpillers in the maw of a sparrow, + and| and thence computed, that a pair of sparrows carry si| to their young,: the course of a month, 3,360 *1]} 1 caterpillers. Rooks also, are our best’‘defence against that devouring insect, the grub-worm, and 9 ges as+°.* : on the dispersion of a rookery, those have been observed, OWS, hich Pr EE ee a" oe ee I 202 VERMIN. observed to increase, in an alarming degree. I understand there are no rooks in America, and that several farmers, in that country, have desired a breeding stock of them from hence. Upon the whole, it appears, that all we have to do with re- gard to rooks and sparrows, is to watch them dili- gently at seed-time and harvest, looking upon that portion of corn, of which we cannot deprive them, in the light of a debt for past services. Venomous insects, wasps, hornets, or of whatever species, having no merit towards us, of which I am apprised, had better be destroyed root and branch. Children would effect this for trifling premiums. In 1791, I determined to take ac- count of the number of wasps, I caused to be de- stroyed, but by accident, my account was inter- rupted at 1,200. Had every family in the parish destroyed an equal number, I believe, it would have been several years before we should have been again much troubled with those pests. Not a moment’s delay should be made in the destruc- tion of a hornet’s nest, when discovered. I re- collect a sad instance of neglect in this case: a nest was suspected, but it seemed nobody’s business to attend to it. Some time after a poor horse, at- tached to harrows, disturbed the nest, and these horrible insects instantly burst out, and covered him; the miserable animal, driven to raging mad- ness, overturned his fellow, and mangled him dreadfully, but getting disengaged, he ran over hedge and ditch, into the village, where after doing considerable damage, and suffering most cruel tor- ments, emaccatgnien a WATER. 208 tee,| ments, he was at length shot, there being no possi- Ca, at bility of approaching to save him: half a crown desired ought to be allowed to the first discoverer of a 0 the hornet’s or wasp’s nest. vith te. em dik On that then, hatever va WATER. It and riding.: ass e. Tue neglect of procuring water, by artificial i,, means, in situations where that first of necessaries i is either unwholesome or scarce, shews a glaring in- i stance of inattention to a very near interest. In Ls soils which rest upon an iron clay, and in various uld a; 3 other descriptions, where the water is hard, or a filled with unwholesome earthy particles, the in- Not habitants are generally troubled with diseases of Oy the urinary bladder, and the horses remark- ie ably subject to the gripes. The beer in such nest countries is always hard, and unless very old, S10 thick and turbid. To obtain good soft water, , te‘would be to add to the comfort of, and even pro- these Jong many valuable lives. The end is fully at- vered tained, by preserving, in under-ground cisterns,— mad: rain-water; the most pure, diluting, and whole- | hi some of any, over In various parts of the continent, they depend dois entirely upon rain-water, thus preserved; and from tot thence the method was communicated to this als, country, ——S oS a i nae ‘ pce a ss. eee" ae eee ee ae: ee 7——S 204 WATER. country, where it seems to have made very little progress, except in Yorkshire. oe there excel, both in corte these water-cellars, and the artic ficial ponds, for the supply of Re in their up- land pastures.‘These a erns may be made under the dwelling-house, or near to it: but af therde- mand for water be great, they should be so placed, as to receive collections from the roofs of as many buildings as eh The waste rain water in a. garden, may be also very usefully conducted, by chaniels, to bricked, or cla ryed reservoirs, 1m some dependent part. At present, there are few parts of England, where workmen are not ta be found capable of constructing a good terras cistern, either above ground, or below, which will continue firm and water-tight, for a great number of years. 4; The old method was, to bed with clay, upon which the oor bricks were laid, and if the cistern was made in acellar, room was left to ram clay between the old walls and those of the cistern. Upon Chiltern Downs, and in hilly districts, where water for cattle, and even for domestic use, is scarce, and obtained with much 1 labour and ex- pence in the dry season, instead of sinking wells, as in former days, the improved practice is, to conduct either the water from springs, through ar- tificial rills, or brooks, or the tain-water from the surface, through cuts made by the plough, to ponds and reservoirs, ready prepared, and made retentive for the purpose. In counties, where such measures are necessary(Yorkshire for instance) artificers are: always to be found capable of conducting, th process, Vitle: WATER. 205 process, upon the best principles hitherto dis- covered; and in case of any considerable under- Ve taking of the kind, in other parts, recourse should a be had to such, that a large expence may not be ot: incurred ata hazard. But with respect to smaller bl matters in this way, every county, and one would a suppose, every considerable farm, capable of pro- eee ducing-engineers sufficiently qualified. cd, by The borer, already spoken of in the article eee Draining, is a convenient implement for the dis- covery of springs, on the sides of hills, where lan rushes, aquatic herbage, or other signs, indicate the ble o existence of water at no very great depth beneath bore the surface. The water brought to light, may be and conducted by channels, and fence ditches, whither- The’ soever the occasion may lie. Conducting furrows the for rain-water may also be drawn by the plough, nade from the-surface above, toa made pond or reser- 1 the yoir; namely, one main channel, with a sufficient number of lateral ones, the earth of the furrows ricts, being thrown on the lower side, as a bank to the use, water in its course. | ex- Towards the end of summer, is the proper sea- vells, son for bottoming artificial ponds, which is often is, to effectually done with chalk rammed hard, and co- oh ale‘ered witha coat of gravel.‘The common, and in- vn the deed best adapted, is the bason form, the sides shely- pond ing towards the centre, or deep. If the position of ont the pond could be in the line of a fence, thence serving two inclosures, it would afford another con- venience: it has been recommended, to dig another toreccive, the waste water from the superior part of the principal one, in case of overflow, which, if ee_- 206 WATER. if kept replenished, would have the good effect of giving additional room to the cattle, when in hot weather, the master beasts are apt to engross the whole of a small space, keeping the weaker en- tirely from drink, unless constantly watched. In loose and open soils, and when it is intended to go to the expence of perfect and lasting reser- voirs, the bottom and sides are clayed and terrassed, the clay being rammed, and worked to perfect and impervious leaves or sheets, previously to being plastered over.‘The great object is to prevent the perforations of worms, and cracks from drowth, in the state of emptiness. To guard against in- jury from the worms, it is usual to lay a foundation of lime for the clay; and to secure the clay, in the second instance, from the tread of cattle and external accidents, it 1s covered with a coat of earth, which again is secured from poaching, by an upper stratum of stones. In my own case, I should chuse a bottom of clinkers, or coal-ashes, under the lime, as an impenetrable fence against the worm; and to loose stones, I should prefer coarse, strong gravel, as an upper stratum; nor have I that high opinion of pavement, entertained by some, which is by no means so durable under water, as above, when trodden by cattle; for should a single stone accidently give way, a yard or two of pavement is presently torn up. The clay must be pure, perfectly free from sticks, stones, or dirt, and the coat of it three or four inches thick;' formerly, according to Mortimer, they laid on two coats of clay, each of the thick-: ness of six inches; but as in some parts, the cartage of eflect( Din hy 1088 the ker(h d, Ntended ¢ reser. rassed, ct and IMPLEMENTS OF HWSBANDRY. 207 of so much clay, would be a heavy expence, and on the strength ofa‘superior cement of mortar, full an inch thick, the quantity of clay is reduced: the earth and gravel above should perhaps be, to- gether, a foot deep. Constant attention. must be paid to keeping the channels clear from all ob- struction, of leaves in autumn, and snow in winter. It is good to shoot chalk, or any absorbent earth, sand, or gravel, into reservoirs of hard water. ON THE IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. Ir is in the mechanic branch of agricultural science, that the superiority of the moderns is most apparent and decided. Within the last half century, since most fortunately for mankind, husbandry has become such a favourite and fashionable pursuit, the industry of scientific amateurs, and ingenious mechanics has been incessantly at work, and has not only highly improved all the ancient imple- ments, but invented a vast variety of new, adapted to almost every conceivable use, or purpose in the tillage of the earth. Many of these, as is tatural to suppose,‘have been fancifully complex, expen- sive; of trifling, perhaps, no utility; but others have done signal honour to their inventors, and cannot fail of being eminently beneficial to’ their country, and to mankind. ‘The { | 208 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY The tardy progress of improvement amongst farmers has been often and justly lamented; but the mists of prejudice seem at length to be gra- dually breaking away with this secluded race, and our country can now boast its men of talents and busmess, in. this, as well as in every other line of human cultivation. The midland counties may no doubt challenge a superiority, in most points, and the management of their superior cultivators well deserves the attention of their brethren of other districts. The grand reason of that back- wardness, and bigotted attachment to old erto- neous customs, and aukward unprofitable imple- ments, which still disgraces but too many of our farmers of property, is, that they do not travel, and they will not read; accustomed to confound the ideas of their old habits, and theit property, to- gether, they look with a jealous and contemptuous apprehension upon all novelty, and will scarcely vouchsafe even a patient hearing to any proposal of improvement. Not to disguise a truth, indo- lence and pride have no small share in the genera- tion of this folly. Were our farmers, who are beforehand with the world, to imitate the laudable and patriotic conduct of the Bakewells and the Culleys, in making occasional surveys of the different parts of our country, most. worthy of attention, for Improvements of every species, their character would soon acquire a favourable change; their indifference would be shaken off, their minds expanded, their eyes would furnish them with experimental proof. They would return home to amend their own practice, to LE Sa= IMPLEMENTS OF. HUSBANDRY. 209 aMonyy to enlighten their poorer neighbours, and to be- ted+ by nefit the country at large. Be With respect to my own practice, I must ac- race, an} knowledge, and at the same time lament, that I ents and have had hitherto few opportunities of experience, line of in any of the improved or newly discovered im- ies may plements; Cooke’s drill, a small barrow drill, and “points a small, convenient hoe--plough, with moveable ne mould-boards, being almost the only exceptions, roe ft ought, however, by no means, to be forgotten, ack: that all the operations of the new husbandry may en be carried on, upon the most extensive scale, with i, the ancient tools properly and mebtlyee constructed. i Thus, a small plough will both strike out and hoe Fi the drills, and the drag-harrows, with a little con- a trivance, will be easily changed into. a scarificator , or cultivator. This consideration yet weighs no- . thing in the balance against. real in nprovements; and I believe the most useful method I can take; #’ in the present section, will be to place before my . practical readers, a concise detail of the most ma- i terial newly discovered, or improved implements, a at present, In use, in various parts of the country, ut for an intimation of which, I stand indebted, tle chiefly, to the board-surveyors. the The Turasuinc-mt11, that greatest of all mo- the dern agricultural improvements, was invented in I 0 North Britain; the principle on which it.acts, to Ces, clear the corn from the straw, is not that. of beat- rable ing, but swingling it, as with flax, the operation axel being performed by a cylinder, which moves with ould n astonishing velocity. These machines are now hey ti general, in Scotiand, even among the inferior Ce, P classes {0 ‘ ae oe es ai eee eee xe 210 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. classes of farmers, being made of various dimen- sions, and wrought by one, two, or four horses, or by water: their price from£.25 to£. 60. or up- wards, when made to clean the corn, which're- quires more machinery, and more room. Mr. Moody at Riseholm, Lincolnshire, has a mill, constructed by Parsemore, of Shefheld; cost £.36.15s. Mr. Young remarks, that all the ma- chines he had before seen, thrashed every kind of corn well, excepting barley. Here was however, a favourable exception: the thrashers declared in favour of the machine, against themselves.‘* The’ circumstance upon which the good thrashing of barley depends is, the iron covering under which the beating-wheel, having six beaters, moves; this, in Mr. Moody’s, is fixed; but the beating-wheel admits rising and lowering at pleasure, but a new improvement is to make the iron roof moveable, and the wheel fixed. This tron is so near.the beaters, that it rubs as well as strikes the grain out.’ Mr. Young advises a semicircular cast 1ron to close upon the beating-wheel. In Nottinghamshire the first cost of a thrashing- machine is thirty-five euineas, OF upwards: the ex- up, together with timber for the pence of putting ‘f built with brick and tile, about stage and shed, £.60 more. Colonel! Mordaunt, of Halsall, in Lancashire, has a thrashing mill which. moves by water, thrashes, winnows and grinds(or crushes the corn for provender) all at the same time. Hand-ma- chines, price six pounds each, have been there tried, but without success. The SL EN RE PON a RTT eg eC ey ee ' IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 211 sia The following particulars are extracted from the survey of Kent, by that enlightened cultivator, 60: oF y,> Es: Hike Mr. Boys, of Betshanger; and a singular circum- ih Stance it 1s, that at the time of the survey, that i gentleman’s thrashing-mill was the only one in ne, Has that flourishing country! After a number of im- held cn provements it answered extremely well.“ It re- ahem quires four horses, about eight men and four boys en nd 0 to remove the corn from a distant part of the barn, as vere, feed the mill, attend a winnowing fan, and stack declared i the straw. When the corn yields well, it. will es The thrash and half clean, tHREE quarters of wheat, abd FouR of barley, or Five of oats, per hour; by ar which which I find there is a saving of nearly one half of | the expence of thrashing, Gaciics the advantage of -wheel getting the corn out ito from the straw. Phere anew is herree no small inconvenience attending so weable, large a quantity of straw, chaff,&c. being got out neat he at one time, when perhaps it is not wanted; and he gra by that means it is either wasted, or spoiled by gst it neglect before it comes to use. rain_ Expence and Produce of a Day’s Thrashing. » the ek! 2 S- 4d, at forte o Piche Men, apy. Sd cach—37- Oo 19° 4 ile, abut Rowe boys; ate1s.0-"20 2 toe 4.06 Four horses, at 25,.6d2each<.&@*16°© tance Cleaning and measuring 24 gqrs. by wath obwhet‘ai 8ye%.- 7. Pot hee Gg. 9 ee dB 4 apo SSS st Which is about 1s. 4d. per quarter, or as before ?: stated, about half price. The Pp 2 Cleaning ie ee A 212 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. at SN: Cleaning and measuring 32 qrs. lsavley,.at Sdicper die=> 3-20$10 Other expencesas above--- 1 Ts@ LA ADL Ss Which is something more than half-price. \ Cleaning and measuring, 40 qrs. oats, ab 1d 5 Se Oe Other expences-¢- 29 0= Boh des fk 10.28 oa EASES=:: Which is little more than half price, they being usually thrashed at about ls. 3d. per quarter. y «< This mill will thrash every kind of corn cleaner than it is usually done by the common rnode. To ascertain which, I sometime since got ‘ several. neighbouring farmers to have thirty-six pounds oi wheat-straw thrashed perfectly clean, in| *- é re- 4 their respective barns, and then I had the same 4 weight of straw thrashed after it came from the mill: and I found that the average produce of corn left in the straw, by the common mode of thrashing was half a pint in every thirty-six pounds of straw, more than is left by the mull.| <¢ The horse-wheel is twelve feet diameter, in :; which there are 120 wooden cogs, which work “nto 2 cast iron nut, with 14 cogs on the end of 4 horizontal shaft; at the other end of which, withinside =< es SS ee ey Ae So IMPLEMENTS OF HUSRBANPRY, 213 withinside the barn, is a spur-wheel with 57 wooden cogs, which work into a nut fixed on an iron spindle, in which are 14 cogs. On this spindle the cylinder 1s placed, and it is five feet long, and three feet in diameter, and it has four beaters lined with thin iron plates axéd upon it, each proje cting from the face of the cylinder, about two inches and a quarter. When the horses walk a tolerable pace, the cylinder revolves upwards of 200 times per mi- nute, making nine or ten hundred strokes in that space of time. The beaters, by the revolution of the cylinder, meet two fluted wooden rollers, working in contrary directions, by a wheel fixed in the horizontal! shaft; they are the same length of the cylinder, and a e mecehes diameter, and rte- volve near 50 times pef minute. “The corn is drawn in, between the two rollers, from off a feeding-board, as broad as the cylinder is long. = The beaters strike the corn upwards, by which the straw and corn together,. are thrown over the cylinder, and‘drop Hott a grating; through which the corn and chaff fall into a hopper, and from thence pass away below a winnowing fan, by which the chaff is separated from the corn. The straw is pushed off the grating by a Beas who stands by it, and from thence is by others con- veyed, either out into the farm-yard, or stacked in the barn for future, use. The corn with the re- maining chaff,&c. is then passed through a win- nowing machine, and by that made perfectly lean. Thus 214 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. Thus far, Mr. Boys, in his very satisfactory ac- count of this admirable implement of husbandry, which surely must soon become general through- out our island: its adyantages, of which we have had for many years, and in various counties, the most satisfactory, experimental proofs, are truly of a superior kind. The knavery, or the inatten- tion of thrashers, is a trite, as well as a sad subject: T have too often convinced myself‘of their defects, by rubbing out the ears of a truss of straw, and measuring the produce; but the excellent im- plement in question, absolutely clears the ears. Mr. Winlaw, of London, the engineer, in his catalogue of tools, says, this machine will answer equally well for clearing of clover-seed, rape or canary, and for rubbing off the husk of rice: it may also he made to winnow at the same time, cut chaff, and grind, proper space and power being allowed. Its superiority over hand thrashing 1s most eminent, in all, and every respect. In a damp season it gets the corn out clean, which could at no rate be ac- complished by the flail; and in case of smut-balls, they are not broken, as with flails, but remaining whole, much of themis blown away in winnowing; ‘chaff or hulls also, are obtained in greater quantity, than from the flail: the advantages of dispatch, and of security from fraud, the process passing so expéditiously before the farmer’s eye, will strike every one, On the merits of this important engine,[I shall farther present, or remind my reader, of the opi- nion of Mr. Middleton.:“ The saving by this means of thrashing, in the extra quantity of. corn procured, ee — Rt TI aa pL RN eg eg RR NC IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. O75. procured, and the security against having the corn stolen in the chaff, amounts to an advantage in fa- vour of the mills, of about ten per cent on the corn crops; in some cases, to one shilling a bushel on wheat, and very generally to twenty shillings an acre, on the wheat crops. The expence of thrash- ing wheat in this county,(Middlesex) by the flail, is full four shillings per quarter, supposing the land to produce twenty-four bushels.. The thrashing is twelve shillings per acre, to this add eight shillings, for thin wheat left in the straw. Two bushels per acre, worth four shillings each, makes labour and waste amount'to twenty shillings per acre; which, on twenty-four bushels, is ten pence each, on the saleable grain: an allowance being made for pilfer- ing, will make the ten pence a shilling.” The presumed disadvantages of the thrashing- machine, are, a decrease of Jabour to the poor, and an occasional redundance of straw.‘They. are both, in my opinion, purely imaginary, at least easily obviated. In a country like this, enlight- ened, active, commercial, with a large and growing population, imperiously demanding the culture of immense wastes, hands are very little likely to superabound; nor is the new engine at all unpo- pular with the labourers, but the reverse,| believe, in every quarter.- The straw coming together in too large a quantity for immediate consum pete E should not regard, being convinced from trial, that if carefully and closely stacked at the instant, straw receives no manner of damage from keeping, par- ticularly if not much mangled, or broken. But they who apprehend the contrary, may secure themselves ‘216 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY: themselves by cutting it into chaff forthwith, in which state, we have Mr. Young’s authority, that it will keep, undergoing a gentle fermentation. This process may be forwarded, by now and then throwing a little water upon the heap, which how- ever must be laid in a brick, or stone building, having proper ventilation in: the roof. Ihave myself had in contemplation a method, for the amendment, as well as preservation of straw-fod- der; but not having yet found the opportunity of proving by experiment, I decline speaking farther of it at present. The Reapinc-Macuine, a most. desirable im- plement, has been attempted, by various ingenious persons, but hitherto without success. MacuineE- FANS, for winnowing corn, have been used in Scot- Jand more than. fifty years; they run twelve sacks an hour, and in two or three operations, the corn is completely cleaned: they require four, people for sifting, ridling,&c, but some machines perform these operations also, by which two persons less re required. Price from£.2to£.5.; and they last twenty or thirty years. I believe we have no better implements of this kind than those made on the plan of Mr. Cornforth, of Stockton, Yorkshire, which may be had in London. The Proucus in Scotland, were formerly long and heavy, but well enough calculated for the powerful draught of four and six horses: of late years, Mr. Small, of Ford, has reduced and simpli- fied them..The mould-board, now a plate of cast iron, he has modified into such a form of curvature, as to make less resistance to the earth turned up, by aes OE) PE SE eT ee eM IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY.« ad by which it requires less force to draw it, than any other plough known in the country, whilst the fur- row itself is gradually laid over to its proper po- sition. This plough has no wheels. The chain, connected with the muzzle, by which it is drawn, fixed as far back as the coulter, is not essential to its formation, serving merely to strengthen‘the beam, which may be made stronger of itself at less expence, whilst the tillage is as accurately per- formed with ploughs that have none. Price forty to fifty shillings. This is on the plan of the Ro- theram plough; its distinctive merit lies in-an im- proved curvature of the mould-plate, and I instance it as a light and convenient tool, deserving imita- Re tion in many parts among us of the south. j Tue’ Kenrisn Turn-wrest Proven.—the beam of oak, ten feet long, five inches deep, and four broad; behind, is a foot, four inches.by three and a half, and three feet and a half, long; on the tops, the handles are placed; the foot is te- noned to the end of the beam, and mortised at i the bottom to the end of the chep. Through the | beam, at two feet five inches distance from the foot, is a sheath of.oak, seven inches wide, and one and a half thick, which is mortised into the chep, in# an oblique direction, so that the point of the share” is twenty-two inches distant from the beam. The chep to which the share is fixed, is five feet long, four inches wide, and five deep. The share is of hammered iron, weight about thirty-two pounds, twenty inches long, and from four inches and a half, to seven, wide at the point. The upper end of the ¥ beam rests on a carriage, with two wheels, three 7 On?> feet 218 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. feet two inches high. On the axletree is a gal. lows, on which is a sliding bolster, to let up and down. Throngh the centre of the axle is a clasp iron, to which is fixed a strong chain, called a tow, that comes over the beam, so fixed, as by means of notches, ora pin, called a cheek, to let the whole plough out a greater length from the axle, thereby letting it down to a greater depth. Price, with every kind of tackle fixed for drawing, five gui- neas. The Kentish plough is an implement of great strength, adapted to rocky and hilly countries, and to turn the soil to a great depth, and to lay the Jand quite flat, without any furrow, or opening, a great advantage no doubt, in a dry soil. But in my opinion, the use of this huge machine, is by far too common and indiscriminate, in Kent, and the rejection of the Suffolk two-horse, whip-rein plough, well calculated for their occasional, and even general use, in some parts, was a proof of a very considerable fund of prejudice in the minds of the farmers of that county. They have a foot- plough, with a turn-wrest for breaking up lays, price two pounds fifteen shillings; also a swing ‘turn-wrest. The otp HeErrrorpsnire two-wheel plough, with its picked share, and those in common use in Berkshire and Hampshire, are powerful imple- ments, calculated to turn up strong and stony soils: it would be a desirable Improvement to lighten them, could that be effected without detracting from their power.. The Dovsie, or Two Furrow-Provcr. was ieve Cyc, >] be] Sarre a a IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 219 believe, originally invented by Mr. Duckitt, and ‘has been lately improved by Lord Somerville, the late Right worthy, as well as Right honourable president of the board of Agriculture. This tool is best adapted to light and level soils, which are also most suitable to the drill-culture. It has been very properly observed, that they who determine to adhere to the old custom of driving a great number of horses at plough, should surely adopt the double one, and this seems to be really the case *n the midland counties. Five horses and one man, with a double plough, for it requires no holder, will do as much work in a tolerable level soil, as two ploughs, with their full complement of horses, men, and boys. Single ploughs are also guided by wheels, without requiring any person to hold them. In Staffordshire, besides the two-furrow plough, they also use the single-wheel plough, finding it very convenient, as it requires no holder, but only a lad to drive the horses, and to turn the plough in and out, at the end of the furrow. For the purpose of turning up turf, they make the addition to this plough, of an iron plate, called a flay, firmly screwing it to the coulter; this Hay slices off the turf, and turns it into the furrow, where the plough immediately covers it with earth: from this singlé operation, turf has at once the appearance of a fallow, and they say, harrows nearly as well. It requires an extra horse. For ploughing hedge-' rows, and irregular pieces, they use the common swing-plough. The Lixconnsnire Fex-PLoven.—An account ry of 220[MPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. R A EE ba ¥ of this, take in Mr. Young’s words, who warrants it a most excellent tool.“ The mould board“of a good sweep; the throat, a segment of an Say and the form of the share of great merit, abways well steeled and sharpened with files; the coulte a sharpened steel wheel’ it much ese les the Dutch paring plough of the Cambridgeshire fens, deserves attention, and ou ight to be in the collec- fion of the Board. Lo this plough, Mr. Cart- wright has affixed a bean-drill of great simplicity, for drilling upon the centre of the preceding fur- tow, while the next is turning; it answers well, and drills every year a great extent of land,’ nor does it Pella previous tillage upon a stubble.” lhe following remarks o on the fen-plough, and its management, are from the MS. of the Board. ** Its wheel coulter much better ac lapted for p lough- ng among stubble and twitch-grass, than the word one— they turn all their land over with two see ses, double r paral el to each other; and in this business many of them are very clever, and i] make their furrows as straight as a line; and Bi ie Ril your head so low on the bottom ae it, that your sight is confined by the sides, you may see down it to the farther end, which is in some, not less than a quarter of a mile in length. This extraordinary regularity is done by training their horses in this manner: they fix a piece of wood pointed at both ends, between the horses, in an horizontal direction of about two feet in length, by which means the ey are kept at such a distance, that the ploughman can see between them, to the fur- ther end of the land he is about to plough, and 1s thereby werent TR rte IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY, 99% / thereby enabled(by fixing his eye upon some ob- ject that is stationary) to make his furrow as above- mentioned.” A Trencu Piovcn, has been lately introduced in Lancashire, by Mr. Duckitt, jun It has a skim coulter, by which the surface(if foul) may- be turned under, and fresh ne brought up, from a depth of ten inches, three horses being employed. mnathey instrument has bees lately introduced, called the Miner, this 1s a plough share fixed ina ages beam, without mould-board, drawn by four or more wees it follows in the furrow iat made ip the by the other plough, and without turning 1 substratum, aptcits nd loosens the ou from eight to twelve inches deeper than the plough had before gone; which operation, besides draining the land, causes the water to carry along with tt, any vitriolic, or other noxious matter. The sub- r Beach Were NE ae Sey abe papa rN ican Ferny Sa pea nea Ge- soil thus loosened, the roots of plants have room to penetrate a full depth, and the soil itself 1s amended by bein: g drained and opened to the influence of y I the air. =oeaat BoP at Pas ay Pascale te toy eg ire In Nottinghamshire their common tool is the 1.)(joeeg P= oan=e eer DutrcH a PLoucH(of which the Yorkshire plough is.an improvement) its bottom 1s from twe ? | 5| : Wes a. tg} zi to mio feet and a half, with a pair of handles. A OnE-WHEELED Pioven is also used, with two plough for turnips, horses, and a one-wheeled arll-] 5 much ae The late h fr. Chaplin, of 1 Tathwell, Lincolnshire, introduced mas 4 ONE HORSE PLOUGH, which has been tried with success. It appears sufficient on light Jands, for all aca breaking-up sward excepted, SS aie a4 es ge ae =——____ ei i 3— oe 2992 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. excepted, and makes great dispatch in turnip-sow-= ing. It succeeds also on strong land which has been previously-well-worked. The drill part of the one-wheeled drill plough, might be ee adapted to this. These are made by Mr. Watkin- son, at Wragby, Lincolnshire. The following:(extracted from the Annals of Agriculture) is said to be an improvement of the common Foot-plough, used in several parts of Essex, by Mr. Lucas, of Bloomfield parsonage. ** Nothing more than a double swillyard and dou- ble foot-chain to the plough, afford it so much ad- ditional steadimen?, that I have seen it turn 2 straight deep furrow, forty rods long, without being touched by the ploughman: and thus his labour is infinitely lessened, without holding the plough in the leg hand, the careless eiloleae manner of half ti lling the Jand in this neighbourhood. Making the crongs of the miipple ace moveable, the lever may be lengthened at either end, so as to balance the strength of unequal sized horses.” «¢ With this plough, a very old man, and a child of ten years of age, do each their journey with ease.[he first has just finished a field of eight acres, In eight days, with three horses, extremely deep(eleven inches) which, with the single swill- yard, he tells me, it would have been utterly be- yond his strength to have accomplished; and_ this he has done with great ease both to himself and horses. The plough, with jaded horses, went equally well and steady upon the ridge.” Admitting the above to be an improvement, I should suspect the construction of the plough to be generally IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 223 generally defective, as requiring three horses upon that soil, where I think any of the Scurriers hereafter-mentioned would be extremely conve- nient and efficacious. The Kentisu Nipcer, called in the West, a "TormMeEnrTor, is a horse-hoe, with triangular shares, fixed horigontally at the extremities of tines, which are driven into a three cornered. wooder frame, in cross bars. At the corner, by which the implement is drawn, a wheel is fixed, im order to give the coulters their proper depth. Suims, or Broap-SHARES, for cleaning the sur- face of stubbles, particularly beans and pease, to fit them for wheat or spring-crops. In the isle of Thanet, Kent, these are made straight and sharp, very strong, four feet in length, and are often hung behind a pair of cart-wheels. Elsewhere they are made in the form of a crescent; or of a large prong, with three or four broad flat tines, and drawn horizontally, with the points forward, which force their way among the fiints and loose stones. ‘Ehe ScusFr_en.sorcCunrivaror.< Themeeth intersect, and as they are but twelve inches from each other, and by intersecting, the distance 1s re- duced to six inches, and then’the breadth of the shares, being full three inches, reduces the inter- mediate space to so small a dimension, that the whole of the ground is entirely broken up, and answers the purpose not only of ploughing, but harrowing likewise, without cutting the quick grass roots in two, which is an advantage that ploughing has not. It likewise, from the standing forward and bend of the teeth, brings all the roots up to the 24. IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. the top of the land, which is another advantage that cannot be had from the plough. The reduc; tion of labour is another adv: antage: that ene to this instrument, as four horses and one 1 will do from six, to seven acres per day, in sand eG, —— By arranging the teeth in the common harrow, the teeth in each row answering to the interstices of the bars, on either side of it, if the clods pass through the interstices of one bar, yet they are certain of being broken by the teeth, in one of the other bars.” Hayward’s Extirpator.—A Mr. Hayward, of Stoke Ash, in this ne chin theort has invented a machine for destroying weeds, and clearing plough- ed lands for seed, lutte by the experience of four years, 1s found more effectual han any other in- } strument hitherto used for tha purpose.. The ex- tirpator, or the Scaup plough, as it is generally termed, 1s drawn by two os three h oe according to the quality of the soil, and the de pth you put it to. The land should be once ploug thed over, be- fore this instrument be used. If it has lain a sum- mer fallow, the usual way is, to work it twice over with the extirpator, about two inches dee p at the first, and about four inches s deep, and crosswise, at the second time, which, with ru nning a harrow once Be | only effectually des troy all weeds, but also render it very fine and ready for the drill or sowing. Lands being ploughed in autumn, and intended /for sprmg-crops, are by this instrument prepared for seed, better than by any other method ever tried in this country, it will work in all lands, and may be handled’ by any person that knows how to IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. to manage a plough. It will easily plough one acre per hour, and not in the least distress the horses. A farmer assured me, that he would with three horses, work up sixty acres per week with it; and that a person having the extirpator; may, with only three horses farm as much land as would, without it, require six horses. It is not customary, in this part of the country, to work oxen, but I am con- fident it will answer the same purpose, where oxen are used. It is adviseable to work all lands that are overrun with weeds, twice over; some lands may possibly require three times dressing. Some time should elapse, for the weeds that are cut, to die, before it is ploughed a second time. It is now adopted by most farmers in this neighbourhood; and its great utility will be attested by every per- son that has used it. Many, whose prejudice against every novelty induced them at first to ridi- cule‘the idea, are now as warm in praising it, and acknowledge it to be the greatest improvement in agriculture they have ever witnessed. The above account of this most promising tool is given in the words of the Reverend Mr. Lewis, of Thorndon, to whom the public is much indebted for the information. It ought to be remembered to the honour of the British clergy, that many amongst them have taken great pains to acquire both a scientific and practical knowledge of agri- culture, a most laudable and appropriate employ- ment of their leisure hours. A plate of this in- strument is given in Mr. Young’s Suffolk, whither the reader is referred, for full satisfaction, but an idea may be caught from the following particulars Q represented 296 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY, r epresented in the plate. The tines and shares arc ixed in an oblong wooden frame. The shares oa inches broad and nine inches long, fixed to stalks rising ten inches. Distance I ba en) yetween them eleven inches. The hind-ledge, six feet long, four inches square The fore ledee five and a half feet long, fa inches square. Distance-of the ledges. twelve inches. The beam seven feet long; its elevation three feet three inches..‘Two handles.“The instrument fixed to the wheels,&c. of a common plough, and made to go shallow, or deep, in the same manner. Harrows.—In some parts of Essex they draw their harrows upon a frame with wheels; the har- rows being moveable, higher or eee as may be desired. They are the invention of Mr. Knight, farmer, of Great Barfield, Essex, who, in conse- quence, received trom the Society of Arts, a pre- mium of fifteen guineas. The Unirep Harrow and Ro.Lier,is 3 late nvention of Mr. Benjamin Young, farmer, of the is le of Wight; the 20s ice of the implement Ae fifteen or twenty guineas. The report of its utility is very good in the island, where it has, with two Bs oO Jand’: performing the work excellently, and mak: turhip-seed, in eight hours, going once over the ing the saving of aman and horse. Rot LERS.—In Kent, the common rolls nine feet long, and! from fourteen to twenty inches diameter, cost from three, to ten pounds; for‘their stiff lands they use stone rolls of twelve or fourteen pounds price. horses, rolled and acd in, twelve acres of aj IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 227 price. In Staffordshire, large, heavy cast iron rollers, from one to two ton weight; also a com- mon roller, constructed of two pieces instead of one, cut through, as it were, and hung with gud- geons, in the middle; the advantage of which is, that in turning, it 1s less liable to root up the corn, and may be formed of two short pieces, instead of one longer.!, Four-RowEpD, Ducx-rootED Drac.—Mr. Gra- burn, of Barton, in Lincolnshire, has for four years past, tried it with success, dragging-in barley and oats. After ploughing the turnip-fed land ence, instead of a second-earth, scuffled the seed in, with Cook’s scuffiers, upon ninety acres, and the crop as good as any. One man and three horses did eight acres a day,.a mile from home; which ? strength would have done but one acre, in plough-’ ing ad harrowing: but he thinks the drags much better, and has di eooctGn 150 acres, with his four- rowed, duck-foote a drag, sown with seeds, and the land as clean under them, as his néi ighbours who put in with ploughing. This year he has tried it with turnips, on sixteen acres ploughed twice, and worked with drags, one in winter, and one in spring; three of the lands were mana aged d with the plough, and had extra earths; the turnips dragged are better than where ploughed, and he has defen mined in future, to follow this method. On light woldland, the crop misses much in the common oO dry Yo U2’s Lincoln. ER. This tool, invented in Nor- folk, gains ground in Suffolk. Its object is to 1 Cc a a eh the expence ot dib»bling, V making(with Q2 cast i} ae Se ea eae ae eM,———— a Tc Ie a 223 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. cast iron rings, which surround the roller) little channels, four and a half inches asunder, across a clover-lay, after ploughing; the wheat-seed is then sown broadcast, and covered by a bush-harrow. For light soils, that require pressing, it is a very good implement, but inferior to dibbling. It is used to pulverize fallows, on stiff lands, in a dry season, in which it 1s incomparably effective, more so than any spiky roller I have seen. Young’s Suf- folk. Next the above implement, may be properly in- troduced another of similar intent, the KenrisH Srrikine Proven, which is generally employed in that county, for striking out seed furrows, or channels, ten inches and a half apart.“Team, two horses, at length, and two men, turning alternately to right and left, as with the turn-wrest plough. To draw the seams equi-distant, and. parallel, the inside wheel is kept in the outside furrow, or seam, the seams being made three or four inches deep. Day's work three acres. Drit_-PLovens, are made and used in various parts of the kingdom: they shed and cover the seed, which is completed by rolling. The‘com- mon drill-barrow, for sowing a single row at a time, is adapted to all grains or seeds. A machine of this kind on a simple construction, that would at once deliver with accuracy into a number of drills at the required distance, is perhaps still to be sought. The drill-machine of Mr. Wellward, of Deal, price£.14. 10s. for setting in seven rows at a time, each seven inches apart, and any required quantity per acre, wheat, barley, oats, pease, tares, SEC. a Ty—— IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 229 &c. is recommended, as the best extant, by Mr. Boys of Kent, our chief drilling county. This plough is drawn by two horses abreast, in a double pair of shafts, is very simple in construction, and not liable to get out of order. Horse-Hor.—The account of an expanding one, for all breadths, is to be found in Mr. Amos’s Treatise on the Drill Husbandry; this has proved in Lincolnshire to be a most useful and effective instrument. Cuarr-Cutrter, Cook’s; a man and boy cut with it 100 qrs. a week. This implement, fixed to a large wheel, turned by a galloway or ass, cuts 50 qrs. per day. Nailor’s cuts 3 qrs. an hour, with two men. Price£'.10. 10s. SwaArbD-Dresser, useful for meadows and pas- ture: it includes a scarificator, with a bush of thorns, and cuts to any depth; drawn by two horses, carrying the breadth of five feet, in use at Brotherltoft, Lincolnshire. The Garuenine Fork, used in Scotland, for collecting into sheaves corn which has been mow- ed. Its prongs seem by the plate to be nearly in the form of the letter W. The longest are pushed below the swathe, rais- ing accurately the straw from the stubble, whilst the shortest prongs serve the double purpose of re- taining cut corns from scattering backwards, and of forming the size of the shéaf, which is regularly determined Se a SS nc ae re a 93 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDR determined when the straw accumulates as high as the top of these prongs.” This implement appears to save time and labour. Mid. Lothian Report. A Hay-Currer, in the form of a spade, straight and sharp at the point, and upon both sides, which performs the work with much more ease and ex- pedition than the common hay-knife, has been in- troduced into practice by Mr. Ecclestone, of York- shire. WHEAT-STUBBLE Rakes, used in Kent, of Oak, ten feet long, and very heavy, with iron teeth, fourteen inches in length, and five apart, beam five inches by four, drawn by two horses, Price p50. 528, . IMPLEMENTS and APrPpENDAGES to a_Hop- Grounp, from Boys’s Kent: Every Hop-planta- tion, of four or five acres, requires an Oasr about sixteen feet square, which, built substantially with the requisite stowage-room, costs from£.150 to £.200. This is furnished with a dozen Picxtne- Baskets, at 5s. 6d, each.—A good ScaLEe-BEAam with weights and scales,£.5.—A Saim made with a frame like a wheel-barrow, costs about£.2. 2s. —proper also for clearing summer-fallows. A Harrow, drawn by one horse, with a small wheel in front, to go round at the ends of the plantation, with a pair of handles, to be hoiden by the man who follows, in order to keep it from bruising the binds; price£.1. 15s—A large iron. PEELER to make holes in the land for the poles, 6s. or 7s A. Hop-poé to wrench up the poles, 5s, Many of the implements already mentioned, are the invention of that most renowned of all modern English, cP rr = 5s' a ce is IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 234 English farmers William Ducket, of Esher, in Surry; the successful disciple of Tull, and perhaps the only invariable prac titioner among us, upon a large scale, of the drill-husbandry. Those who are is sirous of going into the new system, will probably chuse to make their first essay with the tools of a man of such long ea ie and so eminently practical, as Mr. Ducket: with these they may be accommodated, I unde: aes at Esher, a small dis- tance from London; nor are the implements by anv means of exorbitant expence, since(accords to accounts given, ten ora Jon years since) the cost of a set, comprising trenching plough, furrow- ing machine, drill and horse-hoe, was considerably under twenty pounds. Sesil ly invented Hanp Hoss of-Mr. Mark Ducket, jun. for doing more work, and at less ex- pence, than with common ones.—Communications to Board of Agriculture, Vol. I. p. 424, with a plate. June, 1799, Lord Somerville had a satisfactory trial of these hoes. His Lordship’s servant hoed a land of barley, containing the fifth part of an acre, drilled at nine inches, in thirty-six minutes; and could continue the. work, at the rate of two acres a day, for any length of time. Going backwards saves half the time. Made good work with barley, oats, and wheat, upon every sort of soil, on Mr. Ducket’s farm. Likewise made trenches for po- tatoe plat ting,\ with this implement, and trenched some land up in ridges, with the two long and one short hoe, fixed; and found the tool so effective and handy for the work, that he thinks he could do twice as much with it in trenching(light land) as a spade ———. o ae= ee 232 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. a spade could do in: the same time. Price of this tool complete£.1. 10s. The noble Lord, anxious to serve the agricul- tural interests of his country, in every possible way, has in his late judicious and patriotic publication, given the figure of a very useful and effective Por- tuguese hoe, having a short light handle, and the. iron-work being heavy, and of a conical form, cuts deep without much exertion; the exact reverse of our common hoe, which, except in the lightest sands, demands great exertion, to make any im- pression whatever, if the soil be dry. Lord So- merville has well supplied the omission of Tull, who found fault with the English hoe, without suggesting any improvement. I have in the beginning of this section, hinted at those causes which seem, more or less, to operate in every county, as an impediment to improvement in the implements, and general practice of agri- culture; an additional one is, the extreme aversion of the country labourers and mechanics, to. any new tools, and in truth, an equal aukwardness in their management.~These difhculties can alone be surmounted by the energies of a man of unwearied industry, and a thorough conviction of the utility of making every possible advance towards perfec- tion. With respect to minute description of tools, in books of agriculture, in whatever degree they may inform, or engage the minds of readers, there is one purpose in which they can never be generally useful; namely, that of sufficiently instructing the village mechanic. To get new implements(unless of i Ga ere es ee ee > re IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY.| 233 of his own invention) made at home, is what a farmer should seldom attempt, he will easily inform himself where those are to be had, which he has chosen as applicable to his soil, and whence he will be sure to obtain them in perfection. Farther, it is a material point, when a man de- sires to make trial of the common implement of another district, not to omit providing himself with a labourer accustomed to its use, as well as with the implement itself; or he is likely to have as little success in his new attempt, as I formerly had in persuading a Hampshire ploughman, to drive a light swing-plough with a pair of horses, guided by reins; not a ploughman in the parish would ever hear of such a presumed absurdity with pa- tience. Large farms, in several counties, haye smiths’ shops upon their premises, which is surely a great convenience, and saves much time, that otherwise must be spent in sending perhaps a mile or two, backward and forward, often to the delay of very pressing business: if to smiths, were added another shop, for the joint use of the carpenter, wheeler, and cooper, it would be no small or useless ad- dition. I am speaking only of conveniences for men who undertake the jobs with their own tools, without pretending to determine how far it might answer the purpose of a large cultivator, to under- take the various mechanical branches upon his own bottom: in that case, I should recommend to seek out and employ the most competent workmen in their way; a track which‘has not been happily followed by certain gentlemen within my know- eee Or O34: IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. ledge, who, in order té have their horses shod in the improved style, have set up forges at home, and their farriery, notwithstanding, has retained all tne vile and clumsy bungling of the old practice. It naturally happens, that light and sandy soils e til lle d with implements, and by cattle, propor- tionally shi ye reverse of this must ne- cessarily take place, on strong, heavy, and stubborn land.‘The stirring and pulverizing of the former is; sine truth, a’ matter’ of, so: little difficulty,© that scarcely any thing need be said of the instruments by which these operations are to be effected, but that they be sufficiently light, handy, and condu- Cive to ie it speed, which, on such happy soils, mz ay and ought to be made: hence no small portion of those panegyrics, which it has been long the fashion to bestow upon the Norfolk husbandry, ought in strict justice to be transferred to the soil: That he Savy and tenacious: sous, those particularly abounding with impediments, require the strongestimplements, and that to work these with effect deat great animal force, none but mere theoretical opinionists will deny: the chief error to be attributed to the .clay-land farmer is, that he is too apt to substitute clumsy and inconvenient bulk for symmetry and solid ey and to be indiscriminate and general in the use of his heavy tools and strong teams; whereas, upon almost all tracts of land we hades vay riation of Sob some parts of which may be stirred over with much less strength than others; norcan any :ind of land require the exertions of so great force ini: the succeeding, as in the first operations of the Thus it will. be much to the interest of LL, Liat — a fire=— * IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 235 the strong-land farmer, to have a variety of tools suitable to his various occasions; for although it may require four horses to fallow his land at first, yet the latter stirrings may often be as well, and as effectually performed by two, and with a lighter plough. The number of cattle used in a plough, and the necessity or not of wheels to that machine, hav: been for a long time, popular subjects of argument, perhaps of declamation, Having sa urned for many years together, both upon the lightest sands and the strongest clays of England, wi ith the opera- tion of ploughing, and, in fact, every other of rural affairs in which the labour of men and ae vere concerned, constantly under my eye, I must be free to declare, the subject to me offers-no kind of dif- ficulty or question. Upon those sands, where they boast of turning off their two acres a-day with a light pair of horses, driven by the ploughinan with q t coach-reins, a skilful lad, with two good jack-asses would perform the same feat; but upon some lands of the opposite wets a the attempt to plough an acre per day woul d break the hearts of a pair of the best horses in England. I know, never- theless, of no lands which, with a proper tool, re- quire more than four active, selécted plough-cattle, nor at all times so many, unless upon an extraor- ‘dinary occasion of trenching. During the seasons of winter and spring, Soak nat the ground moist, perhaps the strongest soils might be well Bue led with a common swing plough, the shares being always kept sharp, as in Lincolnshire(a thing not so well attended to elsewhere), but in the dry time, when 236 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. when the clay is hard baked by the sun, wheels are a convenient appendage to the plough; in soils full of stones and obstructions, they are of absolute necessity. Very ridiculous comparisons have been drawn, ridioulous, because upon presumed equal terms, between men ploughing on these op- posite grounds. Upon a light and free: soil, the plough once let into the work, will proceed even of herself, with scarcely a deviation, whist the whistling ploughm&an has no other care or labour than to walk after her, and guide his horses straight; in fact, it is his eye only which labours, and this in ereat measure accounts for the superior accuracy of the ploughman of our light Jand counties.© - Hence also, there is no necessity for a driver, since the ploughman himself has nothing else todo. But on strong and difhcult ground, it frequently re- quires all the force of a very powerful man to keep the plough-share in the earth, which, in truth, would be totally impracticable, without wheels to second his efforts.‘The share, sometimes driven with the immense force of four, or six powerful horses, against a huge stone fast bedded in baked -elay, will occasion a sudden jerk, suthcient, if it took place, to beat the breath out of a man’s body with the plough-handle. Let common sense judge of the difficulty, under such circumstances, of a ploughman’s guiding his horses accurately with reins. But impartiality requires it, to be stated, that these arguments are frequently used when they do not apply, and that on every soil, without ex- ception, two-horse and coach-rein ploughs may, and ought to be, occasionally used. On ease =~ IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 237 On Harrowine and Carine also, our too sanguine and too theoretical writers declaim with- out discrimination.. It is stated(and where is the wonder?) that on the light lands of the West, and the sandy carpets of Norfolk, they trot both at harrows and at cart. But can any man in his right wits recommend this upon stiff clays?‘The slow and lounging pace too of the labourers of certain districts, is introduced as a foil to the alertness of those in others. But, on examination, this differ- ence will be found naturally to result from the different.conditions of the soil on which. they tread. Jt is much easier for a regulator of rural ceconomics in his studyy with his halfemptied bot- tle at his elbow, to advise the pas de charge, or the quick step, over a heavy and deep soil, than for the peasant, with a daubing of seven pounds of clay each upon his clouted shoes, to practise it. A vast variety of harrows has been recommended within the last twenty or thirty years, many of them improving considerably upon the ancient form. The nature of the land to be tilled, will in general directs‘as to the‘size and weight of the harrows. The prime considerations are, that the tines‘stand not strdight, but obliquely, pointing forward, or, as they eall it in the North, racked; that they all incline one way, and that hey intersect and cross Fhis will completely do away the ob- » Tull made to, the blunt and straight tines of the harrows and drags of his day, which did but collect the clods to form perpetual ob- structions. I the Patent Scuffling Harrow of Mr. Lester, of Nor- thampton, Eotdarate ay as So Fiche BN as ous ff 8 nay ee ESA S 7 the account which} have heard of aoe LSS ——EEe 238 IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY: thampton, it seems to be a tool deserv ing of atten- tion; it may be seen at the Windmill bE John’s Rollers, intended to do great execution, are ge- nerally made to cover too great an extent of ground, by which, in fact, their pressure is dimi- nished, from being received and supported from: 1 1 ht, to be effective, should 4- too many points; the weig lie. in a narrower compass. Perhaps the» old- fashioned octagonal rollers were more effectual than the plain circular ones in crushi ing clods; but, upon tenacious soils, a fluted(as im Suffolk), or a spiky roll, should ever be at hand. The adoption of iron mould plates for ploughs instead of boards, Is an improvement, but no nov ee y, such having been used in Essex more than fifty y years ago. On Wueer Carriaces, it ought to be remem- bered, that from symmetry and due proportion, the materials being good, result ae strength and durability than from mere bulk and weight, which nave an increased tendency towards their own de. Lt ier The Western, or Berkshire waggon, wider than common, with the lock holes closed u ups is beyond.all comparison the handsomest, the most capacious, the lightest, and most durable#in Eng- : A A EERE 9= fy Pad ES Ry eye Se ee 7 od d, price£.25. Ona large farm; where sing a« v < ro) norse-carts are not In use, a broad-wheeled double yvaggon is very convenient, as are also light broad- g’ 3a waa dung-carts. The Kentish Hurcues, or large close-bodied carts, calculated for carrying corn, coals, or sand, may be very suitable in many situations. A small cart, to be drawn either by ‘band,/or by an ass, or 9% uloway, is extremely con- oO £ venient 4 —“ate i NS Ss ae SS ee —_. a ernyssce 2 } gal IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. Ang venient for light yobs about the premises, or in the neighbourhood: in such an one, much dun; may be collected at leisure times, which else would be wasted in the adjoining paths, roads, or chases. Of the great saving to be made by ONE Horst CAarRTs, there can be no doubt, since: ithas been experimentally prov ed, and was moreover ez asily to be discoveréd from just t heory. More weight may be'drawn by six horses in so many carts, than by eight in a large waggon, and one man may manage two carts inthe country. There are some pecu- liar inconveniences attendant upon this plan, which are sufficiently obvious; and notwithstanding it has been, for years past, so warmly recommended oy very powerful pens, it never has, nor probably ever will be, relished by the generality of farmers. ——! La & ry oe ae Ficures of the improved Irish CAR, so muc ro){ 3 commended by Mr. Bakewell; of Lord Somerville’s Drac Cart; and of Waggons with the Friction Drac, may be seen in}“al. TI. Communications to Board of Agriculiure. Lord.Somerville’s Drac-Carr, adjusting‘ghe centre of gravity of the load, same vol. plate 19. fit... p. 416.“ Aperspe ctive view Of a cart, to be inh by two strong oxen, by a pole, yoke'and: bows, and to carry 49 cwt. In the front of this fig, fs représented the method of adjusting the position of the 1e ceftre of eee of the load, to pre- vent its pressing too ml ich upon the cattle in going 1 down-hill, the. point« of the cart being elevated by means of a toothed rack, screwed to the: front:of the cart. and worked by a pinion and the handle a, 240 YMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY: a, immediately connected with the pole e. By means of this pinion and rack, the front of the carriage is elevated, mare or less, in proportion to the de- clivity of the hill, by which means, the weight of the load is made to bear more upon the axis, and less on the necks of the oxen,”&c.&c. see above: where also will be found an ingenious essay by Alexander Cumming, Esq. intituled,“ Observations on the effects which carriage wheels, with rims of differ- ent shapes, have on the roads. ON FENCES,&c. Tue size of Inclosures has always been a dis putable poiht: where, from the nature of the soil, itis a desirable object to preserve all possible mois- ture, and to prevent its dispersion by the action of the winds, small fields are entitled to a preference; they are farther more convenient, as grazing grounds, both on account of the separation of stock, and of affording shelter in the winter season: but on the wet and tenacious soils, a free and unob- structed ventilation is of the utmost consequence, and inclosures of from fifteen to twenty acres’ and upwards are most suitable. The fences may yet be lofty and thick, with deep ditch-drains; and in case a division should be required by circum- stances, it may be made with hurdles, or what is better rat ON FENCES,&c. 241 better and cheaper in the end, with temporary posts and rails. Respecting the form of an inclosure, every one would prefer the regular square, except- ing when attention to symmetry and its adva ntages 1S preclud ed by more weighty considerations; ice regular figure of a field is then no longer an object. In the: n mctoeore 2 and laying out of wet lands, every ditch ought to be cast in such asituation as to be- come a drain; and this business should be in the hands of those who have experience and skill in the discovery of springs. In this art, the well- known Mr. Elkington stands supereminent. Should, on this account, the irregular figure of a field be found inconvenient to the qlouetn there isa prompt and advantageous method to correct it already ad- vised, by making grass borders along the hedge- rows to the requisite extent. The hedge being constantly kept within bounds, and not suffered to’ overhang, will by no means injure the grass, either in quantity or worth. In the new inclosure of stony countries, where the stones may either be collected from the land, or dug from a neighbouring quarry, a W all presents itself as the most natural, cheapest, and readiest fence. To use the appropriate phrase of a Nor- thern Nobleman, such a fence is“ major the first year’ it is nevertheless minor to the end of time, in most essential’respects. It by no means affords so good a see ter as a luxuriant fence of growing ice nor like wood, repays its repairs w ith profit. A fence-wall being reared for immediate convenl- ence, the next step for the convenience of ese! is, to plant beside it, a good hedge, which will, R eee i A Pare Q42 ON FENCES,&c. a few years, if duly cultivated, supersede the neces- sity of a wall, unless indeed this be retained upon those parts of a farm adjoining the public roads, for the greater security. Wall-fences seem to be confined to the northern and western parts of the island, but it is probable, there are some parts of the south, in which they might be profitably adopt ed on the first inclosure of Jand. There is a very expeditious method of forming a hedge, when the materials can be readily ob- tained, and which has been often practised with sliccess; it is, to transplant the full-grown wood into your intended fence. You have thus, at once, a full fence upon very easy terms. Some have recommended fences of entire quick er thorn, without any mixture of other wood, which is neither necessary nor advantageous; be- cause, however good quick may be as a fence, it is little productive of wood, particularly on cold in- fertile soils; and the mixed hedge, which ts ex- tremely productive, may also be rendered perfectly secure. Ananonymous correspondent, a few years since, proposed to one of the Agricultural Socie- ties to plant the hedge-rows with fruit; an idea which occurred to me many years ago, when I re- commended the practice to several. gentlemen, whose approbation it did not obtain. It is certainly a measure which will never be pursued by our com- mon farmers, who would not endure the thought, either of such an innovation, or of such an addi- tional trouble; but the consideration of its improba- bility to become a common practice, must enhance the profit taa few that would undertake it. The te zee 33 Sees erie: a ON FENCES,&c. 243 F, ‘ The objection Which: floats upon the surface‘is, lee the exposure of the corn and grass-crops to the pa trampling of thieves in quest of the fruit; to which on it may be replied, that the fruit must be little worth, uh if it would not repay the vigilance required: for its aia preservation. : The immense hedges, and double ditches of western counties are not only a most effectual ng fence, but they must preserve an atmosphere of 0b genial warmth, both for the soil, and the cattle with which it feeds. Where the inclosures are suf- oad ficiently large that the rays of the sun are not too ce, much exclude d, there seems no countervailing in- convenience; it is matter of calculation how far k the growth of wood pays forthe occupation of if such an extent of land. There are many. cold >. exposed districts, on which it would be highly pro- 18 fitable to introduce the Devonshire fences; at least, ne in such there ought to be no want of coppice, or X plantation screens, upon the bleakest exposures. ly These plantations ought to consist both of timber rs and underwood, and in the opinion of the judici- e ous Mr. Hitt, their expence and product should be ea divided between the landlord and tenant. re:: As there is considerable attention required in en, fearing young quicks, it is by no means worth aly while to put up with stunted, unpromising plants, ee such as are frequently collected in the commons, ht and in the neighbouring hedges, as I have several if times experienced; it is infinitely cheapest, at once ae to purchase good ones of sufficient growth from - the nurseries; and where much fencing is intended, It is to the interest of an in-coming tenant imme- ‘: R' 2 diately i a ae 244 ON FENCES,&c.| rf diately to form nurseries, not only of white-thorn, but of willow, poplar, alder, larch, chesnut, or whatever wood he may suppose most profitable in his situation. He may rest assured, he will not find this the least beneficial, or comfortable part of his farming system. It is necessary, however, to remind certain indolent persons of the inutility of putting in quicksets, unless they determine to keep them perfectly clean. I have known several farmers attend to the cleaning their plants very diligently the first and second time; after which, they have been totally neglected, and suffered to die smothered with weeds. I In absorbent soils, where no drains are needed, the hedge-wood may be planted, and a good fence made, upon the level surface, without either ditch or bank; and so planted, it is said the quicks shoot up to a great height, and much more expeditiously than in the common method. Of fancy-hedges, that of Flanders, in which the stakes of hornbeam, or other wood, are stuck into the earth across each other, and grow up in that po- sition to a fence, and the poplar hedge of the in- genious Dr. Anderson, of which I shall give a sketch, may be interesting to the curious. The Watt Fence oF SOMERSETSHIRE. In most instances, the outside bounds are a wall fence, five feet six inches high, two feet and a half wide at bottom, and fifteen inches at the top, which 1s co vered with a turf of six inches, put on in the form of an arch, making together an height of six feet. This wall is partly dry and partly cemented with mortar, or what is commonly called a List-waAtt. In pam iy ence cane ee ON FENCES,&c. 24.5 In some instances, where a flat bed of stone can be procured, it is made without cement; and if well- 1 built, such a wall is very durable. When the ground is level, the foundation of the wall is laid on the turf, and this is to be preferred, as it will not be so apt to sink as when a trenchis dug. The expence of a list-wall may be thus calculated, per rope of twenty, feet running length. er) . Ry To quarring or digging 8 loads of stone, each 95. Cwt at 3d4- 3 2--siec Carriage, suppose half a mile, at 6d. Building, per rope, af3s. 6.-= 7 Bushelsof lime, at 3d.----- Coyerine, with:(ith---- Or OR ND per Rope 1k 6 The dry wall will be two or three shillings the rope less; but it is evident, from advancing prices, and in various districts, the expences may amount to fifteen or twenty-five: per cent. more than this calculation. The stones being at hand, the cost will in course be reduced; but if the wall be wholly made with cement, it will be enhanced two shillings and six- pence per rope.; In making dry stone-walls, two masons should work opposite each other, so that the surface of their work may be always level. Stones also should be occasionally selected, of a sufficient length, to reach the whole breadth of the wall, this se 246- ON FENCES.&c; 5 this precaution will bind the work together, and render it durable: Quicxset Hepces, First, mark out the course of the ditch. The dimensions of the bank, on which the quicks are planted, is generally six feet at the bottom, three and half at the top, and two feet high, On each side is a ditch three feet wide, and two feet deep; the sides being made sloping, and the bottom not wider than six inches, to pre- nt the cattle from-walking in the ditch, and crop- ping +h ul i young Sete Iii making the ditch, the men should be particularly careful not to throw 7 Pais Try ham Dae oe DS pe$ og es-@! any bad earth from the bottom into the centre of the bank, which me retard the growth of the quick.‘The making t e bank will cost ninepence per rope, co only one ditch is pole the - i« earth on the other side being worked off to a slope. By this plan, the bank is kept more ene and the thorn plants flourish better. Let the sets be taken from a nursery, formed on rood soil, straight in their le having been ce transplanted from the seed-bed, and footir or id e smooth on five years old. The shoots showld k, and wellrooted.‘They cost, inthe West, per hundred. A trench being cut in the middle of the bank, the sets are to be cut off,.and laid, with the head a little inclining, at the distance of three inches from plant to plant. Cover the roots with a Hittle of the best mould, and fill up the whole trench with rotten dung or compost, strewing good mould on the: top,“DL: going‘iad plantmg twopence per | oa Amy 4 4e xe) ON FENCES,&c. it is absolutely necessary, instantly to secure the roung quicks from injury. They must therefore COU be de=fetded and sheltered by two dead hedges of Ky ot bush-wood, two feet and half high, made Pout four ws,; inches distant from the outside edges of the bank. M i The expence of these will be api two shillings Wide and tenpence per rope. Time for P anting, os ping tober, February, or March. Some plant two row pre- of quicks instead of one, but this plan has not os crop found to succeed well. Others recommend plant- , the ing at a greater distance than three inches, under an row idea hat thick planting retards the growth; but it re of has been invariably found, that the Hedges planted thick thrive the best.(I have seen very ne nce flourishing plantations in double rows, but at he greater distance than three inches.) . Timber, indeed any trees plante d in the hedge, d kill the thorns by dropping upon them, icin ™ makes a vacancy. Weed and hoe the young quicks carefully twice a en year, securing them from the cropping of sheep par- tic ae which are very fond of the buds: should these be gnawed by ac cident, the plants must be cut down within an inch and an half of the ground. In cold, exposed situat ions, it will require two sets i of dead hedges, to bring the quick to maturity. he Posts and rails of any w food are an expensive de- fence, and besides do not so well shelter the young quicks as hedges, by the warmth of which their crowth is promoted. Expences as follow: 248 ON FENCES,&c. se. Making the bank*.-..+4 0-..0/29 Sets80in'arope--- 0 0 9 Planting and dunging- 0© 2 Two dead hedges),-:.-<0 12.5 Making two dead fences O O 5 (N. B.) A waggon load of writh will cost 17s. 6d. and make about 15 rope of single hedge.) 4 6 Weeding three yeats-.5---. 04.3 The two last dead hedges 2 10 per Rope 27.7 The old wood pays for sundry repairs. In counties where wood for fencing is scarce, they plant the quicks in the face of the bank. Quickset hedges, at the end of fourteen years, will yield sufficient produce, when cut down and plashed, to pay all the expences incurred by the first making; and this cutting may be repeated every twelve or fourteen years without injury to the stocks; and the proper time to cut and plash 1s, when the ground is to be ploughed, or if it be pasture, when the crop is to stand for hay; for cattle are very fond of the young branches, and cropping them in the summer will greatly injure the shoots. The expence of a dry wall and hedge joined, will be as follows.‘The wall four feet and half high, with six inches of turf upon the top, may be reared , a a Naik cil ON FENCES,&c. 249 reared(according to the Somersetshire calcula- tion) for six or seven shillings per rope of twenty feet. Under the wall, a low bank may be raised, on which to plant the quick. The growth, encou- raged by shelter and warmth, will be rapid, and in four or five years time the wall may be taken away, and the stones(if propér) converted into lime, or to mending the roads. This hedge, made upon land under tillage, will need but one dead fence for its security. Building four and half feet of wall, stones, s. a. Sc melded.——= 2-4- ee Turfing, 2d. Banking and planting, 4d. Seis Sd.~ ee ee ee One dead fence, inside, 1s. 2d. Weeding Dik See go see ee 8 6 Value of the stones, 3d. per cart load, de- UCtGC 26 c=) ao Be ne Re ee O Flere 8 With the addition for advance in price as above- mentioned, this may be rated at 8s. per rope. The expence of transplanting full-grown hedge- wood in the west, is as under. Making the bank, 1s.; digging and planting, 1s. éd.; carriage of plants, suppose 9d. or 3s. 3d. per rope. The bank must be three feet in height, and the wood, in course, such as can be obtained in the neigh- ws a is 250 ON FENCES,&c. neighbourhood from coppices, borders, or’ com: mons; chiefly black thorn or sloe, with which will be found maple, hazle, willow, holly, and the large briar. Cut off the tops to the height of three ae and plant very thick. One large waggon-load will be sufficient for twelve ropes, or te hundred and forty feet running length. There need be no appre- hensionof the plough being obstructed by the spread- ing of the roots beyenti the banks and ditches; nor would that probably be an objection of any great weight, were the planting done uy ponthe leyel surface. jae loppings of the een may be laid along the summit of the bank, secured by small-stakes, which will prevent ek from forcing their way through the stocks. This fence, the ean of all others, will require no repairs, for the sloe will throw sit so many shoots from the roots, and the briar so en- twine its branches with the hedge, that it will be 1 afew years impervious to all cattle, It will ae , affording good shelter; o a close and thick fence and the wood being Tee its proper soil, may be expected to grow pee ny which is far enough from being ane the case with white thorn pur- chased from, the nur sery, and transplanted into a poor soil. Hedges of furze, or in part furze, may suffice in poor vids! where wood is so slow of growth. It has been remarked, that hedge-wood is injured by the dripping of timber trees; but it remains to be considered, how far such objection is valid in a district bare of timber; and to be re- membered, that such plantation of trees occasions no extra expence for iheit security, and that the hed Ce 5* a) “3 —P ON FENCES,&c. Y5t hedge is not so far injured by a tree as to cease to be a good and sufficient fence within its shade: a large and spreading tree, however, surely damages the corn, and even the grass beneath it. In Nottinghamshire, they secure their young hedges with posts and rails, the former of oak, the latter of ash, but more generally of late of fir g 1 in the county. Gates of willow, having oak poo, are found to answer well, having the advan- tage of lightness, and not damaging themselves by clapping to. On their poor soils, they have found birch to answer very well for plashed fences against light stock; also for light gates and rails. Mr. Harper of Lancashire, pursues the follow- ing method of plashing and laying the shoots’ of old hedges, become thin at bottom, which I think deserves imitation in many parts, where I observe very defective fences. Cut the wood very low, leaving the young and vigorous shoots; then, with a hand-saw, again cut away that part of the old stump as far as was shaken by the hatchet in the first separation, leaving the top level, that no wet may lodge. From this practice, the shoots‘will grow stronger, and more in number in one year, than they commonly do in three. The shoots being half a yard, or two feet long, bend the young ones down, and, room permitting, make a hole in the bank with a shovel, in which tie the shoots closely down with hooked sticks, and cover them up again with earth; these young branches, with a little nursing, will, by taking root afresh, form a new hedge. Some Gartzs are made in this county with painted deal.s: 252 ON FENCES,&cC. In Romney Marsh, Kent, an immense quantity of oaken Posrs and Rarrs are used, which are de- livered, ready prepared for use, from the neil bouring woody part of the county, price 95. per rod, for three rails, for four 13s. Water Dircues,-as fences in the mars 4 } A res,‘are from eight to fourteen feet wide, and from three to five deep, with sides somewhat sloping; they are emptied once in ten ye rs, at the expence, for those of middling dimensions, of 18d. per rod; and for those of larger size, and very full of mud, 2s. or upwards. Digging of new ditches, 2d. per cubic yard. Considering the vast loss of young stock upon these marshes in a severe season, and the ex- posed and comfortless, of course disadvantageous situation, in which stock of all ages must lie, it has if \ always appeared to me, that hedge plantations would be extremely beneficial in every point of view. This surely applies to all’ marshes and ex- posed situations, where the herbage being protected in a considerable degree from the keen and pierc- ing blasts, would be signally improved; and wood, upon such rich soils, would grow most luxuriantly. In planting quicks, one hundred plants are al- lowed to every three rods; they are set upon a bank made by the mould dug from a ditch, three feet aside, and two deep.‘Their dead hedges are made at the expence of 2d. or 3d. per rod, for la- bour; well stacked and bound, they last five or six oa | i ¥ years.. In Lincolnshire, white thorn fences superior. ixpences of a treble rail on each side, bank and quick, 1s. 8d. per yard running measure. Ex- pence —— Se REE Ea oT AR SR an >)™ oO GN FENCES, Géc LOI pence of a new inclosure, 11s. a rood of seve i yards, and 2d. per rood per annum, c cleaning and replanting failures for three years.‘Three half- pence a rood for three weedings. Leicester method are pursued, with one fence of a very small trench, hree planet the quick upon the surface of the field for rare the sake of the moisture; the other as of the same lose field a double ditch, three feet deep: the differ- for ence, of the growth is very great, the former as ; good at three years as the other at seven. In Staffordshire the new inclosures are first fenced nck round with post and rail, after which a mound or a bank of earth is raised up to nearly the height it of the lower rail, with a ditch sufficient to drain the - land, where draining is wanted: withinside‘the - cone and alittle above the Jevel of the natural i surface of the earth, are then planted white-thorn \ quicksets. Stakes of the narrow-leaved willow 4 will grow most luxuriantly in dry, as well as moist o situations. An ceconomical scheme lately talked " of, and attempted inthat county, to plant willows in proper situations, for making gates, rails,.and hurdles, which being of luxuriant growth, will soon be ready for cutting down, and also quickly shoot ae forth again. Any moist corne one or aa would pro- Ee duce heme or they may be planted regularly in the ai sfencés.‘This plan i 1S Se a asa ree of oak. i In Middlesex, the hedges are nee well re- i plenished with live= cade hawthorn, elm, maple, black thorn, crab, briar, damason: they are new ip made, once in ten or a dozen years, when the whole is cut down within a few inches of the bank. 5 The scourin of the ditch is thrown up, a very ee thin “ SSE ee ce ee re= sayin= “Hite“Rs 254 ON FENCES,&c. thin stake and edder hedge is formed, and the rest of the wood made into bavins, and sold principally to bakers, at about a guinea per hundred delivered. Tn about two years, the live wood is grown so thick again, as hardly to be seen through. The mould thrown out of the ditch may be considered as earthing up the plants, and it is al- ways done loosely. The plants thus grow with vigour on the sides of the bank, as well as on the top, thereby preserving the bank from destruction by cattle. It is far superior to the methods prac- tised in some other counties, of making a solid wall-like face to the bank in some cases of stone, which smothers all the shoots that would otherwise grow from the sides, and of course exposes the bank to be pulled down by the horns. of neat cat- tle, at the same time that it greatly reduces the produce of the hedge. In Mr. Middleton’s opinion, it is an improve- ment to put in two rows of thorns about two feet apart, to be cut, when full grown, alternately, one every five or six years. Thus the cut wood would be ten or twelve years old, and the other, left for a fence, would be five or six, which would be suf- ficient, both for a fence, and to protect the young shoots from the bite of cattle on one side; to the other, a few loose thorns in the ditéh would be a security. Stagnant water is very injurious to hawthorn, which‘should therefore never be planted in its way; such situations are most proper for willow and other aquatics. The usual method of planting quick on the edge of the ditch next the bank, is al- most © ta - he b a Q esi wa w oe a ne ee most the worst possible. Be the soil what it’ may, the operation of the elements will make it crumble away from the roots, and leave the sets without sufficient mould to support the en In planting quicks, make your bank four feet wide a-top, with a ditch on each side, and set two rows, at two feet or more asunder, on the flat sur- face of the bank, taking care that the roots pene- trate the best mould, and that the sides are so topped as to leave no fear of their mouldering down; and laying loose thorns in the ditches to keep off cattle. This method precludes the ne- cessity of either railing or dead hedges, as no cat- tle can stand nearer than six feet ce the stems of the quicks.. This fence, recommended by Mr. Middle ton, is doubtless a very comp He one, form- ing ¢ an excellent drain upon wet s¢ sig: buf i 1S pro- per for me to remark, that i. have often found loose thorns in the ditch a most insufficient security, both to the new banks and the quicks. Plan of Fruir Hepcers. Plant at the distance of ten, twenty, or any number of feet that may be thought advi me le, a Spanish chesnut; midway be- tween the chesnuts, plant a crab; between the chesnuts and crabs, plan it a common plumb; in the intermediate spaces, white-thorn. When they have been planted three or four years, and are in a thriv- ing state, about February or March, cut them off with:a-sharp knife about an inch above the ground, they will then throw out many shoots; keep them clean from weeds, and let them continue growing until the chesnut shoots are large enough for stakes and binders, which’ may be ie eight, ake or ten ‘* years. ——————————— Se a ee A:= —_—— mm—< a oe YD REESE TSR I tt RTE TE ici A 256, ON FENCES,&C. years. When the hedge is made, at proper dis- tances leave a straight handsome chesnut shoot, to grow into a tree; if you prefer timber, let it re- main for that purpose; if you prefer fruit, cut off the top; and if you can procure grafts from Spain or Italy, graft them therewith. In like manner, leave a handsome shoot from the crabstock, and graft it with an apple, and the plumb-shoots, with the different kinds of plumbs: the shoots of the white-thorn may be grafted with medlars. Thus you will have a very productive fruit-garden, without any waste of land sand 2a permanent fence that will continue to the end of time. Crab may be successfully engrafted with every species of apple, white thorn wath every species of pear, black-thorn with every species of plumb, and the wild or bird-cherry with every. species. of cherry. No stock receives and nourishes with more admirable facility its stall, than does the white-thorn, the,scion, or bud of the pear; but in consequence of the engraftment being four, or more feet from the ground, the scion becomes larger i in diameter than the stock; but this circum- stance may be made subservient to their bearing, by leading their very vigorous shoots to stakes or standard trees, where affixed, they acquire the form and fruitfulness of an espalier, which being raised two or three feet above the quick, are out of the reach of the bite of cattle, and form a complete barrier against their leaping over or breaking through; with equal ease they may ascend into sturdy standards, by being engrafted within an inch or two of the bank. APPLE - iu), ON FENCES,&Cew 257 AppLe Tress. The method of planting apple: aud cherry-trees In Kent is, to dis holes about vo feet square, and two spits deep, taking out the Hee and turning down the surface soil on which the young trees are placed, and the remainder of the earth i is trodden. down close about the roots. They are supported by stakes, until they get suf- ficient strength not to be hurt by gales of wind. AL composition of lime and night- oo is painted with a brush on the stems, w niche is said to promote their growth exceedingly But large, and even very old trees, may be graft- ed, so as to bear very fine heads of other sorts of fruits, and to produce a crop quicker than by any other method. The trees being full sized, the tops must be cut off in the winter, otherwise when grafted, they will bleed so much, that the grafts will not succeed. The trees must not be cut down to the trunk, but as many branches must be left as look kindly, above where they branch out, of the thickness of one’s arm, or double that size: the tops of these must be taken off, about two or three ect from the place whence they branch from the trunk. These stubs will bear each two or three, or four grafts, according to their size.-New c- chards are raised by planting in March well-grow crab-stocks, and grafting them, the following Mar rch r April. Tue Poprar Fence of Dr. Anderson for. rich lands. Species, the Batsam Porrar, ahealthy free-growing tree, distinguished for the firmness and luxuriance of its shoots, largeness of leaf, and fragrancy of bud in the spring, haying more S* firmness 258 ON FENCES,&c. firmness and stability than the willow, and more Juxuriance of growth than the Lombardy pop- lar. It is recommended to rear the plants at home, the nursery being made upon the richest, mellowest, and tenderest soil, inclining to moisture, but not absolutely wet. Cuttings, best of two years’ growth, but any age will do: one foot in length to be planted in rows eighteen inches distant, and three inches between each plant. Autumnal planting best, but spring may succeed; tops to be left one inch above ground. In the spring, a careful per- son to rub off, with his thumb, every bud except one, which will then push up to a vigorous stem, without coHateral suckers to weaken it. Keep the ground clean between the plants, and dig it over between the rows at least once a year. The plants in general will reach about four feet in height the first season; in two years more, or at most three, they will be large enough for planting out, where the fence is meant to be. Plough up a narrow ridge, where the hedges are meant to be planted, so early as to admit of its being four times ploughed, at least, before the time for sowing turnips. Manure richly, and sow tur- nips in drills sixteen inches apart, hocing them properly; after these are drawn, the ground may be either ploughed, or dug and harrowed fine, to pre- pare it for planting. Take up the plants from the nursery, which will now be ten or twelve feet high, and from an inch to an inch and an half diameter at the root; and sort them carefully, so as to have them all nearly of ON FENCES,&c. 259 of the same sizes, which are to be planted together, Make a mark in the middle of the ridge, where the centre of the hedge is to be, and stretch a line pa- rallel to that, nine inches from the centre; then let one man, with a spade, begin to open a hole on the outerside of the line sufficient to receive the roots of one plant, and Jet an assistant put the plant into that hole, slanting the top of the plants, to an angle of about forty-five degrees to the hori- zon. But instead of laying these parallel to the line, let them slant so much inwards, as that every plant, at the height of four feet above the surface of the ground, shall be right above the centre of the ridge; and proceeding in that manner, leaving an interval of about one foot, or fifteen inches be- tween each plant round the whole of.the inclosure. When this is finished, move the line- to the same distance(nine inches) from the middle of the ridge, or on the opposite side; begin and proceed exactly after the same manner to plant another row of poplars in a direction the reverse from that of the former, so that ifthe tops of the one row lie to the eastward, inclining to the left, when you look east, the tops of the other shall lie westward, in- clining to the right hand, if you still look east- ward;.that the two rows meet each other at the height of four feet from the ground, exactly above the middle of the ridge. The whole row being planted, Jet the tops of both rows be plaited position like the top of arail; and the fence, when viewed sideways, will have somewhat of a lozenge- like appearance, but.not crossed like the willow- s 2 fence; 260 ON FENCES, XC. fence; and with this difference, that the stems are much thicker and stronger in every respect, not contiguous to each other, and cannot be wattled through each other unless at the top only. This fence, at first a living railing of no incon- siderable strength, will rise in a few months to five or six feet in height, and in a few years will be nearly impenetrable to animals of every sort. To render it farther complete, let the earth at the roots of the plants be smoothed, and plant a young sweet-briar in the opening left between each two of the poplars, so that there shall be the same number of plants of eglantine as of poplar; but let the briars be put about three inches farther back than the line of poplars, so that they be about twelve inches distant the one row from the other.‘These plants should be one year old or two at most; for as it grows very quickly, it will soom reach thie top of| the hedge. The first summer, nothing more is necessary than weeding; and inthe autumn, to go over both sides, cutting away with shears all tie shoots: that come beyond the line of the ribs of the hedge, as the original stems may be called: then raking the rub- 'bish back from the hedge, cut over, with othe point of the shears, every plant of eglantine close by the cround, leaving the dead stems that are between the ribs of the hedge without disturbing them. Next season, the eglantine will send out strong shoots from the bottom, which, pushing through the dead branches of the former year’s growth, ill intermingle with them, and fix them firmly in their place, some of these stems also pushing through the ribs a ON FENCES, WC, 20 t vibs outwards. In the autumn, once more cut the sides with the shears, as before, and then once more also cut over the eglantine at the bottom, as in the former year. The matting of prickly briar-in. ti hedge will now have become very close, so‘as nearly to fill up the whole of the internal cavity originally left between the ribs, and the next year’s shoots intermingling with these, will render it still closer. The sides of the hedge should be clipped every year, and the eglantine cut over, as above , until the whole of the bottom of the wish it to be, so as-not to suffer a fowl, of any animal of that size, to be able to creep through it; after which time, it will be only necessary to cut the sides of the hedge annually, so as to give it an external coating of living eglantine, which will form afenee the most impenetrable, as well as the most beautiful, that can be conceived.‘To add to the beauty, a few plants of honeysuckle may be set along the hedge, and some of the freest shooting roses, particularly the white rose, interspersed through it, which will thrive abundantly. The shoots on the top of the hedge may be suf- fered to run upwards until they have acquired the size you wish for, or have attained to as greata height as you would incline, when they may be cut over at four feet from the ground, and applied to any useful purpose. After being cut, they will forth fresh shoots in general, which. will reach to nearly five feet in one season, and about the thickness of a thumb at the under part: in three years, 262 ON FENCES,&c. years, they will be as thick as the wrist, and very tall. The reader will recollect, that I present this re- cipe for a hedge, of the ingenious Doctor, to the curious only: it will form a very agreeable and sightly fence upon a ferme ornée, or around a gar- den or orchard. As to its utility in a common way, I do not pretend to judge; but Dr. Anderson has actually experienced it, and reckons the ex- pence under two-pence per yard. For a similar hedge upon barren grounds, the larch, or pinaster, would be preferable. The Wiruy, or WiLLow Fence, recommended by the late worthy and patriotic Jqseph Wimpey, Esq. of the West.—Ditches and banks being pre- pared, plant a withy edge on the brink of the bank (as a defence to quicks) in manner following. Cut strong willow stakes, from three and half, to four feet long, and from one and half to three inches diameter; drive them fifteen or sixteen inches into the ground until firm, fifteen inches apart in a line. Prepare an’ equal number of shorter. sets, six- teen inches long, and about‘an inch and half round; drive them into the ground ten inches deep, leaving out six, to be planted, one in the middle of each two. of the former, then they will stand in al- ternate succession. Fasten the tall stakes together with twisted willow rods, planted in January or February. In two years time the shoots from the stakes and sets will be long enough to be woven stakewise; those from the short sets into the bot- tom and middle of the hedge, and those from the stakes into the upper part and top. At that age, they ae Se WOODS, COPPICES,&c. 263 they will be flexible enough to be wrought in with- out cutting, which is practised in older and larger shoots, to the great damage of the hedge. WOODS, COPPICES, AND PLANTATIONS. 5 Z So For the preservation of woods, it is absolutely necessary to put an end to the pernicious custom of turning in cattle, which can never be admitted without both the timber and underwood suffering great damage in various ways, at whatever age they may have arrived; notwithstanding the height of the bulk of the underwood, there are always young plants within reach, and lable to be crop- ped and stinted by cattle, beside the great quantity they tread down, an object of consequence in old | i ae on= n,n Se and decaying woods. In woodland farms, it is for the mutual advan- tage of landlord and tenant, that the woods be kept entirely shut up from stock, and in case: of public right of commonage in woods, it would be for the interest of rich and poor to abrogate such right by a general act. The boggy parts of woods should be drained of the stagnant water, an improvement which is al- ways well repaid. Underwood neglected, and suffered to grow too old before cutting, receives much damage, the sy. a stron g 264 WOODS, COPPICES,&C. strong shoots smothering the weaker, and by drip- ping upon them, killing the parent stocks. In the sale of the underwood, the buyer ought to be restricted in cutting the saplings, and pre- vented from cutting too close to the stocks. These particulars ought to be closely inspected during the cutting. The bargain should be made to clear the woods early in the summer, that the young shoots may not be injured by the horses and car- rlages.) But the most advantageous method of sale is, for the seller to cut his own underwood, and then sell it in lots, with the condition, that the whole be cleared away by the buyers, on, or before the 10th of June. Cart-horses, coming in after the new shoots have put forth, to be muzzled, or their heads secured. The most profitable time to fell underwood is precisely when it is ready, and well fitted for the purposes intended. The customary periods are seven, eight, and fourteen years. For fuel it can hardly be cut too young. Supposing a demand, and a fair, price, it can never pay to keep wood standing eighteen or twenty years, excepting, how- ever, poles for the carpenter's use, of ash, alder, birch, willow,&c. which must stand nearly twenty years. Those are in demand for rafters, posts, and rails, turnery, and patten ware, and various other purposes. Hazle and ash are fit for hurdles and cattle cribs, at eight years old: ash, and other wood, for hop-poles, at fourteen. As the stocks or stools from constant cutting, must in time decline in their produce and value, : and TD WOODS, COPPICES,&c. 265 and finally decay, it is necessary to renew them. by occasional planting. New planting in woods, and filling up vacancies, is an advantageous business, and of easy expence, since no new fences are want- ed, and the young plants,(if not improperly smo- thered) shoot up rapidly u under shelter of the old wood. The practice of laying down, or or plashing from the stock, has been long pursued ith SUCCESS. It is the quickest method of producing poles. Se- lect long healthy young branches from the stocks, near to vacancies. Dig holes two feet square, and fifteen inches deep, returning the surface-mould to the bottom of the hole, then bend each branch, and fasten it down with a peg about a foot below the surface, treading the mould over it. Where spontaneous sé plings are in plenty, great care should be taken of‘thesis and their standing regulated. At the time of cutting the saplings, being perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old, such as are straight oe handsome, should be preserved for timber: it is common to cut the rest, but these so cut will seldom or ever produce shoots sufficiently strong to keep pace with the other underwood, and had therefore much better be left until the next cutting, when being between twenty and thirty years“ald, the objection will be done aw ay, and they may be safely cut with the rest. Ina scarcity of s saplings, young trees must be planted i in autumn, the best of which may be left for timber, the re- mainder for underwood. But the planting young trees under the shade of old branching wood, subject also to obstruction in their growth, from the land being already occupied by 266 WOODS, COPPICES,&c. by roots, turf, and weeds, it must be remembered, is attended with considerable risk and uncertainty. It frequently happens, that more than two-thirds of the young plants are thus lost. The remedy is constant inspection. Large holes should be dug for the plants, and they should be hoed round clean from weeds and grass. It is of equal conse- quence to trees, as to inferior plants, to preserve the soil loose and friable around them, as any one may be convinced by experiment; and the want of this necessary culture is probably the cause of failure in many plantations. As to the most advantageous species for planting, the first consideration 1s a natural aptitude to the soil; the next, usefulness, and probable demand for the wood. Oak, elm, and chesnut, thrive best upon stiff, deep, and strong soils: the whole willow, osier, sallow, and alder. tribe, affects rich marshy ground; poplars, particularly the Lombardy, will scarcely thrive upon any but clay soils. Yor light, shallow, and stony grounds, the class of pines: the pinaster, larch, silver, and spruce fir; of these, the two first are most valuable; the Scotch fir is gene- rally the quickest grower, but of inferior wood. The black, white poplar, and arbele, are superior tothe Lombardy poplar., For exposed situations, either upon hills, or towards the sea, the hardiest trees are the sycamore, beach, hornbeam, birch, ash, alder, platenus; hazel flourishes on the steep sides of downs.‘The lime and walnut will grow luxuriantly upon the acclivities of the most rugged nd rocky hills, whilst the sycamore braves the ercest blasts of the summit. i a n Almion gh y U WoOoDS, COPPICES,&c. 267 Although every species of tree’ seems to affect its oi peculiar soil yet they are reared indifferently and a successfully upon all. Thus we find good oaks in yis very poor gro unds, and chesnuts diodeckine g in bar- » Ou ren sands.‘There is also a species of the elm, with round leaves resembling those of the hornbeam, which is ONSE- a quick grower, and will succeed m almost any serve ground. been arisen from too late sowing of Lent-corn. elt la- 6. Straw for fodder rank and coarse. Reply.—Mr. Exter consulted his oxén on this head, and received a very satisfactory answer. I be think it not improbable that the straw may be ih, more substantial and nutritious. Granting the ved validity of the objection, it is infinitely over- ding balanced. eans 7. Clover not succeeding in drills. said. Reply.—This objection, if good, is also infinitely fine overbalanced; but all the drillists declare them- inde- selves satisfied with their clover-crops. In- the ot as drill-husbandry, there is not that necessity for mix- ing clover with corn, nor for any particular course, and I should choose a different arrangement of es crops. But clover, or any grass, may be drilled a with the corn in the rows, and immediately after the last hoeing, the alleysmay be also seeded with a grass. e The objections to drill-husbandry, which Mr. Ae Young has lately brought up from Lincolnshire, BS amount simply to this, the farmers are there too el:| rich con 294 THE ROW-CULTURE. rich to attend to so troublesome a process: for example, Mr. Harrison at Norton, after trying it upon a friable sandy loam, laid Cook’s drill aside, not from any defect in the tool, but that the hus- bandry“ wont do here;” a good old-fashioned reason, which, it is probable, his father, or grand- father before him, applied also to the culture of clover, There was a time,(see Ellis, Tull, and later writers) when both clover and turnips would not dohere. Mr. Graburn, of Barton, has been a successful driller of barley, and various other crops, yet he finds the system so tedious\there’s the rub) that he has given it up, and now sows all broadcast. We all remember Mr.‘Billing’s suc- cessful culture of carrots, and his(surely not con- sequent) relinquishment of that culture. Twenty five years ago, I remember a farmer took it into his head to cultivate twenty acres of fine rich sand, with a certain garden crop; he made an immense profit, yet although the London seedsman, who was the purchaser, year after year importuned him to repeat the crop, it was all to no purpose, the far- mer was inflexible, never would, nor ever did, to the day of his death. I leave it to the naturalists to account for these phenomena. Mr. Cod, of Radby, approves the Drill for tur- nips, and all corn but oats, with which he could obtain no success, assigning, I think, a whimsical reason for his failure. Drilling of oats, has been successful in every quarter, as far as I know, with- out excepting Lincolnshire. From this accidental deviation, which, on a near inspection, would, no doubt, be easily accounted for, this gentleman(as + has 0 Was m to > far. d, to lists or Tule could msical s been with dental Id, n0 yn(a8 has Be THE ROW-CULTURE. 995 has ever been the fashion amongst agriculturalists) wiJl no doubt form an erroneous general conclu- sion. It is thus agricultural principles are fabri- cated, without any very near relation to nature or logic. A respectable farmer and stock-breeder in Sussex, I am told, will not hoe his broad-cast wheat, because the hoe destroys the fibres of the roots: now as those fibres are and ever have been, in- creased both in number and strength, by the salu- tary operation of the hoe,«pon all sorts of soils, it 1s perfectly allowable to place the objection to the old account. A writer(inanote M.S, of the Board) never knew drilling to answer any good purpose, but for beans; for those, it was the best method. Which being interpreted, will stand thus:—The custom of drilling beans is established. As to the comparison of drilling beans with drilling white corn, is as follows: Broadcast either beans, or wheat, on a clean tilth, and one may get a good crop; drill them, and in all probability you will get a better, and in much the same proportion. Mr. Walker has drilled all corn, to a large ex- tent; from drilling nine gallons an acre of wheat, he has had forty-four bushels per acre, over eight acres, yet has totally left off drilling, except of turnips. Mr. Young has spoken suthciently of the ample crops of thistles, and other similar blessings of husbandry, in Lincolnshire. All arguments on the subject are superfluous. It is now necessary to exhibit some actual expe- riments, as specimens of the practice of drilling, and these, in preference to any memorandums of my own, I shall select from the authorities of our most 296 THE ROW-CULTURE,. eh/ most celebrated. cultivators. I shall begin with,‘ Mr. Amos, author of the Theory and Practice-of the Drill Husbandry, and Manager for Major Cart- right, at Brothertoft, Lincolnshire, who has fa-| [_ voured the agricultural world with a connected | series of comparitive experiments, of nine seasons continuance, Mr. Amos began the experiments in 1783, upon various kinds of soil, and in every one of them, employed two acres of land, laid up in eleven feet ridges, and drilled, and sown broad-cast alternately, a EXPERIMEN ES ON SATS. EXPERIMENTS cr cheese et THE ROW-CULTURE. 297 Of, ee F og 1°*&* dors ud ey) Jo A1010dNng 0. Bl. a eel E 9 GF*“pis 8G 7"‘soysng og dory‘61“dag *¥>“VULNOO Go Be Olay:: O I if e e© e e° e‘929 uoy 0-€©*°**%. su puoces“one,‘oE ouNe Boa 4. 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OUT:(0 ug nsom*c. 8 82 toe*= puesnony} | SIO Os ee og fq soyour 9¢ Sunuerg god*pg+sg je squeyd puvsnoy3 sary f GA6eleo: Gas"7*-squelg O F O**+ Spurl zoo;snoy oput SuIyZnog fT Kepy Mono to ae> Bury8nold pay yp,“eT ACO Oe Suryonoo‘Burmorey Buisseiq‘oz judy | i Oe 6 suryonos‘Burmouey‘susseiq‘0g[HOV Onsen oo 2 oe ony puooses BuiyZnolg“F] F f | O50 On cee te surydnojd puossg FT] OSH Oe: tats Su ieee* doa siujior O78 Peete: t oie dung‘ 11 Yorepay posieyo JIeY“SE ye speoy oajomy sung‘TI yolreyy i OP 0 ee eaten, O0l a) SUIMOMPET“12“Gog OT Oe te ee: IM} BUIMOULET(0G‘qaq A OO eee ns") SUNTORO A MGT CURR 6 BOA es At ek ee ne Siuy3nojg‘pT cues' i‘Dp°¢ pe O6LI‘P nS Ft“O6LI fi "ud"daYOV GYOH-GNVH SRS|"AUOV GAOH-aSUOH i ow:‘auopy tad*SQ%‘wnop jazvy fs v 10g | 2 GYOH-ANVH YAIHLO AHL“ASYOH AWOV ANO‘SUDVAIVO NO SLNYUNTYdd Xo “Si fay oO THE ROW-CULTURE. 809 - mm. A single word, by”way of commentary on the above experiments, would be unnecessary. When two and tWOs‘by the obvious rule of addition, are made into four, men neither make objections, nor call for an explanation. It will be much more to the purpose, to make public demonstration of our gratitude to this sedulous and respectable cultiva- tor, and to profit by his rules. In various other trials, upon inferior Jand, worth about twelve or fourteen shillings per acre, Mr. Amos declares, he never found the profits less than twelve or fourteen shillings per acre, per annum, in favour of the practice of‘drilling. Mr. Amos’s drill machine is an improvement of one recommended in Duha- mel’s Husbandry, constructed with spherical cups. It sows 8 rows at 8—7,at 9—6, at 10—5, at 12—4 at 16 and 18—3, at 20-—24 and 28, and 2 from 28 to 56 inches between the rows; and with one man, a boy, anda horse, can drill an acre of land in one hour. Expence of workmanship and materials for this machine, six guineas. It plants all kinds of grain, pulse and sels, turnip, carrot, rape,&c. also -acorns, haws, holl y-berries, or the like, on any kind of land, in any given qu santity, and at any depth and distance er a The following extracts are from the prize essay of Mr. John Ester’ of Pilton, Devon, for which he was latély rewarded by the Bath Society with a piece of plate, value ten guineas. Mr. Exter‘ a@ cultivator of characterand eminence in the We a correspondent of the Society, and of the Boa of Agriculture; and in the habit of instructing pu- pils in the theory and practice of husbandry. Mr. Exter’s OS= ee 810 THE ROW-CULTURE. Exter’s experiments, during six years, made with a critical and impartial attention, upon an extensive scale in every soil and situation, have uniformly and decidedly proved the superiority of the drill- culture. He began in 1790, by drilling barley, at six inches, with Wee s machine, on a small part of a field, the intervals of which were hand-hoed, The success of this, under other disadvantages, be- sides poverty of soil, convinced him of the advan- tages of the system under better rhanagement, and excited him to make farther comparisons between the drill and oye methods, In November 1791, Mr. Exter received,.by sea from London, a ae s Drilling Machine, which He prefers.. This, I believe, is on the same principle and construction with that of Mr, Amos, already mentioned.‘Lhe implement arrived somewhat too Jate for the seed-season; but Mr. Exter with-it, on a piece of two acres and half, one bushel per acre, red Lammas wheat, in rows with nine inch intervals. The land was light, dry, loamy barley soil, worth twelve shillings per acre, but in the state of a very foul and poor pea-stub- ble. A servant-man, thoroughly orthodox in the old system, and extremely averse to the supposed complexity, and loss of land by the intervals in dri Tine was directed to fix on any part of the field which he considered as beat in-tilth and condition, to sow ee and manage as he should think proper. He confessed, the on he chose was bet- ter than the average of the drilled land, by five or six shillings per acre, and sowed his part, at the rate i po! THE ROW-CULFURE. 3 rate of two bushels per acre; and, during the growth, paid unusual attention to keep it clean from weeds. The drilled crop being thin sown, made but a poor appearance until June: the broad-cast, on the contrary, looked much more verdant and thriving, during winter, and the be- ginning of spring, til the end of May, at which time, it became rather sickly and yellow. The drilled crop was. scarified once in’ March; and horse-hoed in the last week of May; after this operation, it improved greatly, and began to shew a decided superiority over the broad-cast, which evidently continued to decline. At jharvest, the drilled part yielded-nineteen bushels, three. pecks, nine gallon'measure per acre; the broadcast yield- ed not quite five"bushels per acre.: In March 1792; drilled one bushel white Lam- mas wheat,’on one acre potatoe-fallow, worth a pound rent, prepared by once ploughing and har- rowing. The plants, when double-leaved, had one scaritying: arid immediately after, were harrowed across with the common harrow, afd were horse- hoed when six or eight inches high.“The crop, very thin till after Midsummer, yet a great pro- duct, both of grain and straw, at harvest. The acre yielded twenty-nine bushels, three pecks of wheat, nine gallons measure. This successful ex- periment On SPRINGWHEAT, 1S most important, and deserves the utmost consideration in the pre- sent state of the country. The same spring,’ tilled thirty acres of land, worth from 35 to 40s. per acre, with barley; fifteen acres were drilled, at two bushels per acre, with rows 312 THE ROW-CULTURE, rows at nine inches; and fifteen acres broad-cast from three to four bushels per acre; the prepara- tion of the land, manuring,&c. in every respect alike. The season very wet, both during the growth of the crop, and at harvest. The broad- cast was lodged, stained, and with great difficulty harvested at all. The drilled stood better, was scarcely at all lodged, and being free from grass and weeds, was all saved, without the least injury, at half the expence of the broad-cast; the pro- duce of grain from ten to fifteen bushels per acre more, and a shilling per bushel better; and this, not- withstanding the whole of the broad-cast crop had been first-sown, a remarkable advantage that year. In the following October, Mr. Exter tilled and manured a field of ten acres, for wheat, drilling at nine-inch intervals one half the land, with half the quantity of seed with which the other was broad- cast: but, as some doubts were advanced, respect- ing the value of the land, in different parts of the field, two-twelve furrow ridges, by way of proof, were gathered through the middle of the part in- tended to be drilled, and the drilling was begun on each side of those ridges. The ridges were ploughed, sowed, and manured, according to the common husbandry of the country, by the person before-mentioned, and every attention paid to weeding them in the spring: the drilled crop was scarified and horse-hoed once. At harvest, the two ridges were cut first; and immediately after, a breadth of the broadest on each side of the ridges, was cut, and each part stacked and kept separate, until it was dry enough to thrash, when it was cart- ed ok iaor SPEC: of the art IDs Ww [ary THE ROW-CULTURE. 315 ed into two different barns, and immediately thrashed. and winnowed; when the drilled crop yielded 29 bushels 3 pecks, the broad-cast 20 bushels 1 peck. In order to guard against any suspicion of fraud, the whole was winnowed and measured by the same man, the person who was so very averse to the drill system. From these successful experiments, Mr. Exter has been induced to drill the whole of his white- corn crops ever since, excepting only a part, sown ‘n the random method, by way of proof; and, in all his trials, has experienced an invariable supe- riority in the drill-culture, without even a single instance of equality of product in the broad-cast method. All the pulse-crops he leaves out of the question, since, with regard to the superior fitness of the row-culture for them, there seems to be but one opinion; but he avers, confidently, the same thing, respecting turnips, in which opinion I have the fullest conviction he is right. To drill-turnips, is to put in fora fair chance of doubling the worth of the crop.»Having. reconsidered the matter, and, from some late observations, I would also advise the drill and. horse-hoeing culture for carrots, more particularly if manure be scarce. This worthy disciple of the Tullian School, ex- hibits an account of several farther experiments on barley; oats, and turnips, drilled at twelve inches apart, in which the result was similar to the above stated, with the mention of a fine crop of beans drilled in two rows, at nine inches, with an inter~ val of twenty-seven, which became quite a thicket. \t happened, from this luxuriance of growth, that part $14 THE ROW-CULTURE. part of the rows could not be hoe-ploughed a se: cond time, which fortunately served to demon- strate the immense difference that omission made, in the friability of the fallow, and-the vast im port- ance of the horse-hoe: the part twice-hoed, work- ed afterwards better on a single-ploughing and harrowing, than the other part would with three ttmes the tillage. The one appeared a fine mellow loam, the other a clay. Mr. Exter also records Mr. Secretary Young’s frank acknowledgment of the superiority of the drill-culture; a circumstance which will, as it reasonably ought, have great weight with the majority of our cultivators, The following facts and opinions, respecting the mode of culture in question, are also extracted from the papers of the Bath Society, being the substance of a letter from the Rev. H. J. Close, of Hordle, near Lymington, Hants, a worthy and estimable cha-. racter, as his various agricultural correspondence, for many years past, fully evinces; and a real prac- tical cultivator, upon a considerable scale.| I have a sincere pleasure in this opportunity of paying my share of that tribute of applause, due from his country, to this patriotic votary of the plough, whom I had formerly the honour to know perso- nally, but whom I have not had the ple asure to see for near thirty vears,, Mr. Close formerly asserted, that he saved full f£.200 per year in seed, by drilling his corn upon 500 acres of Jand, although, by no means so per- fect in drilling and horse-hoeing as he has since been. In proof of this, he gives the following quantities, which he actually has, and still con- tinues tinues to drill, on 131 acres, with a comparative pag a| 1 i iS Fal tm 1. statement of the quantity Dreadcast in the common +~=~ xpence of seed-corn upon 18l>acres of land, sown in the usual broad-cast husbandry. J Bush. per Acre. per Ruse es Seen ; A a aoe c d¢ $1 Acres Wheat, eG Abed oe oe wh 902- 2-2 Marly Veas 4 Gs. 2 412 1S2245-"- Di| cag if 5S Sa Oo 4.8 ij->- thick Beans 3 BS. fae EIS 6-- Early Maz.: regis, 3 6seen> SF 8 beans,§ Tore oa Mate ton oA Books ee 4 pox 5+ Barley go 3 85 60.6" 16 ¥O+= Vetches.=== 3 6s.- 10 16 Oe(Oo, oS Od: wo © — _— f\> p> = ex| ow ~ —e ~ _ Expence of seed-corn upon 131 acre the present improved drill-husbandry. Pecks. per Bus h, £: 31‘Acres Wheat, per Acre 3. 8s, ies Ae 96 Early. Peas.=-<.04+5 85= a9 1 66e0 18: Dun Peas= s2.=.-- a 5s, 3d 4 V4 3G Mota! 2st- 6>-0 Qo 316 THE ROW-CULTURE ais pital Seedcbroad-eastees 6 ee 13440 0 Sree CMG ee a eee O Saving in seed upon 131 acres)| 100 4 0 Dy Ciilline eet eS, re It isthe opinion of Mr. Close, that a clear saving of FIVE MILLIONS sterling a year might be Adc in the article of seed--corn, and aouble that sum, in the produce, and application of that, produce, by the improved system of husbandry, as at this moment practised by some few spirited farmers, that,(without pretending to minute accuracy of calculation) 8,000,000 bushels of wheat, 3,000,000 bushels of barley, 1,000,000: bushels‘of rye, 4,000,000 bushels of oats, and 1,000,000 bushels of peas and beans, which are yearly thrown aw ay, In superfluous seed, might be saved, independently of the additional eee which, by the new system, might be obtained, Thus it is possible to add fif- teen millions annually to the national wealth! That more than double the present scanty portion of tillage, now given to the lands of England, would amply repay the farmers for their extra la- bour and expence;—that four times the stock might be wintered, and the aggregate produce doubled. On the latter part, at feast of these statements, I agree with Mr. Close, without the allest hesitation—they are capable of the most palpable and satisfactory proofs. Mr. Close acknowledges his obligations to the etic as well as mechanical skill, of the in- genious Mr. Cooke,| by whose implements, namely, the NrAniipas ay, In n|= t ny Ol sy StEM, Ace add il vealth portion gla and, tra la- ‘ i » STOCK rOauce THE ROW-CULTURE. SY7 the ScaRkiFIcAToR, CuLtTIvATorR, and QuvuiITéH- Rake, he was enabled to pulverize his strongest land to the fineness of dust, and to cleanse it from weeds, at a little more than a quarter part of the expence necessary to make an equally good fallow with the common implements of husbandry. The following account of two crops of drilled turnips, is interesting in the highest degree.‘ Two adjoining fields were taken at Lady-day, from a little farmer, ina very foul and impoverished state; and well pulverized and cleaned, by frequent sca- rifying, rolling, and harrowing.‘The quitch-grass yas drawn out by the quitch-rake, and burned on the land. After these eperations, which cleansed levelled, and pulverized the land about six inches and half deep, one field of four acres was thrown on two ridges, by one bout of the plough, three feet from the centre of one ridge to the centre of the other. sled of wood, one horse, and held bya boy, bottom of A triangular drawn by was passed at the each furrow, to make them about two féet wide, merely the furrows, that the rows ye] which oper bottoms o ation was nec essary, to widen the of of plants might be exactly over the manure. In from the farm- about ten common these furrows, some long wet straw, vard, half rotted, carts per acre; was. laid, the ridges were then split and re- versed, throwing all the dung; se wood with handles, be the deere soil on to one horse and a boy, with a long bar of at down the tops Bes: ridges at once, leaving a surface aoe eighteen inghies wide, and prepared the land for drilling. The horses then walked in one ae each wheel oc- cupied pg $18 THE RGOW-CULTURE: cupied another, and four rows of turnips were drilled on the tops of two ridges, 113 inches from row to row, on‘each ridge, and 22$ inches inter- yal. ‘ As soon as the turnips were in rough leaf, the corn scarificators were passed through them, a fur= row was taken from each side of the ridge, with the common Suffolk plough, and the turnips, in the rows, were hand-hoed. These operations were performed twice, and the whole land thrown up to the turnips by the common plo ough, which finished. The field was sowed in the first and second weeks of July.. Before Michaelmas, no appearance of intervals‘could be seen, and the whole field ex- hibited the finest and most regular crop of turnips ever beheld; many of them weighed 251. each, ind measured 3 feet 3 inches’in circumference. a4 Agriculturists and farmers from many parts of the country, visited the farm, and were astonished-at the recularity of the crop, se the size of the plants.‘The average weight of each turnip about 12 or 14]bs.‘he acreable weight was ascertained, by weighing a few rods, to amount to 55 tons. ‘Fhe turnips were most of them drawn, their tops and tails cut off, and stacked before the frosts, and are NOW, THIS FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, perfectly sound and good. Never, indeed, did bullocks fat faster than on these turnips: They were lean, working beasts, put up the beginning of November, and will soon be very fat, as they already weigh about 45. score each, and it ts supposed they will reach 50 score each by the middle of April. ‘ The other four acres were treated exactly like these, Wide Cid eX: mips “eit, renc wu like hese, THE ROWCULTURE? 319 these, except being sown without any dung, and al ten days later than ithe firstrfield;- yet, to shew oO I what extra tillage, and throwing the whole of the soil to the plants will effect, these: were a very even and beautiful crop of turnips, allowed to be the bggt in the country, excepting the adjoining field, anda neighbouring one, tilled in the same method. The advantage of this system must be apparent, the young plants, when the land is mucked, are absolutely on a hot-bed, and grow so rapicly, that they are in little or no danger from the« BED eda- tions ef the fly.“The int i nut loss ol land,..as. the w pestis Tat) Leet eae le 2 a fy! se ES Ay OF Be etre Ba be at pica DY athe spams: TIRES land IS; Welter HHeEG~ Dy: @ pS a +h BAe} the use of the horse-hoe, and common plough, thar + } it can possibly by hanc dJ-hoei ng; and the expence of hand-hoeing is reduced one h: alf, by having merely to hoe the rows of turnips, and to single the p Thus a more complete fallow i is made, and a much heavier crop obtained, at ie one quarter the expence of ploughing four times, dragging,&c. as in the common system: but creat success must not be expected|, without first obtaining the most com- plete pu lverization.”’ Tue Hatr-yuspanpry. The following expe- riments were upon a larger scale, but the accounts were reduced to an acreabl e one, for the con nience of the reader.‘ One field was fall saved for two years, and dressed very highly: September, 1795, Laon on two ridges, 4 feet eight inches wide, exclusive of the furrow. October Ist, every other ta AMA a RSS UE La 326 THE ROW-CULTURE. other ridge was drilled with red wheat, a little more than 3 pecks per acre, 113 inches from row to row. It was twice horse-hoed in the spring, and the 4 feet 8 fallow ridge was ploughed up to the wheat, and back again, and then one furrow was thrown up to each outside ridge, on which the wheat had been drilled. The wheat was so very luxuriant, that it was laid in the grass, and[ was obliged to feed sheep with it, until the middle of April. One row of potatoes was then planted on the centre of the fallow ridge; these were ploughed between, and well hoed. The produce of the twe acres of land was, wheat seven quarters three bushels per acre; potatoes, per acre, one row of each fallow ridge, fifty sacks. “« The following year, the potatoes were gtown on the ridge occupied by the wheat the preceding year; and the wheat upon the fallow ridge, where the one row of potatoes grew. Both crops looked equally strong and good the second year; but the result was not ascertained. But there can be na doubt, but by thus alternately cropping and fal- lowing, the. land would improve every year. A. similar experiment was made in an adjoining field, trusting entirely to pulverization, without manure. From this field, two successive good crops of po- tatoes were taken, without any dressing. The potatoes were planted with three feet intervals, and ploughed between; the land was in very high tilth, driled at the same time, and in the same method, as the other field. In the spring, the wheat looked thin, but of a good colour. It was twice horse- hoed, THE ROW-CULTURE. 321 a hitle rOM toy hoed,&c. At harvest, to Mr. C.’s surprise, this spring, a4 produced seven quarters, one bushel, per-acre; 1 up toth only two bushels less than the field which had been furrow wy manured, at 5/. per acre expence. Forty sacks which te only, of potatoes, were produced from the one nas 50 ve row, on each fallow-ridge in this field. The same year, in an adjoining field, there was a fine crop of broadcast wheat, to’ appearance, after beans, well dunged; and the farmer assured me he had only three quarters and-a half per acre. Indeed the ears of the broad-cast corn were very small, and about three or four inches long. In the and] Was ¢ middle of planted on ¢ plovched of the twa en te drilled red wheat, were many ears eight inches sul long, measured by numbers of gentlemen who went to see the crop,” le So convinced is this true patriot of the soil, of ding the superiority of the new, over the old, or random where method of husbandry, and of the great public looked utility of having this superiority cle¢ rly ascertained, but the to the conviction of all farmiers, that he has chal- be nd lenged all England, to cultivate 24 acres of land nd fal: in a six year’s course of crops, row against broad- it. A cast, for A THOUSAND pPotnps, the drill an: ually field,. to exceed the broad-cast crops, one guinea per yantire, acre. Mr. Close, at the same time, most generously of po- declaring his intention of bestowing the money, The should he prove a winner, in charitable purposes; Is, and that in fact he is, from pure motives of public 4 tith| good, nobly risking his own property against no- th thing. Bath papers, vol. 9. p: 44. oked A. Collett, Esq. of the county of Suffolk, a cul- Lie tivator of great skill and experience, as his obser- ped, vations’ in the report from that county fully evince, Y thus 522 rHE ROW-CULTURE. thus speaks of Cooke’s drill, and of drilling in ge- neral.‘ It has nine coulters, goes with two horses, and will keep pace with the plough; in barley- sowing it finishes ten acres every day, with ease to the horses, and can never be affected by rain or wind, and will deposit the corn the same, whether the land is hilly or level. A one-horse roll should follow the drill, to close the land upon the seed, and then the more the land is harrowed the better. Farming should come as near to gardening as pos- sible: but, nothing will accomplish it like drilling. Let any judicious agriculturist examine the rows of pease, or kidney beans, in a garden, and see which are most productive, the thick or the thin ones. Let him examine the young plants of clo- ver, in drilled barley, and in barley that is sowed broad-cast, it will soon be distinguished which has the preference., Dibbling and drilling corn have been attended with the best consequences to the poor, by encouraging the farmer to weed it ima ten-fold degree, to what he did when sown broad- cast: and, as the ploughing, rolling, and harrowing, are more attended to by the farmer, the land is in, a better state of tillage than ever was thought necessary before they were introduced.” In Mr. Collett’s opinion, very little seed is saved by drilling; but the Rev. Mr. Hill, of Buxhall, same county, an experienced cultivator also, finds that he saves, at least one-half his seed, by drilling it; and, I have been often enough convinced that he is right. This gentleman has found, by re- peated experiments, a superior produce of wheat, planted eighteen inches asunder, than at a nearer and and asc wit wh th a a a IT TS| EEA a CS NTE ear Fp at lh re== THE ROW-CULTURF. 323 and more fashionable distance: in this particular, also, t horough till age pre-supposed, I fully concur with him. In one crop, his Sauer anch rowed wheat, produced more straw,(a thing uncommon), than that at nine inches. The former produced 8 coombs, 1 bushel, 1 peck of wheat: the latter, 7 coombs, 1 bushel, 2 pecks. Disgiinc wheat, upon a considerable scale, and of all kinds of corn, in some degree, is conte in Suffolk and Norfolk; of the former, chiefly the maritime district. Some farmers in that quar- ter, dibble their whole crop, to the extent of two or three hundred acres. The ground being rolled with a light barley roller, a man, w alking back- wards on the flag, or furrow-slice, with a abhet of iron in each hand, the handle about three feet long, strikes two rows of holes, about four inches from one row to the other, on each flag: then follow three or four children to drop the grains, three, four, or five, in each hole.. Six or seven pecks of seed are equally deposited, in the centre of th flag. It is not common to hoe these double tows, but sometimes single nine-inch rows arehoed. A narrow-set plough, of only seven inches wide at bottom, is used for wheat; then follows the one- horse roll, to level the furrow for the dibblers; when the wheat is deposited, a two-horse roll ar lows, afterwards.the harrows, twice in a place; the field being finished, is harrowed up again obliquely; thus the wheat will stand in the middle of the flag, in nine-inch rows. The two-horse roller is of material use in closing the holes, and preventing the wheat from being disturbed by the harrows; ee the FS ES x wes x a3=e Fa eGR Oe== ee ‘‘=. S94, THE ROW-CULTURE. the land is also rendered so solid by rolling, that very little apprehensions need be entertained of the slug or worm. Sandy land is here treated or; but, I think, upon all sorts, without exception, a rolicr of properly apportioned weight, should immedi- ately follow on drilled or dibbled work. Each dibbler, employing three droppers, will set half an acre a day, making eight holes the length of every foot of the flag; waliercby, two dib bles with six droppers, will find full employ for one plough. Beans are generally dibbled, in Suffolk, one row upon a fei: and planted. square, at nine or ten inches. When the plants are all up, they are rolled, and, in ten days, harrowed with heavy harrows.‘They hoe across the Jand first, and lengthwise the second time, by which means, the plants are better earthed up than in the com- mon method. Dibbling, in general, from nine shillings to half-a-guinea per acre, which may : sometimes be saved in the seed.. Another con- siderable saving is supposed to arise from planting on the first earth, instead of sowing on the third. The practice of dibbling; Conmnce: as it may be said, to one’ particular district, of no very great éxtent, and of which I have seen cnough, always seemed to present tomy mind a variety of curious circumstances. However the system may have commenced, in Suffolk, or Norfolk, it seems by no means to have been practised on its original principle, of the possibility of obtaining vast pro- duct from a single one, or two, grains, of corn, be- ing al llowed ae space to Hite: and increase, since the modern custom is to bunch them, four or five ene THE ROW-CULTURE.$23 five, or, I rather apprehend, they know not how many, in a hole, and to set the rows very close. As to hoeing, it seemed,(at least some years since), ; a moatter fs es. concern with all, and, by a many of the dibbling farmers, was not even thought . of. The superiority which they have experie te Me in dibbling, over broad-casting their corn, yet has, al no doubt, arisen from the airy space allow ed by ey the rows, and from tlre more solid and convenient eT bed, which the seed finds in a loose running soil, in the round hole made by the dibble; with ne respect to compression by the tre sad of the dibblers ine it is probable the end might be fully answered by ey judicious rolling. A th It is not usual to dibble barley, because, at, bar- l, ley seed-time, the sands being dry and running to- ‘5 ether, itis difficult to make holes; but, to persons - accustomed to dibble their corn, forthe most im- eC portant purpose of f all, that of cleaning and w eed- ing, the propriety of drilling barley, would surely occur, when it could not be dibbled. Far be it 1g from me to aim at detracting from the great merit of the Norfolk and Suffolk farmers, or to deny the ne.-| obvious improvement of the method in question, at upon their ancient system: no, I would be among Vs the first to hail their growmg openness to convic- US~‘tion, which may, and Gee ed must, naturally lead to) ve- such great public ends; but, for people who are in ti py the habit of making eylet holes in the earth with al| iron pins, and dropping therein single grains of )e{ wheat, by a posse comitatus of men, women, and y| children, to talk of the tediousness or complexity of a drilling machine, which, with a boy and horse, “y wiih Ee 326 THE ROW-CULTURE. will completely seed so many acres in a day, car- ries with it no little of the ludicrous, that is to say, is precisely in the common order of things. When dibbling light lands shall have proved itself supe- tor, in point of economy and produce, to drilling them, I will most willingly become a dibbler. J dare say the dibblists will plead their experience, since theitpracticé has had thesancdon of custom for a number of years. By the bye, no subject has afforded streams of purer nonsense, than that of experience. On the first entry of the dibble into Norfolk, no doubt but. it was opposed by broad-cast experience. The experience of the men of Berkshire, and of other counties, has taught them the absolute necessity of four or five horses to turn up light land. Ask an Essex farmer, as[have done, why he cannot till his land with oxen, as well as horses? he tells you, he knows by experience, that it will not do; enquire farther, and you will find that all his experience consists in his never having tried it, But dibbling, or setting wheat has, in former days, given rise to most important speculations. Mr. Randall says somewhere, I think in his Semi- Virgilian Husbandry, that one acre of a fine loam, exquisitely prepared, experimentally and actually produced one hundred and forty-four bushels, or eighteen quarters: adding, that it is not known, what the increase may be brought to, on rich lands, by high cultivation. Thirty-nine bushels of wheat have been produced, from nine pints of seed, set upon an acre of land, two kernels in a hole, at a foot distance. It would be, by no means a useles or THE ROW-CULTURE.$27 or unpleasant experiment, to dibble single gra ins over an acre, at half a foot distance, with sufficient intervals for horse-hoeing. The same may be said of transplanting wheat; experiments on which may lead to the most astonishing consequences, and are well worth the attention of gentlemen cultiva tors. To conclude with dibbling, a Suffolk culti- vator says,“ that when ki and is stiff and unkindly to work in the spring, for oat-seed, no method is equal to dibbling them;’’ and, for my own part I would always prefer dibbling corn of any kind, upon land in too rough, or even too moist a state for drill-work. JI mean, should there be a necessity for sowing land in that state; even then the advan- tages of rowing the crop, and subsequent culture, reinl greatly outweigh the supposed damage of treading by the dibblers; but the most poachy land, in its properest state for seed, can receive no da- mage of consequence from such a trifling cause. As to the employment of children, in dibbling, I and should always prefer the steadiest young women ee. I could find, for that business; the backs of old | women complain of so much stooping; and the snuff-box is a mighty‘consumer of‘time... Phat dibbling occasions a vast increase of employment for the poor, is most true; but in the present state of our population, I have no idea of the possibility of a want of labour, in a thoroughly-cultivated | || n§> | have seen plague and inconvenience enough in it; parish. In the section on implements,[ have just men- tioned those of the celebrated Mr, Ducket, of Esher: $28 THE ROW-CULTURE. Esher: it may not be improper, in this place, to give a slight sketch of his drilling-system, as prac- tised a few years since. He drills white corn at nine, tares, pease, and turnips at eleven, and beans at eighteen inches asunder. Mr. Ducket has, for a great many years, drilled all his crops. He was, at first, contented with hand-hoeing, until he discovered the vast superi- ority of the horse-hoe, to which he has ever since adhered. He has been accustomed to drill in both methods, that of East Kent, by striking out the furrows, but with a new implement of his own, having five shares, and then broad-casting the seed into the furrows; and also by delivering the seed from a drilling machine of his own invention. To the latter, I believe, he has, of late years, given the preference; and he executes it as follows: his land being in fine tilth, and usually thrown into ridges, he draws five channels, with the implement just mentioned, having as many shares and broad- boards; his.dropping-machine follows, shedding the seed into five channels, which are closed by a harrow. The crop being high enough, he horse- hoes it with two hoes, each guided by a man, and these, at once, hoe five rows each. They work one on each side of the furrow, which divides the beds or ridges: of course, hoeing at once five rows on each bed, or two half-beds. The horse is led in the furrow by a boy, and by the help of a long whipple-tree, draws both the horse-hoes, which completely hoes the ten rows. When the work is strong, two horses are used, but no Injury is ever done Seer FLAT ALD REO S ONE eee THE ROW-CULTURE. 299 done to the beds, the horses always going in the furrow.. He has also six shared tools, which, in course, hoe twelve rows at once. Mr. Ducket preferring narrow furrows, his ploughs are constructed to turn them only nine inches wide; although so much work may not be done in a day with these as with larger tools, the soil is much better broken and divided. His trenching or skimming plough, is a most effective implement. It is double-shared, the one directly over the other, for the purpose of trenching, or taking one nar- row, shallow furrow off the surface, and another beneath it, to any moderate depth desired; it will work from five to ten inches deep. The use of this implement, in putting in one crop on the back of another, in burying green manure, or long- dung, out of the way of being a hindrance to til- lage, is equal to every idea of excellence: it has turned in green rye, six feet in height, upon which a crop of turnips was immediately after obtained. Not an atom of the crop turned in, remains stick- ing out of the furrow-seams; the ,whole is com- pletely buried, and the surface left perfectly free and clean for the reception of seed. This cultivator did not formerly aim at any great saving of seed, by his practice of drilling, since he used nearly as much, as many others do in the broad-cast method, even fo the extent of two bushels and half of wheat, thtee of barley, four of oats, three of beans, and two pounds of turnip- seed. He abides by no particular course or rota- tion of crops, but sows that, which he judges, either from the fitness of the soil, or the state of the mar- ket, 3380 THE ROW-CULTURE. ket, will answer best. He has cultivated spring- wheat with success, and even several years succes sively, on the sare Jand, which practice he recom mends, whilst the price of wheat is high. In this Intention he prefers the Siberian wheat,..as of quicker growth, and not so great an exhauster as the common, and which nourishes grass-seeds, equally well with other spring-corn. He has reaped this wheat the 25th July, sown turnips on the stubble, fed those off by Christmas, and resowed the ground immediately with Siberian wheat; this course he has pursued three years successively. Wheat harvest being likely to prove late, he broad- casts turnip seed, upon the cultivated rows of corn, with a prospect of rain, which buries the seed; but I should conceive it had better be rolled in by a short roll drawn by hand. One of the fundamen- tal principles of his tillage is, the practice of al- ternate deep, and shallow ploughing. One deep ploughing with the trench-plough, is given to every other, or every third crop, with very shallow in- termediate stirrings, by the two-share plough. From deep ploughing, fresh virgin earth is brought up for the nourishment of the plants, by not repeat- ing it too often, the moisture is retained in the soil, being neither too loose to overdrain, nor yet too hard for the roots of the plants to penetrate. The above particulars have been lately con- firmed to me, by an acquaintance of the Ducket family, from whom I farther understand, those emi- nent cultivators have abandoned the practice of broad-casting their seed, from a conviction, no doubt, that smaller quantities are equally produc- IVE, oe THE ROW-CULTURE. ao tive, and that a great saving of seed, is really among the advantages of the genuine drill-hus- bandty. But a truce with arguments to prove the advan- éage to vegetation of a pulverized soul, the profit of grovw- gng corn, in place of weeds, or the probability that plants will prosper equally well, nursed and trained up, in re- gular rows, as if the seed were cast at random, and com- mitted to the nursery of blind chance. Some useful hints, tending to forward the attainment of those advantages already proved, will be now more in place. The immense advantage of pulverization, as has been remarked, is fully proved by the sud- den crop of weeds, sure to succeed the operation of fining land; and, to the finer powder it is re- duced, by so much the more abundant will be the crop; and, that so many seeds fail upon sown land, is to be attributed to its clodded and rough‘state, whence they are actually starved, from inability in their tender fibres, to perform the act of absorp- tion, on such a rugged surface. Were it possible for any farmer to dispute this fact, or to call for proof, amongst a hundred other instances, I-could quote that of a certain field, which, previously to being pulverized for a crop of carrots, was the cleanest upon the farm; but, from the tillage after- wards given it, became such an entire bed of weeds, as to attract the notice of all who passed; yet, its subsequent cleanness was equally remarkable. Ge- nerally speaking, it 1s the powdered part of the soil, from which plants draw the chief of their nourishment, the entire, or unbroken, remains either perfectly useless, or affords them only a scanty 32 THE ROW-CULTURE. 9 scanty and precarious subsistence. Land tho- roughly powdered and tilled, during vegetation, will freely give up the whole of its sone virtue to the crop, and under incessant lla ce without a propor tionate quantity of manure in return, will, after a certain period, when the food of vegetables yall have bags Siete eee ee to- tally barren and effete. Tull, is true, has de- nied the pos ssibility of sehausting land by tillage, and surely upon better grounds than we assert it; since 1t must be acknowledged ours are sescahione ae his, proofs by long-continued experiments. Without any question, we know how. to exhaust Jand most perfectly; but who among us has effect- ed thts purpose, with constant and accurate till: ige? Tull so. far proved the truth of his system, as to grow wheat, and other corn, Many years in succes- pay ‘SI on, trusting entirely to a*constant pow dering of the sol, fea to freeing it from the ex Wr stion of weeds, without the aid of a single bushel of manure of any. kind; and his crops were yet better ee those of his neighbours, and his land, too: far re- moved from-fruitfulness by nature, still improved under his hands. I have now no need of Tull’ S arguments to convince me, that no kind of land, whether the best or the worst, can ever be ex- hausted; on the contrary, the most barren will be ceip orca by cultivation, the tillage being perfect, and manure being in proportion to the quantum of food drawn by the crops. Two grand objections. to the drill husbandry, are, the intractability of clays; in sands, the too great natural looseness, and want of tenacity: tlie. one species THE ROW-CULTURE. 333 species cannot be wrought sufficiently fine, the other is, conjecturally, apt to be rendered still lighter and more spongy, by much stirring.» Pro- banty, as to light lands, the plea is merely‘qotional and Natoma partial and insufficient stirring Oa G9 may, indeed, render them still more hollow and spongy; but effectual and repeated work will con- solidate, and make them lie still, more close, an end obviously to be attained by comminution or reduction to small particles, Poor jJand, also, by— being often stirred, acquires the more frequent Sscle. of elementary manure. The difficulty of working clays, and strong rough lands fine, for the cae Gulati:(bean-crops, ow ever, form a good exception), has been the grand bar to its progress upon such, and yet upon clay lands, of all others, it would be most signally ad- vantageous, because of the benefit they would re- ceive from the operations of the hoesplough, in the attainment of the. say object, friability, by vhich they are rendered the most powerfully pro- ductive of all soils. This kind of land must, at any rate, be tilled at the greatest expence; at least, although such is no where half-tilled in any part of this island, within my knowledge, great strength is always kept upon a clay farm, on that pretence. A part of this strength, generally misapplied, or ineffectually employed, in a perpetual turning up of immense and solid clods bythe plough, would pay excellently well by being applied to the culti- vator and horse-hoe.‘This stubborn earth, from constant pulverization, would, in time, sub ymit, be- come friable, and almost change its nature to a a Fete Fes Qarny SS SS Se ——— ar= Te a————— 334 THE ROW-CULTURE. dark, crumbly, and fruitful loam, a favourable me- tamorphosis, in consequence of stirring, which I have repeatedly witnessed with pleasure.. It is known, although not so generally as its importance demands, that the most sour, harsh, and infertile subsoil, of whatever colour or quality, by dint of €xposure to the atmosphere, and by the aid of fre- guent stirring, will become good and fruitful Jand; ‘what, then, may not be expected, by continually working a good strong clay, draining it, and at the same time, rendering it pervious to the enriching dews, which will otherwise remain to be exhaled, upon its hardened surface? The operations of the horse-hoe, immediately previous to the frosts of the winter-season, will have an effect equally be- neficial; for, indeed, nothing, whether natural or artificial, confers so great a benefit upon a clayey soil, as severe frost; manure comes in no compe- tition with it, at least for present assistance; whence I have been always inclined, to slight the advice of those who direct us to keep poachy land whole, or in ley all winter, for the sake of an earlier passage upon it in the spring; a very poor, pethaps totally worthless, recompence, for sd Capital an advantage as 1s given up; for, if the lands are well and skil- fully fallowed up, before winter, it is probable you may approach equally early in the spring, and even if otherwise, that you will lose no ground by wait- ing-a redsonable time. I once manured very highly, in the autumn, a piece of strong, deep, bak- ing clay, intending to sow it. Much rain falling, the land changed into such a puddled, soapy state, its ill condition also doubly increased by the dung intermixed, THE ROW-CULTURE. 399 intermixed, there was no possibility of getting in the seed, with any good prospect.‘The land was therefore left as it chanced to be, in ridge and fur- row, by which it was well drained, until the spring, and a hard frost intervening, it broke up in perfect powder, of a darker hue than usual; and with the dung(which had been laid an green) well rotted and mixed. In fact, it appeared the real pwire so- lum, or rotten and mouldy soil, so highly celebrated, and fitted for the instant reception of the smallest seeds. It must be observed too, that, on trial, this beneficial effect reached no farther than the plough had penetrated, which proves the advantage of deep ploughing in autumn. A part of the same land, which had been left whole throughout the winter, turned up in the spring, in immense and stubborn clods. The unsuccessful attempts at dniling, have chiefly arisen, either from an improper beginning, with a soil full of couch and root-weeds, under the vain expectation of eradicating them with the hoe, or from an almost total neglect of the hoe, af- ter the first essays, and when the novelty of the work had become extinct; to pass over, in silence “9 the exertions of those redoubtable agriculturists, who have waxed weary of the labour of success. Land, intended for row-planting, should be, at first start thoroughly cleaned from roots and grass, as well as in a finely pulverized state; the hoe will ever afterwards preserve this desirable condition. To speak of strong soils, for in good truth, light ones present no difficulties at the out-set, for dril- ling; IT would not at all hesitate, upon such, to use ‘ the 336'- THE ROW-CULTURE. the Devonshire clodding-beetle, if I found the land rougher, after the usual operations, than I approved. It stands for nothing to talk of the dearness‘of hand-labour, provided it pays, which it surely would, supposing it effective in thiscase. It would be only needed in the beginning. I have been told by a west-countryman, who worked for me, that there, a man will break the clods over about an acre and half, or more, ina day.’ The drill, or wedge-roller of Norfolk, has also been mentioned as excellent inthis intent.‘Tull, also, recommends a stone cylinder, three feet long, two and a half in diameter, and of eleven hundred weight, drawn by a simple pair of limbers, held together by two bars, firmly penned in at their ends, instead of the com- mon frame, which is expensive. This is, doubt- less, an effective implement for crushing clods, but ought not to be used but in dry weather. The land being sufhciently worked, should be gathered into ridges or beds, of a width proportionate to the condition of the soil for moisture, and to the number of rows intended to be set upon them. Ridge-work seems generally advantageous; it pre- serves wet land from being flowed, and in shallow land, affords a bed of greater depth, and of course a more ample pasture to the plants. Those farmers, who may be inclined to make an experiment in drilling wheat, or other white corn, but may neither choose the expence or trouble of using new implements, may do it to every satifac- tory purpose, in the most simple way, and with the most common tools. They may make their first essay upon a single well-tilled acre, pursuing after- wards, THE ROW-CULTURE. S34 wards, or re the practice, as they shall be Warranted by success. Can any reasonable com- plaint be laid against the trouble, the expence, or the risk of such an improvement?—Can e: sper of value be purchased at a cheaper rate? Most farmers have been accustomed to set their beans in rows, which practice may be e exactly followed with other corn; or shallow drili-furrows, equally. dis- tant, may be drawn bya common light plough, space being left between them for the hoe-plough, at any width which. may be deemed drenticent not exceeding eighteen inches. The seed, one bushel of which is a fair medium que ntity ie an experi- mental acre, may be cast into the drills by a steady hand, and covered(should+ at care be judged necessary) in the garden-style by the hoe, the lands afterwards lightly rolled, and finished with the har- rows. With respect to quantity of seed, in gene- ral, it may, perhaps, be safely laid‘down as a‘wule, that seed. must be increased in proportion to the poverty of the land, from which cause so many kernels always perish for want of nourishment whereas, in a rich seed-bed, nearleeveny Ciel seed vegetates.‘These rows, whether of twelve or eighteen inches width, may. be hoed with the same plough which drew the drills, and the corn kept, by hand-weeding, in the finest garden style. Should the farmer desire to pursue the method of culture in a more expeditious way, and over a greater breadth of land, the artificers already quoted, wil furnish him with all the necessary implements, par- ticularly with drilling-machines, from five to eleven Z, guineas 338 THE ROW-CULTURE. guineas each, and with ample instructions for theif management.- A comparative use of the hand and horse-hoe has invariably turned out in favour of the latter, from its superior power of loosening the soil to a greater depth, and thereby sending a greater quan- tity of moisture, and of atmospheric manure, to the roots of, plants. Hence the vast importance of the operation of horse-hoeing, during continued drowth, in the spring or summer: and to this cause, M great part, at least, it may probably be owing, that lucern, usually rowed and_ horse- hoed, is said to endure drowth so much better than natural grasses, and to appear green and flourish- ing, whilst these are withered and burned up. The almost instantaneous benefit conferred by this operation, upon cabbages which are root-bound, from a baked soil; or upon wheat which appears yellow and:sickly in the spring, are its best recom- mendation. I have seen these crops, after being worked in the rows, from a withered, sickly hue, and flagging condition, turn erect, and change their colour to a deep and flourishing green, within twenty-four hours. Nay, of such importance is the operation of deep and effectual hoeing held, by experienced people, that I have known a Kentish farmer, in a time of great drowth, send his men, with their spades, into the alleys of pease, being afraid of damage from horse-work. He inclined very much to Tull’s opinion, that‘ English hand- hoes were fit for little else but to scrape chimnies.”’ I had, myself, an idea of them not very dissimilar, long to \c —E—— a—*"l=! i ae ES THE ROW-CULTURE. 339 long before I had read Tull: they are yet admira- ‘ble implements, where the more powerful, among which is the spade, are not within command. If the hand and breast-hoe could be sufficiently efficacious upon any, they must be the lightest soils, but even on such, from the i idea of economy both of time and expence, horse labour would be in- titled to a preference. The expetiment, so often decided in favour of horse-hoeing, may be easily repeated between narrow rows, and a larger allow- ance of seed, anid economy of seed, with alleys of sufficient extent to admit the full advantage of the hoe-plough$ also, between the expeditious method of hoeing, at onee, a number of rows, and the more forvible application of‘the simple hoe-pleugh, making but one furrow. The. old method of very wide intervals for the. horse-hoe, whilst the seven-inch rows upon the tidges, were trusted entirely to the operation of RY. hand-hoe, seems now to be exploded, and to have given way to the improvement of horse-hoe- ing the rows, a considerable number at one time. From the best enquiries in my power to make, Mr. Ducket was the first who used this expeditious pro- cess. There can be no doubt of the superiority of the practice over hand-labour; but, practised upon strong and rough soils, I am inclined to question both its efficacy and correctness, and to prefer the superior steadiness and force of tie single opera- tion of the hoe-plough. I ought, however, to ob- serve, that on stating this objection to the Rev. Mr. Cook, he assigned reasons for hol Iding a different opinion, w hick he supported, by quoting the prac- Z 2 tice eae——— oad——— Sa—= a 840 THE ROW4CULTURE: tice of several cultivators of strong soils, particu- larly Mr. Boote, of Atherstone, near Stratford- upon-Avon;: Mr. Jones, of Chailey, near Lewes, Sussex; and Mr. Thorn, of Ealing, Middlesex. With all possible deference, however, to superior experience, I remain still unconvinced. There is nothing of greater consequence upon clays, than deep and effective tillage; and upon such soils it is, that the farmer is so commonly injured by the dis- honest indolence of ploughmen, whose constant aim is, as light a surface skimming as possible, in de- fence of which they have a fund of the most plau- sible reasons; and really it is wonderful how so- phistry oftentimes abounds, in- proportion to the want of real knowledge. I have observed, very frequently, upon strong lands, a fine and apparently mellow and well-pulverized surface; but, taking the spade, to be convinced, this fine tilth has proy- ed to be only half-spit deep, all beneath, turning up in clods, which would submit to no tool of in- ferior force to the mattock. Now the part of such a soil left untilled, is nearly useless for the purpose of vegetation, and if labour will at all repay its expence, the more effective it is, the more certain, and in the greater proportion, will be the repay- ment. For teasons like these, I have doubted the advantages of scuffling in, seed; unless, indeed, upon soils which haye had the previous advantage of deep, and thorough pulverization from the hoe- culture: and such reasons operate in my mind, equally in favour of the superiority’of the single hoe-plough, and sufficiently capacious rows. A machine will drill four or five rows at once, at the requisite distance. 3 oO THE ROW-CULTURE. 541 Respecting the depths in the ground, at which corn ought to be planted, the matter must vary in le. different soils and circumstances, and the depths must be greatest, in sands, and dry seasons. Wheat = and rye will require to be placed near three inches od deep, in some soils, in others, barely two; oats and barley, two inches; beans and peas,-three inches; ifs and all small seeds from half an inch, to an inch. cS The number of hoeings required by this culture ag may, perhaps, be generally stated at four, although isd five may be Pecnited: by extraordinary circum- - stances. The chief rule, in course, is the presence ‘ig of weeds, which are never to be permitted, what- ever may be the number of hoeings required. Iv The first hoeing of wheat,(of such, I mean, as y has been sowed sufficiently early to admit that ; operation in autumn,) must never be performed ; until the plant shall have more than one blade; 5 and it may be deferred‘ until it hath four or five y. leayes, provided no urgency appear, and that the h operation be completed before the setting in of e winter. Tull directs to hoe from the rows, up and S Gs) down, the first time, which leaves a ridge in the ny midst, and a furrow, or channel, on each side, be- y-| tween that ridge of the plants, to catch the rains he and snows of winter; and doubtless, by that me- d, thod, the greatest possible superficies of the soil is ge exposed to the influence of the atmosphere. He Ie asserts, on experience, that you can scarcely plough d, too deep the first time,,nor approach too near the le rows, provided you do not cut the plants, or ab- \ solutely root them up; and, that by thus laying the ; roots almost bare, and/exposing them to the seve-; rity 4, 2-=>= Frat———— ae SY EP= ITE Breas 342 THE ROW-CULTURE. rity of the frosts, you do them no manner of in- jury, a practice, about the rationality of which, I am at present uncertain, having always entertained ihe idea, however erroneous, that the roots of all plants were comforted and strengthened, during the rigours of winter, by being earthed-up; and, I believe Miller held the same opinion. Tull, how- ever, acknowledges, that in very light landsa greater caution is necessary, in approaching the rows. He remarks it, as a common error of servants, in the use of the hoe-plough, that they merely skim up and down the midst of the alley, neither going sufficiently near the rows, nor sufficiently deep_ and recommends, as an amendment of this error, to trench, or draw a second furrow to a proper depth, immediately, if practicable; 3 otherwise, before the ridge be turned back in the spring. The plants will'thus stand, as it were, on the brink of a trench, by which they will be drained, and kept constantly dry; they will also be sheltered by the ridge which has been thrown up. It will occur to those who drill,upon strong soils, that there is danger in de- ferring too late their first horse-hoeing, lest the land become too wet to work. The spring-hoeing may be given, as soon as the frosts are out of the ground, and the surface is sufficiently firm and dry to carry the cattle; the ridges ao the rows are then to be split, and the mould finely pulverized and manured by the frost and snows, thrown to, the roots of the plants, the fibres of which, expanding to the general warmth of the season, are now ready to attract every particle of nourishment within their reach. Nor S57 Y e Mag CTO in 2 1 Con feed. BLIGHT, MILDEW, SMUTTINESS, BLAS’ ef 10 HE Sil) All these vegetable maladies, the last excepted, gtd seem peculiar to northerh climes, and to be nearly unknown under the more genial and settled atmo- only sphere of the south: the blast from lightning, or tain the scorching heat of the air, is consequently more r the frequent in aa climates, and very little known in them the temperate, or cold. The effects of blight and smut upon corn, and ed vegetable of all kinds, are too common and well- re known to need description; but it is far different ng) with the cause, to which, in my opinion, custom mi has assigned a most fanciful origin.‘Lo suppose “th that corn caught blight or smuttiness from the seed, nth is, pe thaps, about as rational, as to atiribute an 6 accidental cold to a defect in the parental seed ot nd: the patient; and, to steep the seed of corn, with a a view of preserving the future crop/from smut, 1s Ai a proceeding equally sage, and entitled to equal success, as ifa man should apply to Dr. Brodum, or any other doctor of equal celebrity, for a medi- cine to be taken at Gunpowder. Treason, in order to cure a cold, which may possibly attack him the Michaelmas next ensuing. All these affections, under whatever term, blight. or mildew, originate in obstructed circulation, stag- nation, and corruption of the vegetable juices The immediate causes are, sudden changes of the AT, atmosphere eee eae 358 BLIGHTS,&c. atmosphere from opening heat to pinching cold, Ww thich instantaneously close up the vegetable pores, and obstruct the circulation of the sap; those fat moist vapours, called honey-dews, which, descend- ing from a thick and hazy atmosphere, alight on a the plants, and not being exhaled, from defect of sun and air, remain to promote obstruction and disease; or the chill occasioned by superabundant moisture, either of rain or dew, remaining unex- haled or unabsorbed, upon a hard and retentive surface of soil. It is a disputable point, in my opinion, whether the honey-dew originate in va- pour from the atmosphere, or consist merely in the extrayasated juices of the morbid plant. Should these causes of the disease approve them- selves legitimate, both in theory and experience, to what énd are we troubling our. heads with others, which can pretend to no certain ground in either? How happened it with the crops, before brining and steeping came into fashion? It was then held, according to Tull, that a good season would cure the smut, the obvious interpretation of which. is, that the matter depends entirely on the season. In the year 1725 there was a general blight, which af- fected all the wheat alike, steeped or unsteeped. J have known a field of wheat, the seed of which had been fashionably brined and doctored, blight- ed in those parts. most exposed, paren in those ears which stood up erect above the rest, whilst the lower corn escaped; and it appeared plain to demonstration, that the sheltered corn, or that which was fortunately out of the reach of the atmospheric stroke, owed little thanks to the doctor; as es BLIGHTS,&C. 359 2s to the exposed and blighted, there could be no IES, longer any question about the power of pre rention, se fat How often have experimenters found their brined cent. seed blighted or smutted, whilst their unbrined has ht op escaped? How often is part of a plant blighted, ct of and part left sound? I have been assured by a and man, who farmed near half a century, that he could dant never discover any difference; but that his dressed ney seed was equally liable with that which he sowed tive in its natural state; nay, that he had never scrupled my to sow smutty wheat, from which he had grown as a pure corn as from the purest seed. Bradley, who the was a whimsical and inaccurate reasoner, after 2 string of windy speculations on the cause of blight, and as knowing a prescription for the cure of smut, as could be furnished by any of us of the present day, concludes with nofe,“ many farmers steep ). their wheat in brine, yet have plenty of smutty ) wheat, because they don’t make their brine strong enough, and take their wheat out too soon.” When Dr. Sangrado’s patients died, in spite of the infallible specific, he also declared their misfortune arose because they had not been dosed enough. in ¢ Mr. Middleton, a better reasoner than Bradley says, 4 haye prevented the smut in wheat, by putting lime oe recently burnt,”&c. That no evil accident of 1 the winds or dews might occur,’ to blight or disco- lour a crop of wheat, is happily a common Case. q Mr. Marshall’s grave account of the effects of the a miraculous barberry bush of Norfolk, has the fol- lowing unfortunate conclusion;* The tail(of. the blighted strip) pointing towards the south-west, so that probably the effect took place during a north- \ qi east 360 BLIGH TS, ZC. east wind.’ Could this bush act as a conductor ta rally the wind, any other might perform the same office; natt but we know, too well, that, in order to blight_ had strips of corn, larger or smaller in length and di- by mensions, the north-east wind needs neither bar-! : berry, nor gooseberry bushes as conductors 5 and bl farther, that in other parts of the country, where it be is not the fashion to suspect the barberry-bush, it| th stands innocently, like any other, overlooking ai fields of unblighted corn. op The sagacious Tull himself, for want, no doubt, J of having thoroughly considered this subject, has E fallen in with the popular notion; and, with his p / antagonist Bradley, has mistaken the effect for the th cause. They suppose blight to be gccasioned by ha insects, instead of attributing the generation of in- Ing sects to the corruption consequent upon blights, a plat thing which admits of ocular proof; and Bradley nel makes a voyage to the north-east,“ where the: bu cold is intense enough to give life to these small| tr creatures!!’’ bringing across the seas myriads of them, to blight our vegetables, as if it were not so© 00 much the easier to manufacture them logically at ha home, than to import them from such a vast dis- 04 tance as Nova ZSembla. Equally ingenious are our| 7 modern reasoners on the origin of worms in the ch bodies of animals, which they prove so clearly in be their dissertations, decked out in all the technical| bk finery of the day, to originate in the eggs of flies, 1 fy taken in at one or other end of the animal. A wh wonderful deal of ingenious conjecture, to be sure,| fort is lost, and rendered useless, by simply saying, that“+ dna Stagnant fluids whether vegetable or animal, natu-: atid rally j. }"; ROR. 2 BLIGHTS,“8c. 361 "; rally produce corruption, and that corruption as ; naturally teems with the seeds of animal life. J] Ht had once a balm of Gilead standing at my window,| : by chance exposed to a severe north-east wind, for several hours; on taking it in, I perceived it to be and blighted; the leaves were shrivelled up, the juices i became stagnant os extravasated, oozing out in It the usual form, from which, no hee the insects, ng afterwards observed were generated. I took. the Cee of- looking-very particular into this | proce At first; the shrivelled leaves conta ne Sane. but were perfectly dry and hi parched; in a few ee the liquid, vulgarly called tes Dj ey e the honey-dew, appeared, and every curled leaf had become a ndus for small green insects, which, in a few days, nearly covered the plant. It was plain, to demonstration, that the wind brought neither the ova, nor insects to the plant, nor aught, but corruption to the juices, by its chilling and as- trictive effects. ¢ It is probable that blight might be cleared from | corn standing in rows, but that the expence of the , hand-labour would exceed the profit. With re- gard to trees under this misfortune, I have ne- ver failed to be successful.. I had a fine morella cherry-tree, which, from an eastern exposure, had .| been blighted for a number of years: it usually rf blossomed well, and the blossoms knit, but the fruit, in a short time turned yellow, and fell: A i:: whole host of ants coming annually to this tree, for the sake of their prey, the honey-dew and its .. Insects; the barrenness of the tree was, in course, attributed to the ants. I caused the curled leaves, r and 362 BLIGHTS,&c. and yellow-blighted fruit, to be all carefully pick. ed and burned; and the blights and dews, as soon as they appeared, to be washed off, by throwing pots of water upon the branches. After repeating, as often as needful, this cleansing operation, no ants appeared, the remaining fruit stood, and ripened to perfection, to the no small wonder of those, who, had for many years, witnessed‘the perpetual bar- renness of the tree: these pr cautions being used early the ensuing season, were repaid by a burden of fruit of the finest quality, and so ponderous, as to endanger the branches. It isa common practice in some orchard districts, to makes fires on the coming of a blighting wind, which they suppose brings the insects, upon its wings; but as it is impossible to counteract or pre vent the blast, the fire and smoke will be more ef- ficacious in destroying the eggs or seeds’ of the in- sects, just on the appearance of the honey-dew. Those flies which commit such ravages upon hops, turnips, and clover, and which have been supposed to come from the Lord knows whither, most indu- bitably have never travelled a hair’s breadth from home, where, they were generated and hatched; nor is there any posstble remedy, as has been ob- served in the calendar, but in the hand-labour, which has been so successfully employed in the ex- tirpation of the curl in potatoes: this curl, about which so much has been written, is nothing more or less than a blight; and to talk about the propa- gation of it from the seed, is equally rational, as to pretend to the propagation of north-east winds. With respect to turnips and clover, the first, or seed- leaves, BLIGHTS,&G, 3.43 Wa leaves, as most tender, are ever most liable to blight; de, and should no blight happen, until the plants ha - attained their rough leaf from:the increased strength f 9 and vigour of circulation in its juices; they wi‘il, a most probably;LesGapero bstruction and contamina- pe tion. It is submitted to hop-growers, ue a small lib scale at least, whether washing and picking the pe bines, might not have good effects: the operation si of washing might be performed with a garden ee engine. By ah The only remedy, preventive, or otherwise, 3 cainst blights in corn, upon any rational principle, cts, is, to set it in sufficiently spacious rows. In the rd,| first place, drilled corn being the most stout and ro- ts bust, is the better able to encounter the cause of re the malady; and, besides, it is not equally liable ef with the broad-cast and weaker, to the variety of in-‘morbid causes which exist. Lodging, or falling, eW, or even standing so thick upon the ground, as to Ops, prevent a due circulation of air, and the penetra- ised tion of the solar rays, may be causes of mildew, or du ef immaturity of production in the grain. Rowed rom corn, from the shortness and strength of the stem, ed;‘particularly at bottom, can never be so subject to ob- fall, as that which is sown at random; and the hour, spaces, admitting both a free circulation of air, e eX the rays of the sun, and even, should it be neces- out sary, the eae of the soil by the hoe, for drain- more ing off any super fluous moisture, afford opportunity rope fie the most effectual remedies. Should, never +s{0 theless, the corn have suffered partially, as some- ads times happens, when the smutty ears are very easily 04 to be distinguished, the rows afford opportunity of ves; gathering 364 BLIGHTS,&c. gathering them, at a very moderate expence per acre. Before I dismiss this subject, on which I haye di- lated, for the purpose of attempting to dispel the mists of prejudice, and to promote rational enquiry, I would wish to be clearly understood. I by no means take upon me to assert the utter incapacity of infec- tion, in the smut of wheat, or the literal impossibility of an importation of flies from Norway, but their improbability only, and want of foundation in ex- periment and fact. I should certainly counsel no man to trust to unsound seed-corn, whensound might be obtained; or, in a case of necessity, to make’ use of the former, without taking every possible method to wash and purify it, for which purpose I should deem a strong soap lye equal to any thing. As to steeping sound corn, for the prevention of the next year’s blights, 1t is a mere Abracadabra, and stands upon the same foundation of rationality with bles- sing a thorn out of the flesh, or saying the Lord’s Prayer backward, in order to raise the devil.. But the ancients acted still more unreasonably, who, in this case, when charms of red cloth, and the fea- thers and heart of an owl], and all other remedies failed, threatened their deities with bloody axes. I have tried various pretended fructifying steeps, consisting of solutions of nitre, sheep’s dung, and I know not what, without the smallest success. I have, since last year, turned my attention and my observation pretty much, towards this myste- rious subject. The following quotations are an additional proof of the futility of the common corroborate? j f expectations from steeps, which may be farther ‘corroborated by the remark, that the eggs of in- day.» It is remarked that the unbrined might be munications, vol. 2. p. 428.‘In the year 1797 ‘ i,? BLIGHTS,&c. 365 sects could not possibly survive, and retain the power of communicating animal life, after the usual immersion in brine and lime. The following quo- tation, is from Ellis Abridged and Met bodied: where the reader may find a variety of similar cases. ‘ The sickness in wheat happens sometimes to only one side of the ear, when the other parts remain seemingly sound; as was once the case of a whole field of wheat, near Hazlemere in Surrey, where only the west side of the ears was smutty, and the rest free throughout the field; which seemingly shews the disease to be eae by infectious. wind.’ Case the second.‘ A man having but one field, it was sown for him with naked wheat-seed, by a neighbouring farmer, who wanting a little more to fnish the field, sent for some of his own that was brined and limed. The latter proved smutty, but the former clear, though both were sown in one sound seed, and the brined unsound, but the re- mark is of no consequence but to prove, that brin- ing is of no utility in case of unsoundness.’ Pa. 216. Case the seventh.‘ One of my neighbours, an ancient curious farmer, not only changed his seed but.brined and limed it well, yet, the year 1740 had a smutty crop. This seems to be owing toa lone, frosty winter, cold spring and dry summe The reasonings of Ellis on this subject are not i ays so accurate, but his facts deserve ne-ntion. The following experiment of the respectable Sir John Call, Bart. is extracted fain the Board Com- when 366, BLIGHTS>»&c: when my men were thrashing out my wheat, 1 des sired them, as well as some of my neighbours, to save all the ears they met with, which were affect: ed with the smut: having collected all I could get; previous to the beginning of October, I found some ears wholly decayed, some with one, two or more grains apparently perfect,‘all which I caused to be rubbed out with the hand, into a bag of pa- per, smut and all together; and after mixing and rubbing the grain in the smut, all I could get per- fect out of the smutty cars amounted to 72 grains, which were carefully dibbled in, and marked ina ridge amongst other wheat, in a field then under tillage.‘Their growth from the first was similar to the rest of the field.’ The following is a certifi: cate signed by the rector and two farmers, of the condians of this experiment at harvest. Pa. 432. «<< We whose names are hereunto subscribed, hav- ing been requested by Sir John Call, Bart. of WI liteford, in the parish of Stoke Climsland, in the county of Cornwall, to view and examine a field of wheat just then fit for reaping, and to take particular notice if we saw any difference in the appearance of some parts from others, do declare, that in a ridge marked No. 2.(where seventy-two grains. of smutty wheat, after being rubbed out in a bag, and mixed up with the smut, and in that state had been dibbled in) we only found two ears out of about three hundred iach grew out of the stocks from the smutty seed, that aa apparently smutty grains in them, and we found many similar ears in other ridges of the field, so that it did not appear that the sm ut had been particular in that part: «< That a tle, manure, and condition: of the land; compar- mit ate I eee oe ee Ba oey i We Rafe Shs ing this last with the condition of the land after a & Tope rt wis tt Eases. A. crop of corn. It is by taking‘things upon trust, 2 oO i 4 Sn ee— ep Se ye Ty Veen~ LS pee RE| that men contrive to keep themselves constantly Soni Va ae‘g EES ahh ODI CE tLOn> Ol 4] FO d practice FO0G 1&- 4 crops, they leave the reader wholly in the dark, as at~ o t tha maaan( 5 ta|, We» ids nto o¢ Ae 1+} rove Qv-tne MeEanNs Of lLaKxmMy* antageé Ol such: impr VE=- } b i ~ wto ho{ r Anatranir in er a s ments. I shall do my endeavour, not to leave my is, and in various parts of the country. o the farmersin general, who desire to extend thei t In the szep department, I beg leave to recommend t c Pl| a mere eae( Ic-}, Sten laa eles pee Ui1e-CTODs, LEO stoc kK tnell g yTaZ! Ing grounds witn the most pure and valuable era ses, natural or arti- TI 16 aeuewdina) Die S yobs, Halft-moon-street, Piccadilly, ae ap see-o the Board of Sik bese yest r ondon, seedsmen'to the Board of Agriculture. I need say nothing of the fitness of this house, for the )‘ ar ppointmen t, since they obtained it, under the au- Spic of a‘cultivator of such distinguished emi- us eee Pa B Ye oT lence, as the noble Pre- 404 CATTLE CROPS. On a point of the highest importance to the interests of agriculture, I am happy again to be obliged to the writings of the Rev. Mr. Henry Close, whose practical diligence in the various pursuits of husbandry, and whose disinterested pa- triotism, are above all praise._ The reader will re- collect the observations I have already made, upon that common and almost insuperable bar to agri- cultural improvement, the prejudices, wilful obstt- nacy, and ignorance of servants: on this head, I commend to the serious attention and imitation of gentlemen and farmers, the following plan of Mr. Close, contained in an extract from his letter to the Bath Society, dated May 2d. A plan, than which, in my opinion, nothing could be devised, better calculated to go to the root of the evil.‘“ But, Sir, the purport of this letter is, to state to your Society a plan which I have in agitation, the most likely to promote the general agricultural inte- rest of the country. Nothing impedes the intro- duction of the new husbandry, and the use of the most improved instruments so much, as the obsti- nacy of the workmen. To surmount this dith- culty seems a great object; and it appears to me, that by taking eight clever, active young men un- der my tuition, for one or two years, I may essen- tially serve my country. «© At Michaelmas next, I therefore intend to make the experiment. I have a house ready, and a Suffolk bailiff, a very clever, and intelligent fellow, and his wife, a very tidy woman, who are to have the sole management of the family. Thus I shall be able to send a fresh supply of con- yverts or MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 40 verts to the new system of husbandry every year; a 4 into places in various parts of the kingdom. Other ag workmen will learn from them, though not from a ee master so readily. Be pleased to lay this outline alin before the Society for its opinion.”’—Bath Papers, ee Vol. 9. p. 308. r Will re. , Upon to aor Itul obsti pas Bes is head,| nitation of n of Mr er to the MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 1 which, better “ But, Poratores, Where pigs are bred, or a large to yout stock of them kept, this valuable root is almost 1n- he most dispensable. Although it be an exception toa gene- ral inte ral rule; I have seen them thrive to admiration, on he intro thé deepest and strongest clays, as I have also seen i e of the lucern. The largest and most farinaceous potatoes, f he obsti and the largest and hardiest cabbages, which I have H is dik ever seen, were at the house of Pierrepont, i to me Esq. during his former residence at Sudbury- ii men Ut Green, near Harrow on the Hill. Many of the; ay ese cabbages weighed near forty pounds each, cut in i the height of the frost of that remarkable season, sual when the Thames was frozen, about twelve years aed since. his honourable gentleman has a_great “al kt and meritorious attachment to agricultural ob- a, jects, and is particularly curious in selecting the axe, choicest seeds... At that time, I lived in Middle- scot SOx, yerls — a—s ne eR OTT 406 MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES 1 1a@ p; a)’ sex, and having obtained, at Mr. Pierrepont’s, the yavour of a peck or two of the Se 4HNe spotatoes: al AS ga SG“yvutat Co, I 1 CHES ee eee ie Oe planted them on a patcn OF«CCGE P> Cav y, ClayCy Oam, without any duns. ENECeSDEIMNO“prec Calne tne yy, o Ora é } A een A A: ie es Soba ea itive arene hard winter jUSE Now mentioned. E rie CuUuiIture VVdS mu oler Pa a.|“an ¢alingm them 1791 ae much neg 2 rlec te d, ai Ge gan CaKkINng@ them Up, as Filey~S= a ya. Os ae~ a wick earl[aS they were fit fOr any USE WOECD Was-Te= Sf J 5) DECc e Salan Y 1 tha|} ye Tere rine AF, hea pee ted frec q juentuy, until the whole were ripe, when Ti Vee> S, ry C bi J< SE lett anv hat tne quantity was most abundant, equal to any that I have witnessed.in the best potatoe-soils. Thé co- lour inclined to yellew,, and the meal of these roots seemed to contain. more gluten, than any I nave had) since. Being desirous to preserve them Lite through the winter, and fearin 1g the loam adhering to them, might rot them, I washed and dried them, previous to storing in a safe place. They were washed with short brooms, ina large wheelbarrow, having'a hole and peg at bottom, to let off the foul water. Notwithstandi ing the nigour of that winter, they remained untouched by te frost, and per- fectly sound, until late in the spring, that they be gan to grow. Draining, the effective tilla age of the drill cul ture, and the beneficial pulveration obtained‘by those frequent winter-fallows, rendered by a constant, re gular system of eattle-crops, will gradually prepare| fit clayey soils for potatoes and turnips, but whilst strong lands are yet wet and cold, those plants should be set as high upon the 3 possib le. Potatoes are said to: succeed well = oe See Be a el fy ere SS Ae 2 : aces, the roots of the latter forming a Ease ipa Spee Jey pee ee Ww Te a ta alet ee eee Rae me and DenNenClai manure. Rotten altcn-€artn aiso, and Raat SR DN TA Soe ee Wilco eke: Ae| otal ae such as may be collecte da irom woods.anad cc ppices, has AJLLQ 3 Bae ek Seiad meee mame a anon — eee ae SS-™ as MIS CELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 407 has been lately found to answer well with potate es, when an economical expenditure of dung has been necessal yee The expence of the sets, in the potatoe-culture, amounting to so many bushels per acre, is, no doubt, an important object, whether considered in a public or pr ivate view; and it isa most valuable discovery, alectaained= rarious experiments of the Rev. Mr. Whittle, near Salisbury, that the rind, or paring of the potatoe, or the young shoots from the small refuse, are equally fit for planting, and ec qually| productive with the whole roots, or pieces cut in the usual way. When the potatoes are pre- Ee ured for planting, one or two eyes should be ,care- fully prese rved in every piece: and a small portion of the potatoe, about the size of an h orse-bean, to every eye. The precaution may be used of plant- ing the parings of the largest roots, and cS of the finest quality. Mr. Bartly, of Bristol, is mak- ing experiment of drilling the oe of: the po- tatoe. (he stems, or haulm, should never be cut, or fed down, by cattle, which I have observed to injure the crop; and which fact I find confirmed by an experienced cultivator in the north. Ihave stat- ed my opinion of the disease called the curl, in the plant; it ought to be farther observed, that on pull- ing up a curled plant, the root will often be found half-destroyed by the erub, which insect, and the a Z+1, bs tO:{ worm, so destructive to the roots ot wheat,(de- =) Bape| t NA Rem ee Nivane BN ew& cribed by Mr. Anderdon’s bailiff, p.. 129. Bath i > }: ase FAP We eee 4 ei bl Papers, Derore mentioned), it 1s yerated from the corruptio 408 MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. dry and blighting weather.. As far as my observa- tion goes, these worms do not owe their‘origin to manure of any kind; but that all such, as are produced by manure, are of a larger, and appa- rently different species, altogether harmless, in the respect in question. As to the remedy, I should conceive nothing would bid fairer for success, than the application of lime, ashes, malt-dust, or the like, either as top-dressing, or if the corn stand in rows, to the roots. If quick-lime will reduce bones to powder, so expeditiously as is asserted, it must sure- -ly be more advantageous to adopt that method, than be at the expence of grinding, or breaking them: it has been lately hinted to me, but I cannot vouch for the authority, that the advocates for bone-| y manure have been far too sanguine.;. 4 In the north, potatoes, carrots,&c. are pre- v served throughout winter, in a pie, or pit, dug in! t the earth; having never used this method myself, I shall present it to the reader in the words of Mr.|| Parkinson.| « Chuse a dry piece of ground, dig it about eight oe inches deep, and lay the sods or mould so taken out, bank-wise, on each side the intended pie, which will prevent the potatoes from running out. Let the pie be from six to nine feet wide at the base, and the sides fronting the east and west, one| end only being exposed to the north. Raise it as high as you please, diminishing it to a sharp ridge, like the roof of a house or barn. If it— i be brought to a single row at the top, the pie will aoa be the better for it. You must then cover the heap’ first with straw, and then with mould, regularly a eo wil te ' ild Ine GALS 0 Cs annot MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 409 foot thick: but if you add a greater thickness, you will better ensure the safety of your pie from in- tense frosts, which, if suffered to penetrate, would spoil the whole. After incrusting your pie with a sufficient covering of mould, it will be most ad- viseable, as it is absolutely necessary to keep the contents dry, to thatch it in the same manner as a corn-stack.”’ I should apprehend this method proper upon a dry soil only. Another objection to a pie, is, it precludes that occasional examination, which I find all roots and fruits stored, to require. Root-crops are always safest when housed, with the proviso, that they are dry before they are heap- ed. This condition must be obtained, either by spreading in the field, or at home. Hurdles are convenient in storing or housing, for making par- titions, when either sand or straw may be used; but it is necessary to be cautious in the application of straw, should the roots be damp. I nearly spoiled a whole crop of carrots, by placing layers of straw between them, and, indeed incurred no small risk of fring the barn in which they were stored. Mr. Baker, of Leicestershire, preserves his car- rots, by digging a trench about three feet wide, and eight or ten inches deep: the tops of the plants are cut off, and the roots laid close to each other, perpendicularly. When the trench is full, they are covered with straw, and over that, the mould of thetrench.‘They are kept thus perfectly good until May-or June.” Turwnips, to preserve throughout winter, from Mr. Varlo.‘ One load of any kind of dry straw, SUmICES ALO MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. suffices: to stack’ an acre of ens of fifty tons. Draw the turnips, top and tail them, throw t into a windlebhe, and Jet them be a few days to dry. First, place a_layer of straw, next the ground, and upon it, a layer of turnips, about half a yard thick; then another layer of straw, and so on alternately, every layer being made narrower, until it comes to a point, or sugar-loaf top. “ The last layer must be straw, which serves to keep all dry. Observe, at every layer of turnips, to stroke, or lap up the ends of the under layer of straw, Over them, in order to keep them close, and from tumbling out. The heap oui be as large as‘a large hay-cock.” As I ee I used to bottom with faggots, placing the straw upon them and taking care the turnips did not come too nea the edgé or outside; the straw bemg ca chil drawn down, left a good secure thatch. Wo uld not this method of preservation be equally secure for mangel-wurzel, potatoes, and carrots? I should suppose that stored turnips, their crude and watery juices being exhaled by several months’ k pane would be more nourishmg food for suck- ing ewes, and not so liable as is common, to pro- duce an exhausting flood of their milk. fy own rough aethed of.washing potatoes in a wheelbarrow eo Bas been noted; the Holle ie isa more commodious one, from the writer above- y:} CCagele 3 are eater 1 os mentioned. Take a vessel,, made in the’ form of a barrel-churn. The sides must be compos- 4= Et les aa a See ane Si akon she ty Pane We Loomer wey fp ed of pantile-laths, or something like them, nailed ) xy-< eu en STR Oe Ue a~> to the two ends, at sucha distance from each other, as to prevent the carrots or potatoes trom faliing MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 41) } & L ene 8& A afd=£, Tai to et out, and to suler tne water. to pess freely througn 4 re \ J Cy.> C 1A 2+‘1 Sie As GOl INUSE DEHErE ONZOnErsS 5 to put the car- aa ano anid let rhem coi. at Phe levels LOE Ine anG AC tunic ceoue. dt: ii} VEssei 18 Nuns ee over a square tub of water, so that,about one- half of it and of the carrots is immersed in the water. You must turn it quickly round, and by these means you will soon wash great quantities. Fix the vessel over the tub in. such a manner, that when you have sufficiently washed your roots, you may lift it from the part it turns in to a higher one near to one side of the tub. Then open the £} door of the vessel, turn it round, and deliver the roots into a wheelbarrow.”‘This’ method seems particularly applicable to rutabaga, beet-roots, and artichokes. LAVENDER is a very valuable crop, in situations whence it can be conveyed to the metropolis.| It is by nomeans tender, or very nice as to soil,:as] ave seen it flourish in clayey ground, where bur- net and tares have perished, during a severe win- er. The culture in rows, from slips, is too well known to need description. _Fizeip-carpen. Mr. Parkinson. seems deter- mined, at any rate, to overthrow the main argu- meut of those who will allow of no analogy between the field and the garden-culture. He has practised, with success, the culture of all sorts of pease and beans, cabbages, carrots, parsmips, onions, spinage, instead of the garden, obtaining every species of the ¢g irden-produce, not only at a much cheaper rate, but even earlier, his green pease being ready for market by the 10th of June, and - VA}+t a an The x Inc his upon old ploughed land:‘Lhe twelve-inch rows h) ’ | | A cw Sth at Rae. 412 MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. rows were hoed bya small plough, drawn by an ass; and very little labour was done by the spade. The carrots standing in drills, instead of digging them up, as usual, he ploughed the earth from them with the Rotheram plough, after which they were easily pulled up by hand. He recommends the field- culture for cucumbers. This is certainly an ex- cellent plan, where much. garden-produce is con- sumed, and where a surplus can be disposed of either at market, of in the farm-yard. Garden productions, I have often remarked, will come to greater size and perfection in the field, from the be- nefit of a more free circulation of air. WartrereED Meapow, from the substance and earliness of the crop it produces, is of material consequence in winter-feeding. It has often sur- prised me, that our strongest advocates for irriga- tion, should omit to recommend the practice upon arable land, since,“* conducting water in furrows over arable grounds, has been practised immemo- rially in Scotland.” The improvement would be great in parched or scalding soils, and driving sands, some of which I think I have noticed, with- in the reach of water. QUAN- / u! a n br WISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 413 © Space dag on QUANTITIES OF SEVERAL SPECIES OF WINTER- ofelL FOOD REQUIRED BY CATTLE. 1 Cappaces. A middle-sized ox, whilst fatten- » CO ing, will consume, of this vegetable, in twenty-four sed of hours, about, or upwards of 180lb.—a SHEEP L5lb. varden and upwards, a small quantity of hay being allow- ome to ed;—a YEARLING-CALF, 7OIb. of refuse and leaves, 1¢ Des with straw. When hay is in plenty, it is, perhaps, cheapest in the end, with fattening stock, to give. a e and liberal allowance. No food produces so large a eral quantity of manure as cabbage. The product of SU 2 moderate acre of cabbages, will completely fat- va: ten, in five months, three large beasts, put to them pon lean; or thirty sheep. The old accounts of the use ae of this article, always appeared to me very high and EMO: flattering; but it ought to be observed, they were 1 be derived from the most respectable authority. The ving following is extracted from Mr. Young’s Northern ‘th Tour: Produce of 36 acres of cabbages, cultivated by ©. Turner, Esq. of Yorkshire. Chee 5S Ge 14 Fat beasts, 20 weeks, at4 O- 56 O 95 MilchCows, do.--- 4 O- 100 0 19 Calvés,~"-+ do.="--2F 0:>. 240 S Bulls«==.=°d0.=+= 470723 O 400 Deer-,---do.---0 6- 200 0 Or£.11./9s. per acre. 412 O AN“ Oxen +r. pps p— MISCEELANEOUS ARTICLES. oo ‘ OXEN of eighty stone(fourteen lb. to the stone) upon an average, eat fourteen stone per day; and, fattening in four months, eat, in the whole, nine tons, sixteen hundred weight of cabbage, and seven hundred weigh{ of‘hay. HEIFERS eat nine stone an per day ittehine tn three months, eat, in the whole, four tons, fourteen hundred weight. of cal 7 ages, OG os tive pounds of hay, per day each, or three hun- red and half of hay inall. Yzraruines eat fiv stone per day, with straw, during a winter of si med months; or five ton, five i qun« ae weight each, in Albeo Ge are quantity of hay allowed the fattening From an account in the Bath Papers,.-vol... 4, twelve acres of cabl bages fed 45 ox ren, and PRY wards of 60 sheep, for three months ey throve as fast as in the Roche of summer.~The cabbages were carted to the stock in the fields, and oth iz given without be ing cut. dages will finish bullocks and sheep, from the curnbne teres, without occasioning them to recede in condition, as 1s the case with turnips, and other el s PATS EAN IC Oe ae ee ead 400d, at tf arst; and cabba izes are preterable to tur- Pes oe| SERENE ae Aree VR es= te 1.-: nips, tor ewes at lambing-time; in short, they are excellent for bullocks and she>p; but I cannot join ° 1 x 1° i? in those high encomiums that have been bestowed 1cir use for dairy-cows and pigs, with both ‘hich I have tried cab bage, without any remark- able success. I have found plenty of good hay, alone, more productive of butter, hon, cabbage and hay:-As:to cabbage and straw, I hz ave seen no- amongst dairy-cows, from such diet, but mis- ; but[ believe, that tne goodness of all other vegetables, :~< a Gi-==i hee=—= . ee=————————— alias=—- ae——- a= = Tis country and Ireland are justly renowned et for the most verdant pastures, and the finest natura! i§tass upon earth; our management also, at least as of 1 far as relates to the preservation of vegetables, or iD the hay process, is eminently superior, and has pro- a bably arrived within a very few degrees of perfec- ul tion; but in other respects, and those of prior con- ati sequence, in the seeding, culture, and economical vag expenditure of grass, whilst gtowing, we are by no sion means so far advanced, as is evinced even by our pd VO best-managed districts. Why the culture of grass But as 432 ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. has been so much neglected, whilst the tillage of corn-land has been so fondly and sedulously pur: sued, throughout every stage of improvement, forms an important object of enquiry, an advan- tageous light thrown upon which, would be highly conducive to the public interest. Natural grass is an article of great consequence In our e€cono- mical system, both in regard to its quality and quantity; it is a prime instrument in the produc- tion of manure, for the support of our arable lands; on it chiefly depend both the plenty and the luxury of our tables(for our epicures of most travelled taste, universally prefer a grass-fed animal), it contri- butes equally to the labours and pleasures of the stable. 7 With the exception of the clean and well-ma- naged mowing grounds in the vicinity of the me- tropolis, and other large towns, and of some par- ticular spots, in the hands of our best cultivators, meadow and pasture are generally committed to the custody of nature and blind chance, and indolently suffered to remain for ages, as a seed-bed, in which the purest grasses, and most noxious weeds are in- discriminately jumbled together; no one, from fa- ther to son, ever entertained an idea of the neces- sity of doing any thing farther to a pasture-field, than feeding, mowing it, and once or twice a year, shutting the gate. But this economy of la- bour and reflection is most unprofitable, since grass-crops will make an abundant return for ju- dicious culture; and a farmer, who has a large feeding and mowing tract, laying in the ancient and usual condition of waste, that is, studded with ant- ON MEADOW AND. PASTURE: 4.33 eh ant-hills; and over-Tun with every thing but good i grass, has within his reach an unlooked-for profit, ie the certain means, with well-directed ¢xertions, i and some expence; of raising a new rent. Grass, I happily does not require the labour and attention, oy so absolutely necessary to ensure a profitable crop nie of corn; it is not so much in danger, from the in-: ty an trusion of weeds, yet as one plant must necessarily roduc: rob another, every weed which exists, not only de- ands prives the valuable herbage adjoining it, of part of luxury its food and nourishment, Rae also stands in the place tase of a valuable herb; thus both the quantity and cont quality of the herbage, green and dry, are reduced, ofthe the progress of the able is checked, and the qua- lity of their flesh rendered far inferior to that, ma- which might be expected from the pure, and genu- me- ine gramineous production of the soil. pat The source of the mischief lies in the dificulties tots,(already explained) which generally occur, with re- othe gard to breaking up old meadow; in rooted preju- ently dices, by which a man is led to fancy his land rhich unfit for the production of grass; in habitual e iN: neglect, and in the difficulty of procuring good 1 fa« seed: re Ces: As to the first; without a power in the tenantry, field, of breaking-up old meadow; become unimprov- vice& able, and which hath ceased to be productive; it is of i in vain to look for- general improvement; and in since this case, if the expedient proposed; page 133, fyi should be deemed inefficient; no doubt; but others use of greater validity, might be discovered and substi- ent tuted. If the breaking-up of land of this kind, in with order to, conyert it to arable, would be attended ant F FE with meee oo x é pees— a in— 4AS4 ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. with great profit to a tenant, its relaying to grass, in a clean, husband-like state, or the immediate laying down of a like number of acres, would be no less advantageous, in the end, to the landlord, from the improved condition of the new meadow; and thus the landlord, the tenant, and the pub- lic, would be equally benefitted. The vulgar notion, that a good sward can scarcely ever be replaced, at least under a great number of years, is a mere notion, unless, indeed, with refe- rence to the common injudicious, or rather crazed method of seeding land for grass. A farmer, hav- ing received permission to break-up a piece of old meadow, proceeds to make a tour of all the white-corn crops, oats, wheat, barley, in constant succession, until he has thoroughly exhausted the accumulated virtue of the land, and replenished it with an exhaustless crop of weeds. As he can plough no longer, with the hope of getting his ex- pences, his remedy is to relay the ground, foul as it is; which he manages, by casting upon a rough and clodded surface, a certain number of bushels per acre, of hay-seeds, with the, addition of some rye-grass, clover, and trefoil. One half of the hay-seeds never vegetate, and that portion which does, being well replenished with the seeds of all kinds of trumpery, is perfectly fitted to associate with its kindred rubbish, already so well establish- ed in the soif. Suclr is the origin of the greater part of our modern meadow. But there are certain districts, on which, from long and inveterate arable habits, the farmers have actually inherited a belief, that their land ig i ..—_—_= awe ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. 435 cc is unfit for the production of grass!_-And the iit notion may have undoubtedly acquired a species i of confirmation, by the bungling attempts now and : sh then made to lay it down. This whim would be ed very pardonable, and, in fact, harmless enough, if a they made amends for their defect in meadow-grass, by a proportional quantity of the green crops. Some cart soils are more favourable to the growth of the na- ber o tural grasses than others, some are peculiarly adapt- h ree. ed to it; but we have no lands in England, upon crazed which certain species of them may not be advanta- f ba geously cultivated: it must yet be acknowledged, ece Ok that a too great drowth in the soil, seems to indi- I! the cate a preference of the artificial, to the natural stant grasses. i | the The first step towards making good meadow, is, i ed it to be well skilled in the deters erass-seeds, and to I call know how, and where to procure them. I doubt| Is eX whether they are to be had, in any tolerable perfec- i foul as tion, except in the northern, and Hes parts of rough the country; as to the hay-seeds of London, I ushels know, by experience, they are not to Be depended “some upon in any respect. The only method the farmer of the can take, with any certain prospect, is to notice which that species of grass most affected by his soil, and sof al carefully to eather the seed from a pitce of, old soci meadow, purposely left three or four weeks longer ablis than common, or at least, long enough to become seat sufficiently ripe. I should not scruple the trouble of selecting the heads as they lie in the swathe; but “fot they who ieee not to be so particular, will thresh tt out the seed together, either in the field, or before Ind R=E2 it :~ SS<=. a es-: => ee ee ani? 7 or sain call i a f at a————=“—-—.- ST i 5 A BAIT RIP A a——————————= 436 ON MEADOW AND-PASTURE. it shall have heated in the mow.© In addition to seeds thus procured, quantities of the most valuable species will be procurable, by and by, from Messrs, Gibbs and Co. of London, at whose house I have lately seen very excellent samples, and who have, for some years, taken great and meritorious pains to collect seeds, by hand, in. various parts of the country, most remarked for the production of the best grasses. Messrs. Gibbs have particularly selected the fol- lowing grasses, as fittest for laying down pastures in general, in consequence of directions received from the Board of Agriculture. Meadow Foxtail. —Meadow Fescue—Crested Dogs-tail.—Common _Meadow-Grass.— Great Meadow-Grass.— Rough Cock’s Foot.—Sweet Vernal, being a new variety of the Rye-yrass; the same, I suppose, which bears so high a character in Gloucestershire.‘They have also the seed of a very excellent turnip, calcu- lated, by its shape, to throw off the wet in win- ter; and of the sARIDELLA, a species of tare, from a warm climate. It is proper both for green feed and hay, and cattle are fond of it; but its peculiar merit lies In its producing a crop upon the poorest lands, where scarcely any other plant will grow. It must be considered as an annual in this country, and may be sown in April, or the beginning of May.: Yo ensure a correct knowledge of the various species, I refer the collector to vol. 9. Bath Papers, where he will find a catalogue of all the English meadow-grasses, with very accurately engraved spe- cimens 7- a~: x= ps S eee ot bs Hebi,= = Ry— Sa= a Se ae cl ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. AST ont lah cimens of twelve of the most valuable, so ranked it je, Mes by Mr. Sole, an eminent botanist. Their names . Sst, ihe and characters are the following: t. Great Meapvow-Grass ranks first, in all re- ii spects. All cattle fond of it;—makes the best hay; ae—afférds the richest pasture;—best meadows if abound with it;—abides for ever in the ground. Meavow-Fox-taiL. Excellent, either tor | pasture, or hay, and very proc luctive;—one of the Ne ol first dairy-grasses.| eh 80 Siwerp-FEscues, THE COMMON, AND THE aed Finest. Celebrated for feeding mutton and veni- pa son—the predominant grass of downs, and the moh fittest for bowling-greens and lawns. neh 4. Meapow Fetece. Next in value to the Great ety Meadow-grass;—sweet, luxuriant, quick in growth, ars making rich pasture, and good hay, aye 52Rye-crass.. Well known. Although this leu grass runs all to bents, yet its juice is said to be so Win: Géiicentrated in them, as to afford greater nourish- AC ment to a horse, than twice its quantity of common een hay,-(This, I fear, is considerably exaggerated.) its In its clean and pure state, horses are very fond of pon it; and it is highly favourable to their wind. It lant es thrive on stoney land. nila. Harpisu-rescue. Of delightful verdure r the soe rich pasture, the finest hay, and grows oe three to four feet high. rit Common Meavow-crass. Useful both for pes pasture and hay, but apt to go off after mowing, and it to suffer itself to be supplanted by other, and infe- pe rior, Grasses; but manure and feeding kept 1t in ens vigour. Its radical leaves,-and those of the stalk, eTrow :; 438 ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. grow much longer than those of the great meadow- grass. Its usual height two feet. 8. CompressED Meapow-crass. A down-grass, and being of a dwarf species, the blade alin eX- ceeds two inches. It makes a fine turf, fit for parks and sheep-walks, and the flesh of animals short and sweet-flavoured.—Deer and sheep affect it. 9, Marso Meapvow-crass. A fine exuberant grass, equal, or superior, to any for the dairy;— grows every where in marshes, and over-flowed grounds;—excellent for laying down spongy grounds;—height, four or five feet;—its panic, fully blown, wonderfully fine and flowing. 10. Crestep Doo’s-rait. An upland and park- grass, very fine, and good both for pasture and hay. Kworry Car’s-rait.t or they may be foddered upon any piece of land, a m want of treading and manure: suthcient assist- rng ance, also, must be kept to cut and cart, and to the move the cattle about for their health-sake. I will le ate,,‘warrant, that the’ extra quantity of manure thus Produce made, will, alone, more than defray half of the Mt soi extra expence.| rho have I have practised this plan throughout the sum- ch of it mer with milch-cows,' horses, colts, young cattle, be really and pigs, and found them to thrive equally well as of nutri in the field; but the cows, I reckoned, missed near- Several Jy one-third of their milk, rather gaining in flesh. fopie The late Mr. Muir’s large and well-conducted ex- he al. periments on stall-feeding bullocks, upon green a of tares, are fully decisive, as to the vast benefit of the d practice, in all respects; the thrift of the cattle, the 1 ality, saving of seed, and the quantity of manure. But I “tall nothing can speak more home to the poimt, in this A tee affair, or more powerfully to our common sense, vy 4s ent than the following experiment from Young’s East- i aitiy ern Tour, vol.ii. p. 147.“ Mr. Ramey begins the i, bie second week in May,'to soil twenty horses with tt rong, CLOVER in the stable, and continues it till the Id be wheat-stubbles are ready to turn into; seven acres feed twenty horses, and seven cows: the latter in aah a house or rack-yard, but drove twice a day to o water; also five calves, and as many pigs.‘The : be horses have neither corn nor hay. This, accord- ral ing to a moderate estimate, gives more than nine eto hs pounds per acre.”’ On avery minute attention of mat this gentleman to the same quantity of stock, field- cel fed, by a tenant, it appeared, that the farmer’s cat- a tle had consumed thirty acres of clover at the time ! Mr. 44.8 ON MEADOW AND PASTURE. Mr. Ramey’s had eaten five acres, and were yet itt an inferior condition. At that rate, one acre of clover cut and carried is better than six fed. Now it is well known, that to summer-feed a cow abroad, will require two acres of good grass, besides an acre and half for her winter-provision in hay. As to wintering cattle abroad, in poachy lands, the da- mage may be laid at nearly one quarter of the ensu- ing grass crop. The saving of dung, both in quantity and con- dition, must be very great, while the fields and fences are kept in the most perfect order, and the cattle preserved, in the dog-days, from a variety of accidents. It may be said, that land will not bear perpetual mowing, which, however; we know to be practised upon large tracts of all kinds of soil. IT am aware of no peculiar virtue that resides in the teeth of animals; it is, doubtless, the quantum of dung which forms the object; and if you can afford to lay upon meadow more manure than the live-stock which it might support, would make, your scythe would indubitably possess more virtue than their teeth. Little can be said in the regard of stocking and management of feeding-grounds and marshes, which must depend entirely upon local experience. As to Downs and sheep-walks, the controversy upon the breaking up of which has been rather warm, on one side, atleast; I am either purblind, or there is no reason to be discovered onone side of the question. All experience has proved,(granting it necessary to prove culture superior to neglect), that downs broken up, produce, and continue to produce, twice AE ON MEADOW AND PASTURE._ 449 E atte ¢ tes: aes: \. twice or thrice as much as when left in their na- ae NOW tural state. But our Epicurean reasoners, are afraid of losing the fine venison flavour of the down mutton: let the downs, then, be re-layed with the proper down grasses, or inclosed as they are. Common fields possess nothing in common, with common-sense. abroad Sides al ay. As the de. Ne ensy id con: ids and and the vatlety ill not know soil, $ tum L cant than nake, irtue GG ON NATURE AND MANAGEMENT DOMESTIC ANIMALS, OR LIVE STOCK. GG Z a———_———_———_ ae |! F U‘ : , t |, \ on THE NATURE AND MANAGEMENT. OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS,&c. W N every art and science, however various the I practice, there are certain fundamental princi- ples, which are necessarily simple and invariable, and although a passable success may be derived, from acting upon extemporaneous and seemingly convenient, but devious ideas, we must never hope to approach perfection, by resting on any other, than fundamental grounds. I mean to apply this maxim to our breeding-system, an affair of great and increasing national importance; which, it is acknowledged, as far at least as regards animals for the slaughter, has been hitherto too generally con- ducted, either according to the various and un- certain dictates of Caprice and custom, or upon theories unfounded in truth, or general uti- lity. Without farther prelude, or the affectation of much regularity, or scientific order,[shall pro- ceed =: rer 2 em e= ae SF ee——— A-: SS reer ite oe er a a )) RT senior ane 454 LIVE STOCK. ceed to develope those, which the observation and reflection of many years, have represented to me, as the true principles of the breeding and feeding sci- ence; freely submitting my sentiments to the exami- nation of all impartial judges, and inviting the cor- rection of those who may be possessed of superior ight and information. The preliminary step towards a real skill in cat- tle, is to determine the proper shape of all, and each genus and species of animals, comprehended within the scheme; and I apprehend, they being all destined to a similar purpose, one common stand- ard will sufficiently describe the merits of the shape in all. There are certain essential points, the harbin- gers of health, strength, and thrift, which nature has aade common to every species, 2 definition of which, with small unimportant variations, will indicate the true form, indifferently, of oxEN, SHEEP, OF SWINE, Some readers will, no doubt, be surprised to see this question of shape reduced withm so narrow a compass; but, on examination, I flatter myself they will not be at all dissatisfied thereat. The truth is, the question, like abundance of others. which might be determined by the easiest efforts of common sense, has been painfully enveloped in im- penetrable mystery; and every species of cattle has had ¢rue shapes, as numerous as the ever-varying attitudes of harlequin. Every county, every dis- trict, nay every individual knowing one, have had their favourite forms, which, although diametri- cally opposite, were all exclusively orthodox and right; and pope B. would anathemize pope C. as sordially, as though they were engaged ina reli- gious eae EEE eooe_nrsrm,m.T.T.TSTS LIVE STOCK. 4.55 nd Me gious dispute! To rehearse all the favourite points,: tne: out of the pale of which; to be sure, no animal bie: could be worth saving, would take up too much he room and too much paper, during the present Re dearth of that article: I shall, therefore, only ins “pene troduce the following marks of goodness, which ; Iam convinced, have so much the sanction of coms lin cat mon-sense, that; no connoisseur. would venture ll, and to call the beast, fully invested with them, a bad ended one. y being General symmetry and harmony of parts; that is to| stand say, an equal and proportional union of length, depth, ¢ shape and substance;—the head not large, or long, but neatly: harbin- shaped;—eyes full and clear;—neck not long, but in»| Ci- ¢lining to thinness, decreasing, or tapering towards| hich, the head;—chest wide and full;—legs by no means| e the long, fore ones straight, the shanks clean and fine s—~ i INE, feet even and sound, the toes turned neither*in nor\ to see out;—girth deép;—back and loins straight and‘| hartow broad;—belly capacious, without swagging;—quarters| myself deép and capacious, the flesh reaching down to the kt The hocks, from which, the legs forming an angle, the feet{ thers, wall stand sufficiently under the loins; distance as j| wtih great, at least, between the hinder as fore feet. L di- A very few comments. oft the above text, will E tle has suffice even those, who have but slightly consider-) rani ed the subject. Inequality of parts betokens weak-; sy th ness and imperfection, whereas, just and equal well proportion, is the truest indication of strength, ‘teen and of ability in the animal, to produce, and stand a under the greatest possible load of flesh. Should ne there be a deficiency of length and depth, we i shall not only experience a deficiency of general ya lor Wel jo weight, 456 LIVE STOCK. weight, but of lean, by far the most valuable part of the animal’s flesh. Short and round ani- mals, although quick feeders, and of hardy con- stitution, fail in weight, and are apt to produce entire masses of fat; and the whole body being, as it were, crowded into the form of a tun, we in vain seek that depth and substance in some of the noblest parts, which are to be found only in a well-pro- portioned carcase. On the other hand, the carcase being too long, denotes delicacy, inaptitude to fat- ten, a demand of much food, and great length of time. The loins being narrow and thin, and the feet standing too close, are both signs of weakness, and very unsightly defects. When the fore-legs approach too near, it may be presumed, from the consequent narrowness of the chest, there will not be sufficient room for the action of the lungs, dur- ing the period of fattening; and that the risk may be incurred of that common accident, their adhe- sion to the ribs. Sickle, or crooked hams, or the standing out too far.of the hinder legs, that they appear to drag after the body, are very unfavour- able indications, and of a most disgusting appear- ance, in any. animal. Thus, whatever be the height, or size of the beast, the three grand requisites of form, are the proportional union of length, depth, and substance, which assures the inherent and de- sirable- qualities of each. The peculiar points of each species of stock, will ever be found in a per- fection, commensurate with the general good shape of the animal. In the above: detail we have been confined to the characteristics of strength and utility solely, leaving . untouched = es“<= a_——=—— ms, ec——=—————— SS a a ED LIVE STOCK. 457‘ Cie untouched the lines of beauty, which may be defin- hy ed to consist chiefly in the oval form, or in the neat rod rounding of the parts. Thus in horses and nea thes cattle, particularly, instead of that excessive square- i ness and flatness of the shoulder, the side and the bis buttock, depth ought to’ be relieved by,a gentle :» fulness and swell, which are the tokens both of lpr. beauty and substance; nor should there be any aTcase sharp, boney protuberances, either upon the shoul- 0 ft ders, or hips, to offend the eye, by deétra 2cting from th of the plump and‘even proportion of the form. the Our object with cattle being seal that of ress, tening their carcases, it may be observed, that'an legs strong and healthy animal, however aw kwardly pro- the portioned, will answer the purpose; which is, m- not deed, true; but it is no less true, and has been con- ut- fied by all experience, that attention to form is Nay rewarded by quantity« of Bos uct. The general in- ihe- dications of Wealth: in the hairy animals, when in a the lean or store state, are suppleness of the skin, and they gloss upon the coat: in sheep, perhaps, brightness Our of the eyes, hveliness, and good plight aré the only ear signs to be depended upon. iq cht, Animals differ essentially under the variations 4b 5 of of soil and climate; but they are always found of i eoth, the fairest stature and finest flesh, 1n countries: 4 de: abounding with herbage, and. moderately warmed; ts of by the genial heat of the sun. Under the tropi- per ail heats, cattle are small, lean, and black-f leshed; shape there is yet an unaccountable anomaly in the case, since the most parched and barren deserts of the atte south, produce not only those bulky animals, ca- ing mels shed a eg ————— SB i aaiaibammamans ai sia ceenineeie—eoe Se Tim 458 LIVE STOCK; mels and dromedaries, but the finest and best horses upon earth. Hills, downs, and high-lands, produce a small or middle-sized, and lively breed of animals; having small and hard bones, firm, finely-grained flesh, in- clining to the wild, or venison flavour, and abounding with the celebrated black gravy. This species is obviously proper to be purchased for situations where the keep is not very abundant; and they will also thrive in good keep, to a pitch of fatness they never attain upon their native downs, and their breed is susceptible of great im- provement in bone and size, but, probably, with the loss of a considerable share of the original fla vour of the flesh, unless, indeed, that could be retained, by the cultivation and use of the down grasses. Low country pastures and marshes, affording a full bite of rich and rank grass, make large, boney and fleshy cattle; their flesh, generally of a paler or more florid red, than that of upland cattle, and, the gravy fatter, and of lighter colour. Our gravy connoisseurs have not yet determined the precise cause of the difference which subsists in the colour, consistence, and flavour of the beef and mutton juices, or whether it ought to be attributed to the age, species, or food of the animal. Low-land stock is apt to over-top the mark, in point of size; its flesh to become coarse-grained and insipid, and to lose in favour and nutritive power, as it gains in weight. It wil immediately occur to all, that large and bulky animals like these, can never be supported or errr eee LIVE STOCK. 459 a and bet ths‘ : supported upon poor land and short pastures; but lee gu the farmer who feeds at home, or stall-feeds, enjoys tinal i the valuable privilege of being able to keep a supe- ) Ua) lh) 5 5: s~‘=. 2 ited fe rior kind of stock, in any part of this country. Ay_ In regard to the FLzsH of animals, and its proper AI aly ig state for human food, I apprehend we have long i Ih been in an error, and the current of fashion still Peet Ml riins strong for its continuance. It is the presump-: q inary tion, that fat is the most valuable part of the car-{ case, and that a propensity to the laying on of fat,| cal is the most, or rather the only valuable property in\ pean cattle. It is true, that the advocates for this opi-' a mi nion, the major part of them at least, pretend to\ igi ground it in the principles of economy solely; but: could even that ground,[ do not scruple to assert, is un- 7 e dom tenable. Fhe lean of flesh-meat, granting it tho-| roughly ripe, is not only the cheapest, most salubri- i ning 4 ous, and nourishing part of the food, but most i t bunt) agreeable to the palates of nine out of ten, of all' {a pale mankind, poor as well as rich, the fat holding a‘ tle, and, secondary place in their estimation, to be eaten in P| ur gravy a smaller proportion, as a sauce to relish the lean.'f precise The consequence of over-fattening an animal,(ba- Y colour; con-hogs excepted, and their flesh, being ripe, must 4 “mutton ever be most valuable in proportion to depth of PS od tothe lean) is, that great part of the fat is either totally‘ Loan wasted, or sold at an inferior price, by the butcher, J bof Sz for tallow, and by the cook in the shape of kitchen-: iia stuff. In truth, far too large a quantity of our fa- sit gi mous and improved mutton, instead of being con-: i i sumed by the poor, is wasted in the Kitchens of the wrt rich, to the great loss of the public, a loss which, in stl these times, we are not able to bear. In the lean a ot bor ai r 460 LIVE STOCK: of good meat, there is not an atom wasted. Mut: ton, indeed, is the meat chiefly intended here, since far enough from being in the habit of over- fattening beef, our bullocks are too commonly driven to market, barely half-fat; and the poor, even in the metropolis, find duficulty in obtaining good mellow beef. The plea, that the superfluous mutton-fat is consumed by the manufacturing and peasant poor, only serves to shew how little the as- sertors of it are, acquainted with the, habits and nclinations of those descriptions of people: and were it valid, the cause would gain but little, by pretending to serve the manufacturer, often a se- dentary person, with an extravagant, wasteful, and unwholesome article of food. The above are among the objections to that form im animals, which oceasions them to lay the fat on so thick and fast externally, that they deceive us with the appearance of ripeness, before they have made any progress within; and when really ripe, are converted into mere masses of blubber, Jike sea-calves: also against the over- fattening any ani- mals, which is purely an ostentatious waste of{ food, since after the lean, from its thorough ripeness, hath ceased to grow, and the future product shall be nothing but fat, to be part ly wasted, and partly sold at an inferior price, in the ordinary course of things, the profit ceases, and the ba- lance of the’ account. turns against all parties: the ee-meat would have been more profitably ‘bestowed upon another animal.. The criterion of ripeness, in, fattening animals, is a matter depend- ent upon practical circumstances: the period of time, — 7 pr Se ee a— ETAVE STOCK. 461 Cait ofp time, demanded by all the different species, which (00 Comp we usually fatten, varies between eight, twelve, and and the 1 twenty-four weeks, according to the nature and size of the animals, and the quality of the meat. Milk and corn, of course, fatten the quickest, and produce the most firm and substantial flesh. I had supposed, that corn-fed beef must, necessarily possess the highest flavour,| but it seems, the palm 1s due to the grass-fed ox. How strange does it ap- pear, that grass, which will fatten the largest ox, will starve the smallest pig; and the circumstance fully establishes the immense worth of the artificial grasses, upon which swine thrive so wonderfully. I ought to apprize the reader, that, in decrying the over-fattening animals, as a general practice, I by all means intend to except those which are can- | didates for the annual prizes; 1n that case, the ne- at cessity is obvious, of emulously pushing them for- ally Tipe, ward to their utmost weighi. ber, like The flesh of those Lees which are from form, | naturally apt to run entirely to ee and of all those which are over-fatted, is in isipid, woolley, and devoid ipeness of flavour.-and high-relish. On the other hand, product our down-fed mutton is sometimes dry, harsh, el ant and bitter; and when those small-boned animals ordinal] are fattened in rich pastures, they may become too the be: fat: that, perhaps, although the flesh of small ani- mals is always esteemed most delicate, as that of the over-sized is coarse and rank, no mutton is equal in richness and flavour to that of a fair- sized sheep, thoroughly fed, in which there is a ap deep cut of lean, as well as plenty of fat to lard it. i Difference of flayour, however, is by no means the : most } — een EP ILE TT pes ne Fa | 7 a SETA Apr rlr at SOIR aa 462 LIVE STOCK. most prominent distinction between our varieties of the same species, sameness of victuals pretty nearly Jevels all, in that regard: the grand distinction lies in proof, and there the difference is immensely in favour of form, resulting either from nature or im- provement. Individual colour of the flesh,(so to express it) intending the fair and brown, those common indications of the delicate, or insipid flavour, or of the savoury, is always natural and inherent, nowise dependent on food, and generally corre- spondent to the colour of the skin, But this last indication is not to be depended upon, with fat- tened calves. This division of colour naturally runs through the flesh of all animals, and often oc- curs very mad apropos; as for example, when flesh of the savoury class chances to be white, and that of the delicate, brown; when we get black veal, and white beef; strong, dark chicken, and white insipid, chickeny duck: the defect, constitutional as it 1s, appears to admit no remedy, since a pair of animals, perfectly alike in colour, external and in- ternal, will frequently produce young, intirely dis- similar to their parents, in either or both respects. Some years since, there was a great deal of beef in the North, of a colour almost black, coarse in the grain, flabby, and barely eatable; I know not whe- ther that defect was natural or acquired, but haye good grounds for believing, that yellow mutton is so made by disease; such sheep are, probably, con- valescents from the rot. Ill colour and flavour may also be derived from food; Ihave even known these defects epidemic, during some seasons, from whatever ee. a——=———————————orrrrrreeeeeeaesS—_ | PIWE STOCK, 463 oa whatever cause; the sa nan ose ee and. ntin pork, unusually white, the flesh hard, and of a pe- culiarly disagreeable scent and flavor, resembling, nase if I could compare it to any thing, those of fennel. te or in The characters of good flesh, liying or dead, are a waxey firmness, elasticity, and mellowness, which| > expres admit not the idea of hard, or harsh. i Common THE DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES of animals, generic| am, or or specific, are, doubtless, in certain essentials, un- i inherent, changeable and everlasting. As to those of genus,} ly cone. there is no question; it is now too late in the day," t this lt to cram aman to the degree of inducing him to: with fat. believe, that a horse, by virtue of short and poor: aturally herbage, may be degenerated into an ass, and in; fen oc. due time acquire a swinging pair of characteristic; 1 flesh ears, and an harmonious bray: but respecting the 1d that specific distinctions, or those which subsist in the; veal different species of the same kind, people have not‘| Arai so well made up theirmind. On this head, I re- iy beth collect with pleasure, the many amicable sparrings iy nit of I have had, with an ingenious and intelligent friend,| ahi: who has occasionally sent West-country boars and 4 ly tis. SOWS into Essex and Suffolk, the produce of which|; pets have invariably become. completely Essexized and} ae Suffolkized, ina few years. Nor can Tyet persuade; vn my friend, that an inter-copulation with the Essex/ and Suffolk stock, rather than any influence of soil t C and climate, has effected this miracle. Dependence i a on the care of the. good folks of the country, to on keep the boars and sows from intermixture, through i a considerable length of time, is no very strong ft ground of argument, There from atevet ee Ger a 464 LIVE STOCKi There is yet no doubt, but that food and climate operate considerable changes in the animal consti- tution, chiefly, perhaps, in respect of weight, co- lour, and temperament; but there are certain of nature’s land-marks, which can never be removed by any change of place or diet: a breed of short- horned neat cattle, will never become long-horned; polled cattle will never acquire horns, nor horned cattle become polled; the essential distinction be- tween the blood-horse, and the horse without blood, although their size and weight be nearly equal- ized, can never change; nor will a true-bred, lop- eared pig, ever become prick-eared, to the end of time. These are the pure dicta of experience, which every one may trace; and those infinite changes, varieties, and sub-varieties, which we daily witness, are the pure effects of a mixture of breeds and nothing else. Men are misled on this question, as on most others, by confining their researches to the superficies. By way of illustra- tion—attempts are made to introduce a variety into the animals of a district, this is, of course, begun upon a small scale; perhaps, after a while, that the novelty of the thing is over, the pursuit is dis- continued, and the new variety, being small in number, is soon blended, and the traces of it lost In the general mass:‘The loss is always attributed to the soil, which, in time, it is taken for granted, conyerts all animals into its own peculiar breed, instead of the real agent in the business, an insufh- cient quantity of the new variety, to complete the intended change. For example, Shropshire pro- duces Cis a Reel, rence, nite lL we ixture led on ¢ thelt llustra- ty into begun e, that {18 dis mall. in fit Lost tributed orantet ar breed, tne plete the Ife pros duces LIVE STOCK, 465 duces large, boney, lop-eared pigs; Suffolk, small, prick-eared ones; make a complete change in each county, to the last individual, substituting the one for the other, and persevering in it: in fifty years’ time, the Suffolk-men would not believe that their county had ever produced a small, delicate, and prick-eared pig. Even the natural characters of grea and small, in size, will always remain visibly distinct and unalterable, although the one species may be, in degree, debased fori: their, original standard, by inferior; and the other prapbertoally exalted above it, by superior keep. The flesh of females is gene- rally supposed less savoury and nutritious, than that of males; with respect to those females which have bred, I doubt not the fact; and if we weré to fatten cows, without previously having them bulled;(a me- thod often enoug gh successfully practised, both here and in Ireland), ihe public, Ebeli lieve, would be great gainers, both in the quantity and quality of the _beef: the butchers’ common reasonings on. this head, seem inconclusive, and merely ev parte of the custom, SIZE, as well as a in animals, is admira bly varied by nature, and thence adopted to all pos- sible circumstances of ai and human con- venience. Largeness of size, in the species, whic assures growth, a technical ie m to denote that i crease and spread of selid het ndependent of ir mere fat, and which may be said to e€ given gratis n by nature, is, beyond all doubt, the grand medium of weight and abundance, granting the quality to J be ,coarse: smallness, contrarywise, if it oe duce AU Bee meat, ever falls short in; aggregate weight 2) Heo and LLRs it! WP ceren4 RIOT UE Sey aT, at S Vanier Tp, NRPRAAY TE, THAR y weH = BR RE a hI 466 LIVE STOCK: and quantity: The best practical proof of this is, that the former can always be afforded at consider- ably less money per pound. The larger species being equally well-shaped with the smaller, and brought to perfection, it is evident, will always pay by their superior weight, for a superior quantity of food, und Jonger time, if feeding at all be profit- able. If you put up to fatten a small-boned, tor- toise-shaped animal, you acquire nothing but fat, for your good meat; nature affords you no growth, and the carcase, when ripe, perhaps possesses not a larger quantity of solid lean flesh, than when in its store state; but with a creature which has sufficien frame and bone, or room enough to work upon, you are rewarded with ample weight of the most valuable flesh, as well as with a sufficient quan- tity of sauce to it, in the shape of fat.‘To what purpose call out about the greater weight of bone and offal, if those be amply compensated by the su- perior quantity: of flesh, more wholesome, more pa- latabie, less subject to waste, and worth more per pound than fat>And what if these advantages are not to be obtained{as they surely are not). inde- pendently: of sufficient size of bone, and capacious- ness of frame? The circumstance of waiting longer for the return, only simply amounts to this, we must ever pay the price of a good thing, our only con- cern being, that the goodness of the commodity, and the price, hold due proportion. But the circumstance most in favour of feeding large stock, has not yet been noted, which is, that the rule is by no means general, or to be depended upon, that small.animals require a sustenance pro- portionally oe LIVE STOCK: 467 OF this y COnside portionally small. The quantum of food required, T speci depends on such a variety of accidents, of age, ler, anf form, and constitution, that it may sometimes, and ays does really often happen, that animals of an un- vanity der size, will require as much meat, and nearly be prt as much time, as those which are larger. This ned, to has been proved by a number of experiments, par- i but ft ticularly by those of Mr. Billingsley, on the feed- i tas ing of hogs; and I have, myself, frequently found y growl,;: 4 ort two styes Pas hogs to consume each a like quantity i mae of food, although one of them, from inferiority of| of a size, has made between twenty and thirty shillings 4 ea per head less in price than the other, It is not al- ae ways the quantity eaten which determines this nes matter, in which the strength of the digestive fa- quan- culty is a prime agent; and I believe width and What substance in the loins, may be in general consider- 1 bone ed as a token of great powers of digestion. It may ‘the su- sometimes happen, that a large species shall con-: ore pa: sume less than their proportion, which assures their A re pet superiority beyond all doubt. of gesare Thus much on the question of size generally; and if \ inde- to generalize still farther, although in practice, lo- u ac OUs: cal circumstances may require this or that parti-| long cular size, We may, perhaps, safely assert, that an i we mls animal of middle-sized bone and frame, thorough-: ly con shaped, is most likely to combine all the valuable i amo properties of each, and to subserve most the pub-‘ | lic, as well as private interest. Small and deli-. el cate animals, as well as very young ones, for the; tt slaughter, minister rather to luxury, than plenty;\ oat and where uncontroulable circumstances relative wept to keep, or the state of the markets, require a small snl HH? species, 4:(ai a pon prec 468 LYVE STHEKi species, those ate most valuable, which carry their substance in a deep, rather, than too round a form, since, in the latter extreme, the fat will be out of all proportion to the lean. The convenient size of joints, is certainly a great recommendation of small cattle, yet the price must be considerably en- hanced to the| consumer; and even with the aid of this extra price, and the superior number of in- dividuals, which ought to be kept in proportion, i doubt whether the Sales be generally so well paid by small, as by sized stock. In treating of IMPROVEMENT, it is necessary to determine fhe precise signification of the term 3; it is, then, simply to restore the degenerated animal to nature’s pristine, purest models The animal frame is subject to degeneration, whether in the wild or domestic state; and demands, as well as every other worldly object, the constant care and culture of man. Ina state of nature, or one bor- dering upon it, the. most common deterioration of beasts is that of a dwindling, or diminution m size} the forms remaining. pretty near the original mo- del; but inthe domediicated state, they are mere apt, for a variety of reasons, to degenerate in point of form, and to run through all sorts of ir- regular and disadvantageous shapes::—for instance, to coarse; heavy Heads and necks, small sunken eyes, narrow shoulders, loins, and quarters, crook- ed hams; coarseness of flesh and bone, mordinate length of leg, or carcase. The truest models of, perfect form, from some of which I'have, I hope, with sufficient accuracy, drawn my rules, are to be found upon. our own island, celebrated, from the earliest ——=s 7. ewes, LIVE STOCK. 469 any th earliest times, for the superior excellence, as well as da fom, abundance, of its flocks and herds; and equally'so, be out in latter times, fer renovation and improvement nt size al foreign sources. In that other genus of ani- dation ¢ mals, next in the order of utility, in horses of every erably en species, our superiority over all the x one b the aif equally unquestionable; we have even surpassed in baat elegance, symmetry, and A as well as in sub- sat stance, the beautiful originals of the desert. Pos- ie sessed of such ample means, of a soil so peculiarly ell pat adapted to the growth and improvement of cattle, of immense wastes courting cultivation, of an an- cary ty°.... a nually increasing population, assuring a never-fail- a 1¢ fem ing market, and certain recompence, we must be lH f animal extremely indolent, or extremely unfortunate, if/ animal those excellent and productive forms, which are at 7 in the present confined to certain species, or individuals i well as of cattle, are not, in course of a few years, commu- A are and nicated to the aggregate body of the live stock of: one bot- the country., ration of The grand maxim of Pere, in the ani- mize; mal fart’ is,(in the popular phrase) that lke pro- nal mo- duces like; and although objections have been start- ‘e more edto this principle, on the score of certain casual orate iN failures, yet such will always be found mere ex-, ts Of It ceptions to a general rule, which according to the instance, scheme of nature, do but partially detract Ge its | sunken general utility. The first business of one then, who -, crook? aims at the highest style of improvement, 1s, to se- aordinat lect thorough-shaped males and females, from the aoel most celebrated stock in the country, of that genus J hope of animals of which he intends to become a peaeae we 8 er. These, with their progeny, must be main- ray the tained ia eatliest f sea= = ai are\- een——% $I ra reantone To pgagi mene Be ee Gane ae i Aes a ae== .”,=. ra an pei ii 470 LIVE STOCK. tained with a constant sufficient quantity of whole- some food, without ever being suffered, from de- fect in that respect, to sink in condition, throughout both summer and winter, enjoying, during the lat- ter season, the most ample comforts of a good warm straw-yard,or shed. A thorough-shaped male must always be retained, or the females sent to such an one; of the young stock, females of the truest form should be preserved, or the desired number kept up from the original source. Every defect should be watched,(and some must remain even with the most successful and discerning breeder), in order to an attempt at its amendment in the next generation, which will be effected by pairing the faulty individual with one of the other sex, free from the blemish in question. This is the whole secret of breeding cattle to ultimate per- fection; and I believe it is a secret of nature’s own telling: whether she made the late justly celebrated Roperr’ BAKEWELL her confidant in the business, or some other before him, of ob- scurer fame, I have not been able hitherto to dis- cover. Much has been written and said, but not always understood, of crosstnc the breeds of animals, with the view of improvement. The rationality of the matter, I have before stated to stand thus; —If you have the best-shaped breed, you can ob- tain no advantage, but may very probably lose ground by crossing; and as to breeding in and in, or from the nearest affinities, prejudice alone has degraded it, uninterrupted experience has proved its success. If you set off right, feed well, and care- snr Et JRE OTIS ihe a STOCK; 4.7 m de. carefully select your best-shaped males and females, hout tor procreation, observing all the needful rules, you 1€ lat. may breed from your own stock only, with increas- warm ing success, to the end of the chapter.‘lhe reason must why. the cattle of persons breeding from their own ch an stock alone, have, in process of time, degenerated© rest in size and shape, running away to legs, and becom- mher ing spiry, has subsisted in their ignorance and inat-: efect tention merely; having a male or a female at hand,| ereh although of the most beggarly form, such have been y der), made use of for breeding, rather than incur the q sik trouble of sending to the adjoining parish, or farm, ft ring fora proper cross. - The term blood has been transplanted from the t i horse-course to the grazing-ground; and with no i n sort of impropriety, since it means natural and i bs inherent qualities in a species, exhibited in certain; : external and visible signs; it can, however, never H ) be of that peculiar use in this, as in the former case, i H because equality of shape and size levels pretty LI 3 nearly, in value, all the varieties of a species of eat- 4 ue able stock; but no horse, whatever may be his il shape, can be fit for the purposes of the turf, unless 5 me his blood be pure and unmixed.| als, In every species, however pure the blood, or re- i ality gular the characteristics, nature, ever delighting in. hus; variety, has. established this original diversity of; 1 ob: form.—Some individuals will run more-to length lose and depth, others to shortness and rotundity: these id 10, modes of form, are, besides, the distinguishing e has marks of entire species. Such are the breeder’s roved-‘1 means of improvement, the tools with which he and must work. By mixing the extremes of long and cates short fo gi es ae ae el aeeeniren ss a=-- Se f|| 472 LIVE, STOCK. short in his own stock, he will preserve a proper’- medium form. Should his case require external as- sistance, and a cross, he will obtain hardiness, and aptitude to fatten, from the short and round breeds, fineness and delicacy of flesh, from the small; and. an addition of size and weight, from the long and deep. The most common breed, by a strict ad- herence to the proper rules, may be wy improved, fi from its own resources alone, and a va- luable variety, per res obtained. Noeetlicenain the superior form. of our own stock, in most Se ects, it is not at all improba- ble, but advantages may yet be derived, from oc- casional crosses, or by the introduction of new Species, or even new genera of animals. Some of our cattle running away too much to size, or to Sponginess of bone, and coarseness of flesh, from extreme rankness of pasture, or other causes, may be ameliorated and restored, by imparting to them pon of that fineness and so hidite of s one, and delicacy of flesh inherent in the southern animal. We want speed in the labouring ox;--Would not that essential be obtained, nd without injury to the beef, by coupling our cows, intended to breed for the collar,. with the American buffalo, which, Tam assured, will walk five miles in an hour? If my information be correct, His Grace the Duke of Norfolk is in possession of one of these animals, and will, no doubt, make this breeding experiment, for the good'of the country. Acc ording. to Dr. ect of cattle, it Is not a vain speculation, that some wool-bearing mals, intirely new to this count lerson, a sound theorist on the subj “V7 3 may yet be obtained, ’== ae ae eS LIVE-STOC 4AT3 8 a A Prone/ ; obtained, by a diligent research, in various parts, ternal a, a to the great probable advancement of our manu- facturing interest; and as the strongest possible en- couragement to every suggestion of this kind, ine 8S, and d reais rall; aS "au and ought to be rememb: Bied: that almost all foreigt animals, even the natives of the most sultry chmes, thrive to admiration, and improve in their progeny, siderably upon the fruitful soil of this country; good winter nd aya care bestowed, the risk with them is reduced to al- most nothing. Our Own Having discussed the general means of improve- proba. ment, it is time to advert to the actual state of‘it rom oc- in the country; and, with the utmost pleasure, Ican if of ner aver it to be adsl eeding in the fairest train. Wher i me of such great and good men, as the Duke of Bedford,| or to Lord Eg remont‘and Mr. Coke, the pride and honour| from of ek country, and possessing the love and ve- f May neration of their countrymen, independently of the 0 them silly and odious distinctions of party, sedulously ne, and~ attempt an object, of which they, of all mankind, nnimal. are the most practised judges, they cannot ultimately Jd not fail. Nothing can be more judicious, than the iury to 3 nethod taken by these noble and honourable im- reed ed to excite an emulation in the country, the which, good effects of sonic have been fully apparent in rau the fine samples of stock, produced at the various Duke of cattle-shews.‘This patriotic business, in all its vals, at branches, seems to be conducted upon a plan truly sent, enlightened; all ideas of prejudice are excluded, Dr. At and the fair comparative experiments, which are A: CO panes proce ain 2 will soon determine those yy callie;;: 1 C atte questions of spec a merit, in which both the far- aks mer and ihe public are so highly interested. ie The pfaine”, eee:= z= ae EE ae a THE ze 3 e Se I PPP AMNE IIT een AE — re# eae ia$ a—— 474 LIVE STOCK. The business of keeping Jive-stock, naturally di- vides itself into three branches, BREEDING, STORE- FEEDING, and FATTENING; and the choice of these must generally depend upon local circumstances; but where aman is free to chuse, the matter ought to depend upon calculation, proved by experience. A man who has not much sensibility for brute creatures, and shrinks at the idea of trouble with them, willalways be able to buy cheaper and better than he can breed: but judicious breeding will al- ways pay; it affords the breeders profit, the chance of improvement, and the advantage, in respect to fattening, that animals will generally prove quick- est. and best, upon the spot on which they were bred. Cautions have ever been given against breeding from animals too young; and in order to obtain good stock, and for the safety of the in- dividuals themselves, it 1s recommended to decline the first indications of nature. This advice may be very sound, in a general view; I have, how- ever, often seen the earliest progeny of a female, superior to any of the succeeding, and it is prudent to lose no time. Much depends on good keep, from the very birth of the animal. The caution is of most consequence, as it respects the male, which should be never, or sparingly used, in this way, until ar- rived at a state of maturity. The system of cutting green meat, is of vast consequence in breeding; and granting room for a range, stock may be ad- vantageously bred any where, within twenty miles of the metropolis. The old notion of breeding counties, in its vulgar acceptation, is laughable in- deed. Store-feeding is attended with the least risk, f-==.—= a LIVE STOCK. 475 aly risk, and generally pays; but the dung will always , STORE be inferior. Fattening will often render no other Of these profit, than a market-price, at home, for the pro- stanogy, duct consumed, together with the dung; and such et Out may, in the case of a demand for manure, be a erence, great-profit. In most situations it is proper, and ir brute indeed usual, to unite these plans, keeping the dif- le wit ferent kinds of stock, but most largely of those, to {better| which the soil is chiefly adapted. wala- Since the publication of this work, I have receiy- ms ed applications from friends in various parts of the pect to country, and in the metropolis, on certain very in- quick teresting points of the subject of live stock; I shall ee here endeavour to speak to these according to the nee best of my knowledge, and with the utmost im par- c tiality, without intending the smallest disrespect ie to the honourable society of improvers, of whose " patriotism and good intentions I entertain the highest opinion. ua My London correspondents(including butchers) | ue are universally against the practice of fattening ani- emale, mals to excess, urging, that itis in a high degree udent inimical to the interests of every party concerned. tl tom Of this I have already spoken sufiiciently. 4 | most Some persons express a doubt, whether any im- 4 should provement at all has really been effected in the 7 ptil at- form, or size of our domestic animals, horses ex- u cutting cepted; on their side of the question, they adduce I ee ling 5 the examples of the species in different counties, i be ad- which retaining their original form, ares? yet the| 7. ty miles prime stock of ie country. This idea, in my sense, Lf reed is carried full far; I will nevertheless acknowledge, e pable i that the chief merit of improvement has consisted he least in risky yi= > rie een—— i ipa IN as— a s hae a 476 LIVE STOCK. in emulation, and in promoting the practice of breed- ing and feeding, by rendering it fashionable. A]- though some unnatural, and consequently inutile changes have been wrought, it must be allowed be- neficial ones also have been compassed, probably by a reproduction of the original form of the animal. Not a few in the country, look on the proceed- ings of the cattle societies with an envious eye. They say, they can neither attend such meetings, nor otherwise obtain the smallest benefit from them: they pretend, they have hired males at high prices, to no sort of use, and have purchased store-stock of improvers at an enormous price, without having their expectations proportionally answered. There are probably some degrees of jealousy and prejudice in this: however, To persons of this description, ambitious yet of equalling the improved stock, the following seems to me, the proper.track: let them procure the best stock of every species, from those coun- ties where improvement, at least, change, has not been hitherto held necessary; I warrant, they will have no need to be ashamed of a comparison with their neighbours, however deep in improvement. To begin with beef, what feeder is so extravagant in his expectations, as not to be content with the re- turn made by our prime Devons, Herefords, Sussex, Welsh, and Scots?-As to milk and procreation, the Bakewellian improvement, it is sufficiently no- * torious, has been ever inimical in that view; as an extreme, and almost exclusive tendency to pingue- faction must ever prove. For mutton, I know of no chance for profit equal to that which may be rationally WIVE: STOCK. 4°77 ce Of breed. nable, 4; rationally expected from our Juincolns, Giouces- ently imi ters, Dorsets, South-Downs, and Herefords. allowedby The best pigs of Hereford, Oxford, and Buck- probably inghamshire, the former for bacon, the two latter Ne anim for pork, seem to me to approach yery near perfec- le proceed. tion; the former would, however, be improved in Wi0Us eve, beauty, by the short Berkshire head and ear.[have Meetings lately taken some pains to enquire into the date of| tom them: that change in the Berkshire breed, by the imtro-+ Ih prices, duction of the short species, commonly called in aa re-stock of that county, the pug, or pompey: the cross first. took 4 ut having place, if my information be correct, about sixty or od. There seventy years since, and not with original Portugal or China, as has been generally supposed, but, with prejudice ‘stock from the West India islands. This latter, re- ous yet presented as the best pork in the world, has thus ‘ been the basis, of the no less celebrated pork of ollowing> i ~° reo~ 4: c‘ procure Oxfordshire. The Rudgewick hogs of Surrey, Abin. mentioned by Mr. Middleton, I have seen alive has not and dead. They are a mongrel breed, no other- y Ue= S ¥ ry> r x ae Iheir TO TOq r} el L- re a sher'will wise remarkable for their high weights, than as| son with corn fattened, and having large bone.‘Lhey ap- 7 pear to me to be sood hard stock, and to have great ¢ ovement,: Pre ne ae; tin depth of form. It is probable they have originated ne W=.= poms| Ta‘ e 4 fh ie i ima mixture of the North-west stock, with the large 1 1s, Sussed white funky breed. i g, Sussey,:; p‘ by Pe, It is an old and interesting question, how to ob- rocreatia, Ane ese Camiaaenen 8 Meer ae ena cer ree APs ie ti tain, trom: a considerable distance, at a falr mar- 4 tly n0-: 3 2 rE cient) ket rate, the best stock of the breeding counties.£ pW! caf©° Ie° B ew;® In Mr. Marshal’s books, I think the farmer is some- f mee: A Patek les to pl where advised always to go himself into those coun- j ( OW 0:£ hve=A 4,} | kao’ ties to purchase his own stock, and even to attend 4 ht may é A mn 1 F pt) fr the London market as his own salesman,‘Lhe ad- tonal) vice eat : en~——~,=_ > ie seas See i ene ee= 4783 LIVE STOCK. vice is plausible, and I have frequently tried it; and being unwilling to discourage enterprize, I would wish others to make the trial, and find out the ob- Jections at their leisure. For myself, I am fully convinced that an honest middle man, or salesman, can do much better at market for either purchaser or seller than they can do for themselves, and that it is highly for the interest of farmers and improv- ers, torear and encourage a breed of thiskind. As to the generality of the present race of jobbers, I am sorry to be compelled by experience to say, they scorn to concede the palm, for certain accom- plishments, even to the fraternity of the bridle. I have not room, nor do I stand engaged to say. any thing of cattle-medicine, although not altoge- ther unprepared for the task. A word or two of the best advice on the subject in my power to give, is heartily at the service of the country. The best medicine for all cattle, is prevention; for set- ting aside a few acutecases, the doctoring of nu- merous patients of this kind, is, at best, a tedious and uncertain business. Animals living in a na- tural state, and on simple food, regularly and equally dispensed, would enjoy constant health; their disowWers are generally brought on by our ir- regularity of feeding, and improper treatment: it Is our interest to obviate these causes of disease, in the first instance; but when disease is already in- curred, if timely discovered, it will gradually give way toa course, opposite to.that which produced it, joined to a regimen and diet proper in the case. Inall weak cases, during theswinter-season, particularly, dry and comfortable provender, and good lie ON THE HORSE,» 479 ledit; af good lodging, are the true specifics:—In those of ey T wns a redundance of the blood and humours, timely t the ch bleedings, with cooling salts. In wounds, exclude T am fl the air, and use turpentines and spirits, avoiding T Salesman, the old-fashioned, greasy applications. Nothing t purchase can bé more ridiculous, than the common running s, and that after this or that nostrum, for the cure of incurable d Improv. pees excepting the brother-folly of supposing 4 i kind. As sow-gelder, or indeed any illiterate person, can pos- i jdbers, I sibly ever qualify himself to practise aie q cto ay, W fee ey stock is kept, the farmer should al-} in accom: ways, if ba a make interest with his family-sur-| db; geon, and induce him to prescribe for his out- sates door family. A eae gel ntleman, who will be altoge at the pains to turn over some of our best vetefi- ea nary ease(and the analogy— horses and 0 aie the other animals, is sufficiently close), after a few alte pa ical essays, will not find himself much at a loss in the stable. In the operative branch, he should pe employ a cow-leach, or farrier, to act under his di- oral rections. tedious na na rly and ON THE HORSE. Cad The mare may be put to the horse, any time in meted the spring, or the season may be extended, perhaps, ‘eae to the middle of July, but no later: She is said, by ready 1 Buffon, to go eleven months, and some odd days, alg but by the following extract, from my memoran- dums, this will appear to be a very uncertain mat- ped ter, and to require vigilance:—“ Brown Marske erin Mare, took the horse April 30, 1788, dropped a ad colt foal, April 28, 1789.—Horse, July 10, 17895 ea colt good| | baa j is f ’ ih 480 ON THE HORSE. ite, 1);| colt foal, June 11, 1790.—-Horse, June 21, 1790; a5 it} colt foal, May 31, 1791.”. hae All pregnant animals“a be well kept, nor | should the ma are, in that state, know an y but mode-. rate labour, or be put to sy ecu exertions. If any error of that kind shall have been committed, and abortion appear probable, immediate rest, and warming mashes, may prove a remedy. Labout should not be continued too near the time of foal« . His: Sishs- of its approach; flaceidity, or loose- ness of the bag, decrease in the size of the belly, tail standing out, swelling of th e parts, discharge. Attend tite mare ina well-sheltered place:' Wa- ter-gruel, with ale and spice, or cordial-ball, boil- ed barley,&c. in case of weakness, or defect of milk. In a few weeks, cut a handful, or upwards, from the foal’s dock, with any sharp knife, to spare after- expence and danger. In case of gripes and wind, give warm bran mashes, or a small ball of rhubarb and magnesia, equal quantities. Geld at any con- venient period, previous to breaking. Wean be- fore November. Feed, all winter, with a little corn twice a day, or carrots, with hay, oat-straw,&c. al- lowing a well-littered shed, or warm straw-yard. Colts fed at home with green meat, cut during sum- mer, should have a dale range on a common, or elsewhere, for exercise. ae Incs to be care- fully kept separate from the milch mares. ieee: are taken into hand, at two years old: and it ought ever to be made a point, fo teach * them to back, and to go in the shafts. SappLE-coLTs may be broke at three years old, or the autumn pre- ene ees ds rena ee H ce et ees, ero | kept, Dot y Dut mods ettions,| committed, He rest, and Labour me of foals , Of loose the bely, discharge, ace, Wa. ball, boil- defect of ids, from are after: and wind, of rhubarb t any CON: Wean be: little corn aw, iC. ak straweyatt during sunt ‘ommon, to be catte 8; { two yeas pint,! lat polls the aul in pie i aa * ee ON THE HORSE. 4.3} preceding; and it is of the utmost consequence to give them a good mouth, although some persons affect to slightit. Learn them to canter Han dsonies ly, and if of sufficient size, they may be put to plough, the labour not being hard. Being quiet in os and good canterers, may greatly add to their value. Ti as advantageous, to mix one-fourth of good straw, with the green meat given to labouring horses, or, indeed, any cattle, in summer; their work being hard, hay would be preferable to straw. For fei ce ie oe cut into chaff, instead of Sua renders less corn necessary.|)-> Ba, h= ao. WO —S==——— a~ ay a TR minced maretibeannens 5 wt| See L 452 GN THE HORSE. be kept perfectly free from dirt and scurf, and the skin supple; the parts more in sight well take care of themselves. Ina deep country, it is much the bet- ter practice, notwithstanding the prejudice to the contrary, to trim their legs, coach-horse fashion. ‘The number kept, being considerable, it will pay to employ an odd man, or horse-keeper, to a cer- tain number. Never suffer a pretended-knowing carter to doe- tor horses, or to give them specifics for making their coats fine:—Nip all such mischiefs in‘hie bud.° Suffer not a parcel of silly fellows to strain the cart-horses to pieces at dead-pulls;—keep their vigour for useful purposes. Many very excellent horses neither will, nor have it in their power, fropz certain concealed natural defects, to draw dead-pulls; this hint is given from long experience, and from having often witnessed, indeed practised, much shameful and useless cruelty in that way. The coarse garbage, with which farm-horses are commonly staeds profitably, or otherwise, is the real cause of the frequent’ occurrence among them, of blindness, gréase, and cholic, more pa articularly the last, which, a care, might be prevented from happening so frequently. The remedy les in phy- sic,. once or twice a year; either the regular aloe. tic dose, or salts given in pails of warm water, or sulphur and cremor-tartar, one third of the reier mixed in the corn. All horses kept m the stable betome, more or less, internally loaded 1; and it Is an error to pee cart-horses are not equally be- nefitted with others, by purging Attend be carey Attend to the late improved practice of sHox- the ber ENE suffer not the blacksmith to cut any thin. € to the éxcepting that which is loese and rotten, from th ave sole, bars, and frog, of your-horse’s foot;—these nil py are the dete ence nature hz as ao: to the oo, and la- at bour will wear it down full fas- The toot pre- served strong and sound, will require less iron, and smaller a It is' a great advantage, when a 10 d0G- fe) horse can go upon his frogs, that is to say, when making: Ei p he can bear them to touch the ground, at every in the tread. ee Our first-rate draft-horses, bred chiefly in the pe midland counties, and in Lincolnshire, are, from cleat their weight, and want of speed, extremely cae for ee farming purposes. The Sutfolks are the best for Us; that Ree! upomthe island, be the soil and situ- TOM ation what it may; and a farmer cannot do better much than supply himself at first from thence, afterwards amending any defect he may perceive in the breed, ses are at his leisure. Chief points in a farming cart-horse: is the/.——Neck not long, nor too thick;—sh6rt a rather flat 4 them, than round and gummy;—fore-feet even, not too distant; i cular—wide chest;—strong, but not high shoulders;—consi- a d from derable length of waist, supported by a wide loin;— Bi in phy i quarters full, and rather raised;—strong, muscular l wy aloe: thigh;—size, fifteen, one inch, to sixteen hands high. 14 ater, Of‘Being somewhat fore-low, gives them an,advant age E ve latter in draught; and a moderate length of waist, assures 4 » gable speed in the walk, very often an object of conse- L andi quence, upon a farm. Care being taken to breed. vl their heads light, handsome, and well set on, the stallions, or mares, with a oF yper cross, may pro~ Kiiend duce high-priced coach, or cavalry horses AGS ON THE HORSE. To raise a REED of the above description, for sale, would pay exceedingly w ell, beyond all pees To breed a good horse, costs no more, except of skil than to br ad a bad one:—but what a di paca it: the market-price! Carr-coLts are ready for sale very early, as every one knows. CoACH-HORSES may be made from mares we the species just de- scribed, covered by rong racer or hunter, or wice versa. Should a ee ecine to breed chap- mens horses, or hacks, for sale, he will succeed best, by chusing both mare and horse of the fashion- able hackney ind: that is to say, each having some blood; it is preferable to his having recourse to a thorough-bred horse, for reasons I have not room to detail. Breed them with light heads, well set on; good feet and even, close before, wide bchind; plenty of bone under the knee, and high, deep, and slanting shou: ders; deep in the girth, handsomeli ly rounded in the bar- rel, and on the uaebont 3. straight in the back, but the waist long enough to gwwe speed, san the loins and fillets strong tn proportion Sia level with the back-bone. In- feo of breeding, a farmer, who desires to profit by this kind of stock, may always find colts and fil- lics enough for his money. Let no man put his Mare to a HorsE, that has,. the same day, covered a great many, or is known to have lately had too: much work. This piece of good old advice, I well knew is generally laughed at, but surely common-sense W ill make it p! ain, that there is a point, beyond w hich the animal powers cannot successfully go, in this case, as well as all others: the ricketty foals, that I have so often seen, fo me; clearly prove the position. The — ——_ ON THE HORSE. 485 The AcE of a horse, is well known to be indi- cated by a cavity in the corner-teeth, bearing a reals black spot or mark, like the eye Of a bean, which of a appears at four years and halt old, and vanishes ai ay seven years and half, the cavity being then filled oe up, and the horse’s age no longer determinable HOT Sait with certainty. The horse has forty teeth; twen- fg TAO ty-four double-teeth, or grinders, twelve front- Just de- teeth, or gatherers, and four tushes, or single teeth. nter, oF Mares seldom have any tushes..The colt, or the| d chap-‘uvenile teeth, are short, round, and white, making; succeed their appearance in a few weeks, and-at a period H caer are fashion. between two and three years old, begin to fall, and 7 some to be replaced by horses teeth, with which the i e toa mouth of the animal is completely filled at five H room years of age. 4 et on; To treat much at large on the subject of the, rnty of horse, a very extensive one, will not be expected i show!“1 a work of this kind; the few general ideas; 2 he bar- already detailed, it is hoped, will suffice; to which, if. hut the Y must beg permission to add, that men are some- times in the habit of making great mistakes, as to the ] Sips Nl Livees value of animals of this species, which they have it, In- prof bred; at one while asking a considerable price for nate little or no merit, at another, selling a valuable and lin oy= f marketable nag for a mere trife. I would recom- tat has mend to all such, and indeed to all breeders, to Nat Mas; é shiek provide themselves with a good general modern known ogee? o ahaa) Treatise on Horses. piece 0! ] i} Taughes tain, ti! | pone et eth NEAT ep seelly The AQF aes 490 NEAT CATTLE. NAT GAT tit. The Cow goes with young nine months and a few days, toa fortnight over, seldom producing more than one calf; she will as indifferently at any season, but some are very backward, and diff- cult in taking the bull, arising, probably, in the great exhaustion suffered by nature in a constant copious flow of milk, and from insufficient, or regularly dispensed, keep. In this case, the cow’s heat should ke. particularly marked where a bull is not con- stantly with her, as it may cease ina very short time, and the owner be di sappointed. It is infinitely safer and better, to provide all the domestic animals with shelter, at the critical time of partur ition; and in truth, it is rank nonsense to talk, in the vulgar style,= such practice ren- dering them delicate and Ae since the reverse ‘precisely is the fact. Colds, caught at calving, are the occasion of a number of disorders, which are seen to affect‘cows, particularly the retention of the cleaning, and the hoose or consumptive cough. In the latter case, warm, generous keep,| mashes, ale, swith cordial-ball, 8&c. The former is often attended with much difficulty—Keep as above, currying and brushing twice:a day, the caw being stcked dry, not milked, and walked about. Give. as follows, three successive mornings, fast- ing, In three pints of Se decoction Of juni- per-berries ae penny-royal, sweetened with ho- ney—Lhrir Proprietatis, compound tincture of Cas- tor, NEAT: CAPFTLE. AST for, and Spiritus Volatilis Aromaticus, of each a table- spoonful, or more.‘The beast being costive, add to one of the drinks, a single drachm or two of the| \ finest aloes in powder: repeat as needful. ee The cow, brought to a safe plas at the ninth; ducing month, will be in a way to rece ive any assistance, k ently af of which nature may stand in need. In difficulty d cif of calving, help should be administered before the; © preat animal be exhauste d, still not rashly or. hastily, t opious and always by an ex nageet person. As great;: ularly force is sometimes required, extraction should not should be attempted, until the calf be turned into the j Con. most favourable position which circumstances wilh short: admit,‘The YoRKSHIRE SHORT-HORNED Cowsare most subject, I believe, ef any other, to difficulties ‘the of this kind, from the great size and squareness of ‘me shoulder in their calves; and on this account, it Nye has been said in that country, that they care not, rel: how low a cow may oe oe rovided she be well- ioe fed a fortnight before calving, as being low In ving,: flesh, she will have more room, and the calf be ch atastee with greater facility: a conclusion by no aie means_to be depended on in my opinion; for the tive Sa being low in condition and streagth, her cep, throes, at bringing forth, will be pr apontianalels y net weak al id languid, than which there cannot be a a. more unfortunate circumstance, or more likely to :: retard a difficult birth.‘The. cases of this kind, a which have come,under my notice, have, been apnut. 7” chiefly with cows poorly kept, or recently harassed + ;, laste a: about in driv ing. After a difficult and exhaustis 1g wnt it Jabour, good beer--cordial, fine hay, corn, pollard, | ho 1 1 ee Wy or malt-mashes, warm water,&c flat REARI (0, a DN eee 4 ~%, ae er, tere dE eae cara eae sf £86 NEAPACATTLE: Rearine neat cattle is not worth while, in a common way of business; it may pay those who have large tracts of Jand, which they cannot apply to a more profitable purpose, as also the respect- able class of improvers. Much ink has been shed on the subject of the most advantageous method of WEANING CALvEs: and although it be true, that discussion ever tends to elucidate and inform, yet I must own, Iever thought the reason of the thing toJie ina mighty small compass. If you aim at capital stock, you must go to the price of it; in other words, you must afford the calves nature’s full allowance of new milk, until they become able to Staze, in the same way as horses, and other animals, are treated. Your re- payment will consist in superior size and beauty, earlier tendency to breed and fatten, and more nu- tritious flesh. Granting the breeder expend twenty shillings, or five crowns extra, in new milk, and is afterwards repaid three or four pounds, in beef, T cannot discover, that either he, or the public, are sufferers by having acted right. The next method in point of profit,(I mean the proft of obtaining good stock), is, to make use of skimmed-milk, ameliorated, or rendered substantial with flour, or oatmeal: the last, or supposed plan of economy is, to depend upon linseed, hay-tea,&c. for which we have various receipts; the best, in my opinion, is that of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland. It is a good and convenient plan, to bring up calves under a step-mother; an old cow, with a tolerable stock of milk, will suckle two calves, or more, either turned off with her, or at home, keep- ing — a SSeS— NEAT CATTLE, 489 i ing them we condition,.until they are old enough to shift: they ought to suck the first of their{ "Ot appl mother’s milk, for two or three days, although 4 S 2 b) Oo EF iss“many are weaned, without ever being suffered to en shed sae at all. Calves, whether rearing or fattening, i tethod of sec also, always suck before milking, the cow a rue, that being milked afterwards, as the first and thinnest f on yet of the. milk is sufficiently rich. Old milk will, he thing perhaps, scour a very young calf; but the effect| will go off without any ill consequences.} Oto the The last calves I reared, J made use of skimmed P Tord the milk, and second flour, sometimesoatmeal. Began;) k, until the first week in March. They were of the large,” tes way as short-horned breed, and consumed daily, at three' tr 1 meals, three quarters of a pound of flour each, auty, boiled up in skimmed milk; it required the milk of Tis more than two ordinary cows, tosupply two calves. venty In a few weeks, they began to eat fine rowen, to : an which they were at first tempted, by its being made 1 beef, up intotwists orbands. Flour omitted 14th May: ic, are milk, in part, June 1: totally, June 8, when they faihod were turned into good grass.‘They were kept in aining part of a spare barn, at first, afterwards running out amik, and in; but warmth and good bedding appeared ur oF of the first consequence to them, being“affected by sna cold and change of weather. One, particularly, fat scoured a great deal, and always seemed affected by crudities in the stomach: the remedy, occa- ion, 13: 3 see 1 5 “ sionally administered, and always successful for nd the time, was two small tea-spoons full of rhu- mn Ht barb, in~ pint of gruel,« ey tea. The ani- with mal could not, snineee tne existed, without ales: this aid, during its milk course, and died after- ghee: wards, ing ee Sa pe aa alae<“ a ae 2aquP CAT TEE. + ss. One of. the small breed. ce fat for the butcher, with wards, rotten,.at sre which would not ma the best milk and attendance, but heaved, losing flesh daily, and, in fact, laid dying in the pen, ut up among the weaners; upon the ie) ie) ont f25 — Cy os Y a) A i ES GA 2: Y r=| mt Pons Savas diet of which it recovered, from the instant, and made a small, but strong and hardy cow. This calf was spoiled large beast, being haltf-starved, when pregnant o< Oo 3 { by the mother of her, a good o upon a common. The proper degree of warmth for the skimmed milk, on which talves are weaned, is plainly enough indicated by nature. After a while, and when the weaners have been picki ig about abroad, we are ive t indifferent on the point, and g heir mess warm, or cold, as it m y hap pen. ut what is common sense to es ae loucestershire farmer, who gives the milk, snicker to his calves, even to tine degree of mjuring trelt lips, in ee to pre- vent scouring!!! Since heat is supposed to con- yi ars ee TQ NLT Chibs heb be) Ca vey an astringent quality to the milk, soligdee Thc sq]lyee-annNnat Lave SVE sacl p ¢ concludes his calves cannot have too mucn OF a I good thing, unapprized that 1mmoderate heat, ne- cessarily produees laxity and debuity TYTN) A ad 1 and intestines, whence morbid costiveness, macl S = ee ee eee> alternating, probably, with sc aa But some animals are so naturally robust, or their managers so fortunate, that they will thrive and do welll despite of the most painiul efiorts. This is ee instance of practice. ne. I have a good opinion of rice, for the feed- ing and nourish ling, not fattening of animals, and have often wished it duty-free. I intend to try rices snail| ee J che,‘i Mstant, and cow,- This Ele a g00d pregnant, e skimmed ommaon eat er, Wild even to t to pre aetAconn @ tO CON: is farmer uch of a heat, ne- he sto- stivencss, But some manages do well i 5 jg anothe! NEAT CATTLE. 49} rice-jelly, mixed with the skimmed milk, in this case,. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland’s re- ceipt:“ Take one gallon of skimmed milk, and in about a pint of it add half an ounce zs common treacle, stirring it until it is well mixed; then tak sone ounce of linseed oil-cake, finely eee and with the hand let it fall gradually, in very small quantities, into the milk, stirring it, in the mean time, with a spoon or ladle, until it be thoroughly incorpor rated; then let the mixture be put into the other part i: the milk, and the whole be made nearly as warm as new milk, when it 1s first taken t for t use, > 4 from the cow; and in that state it is-f The quantity of oil-cake powder, may, to time, be increased, as occasion may req and as the calf becomes inured to the flavour of it. Mr. Crook’s’ method is to make a jelly of one a| quart of lin: eee boiled ten minutes in six quarts of water, ae Cc oP elly 1 is afterwards mixed with a small quantity of t] best hay-tea: on this, he rears many calves, Se milk; and about ten years since, obtained the present of a piece of plate, from the Bath Society, in consequence. Many calves are annually lost by artificial rearing, and more brought up with poor and weak stamina. The mischief arises, according to my observation, from crudities and indigestion, and want of care and comfort, and not seldom, of the proper natu- ral food. In weak cases, give pollard, wet or dry, or bran and ground oats with fine hay. I have turned them out with their dams, the calves having a prickly eT————_——————— aes= a:= re —————————— rae i f ? 4 i. 2 4 a! : aR ea me te.: - ARO lak oh a 492 WEAR CATTLE, a prickly head stall, to prevent their sucking the COWS: it is a silly and useless practice, pl aguing and both animals, to no manner of purpose. There is generally an objection to bring up white calves, or those with white noses, on oe score of their tenderness. The grand divisions of Neat Cattle, in our island, are into LONG-HORNED, SHORT-HORNED, and POLL- ED or HORNLESS; these characters indicate specific, or peculiar qualities. The long-horned have the thickest hides, afford the richest milk, but least in quantity, and perhaps are fattened soonest, and with least meat. Phe short horned: afford the largest =| ee 7 Of a and the deepest cut of solid beef. The polled or Lina Poland, seem to partake of ene qualities mae both the former species, inclin- ing most towards the latter. The intermixtures and varieties are endless. I have seen excellent ich the owner called broad-horned, uce of the long-horned, or Lanca- shire bull, ie Yor ee short-horned cow; they dairy-cows, wh G partook of the good qualities of either species, giv- ig considerable quantit ies both of milk and butter, a afterwards grazing well, and to great size. HoME-BREDS, pale mean a random-mixture of all sorts, in a district where breeding for sale is not much porees 3 and amongst such are often found thrifty rand useful animals. TG speak of milch-cattle, Lancashire is the ori- ginal county of the famous Jong-horned breed, whence the Craven and Cantey stock, the most celebrated of any on the island, as dairy-cows. Yorkshire is equally famous for the HoLpeRNEss, ar Wa4 a T SUCK he HEAT CATTLE. 493 1 Of pury, d Purp, TINg Up whi \ the score et shott-horned cows, producing the largest quan- tities of milk, of course the best species for the purpose of those who sell milk, and for suckling calves.‘Lhis large breed came originally from |! Holstein, and the Low-Countries, and were, indee. D, and POLL. cate specie, 1 OUF island RP aie nen lato ome wee t intil of late years, too coarse and Dutch-built; they have been much improved i in symmetry, an- ed have the fneness of bone and flesh, by a judicious cross w ith i but least in the See cattle: for this improvement, I under- i est, and with stand the country is chiefly indebted to the exer- H the largest tons of the late Sir William St. Quintin.‘They) f solid beet. are now very excellent and beautiful stock, and' 1 to partake many of them are made fatat three years old. Ry ies, inclin- The Surrotk Duns, a small polled breed, pro- Fe mixtures bably of Scottish origin, are a very fashionable sort excellent as dairy cows. Some of them are well shaped, and oad-lorned, all milk largely, with the convenience of being un- or Lance: burthened with horns; but as butter-cows,| have cow; they ever thought them inferior to the long-horned spe- pecles, ply: eles. and butter, Alderney Cows are great milkers, in proportion rteat Size, to ow weight, fine athied: but for the dairy, in- ym-mixtute ferior to the long-horned breed. They make a 5 for sale i good cross for coarse stock, and in that intent,, + are oft would suit, excellently, certain of the common-bred, neice stock, which are defective in. quantity of milk. To come more aes rly to beef, and labour in harness—The DevonsHire Ox; of a beautiful blood red, is supposed t to a in the first rank. e js the ot yrned Drees ck, the mom gain ons “nts This ancient species has great delicacy and show of :[DiAs4)) Rete, - blood, and comes up to a large size. They are, - L L>~ ay ey gee TQ© bevond a doubt, the fastest walkers we have; and ' ay a their == ‘4 5| 1) 70: , | res tet — ZZ hee > yond lp } - ret _ their flesh 1s boasted in the west, asthe most delf. cate and fir est-pre ained of any in En glan id; a mat- ter of which 3 am unable to judge, but which, on enquiry, I find not generally. allowed, or ra- ther unattended to, by the butchers in the metro- polis. I have seen ma ve of them too leggy, too thin in the hind quarters, and crooked in the ¥ hocks. The Sussex breed, red in colour also, is, per- haps, of west-country extraction, enlarged by midland, cross. The Hererorp, middle red, iS a still darger but kindred breed, af the highest form, and in the first rank of enrowed me eee the midland‘counties all produce large, long- horned stock. Lincolnshire short-horned, but large and coarse; some fine, improved cattle, in various parts, at gee The excellence of the Scorrisa CATTLE, is uni- versally known, for the fine grain and flavour of the beef: the stock, in those respects, yielding, perhaps, to none: there are also the finest natural models of shapé, to be found amo yng the Scots, and they need no foreign cross, to arrive at perfection; the bleak and cold hills of Scotland, affording a delicacy of flesh and bone, equal to that which we find in the caftle of warm climates. Both srouans and Wales produce most useful, middle- sized, and small neat cattle, adapted to every pur- pose of milk, beef, and draft, which are annually riven in great numbers, and dispersed over the ‘whole island. The change, which the late Mr. Bakewell, with so great pains, wrought in the natural form of the Lan- — NEAT GA TTLE: 4AG5 Lancashire and Leicestersh: ie alt Pe)(eee eae(ee 5& ad ae je Lae pleased the eye of many, an a made a great figure at 1s> ise Wty> TNC=’ rn Oo£ 4}= the Nnamme 5 was disa{van nta isco ID SOME O17 tHe yoIntS. The new artificial form Ved, or py, most important| | the met. fattened quickly in the external parts, but never legoy too tallowing well within, was, in course, always defec- ed in the tive in quantity and goodness of flesh, besides, losing the valuable quality of great milking. But I hope 0; 18, per. Iam not deceived in afferting, that the Dishley iged by a form never prevailed very generally, and that latter red, is 2 improvers, in the midland counties,and to the west- hest form, ward, by retracing their steps towards the original télle i sources, have produced better proportioned, and far more.useful stock. The best dairy cows are nov » long. ut large jarlous The YorRKSHIRE SHORT-HORNED cattle are dis- tinguished by their small, half-annular horns, the| extremities curving towards each other; their size, depth of carcase,— sauarene (ep wa => ae & = = me He) poo x jo) ae =~ ig atural LONG-HORNED species, the horns either s e. rizontally, orare bent downwards, in various shapes, ay eae them in Staffordshire and Warwickshi ight and downward tendency of the horns, ¢ whic= e, anda oe slaggi He animal: 3, Both a ae ‘ddle- 5 5 } Leg BS be 1 aie a5 ES en* 4 f- » Mca:[he following marks, according to.Mr. Oo]; wry Tlf. 7 1 ver) pul cenote tne tf N lly: e. 5 annual) in the greatest purity of blood. in i aver[10 RIBAS BR et ee Le(’,. AGE: Ty bance over Ue hood of Barnstaple:——Colour, high red, without CHULEC spots,( WHICR maicate a fore On CPOSS), Lott lun voll mit; Er 5 iy eas pe ee ay see el) mi ring around the eye, muzzle same colour; fine bone, ns> a pe ee 7 496 NEAT CATTLE: clean netk, middle-length horns, bent upward 3 this face, fine in the chops, wide hips: rather flat on the sides; tail small and set on very high; thin skinned, silkyin handling; fat early, shoulder-points beautifully fitted for the collar. Of the Herzrorp and Sussex, the-formet the heaviest and squarest, by Mr. Ellman, a principal Sussex breeder:———Colour, red, fine hatr, very thin skin, neck and head clean, middle horns, turning up at the porns 5; well made behind; wide in the he rump and surloin, but narrow tn the chine; tolerably straight in the back; ribs or sides flat; thin mm the thigh; middling bone. An ox, six years old, when fat, will weigh from sixty to 100 stone of 141b. fore- quarters generally the heaviest; they are worked to six and seven yeafs old. Calves run with the cows two or three months; a good cow will after- wards produce six or eight pounds of butter per week, for three or four months; and double that quantity of skimmed-milk che ese. They do not’ give so much milk as the Suffolk’s, but it is much ridher| in quality. Previously to a purchase for GRAZING or FAT- TENING, a man will naturaily determine upon the size, and species of bullocks, heifers, or cows, most probable to suit his food, situation, pocket, and other circumstances. It may be convenient, either to summer or winter-feed, to turn the ee as quickly as ee or keep on, large and im proved beasts, even to the second summer- grass, By which they are brought to the highest pitch of ex- cellence. In the choice of a beast, that soft and yet elastic on, NEAT CATTLE. 497] ee hi and mellow feel of the hide and flesh, that swell and elton fullness of the fattening points, and other indica-| Hun sin tions of thrift, from general appearance, so much q Ms Ceautfil better intuitively known to, than described by, H practical men, must be the purchaser's guide. I: former the have a shorter rule; I have seldom»known any f » 4 princina healthy animal, well furnished in the loins, and with tr, very thi short legs, which would not make fat, sooner or| wrning up af later. Much has been said amongst us sages of the* hips, rump, shambles, about the propriety of Jaying the great- f ably stra est weight of meat upon the most valuable parts; a the thish and what has given the idea a most ridiculous when fat air, is, that in the North the most valuable parts 14h, fore- lie before, in the South, behind! After all, per- “worked haps too much consequence is attached to such notions, in theory I mean; for an animal, céte- ris paribus, will produce aggregate weight, which ts the chief object, in proportion to the regularity of with the vill after- putter per nines that his shape. But in the markets of the South, hin- 7 do. not der quarters bear the highest price, as in reason I think they ought, since the flesh in those parts, is of the closest texture, most savoury, and most nu- tritious. There are animals of all the species which t 1s much ot FAT:—; ; never will fatten} and some of them deceive the upon the See,- t COWS best practical judges. Every body is aware, that full 0 y aged beasts, and such as have laboured, will take on n, pocket i ee fat best; but even young cattle of great. growth, onvenienl: ees if well formed, will be made sufficiently fat for the mole}.°:: a any purpose, with care and high keep. The opi- ane nion, that quick feeding is all in all, is absurd in ay.a74ss DY..: r-g138) this view also: the feeder’s interest may, from sea- yi! f exe A* ite son, the state of the markets, or other c'rcumstances; ! KK require vet elastiC, and A a= a RnR a I Sl ‘ 4 : : 4 te i 493 NEAT CATTLE: require an animal which will be a considerable time’ growing into size and price. The great art in feeding cattle in the stall, to profit, is, to give them as much, but no more, than they can well digest; all beyond being some- what worse than thrown away.‘The best rule to judge by, is, that they eat up their allowance with a vigorous appetite, neither leaving ought nor han- kering after more, but appearing willing to take rest. Some, from over-voraciousness, will load themselves so much, as to produce intestinal ob- struction, and consequent loss of appetite, and im- pediment to thrift: warm and aperient mashes, with sulphur, or salt, generally prove a remedy. Others, with digestive and ejective powers, equal to their voracity, will super-abound with blood, which will be discovered by inflammation in the eyes, warbles in the back and loins, and much rubbing; two or three moderate bleedings, at a fortnight interval, will prevent any ill effects, and forward improve- ment. In winter-feeding, the best stock should be cho- sen, noris it worth while, om account of the low price, to purchase barren cows, for if you make them good, in case of a declining market, your salesman’s account from Smithfield, will not be pleasing, as I have once or twice experienced; whereas the high form of your commodity might, in some measure, shield you.. There is another rea- son, all females having bred are large consumers, which I know from a number of observations. An old cow, of fifty or sixty stone, will devour more hay, Or Sr A ameeeramemnetonS NEAL EATEILE, 4.99 derabl tin or other meat, than an ox of fourscore. Supposing; the stall, a brisk demand, large and well-bred oxen, tho- q {0 more roughly made, will undoubtedly render the greatest lg some profit; but at all times, from fourscore to one hun- J est rule t dred stone, London weight, is a most saleable size; i Wance with and this weight is very conveniently produced from{ ht nor har. the best of the Scots and Welsh cattle, either steers: 8 to take or spayed heifers. A considerable feeder should 4 wil load have the three‘sizes, to suit the various demand of i tinal ob. the markets; very small beef is sometimes in great| ead in. request; and have lately seen a lot of the smallest 4 hes, with breed of Scottish bullocks, the Kyloes, by no means: x Others fattened with the best meat, sold at a rate so extra- vagant, and out of all proportion, that I hesitate to 4 to their ch will repeat the figures. aad call Some noble-spirited and patriotic landlords, of o late, have built ox-houses upon their tenants’ farms, , that their Iands might not want manure; It is a interval, most commendable example. Iam yet an advocate pe for the oxen going occasionally loose, for several hours in a day, in a well-littered yard, where the be cho- dung will not be dispersed; yet to be always tied the low up in their stalls to feed. The necessity of dark- u make ness and close imprisonment, in order to the fatten- et, your ing of animals, I believe to be notions venerable not be only for their antiquity. The gaiety or activity of rienced fat beasts, of any kind, need not be much appre- y ight, hended; but fresh air and pleasant sensations, will yther red: increase the appetite, strengthen the digestion, and 1s, which obviate the morbid causes. On this head, some of An olf the various contradictory opinions and practices ore Hats are truly laughable, being founded in bastard sov- Or disant experience, instead of the true, which is in ey ae affinity a Se ae—_—_ i yy a ie=== 2 4 eas a a—_ ie OO A EN OO i AEDT ne I 500 NEAT CATTLE. affinity with reason and common sense. It has been contended, that oxen ought to be kept in the at- mosphere of a hot-house, in a constant state of the most profuse perspiration, until their hides crack and peel; and with this view, even the crannies and key-holes have been stopped with straw, in hot- weather; e contra, others insist, that the ox will not thrive kindly within doors, in a mild winter; sweat- ing out all his keep! Again, who has not seen fatten- ing beasts above the mid-leg in cold clay, or mire, their almost only bed; their backs and loins soaked with wet, cold at heart, and their bodies exposed to al] the rigour and changes of the season? In spite of all this they thrive; but no man in his wits, sure- ly, can doubt, that their thrift and his profit would be greater, under circumstances of comfort, shelter, and nourishing warmth. Every attentive and expe- rienced feeder, must have observed the check given to fattening stock, by extreme cold, or foul wea- ther. Another strange notion has been broached, from what quarter has escaped my memory, that fattening stock may, with safety, nay, even advan- tage, be reduced from good to inferior keep; this experiment I have sometimes made, not in- deed voluntarily, or much to the benefit of my pocket. Fat cattle, kept abroad in winter, upon long, watery grass, which has necessarily lost much of i its nutritive power, should always have an allowance of gogd hay; as should those fed in the yard, upon dry meat, have a portion of| something moist and succulent, to counteract a too astrin- gent effect. 1G NEAT ICATTLE. 50% It has always appeared to me an out of the way a practice, to feed with oil cake, in place of growing; ei ess expensive, and equally good, not to say better, tate oft food at home. I should prefer the linseed itself; ies i and there is an additional reason for a preference, e alls when the article can be grown upon the farm. The In bot jinseed may be boiled to a jelly, and mixed with x will not bean, or any kind of meal, and chaff, cut from clo- Ts Sweat: ver, or saintfoin hay. I hold it to be deceptious, enfatten or rather plainly unprofitable, to use straw, in any , or me, shape, as food for fattening beasts, where hay can ns soaked' be obtained. Many good oxen, after the summer- exposed grass, are made fat with hay, of which, from twenty ‘In spite to thirty pounds a head,.suffices fora day. The ts, sure old English method, of making beef in winter, was would with hay and oats; nor is there a better, in a cheap helter,\- time for oats, and upon land where large crops of d expe- them may be convenient. eS given The various kinds of food, with which bullocks ul wea: may be made fat in the stall, have already been de- ached, scribed; brewers grains, it is well known, are ap- ry, that plied to that purpose; also malt-combs mixed with advan: meal. Turnips or cabbages being the chief food, keep it is very advantageous to allow one feed per day not in- of bean, oat, or barley-meal, mixed with cut hay. + of Substantial hay of tare¢s and green corn, will not be forgotten. The beasts will drink plentifully twice on long,‘i 55:::: an fit An attentive feeder will easily perceive when a beast does not improve upon his meat; all such Ld should be disposed of in good time, at any rate; ihe hn that they may not, by. useless consumption, hang as one a drawback upon the aggregate profit. This ought 9 aiid 55 5- It a 2_—*, - + aur’—* rs+ from y, in- con. Deasts be ex: sible to own a than a some prely it e well: and to maze andstil to. whet r{0 the 3, 01 ie most poi SUCKLING. 505 profitable application of milk, as it reasonably ought, considering the labour, is to make it into butter., SuckLING, as it is sometimes practised, in the common way, I am persuaded can render little or no profit at all. Ihave seen a calf at ten or twelve weeks old, consuming the milk of two or three or- dinary cows; it has yet been kept on, eight or ten weeks, and then sold at an inferior price.‘Those which I have fattened, I always found returned most profit, when they could be got rid of at seven or eight weeks old, and before thty began to de- mand such vast quantities of milk. The most profitable plan of suckling, I‘should suppose, is to keep great milkers of the short-horned breed, and to replace their own calves with a smaller kind. I have elsewhere recommended, to suckle calves three times a day; but was not aware, at that time, of such a. method being any where practised. It gives me pleasure to be informed, that in Scotland, where the farmers reason, and are open to conviction and improvements, such has long been the custom. Acid crudities and indi- gestion, the common maladies of fattening calves, no doubt originate in the great load, laid at once, upon their stomachs; much of the mischief would be obviated, by dividing their milk into three meals. There is another cause of malady; the confinement, which is supposed so indispensably necessary to their thriving: I am an infidel on that head; I have been deceived by a few trials, if I cannot make equally fat, much better and more wholesome veal, with air and a little liberty. Whenever the calyes have sour breath, scour, or are I ERR Boe SONAR ca nia OR one ei ak Sans iin 2 506 BUTTER-COWS. are costive, apply the remedy already mentioned. Warmth and the most punctual cleanliness are ne- cessary: and proper conveniences for saving the urine both of cows and calvés, ought not to be forgotten. The scouring-calf should be washed with soap suds, and wisped dry. In Norfolk, calves are sometimes fattened by running with their dams until they reach thirty or forty stone. This would, no doubt, bring a certain profit, without any trou- ble, could we insure’a good market. 3 The best BuTTER-cows, as has been said, are of the long hornéd-species; the next, Suffolk polled cows; but, in one sense, all depends on feed. Mongrels, and home-breds, will sometimes turn out extraordinary milkers. I look upon the Kentish home-breds to be very good milkers, in proportion to their size; and am of opinion, the dairying-busi- ness might be‘very advantageously carried on, in ‘that fine and well watered county. The best cow I ever had, considering the small- ness of her size, was a spotted, finch-backed one, bred in Kent.. She would have milked well three times a day; she made twelve pounds of butter per week, for some weeks; and from eleven to eight, for a long time: a large cow, to have equalled her, ought to have given more than twenty pounds per week, which great quantity, some famous indivi- duals have actually produced. On the average, three gallons of milk will make about a pound of butter, or three pounds of new-milk cheese. A good cow is never of a bad colour’, although ob- jections are commonly made to black or white; the milk of the former, it has been said in print, is thin and little productive. I have yet known black cows produce ” NEE Sar EK onl BUTTER-COWS. 507 Teton produce milk of an extraordinary richness. There H Sate ny is great convenience in polled, or hornless cattle;; VIN thy and I have been thinking, that a Suffolk bull would‘ hot to by be a good cross for long-horned cows 5 by breeding| thus, in and in, it is probable the horns would, in, i Ik, calves time, be lost, and the variety tarn out extremely va- uy reir dams luable, both for quantity and quality of milk. 5 woul, All animals should receive the most patient, gen- ANY trou. tle, and humane treatment, milch-cows in particu- ; lar, which are necessarily, from their condition, date of subject to an increased share of irritability, and the K polled damage the milk receives from their being flurried n feed, and ill-used, is very considerable./ say this to mas- urn out ters and mistresses, who, however regularly they may ‘entish go to church, are guilty of a high breach of their ortion moral duty, when they do not enforce, both by exam- busi ple and precept, the humane treaiment of all animals. on, ih It is much the safest way, to suffer no cows to be milked, without having both head and légs secured; eee for the quietest cow alive, milked loose, always aie, kicks her pail of milk down, once or twice a year, ine at least. Tama warm advocate for the continental tetper practice, of currying and brushing both milch-cows, ete and fattening bullocks, convinced that it 1s attend- isn ed with both pleasure to them, and profit to their A; keeper: whilst running abroad, in course they must : it only be wisped over, lest they take cold. The bag ae should be kept well trimmed, and the teats perfectly Avera clean, more particularly on the approach of win- un ter, when they are so liable to be chapped: they ae should not be washed with the milk, but warm soap gh i and water, being after wiped dry with a cloth. Cows tes will not give their milk down freely to strangers: buat and ok cOWS produce| 2 a— So Sees ao 3 5 eR, s: o 508 BUTTER-COWS and itis of consequence to milk them thoroughly dry, not only because the last milk, or strokings, produces a greater quantity of cream than the first, in the full proportion of ten to one, but because cows are much injured, even ruined, by not being milked clean. This matter requires the inspection of the master, or a faithful deputy. T have observed, that in SUMMER-FEEDING COWS at home, I did not obtain so large a quantity of milk as when they fed at liberty in the field; this arose, it is probable, from their want of exercise, which they ought to have had several hours in the day. Granting the disadvantages could not be obviated, it would still not be a valid objection against stall- feeding, since more cows might be kept upon the game quantity of food. The advantage of keeping them at home, or in a shady sifuation, in the dog- days, when they are often so harassed by the heat ‘and the gad-fly, neither suffering them to take their meat, or to rest and chew their cud, is very striking; and the hay which may be saved by the economical expenditure of grass, must prove a great comfort to them in the winter-season. It is among the first of . agricultural objects, to reduce the price of winter- keep, and to extinguish the shabby pleas of starva- tion. The few loose hints I have to offer on DAIRY- MANAGEMENT, are from my wife, who has been ac- customed, from her youth, to the superintendance of the dairy, as well as the business of farming and gardening in general. To speak of a dairy, as a mere auxiliary branch of the business of a corn- farm, ten or twelve cows are as many, perhaps, as most #4 thoroyd t te in the fy Ut decays Not bet ‘Inspection ING Cows ty of milk this arose, se, which 1 the day. obviated, nst stall. jpon the eeping @ dog- he heat ke their triking; nomical mfort to > first of winters ft starva- DAIRY: heen at: tendanct ming and airy, 4 fa(at haps as most THE DAIRY. 5a9 most people will think convenient, since that num- ber can be managed without any extra help of ser- yants. Situation, in respect to markets, and custom determine, whether butter or cheese be made, and if the former, whether it be disposed of fresh, or salted for sale: in either method, great, I be- lieve the greatest dependence for success, must be placed in the pig-stock, fed upon the skim-milk, or whey. The most exquisite and punctilious cleanliness is necessary, in every part of dairy-management. Well-glazed earthen gallon pans are preferable to all other receptacles for milk; these must be scald- ed, perfectly clean, outside and in, besides being frequently boiled in a copper, conveniently situated; well scrabbed with a brush, and rinced in plenty of clean water. Dairy should be both glazed and latticed. Four or five cows in an_ hour, are as many as can be carefully milked by one person: milker not to enter the,dairy with the dirty apron, and hairy from the cow-house. Milk to be set immediately? if the weather be cold, warm water at the bottom of the dish; if warm weather, the dishes to be previously cooled with cold water. Skim off the cream, in summer, every twelve, in winter, twenty-four hours. Shift the cream into clean pans, daily, in winter, twice a day in sum- mer; generally stirring it, several times a day, with a clean wooden spatula. To make fine butter, cream should be churned within three days, in hot weather. In severe frosts, it is better to churn the cwhole of the milk daily, as in Scotland; frosty cream always MG ha ey co Bu * i A t = 5 510 THE DAIRY. always making rank butter. German stoves, burn: ing charcoal, are useful in a dairy. In the North, they have butter-churns worked by a horse; but our chief improvement here, is the» barrel-churn. In summer, cool your churn well with cold water; in winter, make it warm. Strain your cream through a fine sieve, or linen cloth. Butter, to be good, ought not to come in less than an hour; at the end of that time, if it need any help, use a small quantity of distilled vinegar; the method of using warm water, or taking the churn near the fire, prejudices the butter: the process complete, strain off the butter-milk, and put the butter into cold water: afterwards divide it into small Jumps, upon a sloping board; beat it well with wooden pats, not sweaty hands, until it be-en- tirely free from butter-milk, and perfectly firm, cold water being at hand to throw over the board occa- sionally, and to wash the pats. Salt, with fine beaten salt, to your palate. Make up according to art and custom. Spread separate on a cloth, that the lumps may not adhere. To put butter down for keeping, let the salt be perfectly fine; a layer of salt at the bottom of the firkin or jar; beat the butter down, with a hard wooden rammer, not hot fists, and cover the top with salt. The best colouring for butter, is-good keep for the cows. Not pretending to any daify secrets, or improve- ments, I shall say nothing of the process of cheese making, so generally well-known, and so often de- scribed. I have ever had my doubts, as to the pro- fit THE DAIRY. 514 oVves, bun, ft of making or using the inferior kind of cheese, either to vadieridtiel s, or the public; the materials 1S Worked would pay better ia the shape of pork or beef: lere, 15 the have also presumed to question the exclusive ex- hum wel cellence of the soil of Cheshire, Gloucestershire n. Strain and Essex;. little doubting, but that Cheshire ce. len cloth, and Epping butter, of equal quality, might be made less than elsewhere. Land of poor or middling quality, is need any said to be the most proper for the cheese-dairy. eats the The meadows in Cheshire, Iam informed, abound he chum 7 with a tall plant, bearing leaves and a yellow flower, proces which is supposed to be of great advantage to the put the milk: the same plant is aE in the hed! rows, ae in some parts of Kent. roll The first milk of a cow having newly-calved, vulgarly called beastings, we never use, but for on the sealfor pigs; and it may be from two, to aera four or five days, before the milk attain a whole- ‘he; some colour. Where the object is butter, the ne suckler, of course, is disposed of as soon as pos- ) art and ee sible. lumps The arrangement of pic-stocx for the dairy, va- ries with situation and custom of the country. The salt be regular buttersdairies, within the reach of the me- ofthe tropolis, make quick returns of fat pigs, perhaps a hard every six weeks, or twomonths.‘the smallest may the top be made entirely with milk, but in general, skim- is goo! milk and barley, or pea-meal, fatten the greater part of the dairy park,‘The dairy-men purchase improve: store-pigs, breeding very few. With respect tothe f cheese partial, or corn-farm dairy, it is more profitable to offen breed, or: store-feed pigs; and the number need the pr have no other limit than this, that the wash be suf- nt ficiently ——————— a 512 THE DAIRY. ficiently good to keep them in high store-condition. Precise calculations on these topics, are generally more for shew than use, since circumstances are so infinitely various; but presupposing land of medial fertility, the best stock, skill, and attention; breed- ing the pigs, or at least buying the best bred young stores, and grazing, the barren cows, TI should not scruple to state the net dairy profit at fulleight gut- neas, annually, per cow. The interesting question of HoRsES or OXEN, for slow draft, has been often and largely discussed: I have already borne my share in it, and have little to add, but that the more I see and reffect on the subject, the more I am convinced, that all the farm- ing business of the island might be performed, with equal advantages, by oxen, as by horses; nor do if know of but one objection to extending the use of oxen to every purpose of slow draft, which subsists in the presumed natural inaptitude of their feet, for long journies and hard roads. All the farming and carting-business of Italy is performed with oxen or buffaloes. The immense accession to our national stock of flesh-meat, to be derived froma general farming use only, of draught-oxen, is a considera- tion of too high consequence surely, to be post- poned, to trifling inconvenience, or mere indolent custom. But in the setting on foot this salutary reform, nothing can be so efficacious as the influ- ence and example of landlords, who would do well to follow the patriotic example of the Earl of Egre- mont. I have paid due attention to the arguments of Mr. Billingsley, Mr. Middleton, and Mr. Brown. In -=. e'_——————— asia EEE eee—————== DRAUGHT OXEN. 513 ot In my opinion, the principal reason of the faintness bas: of oxen, in labour, and the presumed superior strength : of horses, as three to two, subsists merely in the in- tof med ferior keep of the former. Take a gang of pota- on} breed toe and oat-meal-fed Scotsmen, or bread and wa- red Young ter-fed Hampshire-men, and work them with Lon- shoul an don beef and beer-fed corm or coal porters; and eight gui attend to the event in point of speed and conti- nuance. Itis absolute folly to work oxen without OXEN, for corn, being matter of economy and saving to allow cussed: I it them, since the extra labour, compared with the have little corn allowed, leaves a profit. But oxen naturally ct on the require less corn than horses; and bean-meal seems ‘the farm- to agree well with them. Cabbages or carrots, ed, with bean-meal and clover or saintfoin chaff, with good ior dof oat-straw, will keep a Jabouring-ox in high con- e use of dition. Ihave known oxen and heavy black horses | subsists work together on wet poaching-land, and without r feet, for observing any difference, found both species did ming and mischiet enough in all conscience, As to the slug- » oxen of gishness of oxen, quoted in some particular in- + national stances, it does not bear at all upon the question. In 1 general sussex, oxen have beat horses at plough in the deep- onsideras est clays 5 in Herefordshire, they are held superior in be pu long journies, at chalk-cart, over a hilly and flinty aida country. The Devonshire oxen are speedy walkers; i-—What would probably be the event, were they bred : ape particularly with the view to speed, trained and fed hei as carefully, and as generally as horses? Four or id dow five horses will till one hundred acres of land. I fof By believe a man would find himself. much in pocket,—’ in the course of years, by the substitution of five, ued° er half-a-dozen good Devon, or Hereford oxen, fr, Bow EL whether In; ae~—— Lae AR TES Son a Se ee bit WHEAT(GAPE, whether on clay or sand, at plough or cart. Tam aware of no county, Norfolk excepted, where their pace at plough is too quick for the best Devons. Mr. Middleton would willingly revive the pri- mitive and laudable custom: of eating horse-flesh; some years ago, I knew a fair countrywoman of his, who, being above all narrow prejudices, actu- ally put this speculation in practice, and never fail- ed to beg five or six pounds of the prime of the flesh, from every horse killed at a neighbouring dog-kennel. I observed no other particular effect it had upon her, but that of imparting to her breath an odour equally savoury and pleasant with that of her mess-mates. The girl was under twenty years OF age. The ace of Neat Cattle is commonly judged of, by the number of rings or circular marks upon the horns, the first of which, however, at the base, does not appear until, the third year, after which, every year brings an additional ring: these, the cow-job- bers,(one in twenty of whom I hope may be an honest man), take especial care to rasp, and scrape out, in an aged beast. The ealves-teeth begin to drop at two years old turned, when the animal gets two new teeth, and two additional every year, until five years old, when the mouth is full; but the two corner, or mark-teeth,'are not perfectly up until SIX. The castration, male or female, of these, and sndeed, of all our domestic animals, horses except- ed, is performed early; of calves at ten or fourteen days old. The norns of calves, on the authority of a book, published ciabatta a0 Catt, Tay Where thei Devons, ve the pt 10tse-lesh roman of Ices, actue never fail me of the shbouting salar effect het breath th that of nty years toed of, pon the ase, does ch, every cOW-j0b- ay be an nd serape begin to imal gets year, wnt! ut the two y up wnt | these, an’ ges excel on foutet “ofa ho0k bled \ ‘found lose, between the skull-bone and the skin NEAT CATTLE. 515 published in the name of‘Rowlin, a cew-doctor, may be easily and safely eradicated by the following ‘method: the animal being two or three weeks old, the embryon horns, just beginning to grow, may be pees| in the form of a gristly substance, softer than horn, and more compact than the skin: dissect these out, on each side, without cutting to the bone: sear up with an iron, just hot enough to stop the blood, and if the calf goes abroad, cover with a plaister of pitch. That the vigour of the bull, and the ram, lasts but a few years, is owing to the early free use made of it, which is, doubtless, most advantageous. A cow, constantly well-wintered, would milk even to her sixteenth years and an ox would probably la- bour to nearly that period; granting them of great excellence in their way, it would be, no doubt, pro- fitable to keep them on, as instances have not been wanted, of very fat Ae rh-flavoured beef at four- teen years old. Great caution should be used, that cattle do not become hoven by gorging themselves, suddenly, with clover, or other succulent food; when it has ‘ happened, the remedies are well-known, amongst Fr tten, the flexible tube, sold by M‘Dougale, in London; this may be intro- duced into the ae. Where the QUARTER which should not be for EVIL is frequent, or‘apprehend ed, amongst the young cattle, I should hope, that occasional bleed- ings, setons, and alterative, or purging balls, or wa- ters, would entirely prevent the malady. SS ee eee wisaria anne 516 NEAT CATTLE. My memory having been of late refreshed, by the inspection of various cow-cases, it may not be improper to throw out a few hints for the use of persons concerned in the business of the dairy. The rout 1n tHE Foor originates generally in the irritation of continual dirt and nastiness be- gtween the claws; occasionally, in constitutional grossness or impurity, and may then be compared with running thrushes in the horse. Prevention consists plainly in cleanliness, and taking care that cows, which have a dirty layer, are often driven into the water; but where the foul is suspected to be commencing, manual labour will be absolutely ne- cessary, and the more so, if there be a natural ten- dency to foulness. The disease having appeared, may be treated in the same method recommended for sheep. With some, constant care will be neces- sary. A cow leech remarked, that he had often seen heasts seized with the foul suddenly; the reason of this deception is, that the progress of the infection between the claws, may be slow and impercep- tible. Cows are apt to be foundered by long drift, and like horses, some are subject to the natural infir- mity of weak and bad hoofs: in this state, neglect- ed, they lose their milk, their bulling, and pine away all their flesh. In a confirmed case of this kind(I have now half a dozen before my eyes), there seems no better method than to turn the pa- tient into a soft and clean walk, either meadow, or straw-yard, where no other horned cattle, at least, can come near her; for being weak and helpless, they Set yh, NWEAT CAT ELE. 517 they would, according to the charitable-im pulse of sted, i nature, harass her about, and not eh gore 1aY not be her to death: there, her feet may be fiequently in- he use of spected, and the impure and irregular parisetrs away dary, carefully and tenderly from hee‘claws. In ibis enerally in case, it is too often the piace, to send forthwith tiness be. for one of those conjurors, W ho, unfortunately for titutional his neighbours and parce is destined, indeed com- ‘ompared pelled, to eat the bread of imposition; and he comes armed with his tools, to cut, and hack, and revention care that hew the poor animal’s tender feet, and perhaps to riven into render all the benignant efforts of nature ineffec- fed to be tual. itely I lately saw a remarkable case of universal Itely ne-) ral fen sheumatism: in a cow, caught, as‘l suppose, by a eared sudden: transition from warm lodging and good ended keep,,{0 the contrary. She w mebed to a skeleton; rene but receiving after, some degree of care, and plenty of keep, recc nyered.”“A-watm-bath, méthis en seen case, if attainabie, would be the most certain cure; eason ol (hae but warm and generous keep, frictions, and even nection clothing, with cordial drinks, will no doubt suc- percep- ‘ae ceed.‘Lo those who have a lively faith, and are ye ae fond.of expe-rimental practi GC. here is a fine oppor- tt, anc ae tunity der an. essay of the virtues of the metallic inti» e i tractors., oie fe* A ee© e aE I submit it to practitioners, whether, in certain and pi cases, the extraction of the placenta, vulgarly called nt this s e Ol ut the cleaning, in Cows, by antl operation, would, my eye not be advisable, yarticularly, with those which nthe have required agsistance, and have yet not cleane ele sadons numbers are yearly ruined by this rete ntion. On at 1h this head, a cow-leech remar ked to me. the danger | hel 185, to thes de Seren a eat said—— n nner a Zz—_ PB A A CE AREA TEA i= Whee ae Sl ebma edag: enaeelty Se ee la eee Oe—~ a za 518 NEAT CATTLE. to be apprehended of injury to the beast by the Operation; but such argument does not apply toa skilful and intelligent operatpr, who patiently watching nature’s efforts, would do nothing with rashness and violence. It is asserted by a correspondent, in the Annals of Agriculture, that, the smelling to carrion, or any flesh in a putrescent state, will occasion cows to SLIP THEIR CALVES: whether or not this idea be well grounded, there can be neither harm, nor much trouble, in precaution. On the indications of an approaching slip, either in cow or mare, the mischief may be obviated by timely attention: the animal to be put by itself, in a com- fortable place; warm water, with some gruel in it, nourishing mashes, and cordial balls or drinks, if they can be given without irritation. Rice mashes and gruel. Those who are advocates for the constant con- finement of milch cows, in stalls, at high keep, with- out the allowance of any exercise, ought to be re- minded, that the animals, in such state, are occa- sionally subject to fatal disorders, of the apoplectic class. I have at different periods noticed about half a dozen of these cases: in the last bat one, I attended particularly to the symptoms,= several weeks before the death of the animal;* these were, inaptitude to motion, enormous distention of the belly, heat of the ears and breath, inflammation of the eyes, difficult respiration and groaning. It was a neighbour’s cow, and it was even betting with me, whether it would be more proper, to warn the bull, her husband, of the danger, or her proprietor: chusing & -f SHEEP. 519 Cast bye apply tos chusing the latter, I got myself laughed at, and in— patient a few days, the cow, rearing herself up suddenly, thing wit fell backward, and instantly died. She had been at dry meat. All accidents of this kind arise from de- the Anna fect of precaution. One ounce of fine een| anion, 0 aloes, in pbellendadini startin Healy ee: Oe Nectatin complaint, would, with little doubt, have prencaal the life of this cow; an out-of-the-way, whimsical, ‘- it nonsensical irregularity, of which, rather than be neither guilty, the sage owner would doubtless have pa- bn he tiently suffered the loss of hz If his dairy. t In COW by timely In a COM nel ini ON SHEEP MKS IF mashes The EWE may produce young at eighteen months old, and at that age, the RAM, or TUP, 1S ant Con: capable of generation; but with improved stock, it 3p, With: is supposed early enough, if the ewe bring produce 0 be re at the end of the second year. Sheep go with young re occa twenty weeks, and in warm climates, produce twice oplectic a year; the same effect might be obtained im this 1 about country, with several species at least, by the help of tone, I high keep, and great attention, were the measure everal atall desirable, which, for very obvious reasons, it se were, surely 1s not: they have generally one or two lambs n of the at a births but certain species almost invariably mation of produce two, and accidentally three, and even five twa. It is curious, that our largest breed, the TEES-w- ah TER, of the/North, should be the most prolific, ge- ‘the bl nerally bringing two lambs, and occasionally four pri or five. Dorsets commonly yean twins; the Ler- CESTERS chusllg, “= scape ae tn or a Zz ie ist a=—<—————*— Re Sentence — ee~: Ste eal _ TN SHEEP. CESTERS, and their rivals the Soutg Downs, about one-third twins. 9 ae The usual tuppine season is from August to Michaelmas; but it is otherwise with the Dorsets, which supply the markets with house-lamb. I know of no natural impediment to the ewes receiv- ing the ram at any time of the year; the difficulties on this head are to be attributed, I believe, to the labour of driving and folding, and to poor chil- ling keep. Ellis, although an excellent practical writer on sheep, and a man of sound understand- ig, but abominably tedious, shewed himself a very poor physiologist, in his famous secret for forcing ewes to take the tup; to harass them about with dogs, until, from fatigue, they would stand still to urine! To those who desire to bring their ewes in, at any particular season, I would recommend to confine the ewe, as is practised with the mare; those forced embraces are known to be successful with the latter animal; and[ have other reasons to make no doubt but they. would be equally so. with the former. The ewe should, however, be in full health, and‘good keep; and, perhaps, allowed a little corn, or other nourish- ing food previously. The improved method is, to keep the tup by himself, at least with only a female or two to quiet him, introducing the ewes in succession. Fifty or SIXty ewes are. as many as should be trusted to a shearling, or young ram: a full-aged tup will suffice double the number. The ram and ewe are kept for breeding four or five years. Sheep first shed and renew two TEETH, at fifteen months sao) SHEEP. 521 IWS shes Se months old, and again every year, until the third, Ate when their mouths are full; but it isa matter of dis- he: Dorsehs pute, whether’ they cast only SIX OF all the eight ‘ths fore-teeth.° The: curious technical phraseology of amd,|:‘‘ ae s a the old’shepherds‘is’‘still;'in good part, retained: hi according to Ellis,“ the first yeara WETHER LAMB; ifficulties second year, a two-toothed rac, or puc; the third oe year, a sHER-RUG,(shear-hog); the fourth year, a en six-toothed waTHer; the fifth, a full-mouthed one. ractical An EWE-LAMB, the first year; the second an EWwE- stand: PuG, or TAG, with two broad teeth; the third, a imselt a THAIVE, or four-toothed; the fourth, an Ewe, or secret for six-toothed; the fifth, full-mouthed.” At present, ass them weaned Liga heat oe strange name of hogs; we- would ther, or ewe-hogs; and the age 1s reckoned from bring th dishikristesionie Sheek wo aieay?&c. would Lamps are generally weaned in three months, the wractised males having been castrated early, unless in case of known great weakness, when the operation is better defer- [ have redawhile. After weaning, the dams may be milk- y would ed two or three times, to ease their udders. . should, The well-known method of disposing of this oy; and, kind of-stock, are in the shape of GRAss-LAMB, ngutish- HOUSE-EAMB, WETHER, and EWE-MUTTON, of va- sthod is, rious ages, according to the interest and conveni- h onlya nce of the#feeder. the ewes Rie re FEEDING sheepat home, inopensheds, Fits littered yards, or upon any convenient spot, I can = i entertain ne doubt of the profit, since it has been mber. Th often enough proved in this country; invariably tt on some parts’ of the continent. These animals, ae Lj loving a short and fresh bite, it issupposed by some, Pic, they would not fatten, in the grass season, upon or meat ! := ee a,,_ Z— a “a_ ama some ga ee nome ee Lie! SHEEP. Qt meat ready cut; but during the winter, they would have been inured to the custom; attention ntight be paid to giving them their food as fresh as possible, and to allow them sufficient exercise upon any cleared grounds. Being always, as it were, in hand, under constant inspection, they would be within reach of Immediate assistance; not would there be a fiftieth part of the usual danger from the fly, the scab, goring, the rot, and all those numerous maladies to which this precarious stock js constantly lable. The flock amounting to thousands, they might be divided, subdivided, and stationed into as many yards, or folds, on different quarters of the farm, as convenience might demand. Against COTTING, Of HOME-FoLDING sheep in the winter, a practice so ancient and well-establish- ed in Herefordshire, I have never heard or read one single valid objection. As to turning out these poor, delicate creatures, to bring forth in a state of misery and starvation, amidst the snows and deluges ef winter, upon the bleak heath or marsh, coolly calculating how many per centum, ewe and lamb, we shall Jose, and how stoutly they will starve; It 1s a practice barbarous as bull-baiting, and silly as pricking in the belt, They are kept to be fed, and they would never pay better for feed, than inthe winter; during which, the loss, instead of thirty per cent. too oftenthe case, would, pro- ‘bably, not exceed one, the flock going to summer- keep, in full health, and double the worth of starve- Ings. A large sheep will make a load of dung in the winter. FoLpINeg, a _— EE ee SHEEP. 523 ‘ey nny FoLpDING, asa general plan, does not belong to OM Might the improved practice, nor matters it how soon the a8 Possible plan be abolished. There is nothing but the ex- Upon aly; pence of cartage and spreading manure, to set It were, j against the inevitable damage done to the sheep, ’ Would be and the inferior quantity, quality, and condition of nor would the dung. Manure the object, more might be ob- nee from tained from keeping the hes p at home, the animals | those improving the while, instead of being injured in Tow stock wool and carcase, by travel and unwholesome lay- wnting to ers. Partial folding on the lands difficult of acces baiided, may be of use; oe these living dung-carts may well earn their keep. Where pedetane com- mons are hard stacked, it is always worth a far- mer’s while to take his sheep, or cattle, home at night; the dung and improvement pay the night’s folds, On nvenience ep 11 a ieee! and the attendance rer Woot, although a very important, is but the it second object, It may be said to depend on soil, f co a since‘we always find a long, coarse, and heavy ai a fleece, in low grounds and rich marshes; and the ai or contrary on high lands, bearing a finer, but less nutritious herbage. Climate seems to have less ef- fect; for fine wool, as well as fine bone, is found in the extremes of warmand cold. There can be no doubt, that having our flocks more at home, with- in command, and better fed, would increase the quantity, and acd the condition of our national stock of.wool: this must happen, indeed, merely tum, ewe they will I-baiting, re kept 10 ar for feed, SS, insteat would, pi from the number of lives which might be annually tO sume saved. Granting we cannot grow fine wool enough, eth of star our true policy would be to export our coarse, tak- 4 of do ing fine in return; a measure which must surely have Fy DING, 524 od SHEL P.. have the effect of increasing the quantity, both of “Swool} and fea but greedy and blink-eyed mo- nopoly will not suffer even iselh to be benefited, if the ge ore must also partak To eae ourselves Te of foreign sup- ply, we must increase the aggregate quantity of our own wools, but particularly of the fine. It is, then, an object of national concern, to obtain, as soon as may be, a considerable quantity of the best Spanish stock; and very late intelligence gives great en- couragement to this speculation. Citizen Lastey- rie, in aletter to the Societé Philomatique, in France; has fully confirmed, from facts, the opinion of our Dr.. Anderson. Spanish sheep, bearing the finest wool, live and thrive in the most marshy grounds and rigorous climates;‘in Holland, and in Sweden, the wool ree remained unchangeable to the fourth generation. Some of the Spanish sheep, bearing the finest fleece, are of great size. Shearing Saceaa in cold weather, is a cruel and unprofitable practice; ifany thing be saved In the wool, much more is lost in the mutton; nor will the London butchers, now upon their guard, give Some sheared sheep have died in the late cold wea- ther, absolutely glandered, and the flesh in a very bad state. Putting humanity out of the question, (and the sufferings of the poor animals,‘notwith- standing their Rance jackets, are pitiable), twice so much per stone for sheep in that condition. shearing will never pay, Midsummer is the most proper season for sHEEP- SHEARING, in this country.‘The. sheep. being washed, should remain a few days, in a clean rick- yard ity, hat Bh 3 we eS i tite But SHEEP. 523 NK-fyed ed My. be bene yard, or dry pasture, and the shearing should, by no means, be made a scene of drunken and foolish jollity, as is the case in some parts, when the crea- Nat tures are hauled about in a careless and boisterous bit i: way, besides being frequently wounded with: the ear shears. Extra pay should be given, on condition eo, of the liquor being Kept out of the way until the .f conclusion of the business. A caution is also ne- treat en cessary against the knowing follies, quackeries, and tricks of’ shepherds, a mulish and conceited race, full brothers, in blood, to leeches, grooms, and far- ee. riers. Wool, kept dry, may be preserved any ip een length of time. aaa The sheep is of a nature wonderfully irritable 1oieden, and timid, which is the real cause of that stubborn- the fourth ness, so distinguishable in the species; it is, at the » DearINS same time, a caressing anime e extremely attached to a kind shepherd, and will| Ber k his hands and a cfuel and face, with great fondness; it me even great re- in th gard for his own dog, which it will distinguish, ror will and ety approach, at an) time, having been ard, give properly used. Hence the necessity of the utmost ndition.. patience of temper, in a shepherd, and the use of old wea- a dog be a trained in a way to do his duty, yin a Very without béing a constant terror to the flock. A e questi0 west eetndea suspicion ot pelea lying is, notwith a gansta dog, he eae to be instantly shot. No ble), twice man.in the, present times, wo uld, sural have re- course to Hie barbarous ordeal of,former days, a for SHEE when, besides, inthe insane su ipposition of witch- ep bei craft, they buried the harmless sheep alive! EI- rick lis, with much sang froid, or approbation, relates, vard that a stupid barbarian, in his days, who, one would y SR. ees ieinneereemeae ataninaiiibabdinacs= a RS OIA OTT aA *26 SHEEP. would suppose, had received a West-India edu- cation, hung up a poor suspected dog alive, by the heels, two hours, in order to ascertain, by his vomiting, whether he had eaten mutton; but the© supposed culprit proved innocent, and the tragedy was succeeded by, in my opinion, a very plea- sant comedy: the dog, on being released, instantly flew upon the miscreant, and tore him nearly to pieces. The business of suckling HovsE-LAmss, des ) pends entirely on being provided with good keep; by the aid of which the commodity may be pro- duced either at Christmas, or any other period, the year round. The Dorset ewes, and those of Wilt- ee shire and Hampshire, had an exclusive preference | for this purpose, long before the days of Morti- mer; but I should suppose any other species, of convenient size, equally well kept, would succeed equally. The early grass of the watered meadows of Dorset, is supposed highly instrumental in bring- ing the ewes forward, an effect which might be produced with equal certainty, on a good soil, by cabbages, carrots, and hay. Sucking-lambs, like calves, should be kept very clean with straw, in their pens, and suckled every three or four hours, throughout the day; and I think Mr. Duckst’s practice, who does more largely in this way than any one else, of suffering the ewes to sleep with their lambs by night, ismuch the best. It was the prac- tice formerly, to give the lambs corn and fine hay, which may be very advantageous with the weakly: oatmeal, fine pollard, and ground malt, or wheat- meal, are proper. The ewes, rather than be suf- fered ee cicaee SHEEP. 5271 India édy fered to decline in condition, must be allowed a Ig alive, by little corn; and Dorsets, and I believe all other tain, by bi sheep, well kept, will take the ram a few days after M; Dut the bringing forth; missing the first time, they may suc- the tragedy ceed at the next return of their heat, which is in | Very plea. about ten days. d, instantly Ihave known lambs very successfully suckled by \ nearly t cows; anda young tup so brought up to great size and beauty; much to the annoyance of the cow- Anas, des house moralists, who stigmatized the practice as ood keep boldumptious, and as flying in the face of God Al- ry be p10 mighty.- ping ihe I must make so free with Mr. Culley, as to bor- sof Wilt row his synopsis of the different breeds of British Eke sheep; at the same time recommending his obser- Tis vations on live stock, to all concerned therein, as the best practical view of the cattle of a country, which has ever appeared in this, or, I believe, ia any other language. ecies, of i succeed meadows in bring: ee might pe ae AOS YNOPRSTIS patty Ut plo slvoz Goaen ann ooon ns JOO jo voNd Het wiley fe? C9 ON C9! im ot HE ee KARO MDAA AN oom Auojjoo suy*«=*« SttOlvAsImofoD**(0771p - 3,<2' op.** Sse] puesooejunp**-ojMp JOOM}IOYS OU“SBo] pur soovy oITYM*+ OFIIP * joo j40Y8“ssa] pur soovy popyoods* suroy ou [OOM such osivoo we” 35) top.**-e;71p JOoM jJOYs ouy‘s8oy pue soovy youtq‘suroy ose] Toe te Ope saP] pur seovy Kons 35. O}}ID yoom}ioysouyhioA+)*** OVIP* suIOY OU *. yoom zio0ys auy pp occeee cain SOTA ED i~ O}Ip**pouroy O}JIP suso0Y]]euUis * JooM Buoy* sso] pue soovsoytyM* surOY OU $3) . "© puepneys pooryung " + YOIMpIO FY *"QyeOH * UMOG-YINOg DIYS P1OJOIO FY * QIHYs}asIOG <=* TOOUIX] VN Joounled * JOyEM-SOO| * ouTysujooury *2,! NIVLIGUG LVAXD NI dAIHS AO S(IAAT LNITTAALT SI GH L 10 SISCONAS V Pl EI GL If OL OF 1 O rw OO DD mam OQ SHEEP, 529 | To this concise chart of our mutton and wool, ee may be added the improved Gloucester, and the maha Staffordshire Cannock-heath sheep, both sorts high- ly worthy of recommendation: the first, being a ah" Cotswold, enlarged by a Warwick, or old Leices- dat, ter cross, making full-sized,-well-flavoured, and Ben.| profitable carcases of mutton; the latter not unlike ai the South Downs, and highly improvable. It were a ss a pity the old rEEs-warer, our largest and most prolific breed, should be suffered to become ex- EUR: tinct, since, notwithstanding their size, they have ene fine bone, and their flesh is fine grained; they have good backs and loins, and need no other im- provement, but shortening their legs, which may be effected without any cross. The Dishley tups will prove an excellent improvement to all coarse and leggy sorts, which are bad thrivers; whilst, in my opinion, the Dishley-sheep themselves stand in need of a judicious cross. It is somewhat remark- able, that almost all memory of the Tees-water sheep is worn out amongst the London butchers; but nine out of ten of them, I have reason to be- : lieve, prefer, in their own phrase,“a good old Lin- 3 coln.” If it be a national object, to promote a larger growth of our own fine wools,{which seems to be the case, at least during the existence of the wool-monopoly), the end would be attained by in- creasing the breed of the best Hereford, Dorset:, and Downs; all which species, in their present state, give a good carcase of mutton; but should iF we attempt to enlarge that carcase by crossing, the quality of the wool would be infallibly re- 7 duced, as it happened with the Cotswolds. It nd MM would = COLtOn.,=a: fine Thy wool clit t« 530 SHEEP. would be a great gratification to me, to hear of an experiment made upon the Sussex Downs, with the Shetland, and dun-faced sheep of the North, bearing the fine cottony wool, which rivals that of Spain: theif fine delicate mutton’ would find its utmost value in the neighbourhood of the me- tropolis. The ror in sheep, is known by the dullness of the eyes, the livid whiteness of the gums, foulness of the teeth, ill scent of the breath, and the easiness with which the wool may be pulled of. I have seen sheep in the last stage, when their horns would come off with the slightest pull. Signs of health:—jme azure eye, florid, ruddy eye-strings and gums, sweet breath, skin red on the brisket, wool fast, feet cool.“The rot is, orrather is occasioned by, a dropsy, Sut SENETIS, common to sheep and rabbits, and I believe to deer. I have had young rabbits affected with it, when the lymph or water has distilled from their mouths and noses: andondissection, I have found it filling up: the entrails,and even extravased.in the chest and belly; the liver, also, full of flukes, as'in sheep. Sheep, it is well known, acquire this fatal disease from super-abundant moisture of food, or- wet lodging, from perspiration obstructed by cold, from distress and low keep; and various other causes: Sheep are a species which require dry countries, dry. lodging,.and food, if succulent, rather of a warm and spirituous, than a cold and watery nature. They are not the stock for clayey or unsound soils. An incipient rot may: be stopped, and the sheep re- stored, by being taken up to dry lodging, and drying absorbent keep; but the disease confirm- ed, ——EE Se GQ eee a™‘ macnmensailans.=—= ar a ' SHEEP, 58f ar of ay ' ed, is obviously incurable. Saintfoin, burnet, or 18, With::;°. \ Jucern-hay, straw, green broom, pine-tops, Jjuni- North,: bi per, worm-wood, the mints, thyme, sage, rue, car- wpe duus; with ground-malt, pease, or oats, and bran, tnd is or chaff, in which may be mixed bay, or com- he me: mon salt, willow, or oak-bark, according to symp- toms, the animals scouring, or otherwise, are the sof the remedies. High-fed, and tampered tups, should tof the have, occasionally, their water impregnated with 5 woth purging salts, and mashes, or scalded bran. The 1 sheep. disease called the sLoop, arising from too full and ome off intemperate feeding, is plainly to be remedied by p acure moderate retrenchment, bleedings, and, if any, by yeath, cooling aperient medicines.. In the GOGGLES;:' So e rot fatal, sometimes, in Dorsetshire, I should take the 1eris, whole flock up from their pastures, and change deer, their food, giving them such food and medicine, as on the the symptoms seemed to indicate. The rED-wa+ 5 and TER Is another termination of the dropsy, distin- ng up guished from the rot. It is sometimes epidemic: + and, the most certain symptom jis the. colour of the hep. urine. Full-aged sheep most liable. The causes, fit sudden transition from poor to high keep, eating * gat great quantities of washey, faint grass; but, more shea particularly from winter turnip-feeding, without sade dry meat.‘Turnips, from their watery nature, are ¥ a our worst winter-food for sheep. Remedy 7Re- tl move from pasture, purge and cleanse with nitre The and sulphur, either dry, in bran, or in solution with boiling-water, which may be infused in the sheep’s 5, Ad: 4 i drink; or tar-water, infusion of madder,&c. after- ee) is I|-° e di ai wards, the dry regimen, as in the rot. Bleeding ai}; e eH generally improper. In an immoderate flow of ai NNQ urine, Cy RE| ee as ABE ID BO rere 532 SHEEP: urine, lime-water. Judicious tapping, near the flank, below the wool, beneficial in all dropsical cases, where the extravasated water may be heard and. felt. In an inveterate scab, brimstone and bay-salt, or purging salts internally; externally, strong mercu- rial unction, mixed with Egyptian honey; or wash with lather of black soap, or sublimate water, lime- water, and spirits of turpentine. Same for mag- gots, fly,&c. Tstee,+ TICKS; Fs sigscllannad unction, butter and brimstone, or turpentine, cam- phorated; copperas water.‘The Foor-Ror; this arises from bruises and wounds, in passing over rough ground in travelling, folding,&c.:—prevent in time, by washing with a strong lather, bathe with brandy, or tincture of myrrh, aad put on a leather shoe. The disease confirmed, separate the diseased; cut off the corrupted parts of the foot, wash cident then apply the following water:—strong lime-wa ter, one quart, corrosive sublimate, Halen ounce, spirits of wine, eight ounces, shaken. Or Egyptian honey and brandy. GippineEss; if from weakness, oradually mend the keep, and give dry food: if the contrary, bleed, and give dao Wiss and laxatives, as above: change pasture. Wind, chiefly from cold after shearing: two, three, or more table- spoonsfull of siciae wine, in warm old beer, or gruel, to be repeated; warm, but no- cold’ water, Secldou bran. Or boil Glauber’ s salts, two ounces, in a pint of water, till dissolved; add one quarter- ounce of jalap, and a glass of gin; ao ve a quarter- pint, sweetened with coarse sugar, shaking well, every hour. This last remedy ee also be“useful for \ lear{he }’ abda tinal JLUDSICA 3 op IU) de heard ‘salt, or - Merc: or wash ) v. I mag horated ie, Caln- IT; This ng over prevent 1 clean, me-Wa- OUNCE, SHEEP. 533 for gorged, or hoven, cattle. It has been rematked by one or two grazers, that it is. not:the wet,. or dewy state of te herbage, which does the mischief, in this case, according to the old opinion: I am clear it is not; but the quantity merely, or the stale quality, if mowed; the stomach isso filled and dis- tended, as to be incapable of contraction, and of its usual functions. For wounps, mix tar, turpen- tine, fresh butter, and a little brandy. Lambs should be kept perfectly clean behind, and under the belly; and, particularly, ewes should be well-trimmed and cleaned in the udder. Infine, the fleece of the whole flock ought to be ina neat, clean, and sighty condition. With good winter- care, SMEARING, OF SALVING Can be of no use. For the purpose of marking, Sir Joseph Banks has invented a metal, from w high the wool receives no damage. nee already hinted at the facts stated by a ce- lebrated Frenchman, respecting SPANISH WOOL; the facts are farther, or rather fully confirmed, by an official advertisement, of May 24, 1800, from Lucien Bonaparte, Minister of the Interior, in France, which at the same time, gave notice of a sale of two hundred and twenty ewes and rams, of the finest-woolled Spanish breed; part of the stock kept on the NATIONAL FARM of Rambouillet; also of two thousand pounds of superfine wool, being the present year’s clip of this national stock; and of one thousand, three hundred pounds of wool, the produce of the mixed breeds of sheep kept at the menagerie at Versailles. According , padilinidenbeee de ee>» ae TMT a ie eee eee= SS NE saa Ep AERA TRS ee a 534 SHEEP. According to this official statement, the Spanish breed of sheep that produce the finest wool, intro- duced into France thirty years ago, has not mani- fested the smallest symptom of degeneration, /al- though the district, in which they have been kept, is not the most proper for sheep: this is proved by samples of the finest wool, brought from Spain in 1786, still preserved. The sheep sold annually from this flock have ex- ceeded the expectation of the purchasers. Weight of the fleeces, from six to twelve pounds each(supposed unwashed, or in yoke); the ram fleeces heavier. Common-bred sheep, crossed by a Spanish ram, produce fleeces, double in weight, and far more valuable than their own: the cross being conti- nued, by thorough-bred Spaniards, the wool of the third, or fourth generation, is nearly equal to pure Spanish. z These mixed breeds kept as easily, and fattened as cheaply, as the common breeds of the ey: The speculation of i improving the wool of France, by the introduction of Spanish sheep, is now fully proved and realized, and all question or contro. versy on the subject, at an end. The amelioration of wool, at Rambouillet, has made so great a progress, that in a circle from twenty-four to thirty-six miles in diameter, the ma+ eda purchased thirty-five thousand pounds f wool, improved by two, three, or four crosses. Those who wish to accelerate the amelioration of their flocks, by introducing into them ewes of this improved t Do) JX Tore; SHEEP. UO. improved sort, may find abundance to be purchased in that neghhall irhood, at reasonable rates. Annals of Agriculture, No. 199, p. 291. I refer the reader to the same number of N Young’s Annals, for what is doing by ae in our own country, in‘this important article of na- tional economy. The king has been pleased to give away to different persons who undertook to try experiments; by crossing, more than one hun- dred rams and some ewes; and this year, with the view of national improvement in wool, his Majesty is pleased to permi‘t some rams and ewes to be sold, at reasonable prices, namel Y> five guineas,e each the rams, and two guineas the ewe The rams to be delivered at Windsor, the ewes at Weybridge, Sur- rey. Letters on the business to be addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, Soho Square, London. The mutton of the Spanish sheep was always eX- ‘cellent, but their shape varies from our ideas of symmetry; they are, however, plainly improvable in that respect. After this, there can be no farther room for argument, let us, in imitation of the exam- ple set us by out‘neighbours, proceed, without tar- ther Joss of time, to practice. In the rot, Dr. Darwin advises, fora sheep, SIX vy grains of iron filings in a flour- ball, to be given ever norning fora Ww cele with salt es ee e af the respect due to such an cae Ihave a good opinion of the efficacy of this remedy, for rea- sons which would be out of pli ice here ae is pro- bable, alonger continuance o! f the die ,may, 1 many cases, be requisite, sometimes perhaps with a reduction of quantity in the dose, ON “Oo 936 SWINE, he hi u ON SWINE.; Y SWINE are ready for procreation at seven months\ old; butthe male is unprofitable for that use, unti! twelve, and is in his prime at two years. In gene-, ral, the age of swine is little attended to, but that|: they are seldom kept for any purpose, until they: areold. The sow goes nominally four months, or 115 days, with very few days variation, bringing three litters, of from five to twelve pigs each litter, in about eighteen months, supposing the pigs to be weaned; but in two or three months, less time, the( pigs being suckled for roasters. Nine is an ad-{ vantageous number; and it is generally, perhaps,. as profitable to remove, as to suffer the sow to be drawn low, by suckling any more. The number of the teats is a common rule. I generally have the pigs castrated, at seven weeks old, suffering them to remaina week after with the sow, in which time all those in health are recovered, and fit to be weaned: any, casually hurt by the operation, (which seldom happens with a good cutter), may continue awhile longer. This, however, in one respect, may be a disadvantageous practice, pre- venting the sow from“ hogging,” or being seiz- ed with her heat, which is always induced by the reflux, or turn of the milk. All the pigs being 7 weaned at once, and the sow shut up in a secure) place, with her usual good food, her heat will, in three or four days, be sufficiently manifest, by her es, sot ait. a, ee A TE I LE TSE RT I I er SWINE. BO her loud groaning noise, and other signs. After having received the boar, let the sow be again shut up, a few days, until her heat be perfectly extin- guished. Having conceived, she will shew no more ie signs of ee until within a few days, perhaps ies hones of Haein forth; and the indication ought ee then to be particularly attended to. Ih O° LatTE-WEANED Piss» or young broods of chick-‘ Y a ens, as I have experienced, by the loss of hundreds une} of adh sort, will not ere n this ¢ soavg aes the pea sow’s hogging should therefore be sui ffe ered to pass, inging when the pigs would have to be weaned on the ap- hitter, proach of. winter; they should be at least three s tobe months old, to be able to encounter the severities e, the of that season, otherwise, even the warmest room in ad- the house would, sometimes, not secure them. Laps, Sucking-pigs stand the winter much better than the tobe late-weaned: and should a sow farrow at, Christmas, imber the litter, with warm and generous keep, may be have very successfully reared, and weaned in the opening fering| of spring. ih In-pic Sows should have wash of some kind, ft to twice a day, and they may then be made to shift tion, upon cabbage, carrots, turnips,&c. with what they can forage in the fold-yard in winter; in summer there ought to be no want of aes Asa genera] rule, for both these and stores, their food ought to be sufficiently good and slentifal to impart a elles to their coats, and to give them heart enough’ to bark upon any-alarm. I well understand, and have =] + c “POTS BAIA a parc pennant SEE) i WU 4» a ee often tried, during paroxysms of experimental ma- ge nia, the plan of starvation, or ke eping them hard, as iL Wy zal. ey It if y Sg 538 SWINE. it is called: it will succeed only a few times; but: oe for reasons independent of that, I shall never re-{0 peat it.: slu ry° a* Ww The scw becoming heavy, from her pregnancy,| should be ledged by herself at night; at least with- Hl out the company of young stores, which, in cold th weather, will be sure to lie upon her belly, and may 49 cause her tolose her pigs; this caution is. indispen- t( sable when her time approaches, since were she to pig amongst other swine, they would infallibly de-— h vour her offspring as fast as it appeared. The par-. P ticular care of the swine-herd ought to commencea i! full fortnight before the reckoning of the sow; her tt increasing bags of milk, and at last of all, decrease; n in the size of her belly, perhaps sleepiness, with. of other well-known symptoms, will indicate, with suf- Wi ficient plainness, that her time is at hand. n Let no one be persuaded, by the indolent and a ii plausible reasons of his servant, to leave a pigging. sow to shift for herself; because, although she may| q not be given to devour her pigs, she may lie down me| 6 upon them, and crush them to atoms, if she be. a i restless during her Jabour, or cannot place them to‘i her mind; and in this way, several pigs of a‘litter: are usually lost: it 1s, therefore, better for the swine-:| b herd to attend with a hamper, to secure the pigs| h occasionally, and to place them at last, m a sate| A situation, at the teats. This should be repeated| p hig several days, at feeding-time, or whenever the sow d is perceived upon her legs, until the pigs become r..{ strong enough to secure themselves.‘The pigging- Ber house should be warm, and secure from the inroads ti Or 3 and ‘st Ni SWINE. 539 of foxes and polecats, which I have often known to make free with a sucking-pig, during the heavy slumbers of the sow. I could never yet please myself in a piccine- HOUSE; the sows are always in danger of crushing their pigs against the walls: this they will do also against the floor, if you allow too little straw; if too much, and too long, they will bury the pigs un- der it: a medium, and the straw short, are best. I have lined the wall with furze, in order to keep the sow in the middle of the stye, to no purpose; but intend to try. something of an inclining or project- ing rail, around the walls, under which the pigs may escape. I have had ten pigs, out of 4 litter of fourteen, crushed to death by the sow, which would not move, even whilst a pig was squeak- ing under her, until it could be heard in the dwell- ing-house. Sows which devour their pigs, or which are so excessively inclined to fat, as to be in- dolent nurses, giving besides an insufhcient quantity of milk, should never be tried a second time: the teats of some are so large and coarse, that the young can with difficulty draw them. A sow should have a deep and large carcase; and there are some lank- bellied, store-like sows, which are little worth, as breeders: but the having once a scanty litter, is no objection; since it may be merely accidental, or probably occasioned by the want of age, in the sow or boar.; The sow’s wash should be warm and nourishing, at first; as to the composition, wherever skimmed milk is to be had, that, doubtless, enters into it. and pollard is the common food, enriched, occa- sionally 540 SWINE. sronally perhaps, with a small quantity of some kind of meal. In the defect of milk, the wash is made of pollard and water, with, or without any addi- tion. Respecting the question of the practicability of breeding pigs to advantage, independently of the dairy, there really never was any question:: the far greater part of the Hampshire and Berkshire pigs particularly, are reared upon pollard, with the trif- ling addition of the house and dairy wash, which, on some farms, is very trifling. The cottage-breeder, (and I have purchased very fine pigs from such), rears entirely on pollard.: The sow may be let out to air herself as soon as she desires it, and at her own discretion afterwards. On changing her bed,(and the utmost cleanliness is necessary), remove the pigs, until the sow shall have turned over, and cross-examined the fresh straw, which she will infallibly do, and in doing which, may be very likely to bury and. crush some of the pigs. Skimmed-milk and pollard, make nourishing wAst; but, in case inferior slop be used, or water only, one third good meal is necessary. Let me repeat, it is scarcely possible to keep a milch-ani- mal too well, waste or intemperance being guarded against. Tallow a suckling-sow slop victuals twice a day, and half a peck of carrots,(in their season,) with one pint of pease or beans, as a middle-feed. soiled potatoes are very bad, asa sole dependence, in this case, for they run through the sow too quick, and produce poor milk; they are equally bad for the young pigs, which soon learn to feed, not only scouring them, but daubing and gluing them up“a the <= — te 4 SWINE. 541 me ku} ie the eyes, matting their‘coats, and: much impeding mal} their thrift.. Young pigs should not be put upon a, Y potatoes, either boiled or raw, until three months ee old; when, having been properly weaned, it is not ni a a trifle which will hurt them. aly es Any of the litter, appearing under-s! ized, con- cote; sumptive, and weak, perhaps unable to reach the wikia upper story of teats, or to contend at all for their whic, food, had much better be taken away, and brought reece, up by hand. Being first drenched with a little horn, 1 such} or suckled by the ue of those who do not re- gard a few eye-let nati s being made in them, the SOON as pigs will soon Jearn to drink‘ele aed milk, blood ward warm. This, by the bye, and for especial occasions, uiness and over-notable fol Iks; for I believe few will BE shall inclined to take upon them the troublesome office tresh‘of wet-nurse to a litter of pigs. J have yet seen, domng at different times, as many as a score of good stores, ) some which had’ been thus reared. Some few sows{ have known to secrcte a milk so exceedingly thick ishing and glutinous, as absolutely to, poison the pigs, water which would drop off, one or two at a time.“The tmé sows are of a heavy, lethargic habit, foul about the h-alll- ears, and of a scabby, or scrophulous appearance arded in the face al eyes.<2 his meine quality of the twice milk, I know, from one or two instances, is not con- oas0l, fined to brute animals. o-feed The pigs coming too late in the season,\lt 1s best dence,: to fatten them for ROASTERS, the only case, I think, -quich in which roasters can possibly pay, in the country + As soon as the sucklers, intended for weaning, have “i learned to eat, and are i to take the el in.: Ny weather, with the sow, it is of great service, both rhe tO 542 SWINE to themselves and the sow, to allow them corn daily, oats, barley, or pease; and this may be thrown to quiet them in the absence of the dam. After WEANING, one month, at least, of delicate feeding, warm lodging, and care. Milk and pol- Jard stand first, among the articles of food; but pol- lard and house-wash, with linseed jelly, will wean very successfully: feed three times a day, twice with the above; at noon, with hard corn. It is money very improvidentially saved, which is only another phrase for throwing money away, to give weaning pigs loose, rot-gut ronaiable trash, under the notion of bringing Hein up vhaed. On sToRE-MANAGEMENT, the first object is keep. Wash may be made a number of different ways, and of various articles. Potatoes, meal and linseed, boiled, make rich and excellent wash: meal and cold water alone, will make good drink for pigs. Much has been said, and little understood, about purposely souring food for hogs. It is not that aci- dity can possibly tend to pinguefaction, but that it has been found that pigs will readily fatten upon acid, or rather acescent food, a sweetish taste, and glutinous quality succeeding fermentation; and that they will do so, still more readily, upon such as has never reached the acid state, I know, and have seen in hundreds of instances. Is a proof wanted? How much more speedily do the country hogs feed upon sweet, and unfermented food, than those of the starch-house upon the fermented and subacid wash, however rich? I say subacid, for did not the Starch-makers‘run off a great part of the really sour, they would kill, instead of fatten, their hogs; in SWINE. 543 Orn daly,©= 1 J wae in fact, I have known hundreds of the strongest HOW) f: and hardest stores so killed. am Treating of growing food purposely for pigs,[ f: exclude all consideration of the barn-doors. If an De the rough-meat be of the unsubstantial:kind, such _as cabbages, or turnips, corn is absolutely reces- . van sary; and even when carrots and potatoes are pro- 3“ay vided, a small quantity of corn, once.a day, adds Itis to the profit of the roots, as will be discovered on only sale of the stock. Ihave great opinion of oats, for wpe all sorts of cattle, either fat or store. Beans, every , under body knows, not only make bad meat,(beef, per- , haps, excepted), but they will disagree with pigs KEEP, shut up; not, indeed, with them when running , and about. It is good practice to give stores corn in eed, the straw;‘they will be sure to thresh it well, and | and at nocost. A calculation should be made of the pigs. quantity given, which may be done with sufficient about accuracy. t acl There is no need to repeat. the particulars of hat it; what has been said, of the necessity of good warm upon lodging, for this species of stock, and of conveni- ‘aid encies for their necessary separation, in both lodg- \ that ing and feeding. Every one who has seen pigs run is has squeaking homewards, on the approach of a storm, > see or shivering about, and lying on their bellies, in How cold, wet weather, has seen much. better argu- upon ments than I can furnish him with. All swine' Mie should be well ringed in the nose, those in styes, wash, as well-as others, since they will not lie quiet to fat- it He ten, whilst they retain the power of rooting up the wll pavement. 95~The in 544 SWINE The summer is the pleasant season for pig-keep- ing, on all accounts; they will fatten much quicker, and the stores are so easily kept. It is gene- rally supposed, but I believe entirely without the ground of experiment, that pigs will not thrive upon clover, if cut and brought home to them in the yard. An absurd supposition,@ priorz, I think. L have the authority of Mr. Wynt, for saying, that they will thrive well upon tares brought to them; nor shall I doubt, but the same would happen with. clover; and the wash with which they might be supplied at home, would help them much, an im- mensity of manure would be raised, and those ad- vantages before stated with other stock, with some additional, fully experienced. As to grazing pigs, I believe it to be merely losing time, which they would spend much more profitably in eating better victuals. In case of a considerable number of this stock, it is much the safest method for the owner, and the fairest for his neighbours, to have the aaitie attended by a boy, or keeper; and they might then, without fear, be sent to any part of the farm, which may afford them provision. In the stubble, and acorn season, there is a much better plea for swine being kept abroad; but even at that time, I always prefer driving them home at night. Meavy-eared hogs are apt to have those parts cracked and sore, inthe summer, and much troubled with the flies; the ears should receive a small slit, so as to bleed, and the sore parts be anointed with a mixture of tar and turpentine. Soiling hogs on green tares, has had the greatest possible success in Herefordshire. The reason of My. —————E ee= a NE pais oe Fae= a ate ee A“ tl—,= SWINE.” 545 inkes Mr. Young’s different experience in soiling, some Aucke years ago, originated, I have reason to believe, tom in the bad quality of the stock. Suffolk pigs thout the are extremely tender, and require the best food. ); In:fack I speak feelingly, having formerly lost test considerable sums, by suffering myself to be per- i suaded by a servant, native of Norfolk, to feed ‘f Norfolk and Suffolk pigs. Excepting the case of a general overflow of pig- stock, in the country,(an event, which, from the se: facility with which pigs may be multiplied, usually oF happens every third or fourth year), there are the following items in favour of breeding: five months pigs may be bred from five to ten shillings a head cheaper, on an average, than they can be purchas- PRS, ed; and the buyer not being situated in or near a breeding district, may meet with great difficulty Detter in procuring well-bred pigs, an object of the first ofthis consequence in store-feeding, and so well under- woer,| stood by the farmers of the Hundreds of Essex, that they have annually, about Michaelmas, consider- t then, able numbers purchased for them, in Herefordshire which and Shropshire; these go into Essex some shillings and=f under five crowns a head, and are sold, the follow- swine!- Ing year, out of the clover and stubbles, to the Lon- always don salesmen, at three to four guineas each. Suc- rant cess in feeding store-pigs for market, depends al- Fa oct most entirely, on obtaining, either by breed, or aay purchase, stock of good shape and growth. Stores, iH from four months old upwards, seldom fail to be articles of very ready sale, twice a year, at least; yearlings, and two-year old hogs, still more sale- Be able. a of Being no longer useful, or wanted to breed, sows Ms NN are = nets ea 546 SWINE. are, in course, spaded, a business of no kind of danger in skilful hands, and with care taken, that the animal. be empty, and not hogging. It is best performed whilst the pigs are yet sucking. I am clear from observation,(having fattened hundreds of sows together), that it is to no farmer’s inte- rest to fatten them, as they always eat more meat than clean hogs of the same weight, and produce inferior flesh, in all respects. They pay best store- fed, and at the proper season, will be sold at a good price to the London feeders. The rationale of p1c-FATTENING stands thus:— Milk and corn, the maximum both as to weight, flavour, and nutritive power in the flesh, other ar ticles may fatten, or may come in aid to corn, for that purpose, but the commodity will be deterio- rated in exact proportion; so that a man, fattening for his own consumption, and economically lower- ing the quality of the pig-meat, does precisely that of which we are all so fond, deceives himself. I have no sort of objection to any gentleman’s amus- ing himself, by making pork or bacon, with half corn and half potatoes; or even to his eating grass, clover, carrot, parsnip, or acorn-fed pork, pro- vided he can relish it. Feeding for market is a somewhat different affair; but then the superior weight of the corn, or milk-fed hogs, must be taken ‘nto the account, and therein consists the supe- riority of the country-meat, over that which 1s fed in town. Barley, or oat-meal, with one-third of that of pease, make excellent pork, or bacon, next in goodness to the milk-fed. Pigs, at meal, must have plenty of water; and when gorged, and their appe- ate” SWINE. 547 ae| appetites palled, a little sulphur, in their meat, fh| twice or thrice, will ve the inconvenience. =e The witches, as they are called in Hampshire and ees Berkshire, or sliding boards, to prevent the pigs hundred| from spoiling their meat, are very convenient. A sabia market being at hand, and the stores judiciously lore meat chosen, fattened pigs will pay a profit of from two prods to four shillings a head; bacon-hogs from four to ststore| se ten, a profit not inconsiderable, the corn expended atagood being reckoned at the market-price, cartage and market expences saved, anda great quantity of the thus best manure raised. Hogs will fatten as well loose ) weight, as confined. other a The pairy-porx of Oxford and Buckingham- orn, for shire, chiefly sent up alive to the metropolis, is su- eterio- perior to any in England, both for delicacy and ening flavour; its superiority over that of Essex and Suf- y lowers folk, arises from the quality of the pigs, affording ely that a greater quantity of flesh, or lean, and a firmer self. 1, fat; the rhind is thick, but gelatinous and nourish- 's ams ing. The suffolk and. Essex pork has too little of vith half lean, and therind is thin and hard. g grass,| The KEEP ofa sow, whilst suckling, may be Fk, pro reckoned, upon the average, at eighteen pence to ket is 4 two shillings and sixpence per week; at other times, sypeton from three-pence to one shilling: pigs weaned and pe taken cut, may be generally estimated at the cost of two he supe shillings and sixpence each; their keep, afterwards| antit pi five to eight-pence per week, until five months oid. th! i Memorandum, in October, 1790,* Two pails of i an skimmed-milk, at a meal, served well, two sows and ps: aus fifteen pigs, three months old; they had bean-meal iat: and bran, mixed, one-third of the former; after- ee, NN 2 wards, 548 SWINE. wards, cabbages and carrots, with three sheaves of beans in the straw, making about three pints of beans, twice a day, and thin wash, to a score of pigs. The pacown of the western counties, nearest the metropolis, is very excellent and economical pro- vision, and the pickled porkof certain others to the eastward, in the same degree, indifferent. This seems to be the opinion of strangers to both dis- tricts. It has been said, that the method of curing bacon, is made a secret; but that does not appear to be the case in Hampshire. The following 1s an account of a small spayed sow, fattened and made into bacon. Put up, September 20th, weight, by estimation]1 stone, of 8lb. worth 27s.: fed with pease, raw potatoes, and potatoe-wash. She eat two, sometimes three quarts of pease a day, at twice; whenever the whole of these were given at once, it glutted her, and stopped her duties: Whole ex- pence of keep,£.1. 55. Gd; sorts: od. per week, pease, at 38s. nine-gallon measure. Fasted twenty- four hours, and killed Nov. 30, sufficiently fat. Salted two days after; sides laid on the dresser, and rubbed with common salt, two or three days, to drain off the blood. Quantity of-common-salt to the whole, including offal, one peck; petre, half-a- pound; bay-salt, half-a-pound. Filled the hocks with salt. Taken out of pickle, December 26; hung up to dry 27th: first side taken down January 14th. Weight of the dried sides 23 stone, 6lb, The pickle had not thoroughly penetrated the thick- est parts. Bacon good eee but boiled. away, fat being rather jeaee from the potatoes. Of the prsEases of swine, the most fatal is styl- ed, SWINE. 5A SHE AVES of oan ed, in London, the HEAvINGs; itis an affection of it; the lungs, attended by a fever highly inflammatory, and violent panting, in the last stage. Its seldom ‘iba known in the country, and may be the consequence oe| of long drift, change of food, and confinement. ar Air and green meat would prove the best reme- ied dy. Ihave, in several instances, perceived it he- ) Ths| reditary, me OP\ It has been hitherto supposed, that the only merit oeung ff of swine, was that of eating up what would other- kgs wise be wasted; and that no more pigs could be Ving 15 20 profitably kept upon a farm, than would answer and made oy such purpose, Mortimer, and other writers, cau- eight, by tion us very gravely, to beware of entertaining too fed with many sows, lest they should multiply beyond the whe eat possibility of supplying them with food, and so be A twice; forced to devour each other’s progeny! Nothing once, It can be more erroneous, than such reasoning: that hole ex of eating up articles of waste, is only a’part of the or week, merits of swine, which, besides being a general | tyenty- stock, fit for all soils and situations, are the appro- fat priate one of some; such, for instance, as are im- and proper for sheep: nor need there be any peculia: ftodrain limits to the number kept. I never have any ob- the*| jection to a score of breeding-sows; and had ra- ihe, ther mcrease the number, than keep less. Eris The largest and best breed of swine in England, a at present, arg the Shropshire, Hereford, Glou- ea. cester, Berkshire, and Hampshire. The midland pus counties, and Lincolnshire, breed large and good ey stock, somewhat quicker feeders, than those of nF a Shropshire, also very handsome porkers. Kent, ee Surrey, and Sussex, possess an excellent race of a home-breds, for both purposes of bacon and pork. “f, The ed, _ ee a 3S ee EE 2: OOOO ae 550 SWINE. The best breeds for pork are the smaller Berkshire pigs, and the Oxfordshire, a variety of those: these are the handsomest pigs of this country. Both the Yorkshire and Shropshire stock have been much improved of late years, by a Berkshire cross, giv- ing them better loins and shorter legs. Essex, Suf- folk, and Norfolk,(part of the latter, near Lynn, excepted), have a most unprofitable breed, which nothing but indolence and the strongest prejudice could retain in those counties. It has been fashion- able to attribute a vast improvement to the intro- duction of the Chinese breed, but either on none, or very insuflicient grounds. Granting the alledg- ed improvement, we had no need of going to China, or even out of our own country for it. The truth is, I believe, that they have zo¢ improved our breed.; But for the best information on this subject, which indeed deserves great attention from all cultivators, I take the liberty to refer country gentlemen and farmers, to Messrs. William and Thomas Wynt, and Messrs. Edmund Cotteril and Sons, salesmen for pig-stock, at Smithfield, Finch- Jey, and Barnet; men of the most extensive con- cerns, and first respectability in their line: and not only respectable for their solid, indepen- dent property, but for the well-known liberality and integrity of their characters._These gentlemen have taken great pains, during the last twenty years, to improve the breed of pigs in various parts of the country, and have succeeded as far as prejudice would allow. James Sewell, Esq. a gentleman far- mer, of Sutton, in Suffolk, and a friend of Messrs. Cotteril, has, through them, obtained an improved | breed ee| eTkshin + these oth the 1 much Sf, ply. yy Su. Ly, which judice sbion- intro. none, leds. ‘hina, fr uth ui RABBITS AND POULTRY. 551 breed of pigs, which exhibits a good example, and may, in time, be the means of introducing a valu- able species into that county. ON RABBITS AND POULTRY. I have seen no warrens, but such as appeared to me, capable of proc ucing some article of the cattle-crops; and, in my-opinion, it would be much more for the interest of the country, to be supplied with rabbits fed at home, than running at large, in which state they are, in many parts, a great nuisance.. Rabbits,(I speak from experiment), are profit- able stock upon a farm, and would be so, in a'very eminent degree, were they not liable to so many casualties, and were they equally successful in win- ter assummer.‘The poe will breed at six months old, and goes thirty days. Give hay a few days before kindling, for bed. The.necessity of doe tak- ing buck immediately, mere Pater-noster-row, stuff; wean the young at six weeks, then give the buck. Young weaned rabbits to be separated, as soon as they begin to fight. Keep clean, and dry, and warm, in cold weather. Feed fresh and often. An even hand to be kept, between moist and dry food.‘The weeds commonly given them from the fields, too faint and diuretic. Give clover, cabbage, carrot-tops, endive, carrots,&c. clover-hay, pollard, oats, barley, grains. Poultry are an article of luxury, for which the little farmer never obtains an adequate price. He had better allow his wife a certain annual sum, for pin- 552 POULTRY. pin-money, than suffer her to keep these de- vourers. The best, whitest, and sweetest fleshed chickens, are the common barn-door fowls, and the game; they may be improved in size. Best breed- ers and layers, Darxinc, and Poranpers; they make large fowls, but of a yellowish, ivory white. The eee cs. or Duke of Leeds breed, the largest we had, are worn out. The Currricones, or Malay fowls, are’ very e and coarse, fit only arge eggs. Fourhens to a cock, or five at-most. Hens set tw enty-one days. eave plenty of nest-eggs when you desire them to set. Take away the se see chicks as fast as they are hatched, securing them in wool, until the whole are hatched and strong enough to be cooped. ens not to be cooped near, as they may kill each other’s chickens. Young poultry fed by themselves, or under coops, as the large are apt to tread the smaller to death. Feed the chickens ~ with split-grots, at first; afterwards with tail-wheat. ne‘a Eee Sage for soup; but they lay fine The best food for this kind, barley; to fatten them, barley or wheat-meal and milk. Boiled-barley or malt, toast and ale,&c. to make hens lay in winter. The true shape of the cocx and HEN, short-legged, and long-bodied, but plump. Ducks set thirty days. One drake to five ducks. They begin to lay in February, and must be well attended, or they will lay their eggs abroad. Duck sets over eleven to fifteen eggs. To be watched and fed when they leave the nest. When hatched, trim the down from the tails of the ducklings, feed- ing first with barley-meal and ground-malt. Water in broad dishes, that the ducklings may not go to the pond too soon, whither they must not be allow- ed To Se 5, 1UeY >) POULTRY. 553 ed to go, at their full liberty, until a month old, at Jeast. A duck, with young ones, always to be kept away from others, being allowed plenty of clean water and straw. Ducks are great devourers of any kind of victuals; but will make but a poor figure without corn. In the acorn season, they will get very fat, and do not eat amiss; fed with the offal of the slaughter-house, they acquire the colour and flavour of wild-fowl. The Ruones breed, from France, are larger, but coarser-fleshed, and not so fine-flavoured as our own; they cross well with the English breed. An exception must be made in favour of GEESE; which will graze to advantage, and make much good manure; they are, besides, useful in a farm-— yard, for giving alarm, by night. One gander to five geese, setting and management similar to the duck.——The goose carries straw in her bill, asa sign she is about to lay, and must then have a nest prepared for her. Give chopped-cabbage, lettuce, or carrots, and some corn,(oats), particularly when they set, for the young ones, chopped-clivers and meal. Not to be sent out to graze too early, and always fed before turning out, lest they wander be- yond their strength, which is the occasion of many being lost every year. Suffolk geese are as good as any. A goose fattens well on oats, in six weeks, hittered down with clean straw; if from the stub- bles in two or three weeks. Tourkiks, a staple article in Norfolk, where the good wives send their hens to some cock‘kept in the neighbourhood, to avoid the charge of keep- ing a Stallion. Hen covers eleven or‘more eggs, according to her size, and will steal a nest abroad, unless ik CAE 554 POULTRY. unless watched. Take away the chicks as fast as hatched. Feed with curd, barley-meal, ant’s-eggs‘ &c. Keep the brood up for a month, turning out» a few hours in a day; in a secure place, taking care the hen does not drag them through wet grass, she being entirely careless of them. Give skimmed- milk to drink. The practice of cold-bathing young turkies, and giving them a pepper-corn, is merely notional. Keep very clean and dry, and prevent the young from scouring, which is fatal. Gravel; boiled fiesh-meat chopped. up, is strengthening, both to young turkies and chickens. Piceons set seventeen days, and always pair, seldom laying more than two eggs. The cock and hen set alternately. They breed all the year round, in the dove-house. The small sort, called TUMBLERS, are most attached to home, and very good breeders, Feed with tares, or any corn; but they are remarkably fond of bird-seed. Keep the dove-cote extremely clean, in which pigeons much delight; sand the bottom, whitewash the walls, and place the boxes against the wall, two to each pair, out of the reach of vermin. Pigeons ought to be fed at home, that they may trespass as little as possible. FINIS. tan eS rere TC. Sm SG ee gen eI, oe a ee ag A EE TR EE r ose a~ rT aaiaisesdd- ine anicaeae : IN DE X. Tass, she rr ae CCOUNTS; Farming, and General Stock-Book, p--115. Kimnede Agents, p. 131, 2. 18 Young Agriculture Board of Communications, p. 231, 239, 429. : merely Agricultural and Commercial Magazine, Editor of, p. 371. ‘ Amos, Mr. p. 229, 296, 309. prevent Anderson, Dr. p. 178, 472, 524. Gravel s Articles, miscellaneous, p. 406. thenine Animals, domestic, their Nature and Management, p. 453—Gene- ba omeat of ral Form, 455.—Small, large, and bo 1ey, 458.—Flesh, 459.—Time to fatten, 461.—Colour of Flesh, 462,— Distinguishing Qualities, vs air 463.—Flesh of Females, 465.—Size and Growth, 468.—Improve- ; ih ment, what, 468.—Like produces like, 469.— Crossing, and breed- CC ing in and in, 470.—Cattle-medicine, 478.—The Cow with breed- e Vedt ing and rearing, 486.—Divisions of Neat Cattle, and diffe called rent Breeds, 492.—Beef and Labour, 512.—Description of the De- von, Hereford, and Sussex, 492 to 496.—G razing and Fattening, cd very 496.—Milch Cows, 502.—Keep, 503.—Suckling, 505—Butter 0; but Cows, 506.—Management, 507.—Dairy, 508.—Pig-Stock, 511.— “ Age of Neat Cattle, 514.—Castration; Extirpation of Horns, ep ine 514.—Hoven, Quarter- Evil.—Fattening to excess, 475.—Cer= ; much tain Method of Improvement, 476-478. walls, Amelioration, what, p. 279. » each Bean-culture, p. 5, 93.—Mazagan, 105.—Drilled, broad-cast, 300. d—Dibbled, 324. ougnt Borders, p. 14. ittle as Barley-culture, p. 27, 83, 87, 299, 306. Burnet, p. 31. Brank, or Buck-Wheat, p. 34, 400. Burn-baking, or Paring and Burning, p. 60, 440. Bradley, p. 201, 359, 60. Boys, Mr. p. 211, 230, 276. Blight, Mildew,&c. p. 357.—Honey-Dew, 358.—Miraculous Bar- berry-bush of Norfolk, 559.—Blight Flies, 562.—Curl in Potatoes, 362, 487.—Grub-Worm, 407. Beevor, Sir Thomas, p 415. Billingsley John, Esq. p. 419. Bailiff, p. 103. Bakewell, Mr. p. 162, 208, 47S, 494. Birch-timber, p. 271. Birds, psc ale 5s ia eS A ens Frain fae a ies RO PRN SLR DT INDEX. Birds, to frighten, p. 381. Bedford, Duke of, p. 417, 473. Banks, Sir Joseph, p. 385. Call, Sir John, p. 365, Cattle, p. 2, 14, 96, 50, 52, 96, 107, 114.—Rules in Feeding, 190.— Winter-feeding, 383.—Summer-fold, 387.—Crops for various Soils, 387. Clodding-Beetle, Devonshire, p. 336. Coppices, p. 14. Couching, p. 80. Chicory, p. 23, 395. Canary-Seed, p. 24. Clover, p. 25.—Drilled, 306, 358, 445,.—Cow-Grass, 446. Clays, p. 80, 400. Culley, Mr. p- 580, 208. Cook, Rev. Mr. p. 227.—His Drill Machine, 310.—His»Imple- ments, 316, 339.—His Opinion on Ploughs, 344.| Close, Rev. Mr. p. 314.—lxperiments, to, 321.—His Opinion on Public Savings, 316.—His Plan for Farm Servants, 404. Collett, A. Esq. 321.—His Opinion of Drilling. Cooper, Mr. on Change of Seed, p. 378. Cabbage-Culture, 10, 18, 54, 65, 92, 308, 431.—The Author’s Proposal to stack them, 390, 4753. Cattle-Crops, p- 382.—Turnip, or Cape Cabbage, 396.—Green Wheat, 396.—Green Corn hayed, 397.—Quantities required, 413.—Compared, 426.—Experiment, 447. Cotterill, Edmund and Sons, Messrs. p. 550. Carrots, p. 21, 49, 101.—Drilled, 389.—Dibbled, 399.—Carrot- Hay, 399.—To preserve, 409, 419.—Use and Application, 425. Carting, p. 237.—Wheel Carriages, 279. Culture, the Row or Drill, p. 280.—Its Advantages, 290.—Objec- tions and Replies, 291.—Simple Experiment, 336. Course of Crops, p. 354.—The Folly of Covenants in the Case, 355. - Coke, Thomas William, Esq. p. 349, 445, 473. Darwin, Dr. hisimproved Drill Machine, p. 346, 352, 372, 428. Drill-Plough, Mure’s p. 70. Draining, p. 3, 175.--Boring, or Tapping Land, 178, 401. Ditches, Water, p. 204, 252. Dibbling, p. 283, 323. Docks and Coltsfoot, p. 81. Dogs, the most useful Species in a Yard, p. 197. Duckett, Mr. p. 231.—His Practice, 579, 327, 339. Elkington, Mr. p. 178, 241. Exeter, Mr. p. 309.—His experiments, to 314. INDEX. Egremont, Earl of, p.473. : Ellison Sheep, p. 365, 512, 520, 521.—Anecdote from, 525. Fencess p. 3, 129, 240.—Wall, 244.— Fruit Fences, 240, 255.—Le ine 100 vel, 244.—Wall, 241.—Quickset, 246.—Transplanting Hedges, 242.—Plashing, 251.—Gates, 251.—Quicks, 252.—Poplar, 257. —Willow, 262.—Quicks blighted, 270. Furrows, Water, p: 15. Furze, p. 17, 398. Fallow-turnip, p. 26.—Fallows, 52, 80, 93, 105, 109.—System of, De . ’ Fruit, p. 94. Fern, p. 95. Farms, hiring and stocking, p. 121. Fans, Machine, 216. Fuller, the Rey. Mr. 418. 8 np. Fold-Sheep, p. 74, 79, 93, 100, 110.—Home-Fold, 190. Kog, or Autumnal Grass, p. 92, 389. Generation equivocal, p. 37]. Grasses, p. 28, 75, 96, 431.—Names and Characters of the principal English, 437.—Laying-down, 435.—Quantities, 440. Field-Garden, p. 411. Gibbs, Messrs. Seedsmen to the Board, 403, 436. Game, p. 150. —Green cuir Hemp, p. 36. Hops, p- 45, 60, 94. Harrowing, p. 48, 237. Baritt Hoeing, p. 48, 53, 79, 91.—Hand and Breast-hoe, 339.—Number of, 341. sa Horse-hoeing, p. 53.—Horse-hoe, 229, 338. Objece Hedging, p. 129. ‘ Hassenfraz, p. 143.- Hill, the Rev. Mr. p. 322. g Hay-making, of artificial and natural Grasses, p. 75.—Makers, how employed in wet weather, p. 79. 9 498, Harvest, p. 83.—Management, 84, 93. Horses, p. 108, 111, 114—Their Food, 423, 469.—Brood- Mare and , Foals, 479.—Feeding and Management, 481.—Dead Pulls—Phy- sic, 482.—Shoeing—form of Cart-Horse, 483.—Coach- Horse— Form of the Hackney—Age of the Horse, 484-5. Home-Stall, p.50, 51, 127, 180.—Circular Form of, 185. Husbandry, Implements of, p. 207.—Various Kinds, 209, 230.—Ar- tists, 292.—Amos’s Drill, 309.—Cook’s Cultivator, 345—Harrows, 346. Hitt, Esre- 2 va pe 5 Sy ees— ret 7_: yaa= ~~< enti 4 x INDEX,‘ Hitt, Mr. p. 243, Half-Husbandry, p. 319. Irrigation, p. 111, 167.—Profit of, 170.—Of Arable Land, 412. Insurance, p. 118,; Lucern, p. 28} 442. Liquorice, p. 37, 101. Leases, p. 130, 131. Lewis, Rey. Mr. p. 225. Lester, Mr. his Patent Harrows, p- 237, Lavender, p. 411. Lasteyrie on Spanish Sheep, p. 524, M‘Dougal, Agricultural Implement Maker, p. 515. Meadow and Pasture, p- 15, 51,92, 96, 112-13.—Watered Meadow, 412, 431, 446-7. Mustard, p. 33. Madder, p. 39, 102. Marshall, Mr. P- 102, 147, 181, 199, 359, 377, 477. Middleton, John, Esq: p. 69, 150, 214, 254, 359. Mole or Draining- Plough of Mr. Watts, p, 178. Mortimer, p. 206, 549. Manures, p. 74, 83, 115, 139,—Catalogue of, 144.—General Rules, 155.—Season, 160.—Dunghills, 164.—Dung Pies, 165.—Sod Ma- nure, 166.—Bone Manure, 408. Nurseries of Quick,&c. p. 244. Norfolk, Duke of, p. 472. Northumberland, Duke of, p- 491. Oat-Culture, p. 7, 16, 88.—Drill and Broad-cast Experiments, 297. Onley, the Rev. Mr. p- 425. Oxen, Draught, p. 512. Ploughing, p. 5.—Ploughs, 216, 222,—Drill-Ploughs, 228.—Number of Horses, 235.—Ducket’s Trench- Plough, 329. Poultry, p. 192, 552. Planting, p. 13. Pierrepont, Esq. p. 405. Potatoes, p. 19, 49, 101, 305, 405. Planting the Rhind, 407.—Stems—Curl—Pies for Preserving Roots, 408.-—To wash, 410.—To steam, 428.—Practical Opinions on, 430. Pea-Culture, p. 8, 17, 83, 109. Parkinson, Mr. p. 78, 82, 408, 411, 481. Ponds, artificial, p. 205. Plantations, Hint on, p- 271. Pitt, Mr. p. 276. Pulverization, p. 286, 331. - Parsley, Aaa Ae ee pee eee eee Rene, TG eT er re Ne: eas bern ee oe eee bate Es esi se —- INDEX. Parsley, p. 400. Parsnips, p. 23, 4927. 42 Pembroke, Earl of, p.481. Radish Seed, p. 24. Rhubarb, p. 38. Rolling, p.48, 336 Rutabaga, or Swed ipilieesiy. p. 57,393, Raking, p. 88. Rooks and Sparrows, p. 201 Reaping-Machine, p. 216. Rape and Cole, p. 71.—Threshing it in the field 7xcautiously recom- mended, 72, 89,—Drilled, 298. Rye, 93. eadov, Ridge-Work, p. 336. Rabbits and Poultry, p.551.—Warrens—Chickens—Various Breeds of Fowls, 552,—Management—Ducks, Geese, Turkies, Pigeons, Io. Salesmen, Remarks on, p. 478: Saintfoin, p. 29, 443. Stacking, p. 87, 185. Sewell, James Esq. p. 551. ules, Seeds, p. 89. 1 Ma- Shack, p. eee 97. Steeping, p. 99. ae Servants, p. 102. Soils and Manures, p. 139 Somerville, Lord, p. 219,231,239, 403. Somerville, Robert, Esq. 367. ogy Smith’s-shop ona Farm, p. 233. Seed, great increase from smail Quantities of, p.326.—Proper Quan- tity and Depths, 337, 341.—Change of, 375 to 381.— Manage- ment of Exotic. r mber Sheep-shearing, p. 74.—Winter Losses on, 401.—Stored Yurnips for Ewes, 410.—Breeding, 519.—Age and Denominations, 520.— Summer-feeding, Cotting, Folding, Wool, 521 to 523.—Shearin ig in Cold W ete 524-5.—House-Lamb, 526.—Different Breeds, 528.—Rot. 530.—Blood, Goggles, Red-water,&c. 551,—Lambs, Smearing, Marking*, 533.—Improvements in France,&c.$33. Roots, Stable, Cart, p. 192. 3,40 Stacey, the Rev. Mr. on Turnip Crops, p. 374. Stalls, Out, p. 193 Swine, p. 536.—Breeding, Weaning, Castration, 538.—Attendance, Pigging-house, 539.—Wash,&c. Potatoes, bad, 540.— Roasters, 541.—Weaning and Store-Management; Sour Wash, 542.— Warm Lodging, 543.—Summer-feeding, 543-4.—Price, Sale, Spaded INDEX. Spaded Sows, Fattening, 546.—Dairy Pork, Bacon, Expence of Keep, Sundry Memorandums, 547, 549.—Diseases, 549.—Various Breeds, 477, 550. Threshing, p. 1, 110, 113—Machine, and Granary, 185, 193, 209, Expence and Produce of Machine, 211. ‘Tobacco, p. 38. Turnips, p. 65, 89, 302, 313, 317.—-To preserve, 409.—To wash, 410, 415,436. Turnip-rooted Cabbage, Mr. Tugwell’s Account of it, p. 594, ‘Tare-Culture, p. 10, 105, 124.—New Species, 436. Trees, Apple, p. 257.—Trees blighted, 362. Fir-Timber seasoned, p. 271. Tillage and various Crops, p. 272. Tull, Jethro, his character and eulogy, p. 281.—His Hypothesis, 287, 360.—His three Propositions, 375. Vermin, p. 195. Vegetation, Theory of, p. 285. Varlo, Mr. p. 281, 409. Wheat, Spring, 18.—Wheat, 86.—Seed, 93, 97.—Species—Drilled, 301, 304.—Spring Experiment, 311, 330.—I1ndian Wheat, 392.— Transplanting Wheat, 397. Wynt, Messrs. p. 550. Warping Land, p. 171. Wasps and Hornets, p. 202. Water, p. 903.—Cisterns, 204. Woods, Coppices, and Plantations, p. 263. Trees, adapted to the various Soils, 266. Grubbing up, 269. Weeding, p.53, 64. Worms, their fanciful Origin, p. 360. Weld, p.41.—Woad, 41. Wurzel-Mangel, p. 43, 392. Wright on Floating Land, p. 167. Year, New, Prospect, p. 4.. Yard, Farm, p. 82, 105.—Surface of, 181.—Pond and, Cistern, 183, 1$4. Year, Conclusion of the, p. 115. Young, Arthur, Esq. p. 106, 115, 125, 139, 175, 185, 216, 220, 295, 314, 447. Young, James, Esq. his Method of Draining, p. 175. a C. WHITTINGHAM, Printer, Dean Street, Fetter Lane. a en ee —õ————õ—— m—— * ———————J—— — ᷣ——,——— 2.— —*— — 4 d= S S 9 3 5 9 8 2 —— ——— 4— GSoiour& Grey GCortroi Chart danes Siẽ Magenta 2 S — S