H H -; V SKETCHES RURAL AFFAIRS. MRS. CHARLES TOMLINSOK \\ "WHILE THE EARTH EEMAINETH, SEED-TIME AND HARVEST, AND COLD AND HEAT, AND SUMMER AND WINTER, AND DAY AND NIGHT SHALL NOT CEASE."— (Sentsis viii. 22. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF .THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON : SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE; SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES : GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS; 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 16, HANOVER STREET, HANOVER SQUARE; AND BY ALL BOOKSECiEHS. 'I LONDON : R. CLAY, PBINTER, BREAD STREET HILL CONTENTS. MM I.— THE PLOUGH 3 II.— THE SEED-LIP AND THE HARROW 31 III.— THE FOLD 61 IV.— THE DAIRY 103 V.— THE HAYFIELD 133 VI.— THE SICKLE 159 VII.— THE FLAIL 195 VIII.— THE POULTRY-YARD 223 IX^-THE ORCHARD 259 X.-THE FENCE 287 XI.— THE WATER-COURSE 315 XII.— APPENDIX. ENGLAND'S RESOURCES IN TIME OF DEARTH 341 ADDENDUM. IMPORTS OF CORN, &c 365 ILLUSTRATIONS. MM 1. FRONTISPIECE ii THE PLOUGH:— 2\ FBONTISPIECE— PLOUGHING 2 3. VIGNETTE 3 4. THE EGYPTIAN PLOUGH 7 5. THE PLOUGH FRAMK 14 y'jPLOUGH-SHABES ^ . 15 8.1MOULD-BOABD OB TUBN-FUBBOW, WITH THE SHARE 9.J ANNEXED 16 10. THE PLOUGH-BODY 17 11. SMALL'S CHAIN-PLOUGH ...» 18 THE SEED-LIP AND THE HARROW:— 12. FBONTISPIECE— SOWING , . . . 30 13. VIGNETTE— PLANTING POTATOES 31 14. BEAL SIZE OF MESHES IN WHEAT BIDDLE .... 36 15. BARN-SHOVEL 36 16. SEED-BASKET 39 jgJEFFECT OF BAD PLOUGHING 40 19. 20, ijHEFFECT OF GOOD SOWING 41 •JEFFECT OF BAD SOWING 40 ^SOWING BROAD-CAST AND BY DRILL . 42 23.) 24. 25. DRILL-MACHINE 43 26. WEED-HOOK 51 27. DIBBLE 52 28. BEAN-DRILL 53 29. BEANS CULTIVATED ON RIDGES 53 r;0. HOEING TURMP3 55 ILLUSTRATIONS. VII PiGJS THE FOLD:— 31. FRONTISPIECE— SCOTCH SHEPHERD 60 32. VIGNETTE— SHEEP FOLDED 61 33. THE ABGALI, OB WILD SHEEP 67 34. SOUTH-DOWN SHEEP 70 35. SHEEP-WASHING 78 36. SHEEP-SHEABING 80 37. MARKING-IKON 82 38. THE BLACK CATERPILLAR 84 39.) 40. >COCOON AND CHRYSALIS OF THE BLACK CATERPILLAR 85 41.) 42.) 43.WAEIOUS FORMS OF TURNIP 86 44.) 45. HAY-BACK 87 46. TURNIP-TEOUGH 88 47. TURNIP-SLICEE 88 48. THE SHEPHERD'S MALLET 90 49. THE SHEPHEED'S KNOT 90 50. FOLD-NET 91 51. FEEDING-BOX 92 52. THE FOLD IN WINTER 95 THE DAIRY:— 53. FEONTISPIECE— WATEEING COWS 102 54. VIGNETTE— INTEEIOE OF DAIRY 103 55. THE COW 105 56. MILKING 108 57. MttKING-PAIL Ill 58. UPEIGHT-CHURN 112 59. BAREEL-CHUEN 113 60. ANNOTTA PLANT. Bixa Orellana 118 61. THE LACTOMETEE 122 62. THE CUED-CUTTEB 124 63. THE CHEESE-VAT 125 64. COMMON CHEESE-PRESS 125 65. IMPROVED CHEESE-PBESS .... .126 THE HAYFIELD:— 66. FEONTISPIECE— LOADING HAY 132 67. VIGNETTE— MOWING. EOUND-PANICLED COCK'S-FOOT GBASS. SWEET-SCENTED VEENAL GEASS . . . 133 68. FOX-TAIL GBASS .135 Vlii ILLUSTRATIONS. FA when it has grown freely and the stems are succulent and not fibrous. In the East Riding of Yorkshire a regular succession of this crop is kept up by sowing it at three different times, from the middle of May to the end of June, and the sheep are put upon it three months after it is sown. It is sown hi drills twelve inches apart, but not thinned in the rows, though well hoed between them. Sometimes it is sown broad-cast on a fallow, early in June. Mangel-wurzel is another field crop to be sown in the busy months of April and May. The garden variety of this vegetable (beet-root) has long been known ; but the field crop has not been introduced more than about seventy years. The cultivation is very similar to that of turnips. The seed is small, flat, and light, and is sown either broad-cast, or by dibble. Great care is required in thinning, as the plants are apt to entwine their roots together. Pease are less universal as a field crop than formerly ; perhaps because they encourage the growth of annual weeds, and thus bring the ground into bad condition. This is partly prevented by sowing them in drills, and hoeing well between the drills in the early period of their growth ; but whatever care may be taken, the trailing habit of the plant will cause it to cover the ground, and thus so shelter weeds to a great extent. Pease and beans are sometimes sown together, the stalks POTATO-PLANTING. 57 of the latter serving for a support to the former crop. According as they are late or early sorts, pease are sown from February to May, the later varieties being sown in the earlier month. The potato crop is the last to which we shall allude in this little notice of the sowing season. This crop follows grain : the stubble lands, if heavy, are ploughed up for it in the autumn, that the land may be in good condition for the crop. About a mouth is occupied with the prepai'ation of the ground in spring, from the middle of March to the middle of April. The potatoes being removed from the pit, and prepared in the barn, are planted either whole, or cut into parts called sets. A middle-sized potato may be cut into two or three sets, according to the number of eyes it may contain : there ought to be more than one eye in each set, lest that one should fail. As the sets are cut they should be dusted with slaked lime : the juice is thus absorbed, and a paste formed over the sets. Some per- sons encourage the potatoes to sprout before setting them, by covering them with a thin coating of earth, and watering them. Those which have the healthiest sprouts are then planted, and are said to be at least a fortnight forwarder in their growth than the ordinary crop. The land being drilled so as to allow the planting to go on without interruption, the sets are placed at convenient distances in the field in sacks, each planter being provided with a basket, into which he puts a portion of the sets as he wants them. Manure is at the same time spread equally in the drills by women, while the planters follow, and put in the sets by dibble.* The operation is finished by the plough, which covers in the manure and the sets as fast as the planting is finished. Thus this important crop, formerly so regular in its returns, but now so difficult and disappointing to the farmer, is consigned to the earth. * Sea Vignette, p. 31.' 58 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. The potato being very apt to degenerate, farmers sometimes raise them from the seed contained in the apples which grow upon the stalk. Ripe apples from a healthy plant are for this purpose chosen, and set apart in sand during winter. In April the seed is picked out, and sown in rich garden ground, or it is sown in a hot-bed early in March, and planted out in May. In October these seedlings will produce tubers, the largest of which are to be gathered and planted out in the following spring, at a few inches' distance from each other. After this, they may be hoed and treated as the old potato. But it takes three years to bring seedlings to maturity ; and after all, they sometimes disappoint the expectations of the sower, and differ materially from the crop they were intended to per- petuate. From what has been already said, it is evident that the round of employments belonging to the farmer's calling is never-ending, and must demand a great amount of diligence, patience, and good judgment, to ensure success. Intervals of leisure are few and far between, and must not be greatly sought after. The yearly toil of agricultural men is well described in the following passage : — " When we set out with the husbandman ufter the conclusion of his harvest labours, which may be aptly styled the commencement of the agricultural year, and follow him as he proceeds through the varied duties of the whole cycle, till we arrive with him at the same point in the following year, from which we had begun in the preceding, we observe that there is a perpetual alternation of employments, by which the amount of labour required upon the farm at each period of the year is pretty nearly equalized. One description of agricultural produce requires a longer union with the soil than another. Wheat, for example, should be sown in autumn. Oats ought not to be committed to the earth till March. Barley must be delayed still YEARLY ROUND OF EMPLOYMENT. 59 longer ; while potatoes may be planted in May, and turnips drilled in June. This variety in the periods of seed-time is not more remarkable than that which occurs in those of in-gathering. The first principal crop raised in this country is rye-grass, upon which the sustenance of several of the valuable animals reared and employed upon the farm mainly depends. Mowing commences in June ; and no sooner has this crop been secured, than the natural hay of the meadows demands the attention of the husbandman. Hard upon this crop follows the ripening of the various descriptions of grain, differing from one another in their periods, and the early and late varieties of each contributing still fur- ther to spread the process over a considerable proportion of autumn. The joyous harvest-home closes the year. The distribution of the labours requisite for the culti- vation of the soil, however, beautiful as it is, does not so perfectly equalize the exertions of the several seasons as to afford no periods of relaxation from the regular business of the farm. The arrangement produces only an approximation to this state, and an approximation is all that we require. There are many short seasons in- tervening, of which the farmer knows well how to take advantage for securing fuel, cutting drains, rearing fences, forming embankments, and superintending other operations, which can be performed during' any part of the year, when the duties peculiar to the several seasons cease to require attention. Nor is there wanting to the agricultural labourer a time of innocent relaxation and mirth ; for, during the frosts of winter, when the hills and valleys are bound with ice, and the plough can no longer penetrate the surface of the ground, he can lay aside for a little his daily labours, and improve his mind by reading, or exhilarate it by genial intercourse ; thus unbending from the rigours of his laborious life, and by a few days of useful or innocent amusement, lightening the toil of a whole year."* * Duncan's " Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons." " The Sheepfold here Pours out its fleecy tenants o'er the glebe. At first, progressive as a stream, they seek The middle field ; but, scattered by degrees, Each to his choice, soon whiten all the land." COWPER. THE life of a shepherd is naturally looked upon as one of peace and contentment. If you go abroad in the early morning, and see him leading forth his bleating flock, his eye brightened with cheerfulness, his cheek ruddy with health : if you hear his clear whistle min- gling with the song of the lai-k, and nearly as joyous ; and see with what humble affectionate looks he is fol- lowed by his faithful dog, you have a picture of country 62 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. life that is very pleasant to look upon. And if you join company with the shephei'd, and get him to talk about his sheep, you soon find that they are to him as his own family ; that he has many a story to tell about them, and that he can point out one and another, and talk of their wanderings, or escapes, or diseases, j ust as a parent would tell of the illnesses and recovery of his children. He has also many things to say about his dog. Perhaps he will speak of his parentage, and go back to describe the qualities of his race ; or he will give you some striking instance of the sagacity of the faithful animal now at his heels ; the keen glance of the dog, meanwhile, making you doxibt whether he is not conscious of being the subject of your conversation. All this gives you a favourable idea of the shepherd's condition. If the shepherd's life is not a happy one, it must be his own fault. Brought up to manage sheep from his infancy, he is trusted as a person who understands his work ; he knows what that work is ; and he is, perhaps, more " his own master " than any other servant on the farm. He spends the greater part of his time in the open air, in healthy and delightful spots ; no one in- terferes with him, or finds fault with him ; no one can justly have an ill word to say of him ; for a shepherd, when he performs his duty, is a diligent, sober, kind- hearted man, more disposed to make peace than to raise quarrels, and too much taken up with his duties as the manager of a large flock, to join in the bickerings of his more discontented neighbours. The office of a shepherd is one which in ancient times was not considered unworthy the most eminent persons. The people of Israel had large flocks and herds, and their principal employment was to tend them. Many of the early patriarchs led a shepherd's life, and David, King of Israel, was taken from the sheepfolds to become the ruler of a great nation. The qualities necessary fur a good shepherd were necessary for a good king : he SPANISH SHEPHERDS. 63 must lead his flock in the right way ; see that their wants are provided for ; protect them from their ene- mies ; always desire their welfare, and be ready to ex- pose himself to danger and difficulty for their sake. But the highest honour ever put upon the shepherd's life, was when our Lord and Saviour chose the charac- ter of a shepherd to describe his love and pity for man- kind, saying, " I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father ; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (Johnx. 14, 15, 16.) The shepherd's life in this country is a much easier one than in some other parts of the world, where the flocks are obliged to be taken long journeys every spring and autumn, in order to give them shelter and food. In Spain, where the celebrated Merino flocks are bred, there are ten millions of sheep to be led twice in the year to a great distance, in search of pasture, or of a warmer climate. Forty or fifty thousand shepherds guide these sheep in their wanderings, and travel with them many hundred miles. Those shepherds have a very hard life, compared with ours ; but they are so much attached to their flocks that they would not leave them, even if they could get better pay and less work elsewhere. As many as thirty thousand dogs accom- pany the flocks in their wanderings, and put up with hard fare like their masters. The Spanish shepherds live chiefly on bread seasoned with oil or grease ; and though they sometimes procure mutton from their old or diseased sheep, it is not their favourite food. Their dress is a jacket and breeches of black sheep-skin ; a red silken sash tied round the waist; long leather gaiters; a slouched hat ; a staff with an iron point, and a mania, or brown blanket, slung over the left shoulder. When 54 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. they have reached their journey's end, they build them- selves rude huts, living generally a single life. Large flocks are managed by several shepherds, and that every- thing may be done with regularity, one of the most ex- perienced is set over the rest. The times of their wan- derings are in May and September, and the whole jour- ney is the same which has been taken for ages. The sheep know the way as well as their masters ; and a free passage is granted to them through pastures, villages, 3 spent iu idleness. In the most dreary seasons, when storms of wind and rain, or heavy falls of snow, put a stop to all o2 196 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. field labour, when the plough and the spade are equally inactive, and when most other rural implements are for a time laid aside, the cheerful sound of " the wide re- sounding flail" still announces to the whole village or neighbourhood that industry has not ceased, and that the threshers are preparing, by their laborious work, to supply the wants of the cattle in providing them with abundance of fresh fodder, and at the same time to afford to their master a due supply of grain for the market. A pleasant picture of this rural occupation has been thus drawn : — " The busy flail, which is now in full employment, fills the air about the homestead with a pleasant sound, and invites the passer-by to look in at the great open doors of the barn, and see the wheat- stack rising to the roof on either hand, the little pyra- mid of bright grain behind the threshers, the scattered ears between them, leaping and rustling beneath their fast-falling strokes ; and the flail itself flying harmless round the labourers' heads, though seeming to threaten clanger at every turn ; while outside, the flock of ' barn- door ' poultry ply their ceaseless search for food among the knee-deep straw, and the cattle, all their summer frolics foi'gotten, stand ruminating beside the half-empty hay-rack, or lean with inquiring faces over the gate that looks down into the village, or away towards the distant pastures." * The use of the flail is of great antiquity, although other modes of threshing corn were likewise practised among the ancients. The separation of the grain from the straw is more easily effected in hot and dry countries than in a climate similar to ours ; in many parts of the East the treading out of corn by cattle was generally adopted, and proved quite effectual. " Thou shalt not numle the ox that treadeth out the corn," (Deut. xxv. 4,) is a well-known passage of Scripture illustrative of this custom. Another passage shows that the animals were trained to their task, and took delight in it : "And * Miller. THRESHING BY HORSES AND MULES. 197 Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn," (Hosea x. 11.) Thresh'ng by the feet of animals was practised in ancient Egypt, and also among the Greeks and Romans ; though the latter people preferred horses, as better adapted to the work than oxen. The Hebrew nation were for many ages without horses, but, in the time of the prophet Isaiah, these animals were employed for the purpose : " Bread- corn is bruised ; because he will not ever be thi-eshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen," (Isa. xxviii. 28.) THRESHING BV HORSES. This practice is still common in northern Africa, and is thus described by a traveller in that country : — " These nations continue to tread out their corn after the primitive custom of the East. Instead of beeves they frequently make use of mules and horses, by tying in like manner by the neck three or four of them together, and whipping them afterwards round about the neddles, as they call the threshing-floors, where the sheaves lie open and expanded in the same manner as they are placed and prepared by us for threshing. This, indeed, is a much quicker way than ours, though less cleanly ; 198 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. for it is performed in the open air (Hosea xiii. 3), upon any round, level plot of ground, daubed over with cow- dung to prevent as much as possible the earth, sand, or gravel from rising ; but a great quantity of them all, notwithstanding this precaution, must be unavoidably taken up with the grain. At the same time the straw, which is their chief and only fodder, is hereby shat- tered to pieces, a circumstance alluded to in the second book of Kings, (chap. xiii. 7,) where the king of Syria is said to have made the Israelites 'like the dust by threshing.' " Besides this primitive method of separating the grain, there were others in which some attempt was made, at a very early period, to produce a machine or implement capable of threshing corn ; allusion is made to such an implement in the following passage of Scripture : " Be- hold, 1 will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth : thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff," (Isa. xli. 15.) An implement answering to this character, and called a drag, was one in which a large and heavy block of wood was armed and roughened at the bottom with flints or pieces of iron, and was drawn by oxen, mules, or horses, over the sheaves of corn, as they were spread out on the floor. Sometimes this implement was THRESHING IMPLEMENTS OP THE EAST. 119 so formed as to admit of the driver sitting upon it. A very similar mode of threshing is still adopted in Syria and Asia Minor, and is described by an eye-witness* as consisting of a thick plank of timber, flat on the ground, with another smaller one inclining upwards, to which the animal is attached. The flat portion of the imple- ment is stuck full of flints, or hard cutting stones, arranged in the form of the rough tongue of the cow. This is dragged over the corn, which is spread out on the hard rocky ground. The roller is the trunk of a tree, often weighted by the driver riding on it. It is dragged over the ground, but does not revolve. Another form of threshing is by the wain or sledge. This is still employed in Egypt and in western Asia. The sledge is fixed upon two or three wooden rollers armed with iron rings, having sharpened and toothed edges, so as to cut through the straw. The sledge is drawn by oxen, mules, or asses, and driven by a man seated in it. As it passes round in a circle over the corn, the grain, by repeated operations, is separated, while the straw is chopped by the jagged iron rings. The chopped straw was the ordinary food of cattle. There is a very interesting passage in the book of the prophet Isaiah, where four methods of threshing, namely, by the drag, by the wain, by the flail, and by the tread- ing out of horses, are all mentioned within the space of two verses. The whole passage stands thus : " For the fitches [vetches] are not threshed with a threshing-in- strument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin [dill] ; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread-corn is bruised ; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horse- men," (Isa. xxviii. 27, 28.) These several arts of the husbandman are ascribed to the agency of the Almighty, who " doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him ;" for in the following verse it is said, " This also * Fellowes. 200 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." The threshing-floor of the ancients being in the open air, it was desirable to choose a high and open spot, that the grain might undergo a sort of winnowing by the mere action of the breeze. An ancient writer says, " When the corn is mixed with the straw, these ought to be separated in the wind. For this purpose the west wind is reckoned the best, which blows softly and equally through the summer months ; however, to wait for this wind is the sign of a slothful husbandman, for while he is expecting it, he may be overtaken by a severe storm. Therefore in the area the corn that is threshed should be so heaped up that it may be cleaned by any wind ; but if for many days the weather should continue quite calm, the corn must be cleaned by fans, lest after the calm a severe tempest should destroy the labours of the whole year." The fan of the ancients does not appear to have been any winnowing apparatus for producing an artificial current of air ; but merely a winnowing shovel, from which the grain, mixed with chaff, was thrown up across the wind, the lighter portions being by that means carried away, while the heavy grain fell to the ground. Many are the allusions throughout the Old Testament Scriptures to the chaff of the threshing-floor being car- ried away by the wind. This is the image frequently employed to describe the dispersion and final reward of the wicked : " They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away," (Job xxi. 18.) " The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away," (Ps. i. 4.) " The multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away," (Isa. xxix. 5.) " Therefore they shall be as the morn- ing cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney," (Hosea xiii. 3.) At the present day winnowing is carried on in Syria by the same simple process, as we find from the EABLY USE OF THE FLAIL. 201 description of a modern writer. " The chaff and bruised spikes are separated from the grain, by throwing the whole up into the air with wooden shovels when the wind blows moderately. The cleaner grain being depo- sited, together with chopped straw, in a heap by itself, the spikes imperfectly trodden are again submitted to the sledge. After some days, the grain being more per- fectly winnowed and separated from the straw, is thrown again into a large heap called the bydre, where it re- mains to be divided between the landlord and the hus- bandman in the proportions established by agreement." The process of winnowing the wheat from the chaff, of gathering the wheat into the garner, and of burning up the chaff, &c., are well-known images employed by the forerunner of the Messiah, to represent the final separa- tion to be effected between the evil and the good, (Matt, iii. 12 ; Luke iii. 17.) The simple method of winnowing above described, often leaves impurities among wheat, such as sand, small seeds of weeds, &c. From these it appears to have been further cleansed, in Scripture times, by the use of the sieve. " I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth," (Amos ix. 9.) Of all the early means of threshing corn, none was so effective or possessed so many advantages as that of threshing by the flail. Until about eighty years ago, no other implement was used in this country, and at the present time the flail is in general use over a great part of Europe. Its chief advantages are its simplicity, the regular employment it gives to labourers during a bad state of weather, and at a season when there is little out-door work to be done, and the convenience of having fresh straw for fodder every day : " While wind and rain drive through the half-stripped trees, Fanners and flails go merrily in the barn." The sound of the flail is by no means unpleasing, 202 SKETCHES OP RUBAL AFFAIRS. but rather tends, by its constant and measured action throughout the long winter-day, to inspire with cheer- fulness all who come within sound of it. There is a satisfaction in knowing that the wet and dreary season has not shut up the whole village in idleness, but that some of its inhabitants are still labouring in their call- ing, and earning the fruit of their toil. No particular time can be named for the business of threshing, for it is common to all seasons, though more especially carried on during the winter months. An old writer, indeed, gives the following recommendation : — " Such wheat as ye keep for the baker to buy, Unthreshed till March, in the sheaf let it lie ; Lest foistiness take it, if sooner ye thresh it, Although by oft turning ye seem to refresh it." * The first step towards threshing is, of course, the taking in of a rick. This is done by a few labourers and a superintendent ; the latter mounts the rick, and begins to cut away with a stout clasp-knife the tyings of the straw ropes at the eaves ; this enables him to remove, by means of a long small pitchfork, the whole covering of the wheat-rick, and throw it to the ground. On the side of the rick nearest the barn, the labourers now spread out a layer of this straw on the ground, and then extend the barn-sheet upon it, drawing the latter close to the rick. The barn-sheet is a large piece of thin canvas, perhaps about twelve feet square ; upon this the sheaves are thrown down, and it is the office of women to place them evenly, side by side, along the two sides of the sheet, and to prevent their being blown aside or turned over : they are conveyed thence to the barn on barrows, and are piled up in rows to a considerable height with their butt ends outwards. This work is continued until the whole rick is taken in, after which the ground is cleared of loose corn by raking it into the sheet, and then doubling up the latter from the four corners, and * Tusser. THRESHING. 203 conveving it into the barn, where its contents are emptied on the floor. The cover of the rick is also cleared away, serving as litter for cattle. If possible, a dry day must be selected for these operations, for when a rick is taken in during rain, or even during a driz- zling mist, which may not do positive injury, yet the straw being damp, becomes mouldy, and smells disagree- ably in the barn. A stack when once safely housed, may remain in the barn till fodder is wanted, or it may be threshed out the first wet day. TlIliKSlIIKG. The flail itself is a very simple implement ; but in order to answer its full purpose, it should be made to suit the size and strength of the person using it. It re- quires a great expenditure of time and labour, and this 204 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. must be reckoned as its chief disadvantage ; for it is often of great importance to the farmer to get his wheat threshed out quickly, either to meet a certain state of the market, or to suit his own particular convenience. In such a case he usually resorts to machinery ; for there are no means of hurrying forward the operations of the flail, and to wait for its slow and tedious action might frustrate all his plans. But in ordinary circum- stances the flail, for reasons already stated, is too advan- tageous to be laid aside. The flail consists of two parts, called the hand-staff, or helve, and the supple, or beater. The helve is a light rod of ash, about five feet loug, wielded by the thresher in his operations, and slightly increasing in thickness at its lower end, where a hole is bored for the reception of the thongs of leather which bind the beater to it. The beater is also of ash, and is usually a cylin- drical rod, thickened at the extreme end, the diameter being from an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half ; it is furnished with two projecting ears, situated near the end at which it is to be attached to the helve. By a particular mode of adjustment, which must be seen to be understood, a strap of leather is laced with a thong of leather to this end of the beater, so as to form a loop standing about an inch beyond the end of the beater. Another thong of leather, of considerable strength, is THE CORN-BARN. 205 passed several times through this loop, and also through the hole in the end of the helve, and well secured. Thus a loose swing-joint is formed, allowing free action to the beater, as it is swung round the head of the thresher previously to its descent upon the ears of corn. Sometimes a staple of iron is fixed to the end of the beater instead of the leather loop : but this requires to be made very smooth and round, otherwise it rapidly chafes the thong which binds it to the helve. When the beater is too heavy, the labourer is soon fatigued without any advantage being gained in the beating out of the grain : yet it is very common to see this part of the flail out of proportion to the rest, and considerably thickened at the lower end. This is supposed to give better effect to the blows ; but as every part of the beater ought to strike the floor with equal force, and should perform its office on the corn beneath its whole length, it is therefore evident, that by thickening one extremity we prevent the other portion from reaching the ground at all, or, to say the least, we greatly weaken its effect. If there is any difference in the size of the beater, it should be in making the lower end thinner instead of thicker than the upper end. Every one knows that in this variable climate the threshing of corn with the flail is carried on under cover. The English corn-barn is constructed with much care and expense, being built either with planks of oak fastened to a frame-work of wood, or with brick or stone, where the latter are plentiful. Openings are left in the sides, that the barn may be fully ventilated ; without this the least dampness in the grain would in- duce mouldiness. The roof is either of tile or thatch. There are two large folding-doors, one on each side of the barn, and exactly opposite each other ; these are for the convenience of carrying a whole load of corn in sheaves into the barn. The doors are very wide, often equalling the width of the threshing-floor itself, and thus giving light and space for the work. The mute- 106 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. rial of the barn-floor is a matter of great importance, and differs according to the judgment of the owner. Compositions of an earthy kind are sometimes used, as are floors of brick or stone ; nothing, however, can be superior, if equal, to a sound oaken floor, for this is close, firm, and strong, while, if properly laid, it is also the most secure from damp. Perhaps the best kind of earthen floor is that made in some parts of Gloucestershire, in the following manner : the surface of the intended threshing-floor is first dug out to the depth of six inches or thereabouts ; the earth thus taken out is well cleared of stones, and mixed with very stiff clay, and with the dung of cattle. The whole is then worked with water until it is formed into a stiff mortar : it is then spread as smoothly as possible with a trowel, on the spot from which the earth was taken. In the course of drying, numerous cracks appear, but these must be filled up and got rid of by frequent and powerful beatings of the floor, or by the continued action of a heavy roller ; when this is properly attended to, the floor becomes perfectly smooth and compact, and in dryness and solidity can scarcely be surpassed. It is in all respects superior to brick and stone, and yields only to oak-plank in those qualities which are so much prized in a barn-floor. Yet unless made with care, earthen floors are by no means desirable ; the small cracks and crevices which sometimes occur in them, harbour insects to a very injurious extent ; and if the floor once becomes damp, a serious mischief is done to the wheat. Asphalte, a material now coming much into use for pavements, will probably be employed also for barn-floors. In most respects it seems admirably adapted to the purpose, but there would be one defi- ciency still ; it would not have that pliability or elas- ticity which makes the floor of oak so pleasant to work upon. A thoroughly well-made floor of oak is, after all, the perfection of a barn-floor. It is made of good sea- soned planks, accurately measured, the edges shot true, BARN-FLOORS. 207 and well fitted and jointed ; these are nailed closely down to wooden joists or sleepers, firmly placed and secured upon the ground. This is the usual method of forming oaken barn-floors, but in the midland counties another plan is followed : instead of being nailed to wooden sleepers, the planks are laid down over a level flooring of brick, and are merely held together by being "dowled;" that is, ploughed and tongued, while their ends are let into sills or walls placed, as usual, on each side of the floor. The brick-work beneath the floor, if truly level, hinders vermin from harbouring there, and at the same time prevents the ascent of moisture from the earth, thereby causing the floor to last longer. But to set against this, the spring of the floor is gone, and the grain is consequently threshed with less ease and dispatch. The only drawback to the comfort and advantage of an oaken floor for barns is, that after all precautions, it does not last very many years in that fine level condition in which it is first laid down, and consequently, it brings much expense on those who like to see their barns in good condition. But when it is become too uneven for threshing, the planks may be planed down so as to make excellent floorings for rooms. In threshing, as well as in all other departments of labour, the master's eye is often needed ; there is a temptation to slight the work, as well as to pilfer the urain : but a good servant will resist both. Tusser notices this in his usual quaint style : ' ' When rain is a let to thy doings abroad, Set threshers a-threshing to lay on good load ;' ' Thresh clean,' ye must bid them, though lesser they earn, And, looking to thrive, have an eye to thy barn. " Some pilfering thresher will walk with a staff, Will carry home corn as it is in the chaff ; And some in his bottle of leather so great, • Will carry home daily both barley and wheat." These lines relate to bygone customs; but it is unfortunately necessary at all times to watch against 208 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. fraud. A precaution recommended by the same wiiter is, to remove the temptation as soon as possible — " Cause weekly thy thresher to make up his floor, Though slothful and pilferer thereat do lour ; Take tub for a season, and sack for a shift, Yet garner for grain is the better for thrift." The corn has now to be winnowed. This is done by the winnowing machine, a contrivance for separating the chaff from the grain by an artificial current of air. One James Meikle is said to have brought the first idea of this invention from Holland in 1710, though the machine was not much known for many years after. Like most other valuable inventions, this has gradually been improved and added to, until at the present time it performs its work very completely. On the outside, the modern winnowing machine appears as represented WINNOWING MACHINE. in the wood-cut : on the inside the machinery is simple and easily understood. Four or more boards are fixed at equal distances from each other on an axle, extending through the machine and whirled rapidly round by a WINNOWING. 209 wheel acting upon a pinion. By this means a current of air is produced within the machine. The threshed corn is put into a sort of box or hopper at the top, from whence it falls gradually through the current of air produced by the rotating boards, and the chaff is blown out at the tail of the machine. The grain is further scattered and exposed to the air by passing through one or more sieves of wire, which are in con- stant lateral motion. The chaff being thus completely separated, the heavy grain falls down, and is collected beneath. The winnowing-machine is generally set with its tail at the barn-door, that the chaff may be blown outwards from the barn. Women are often employed to " feed " the* hopper with corn, and to collect the winnowed grain, while a man works the wheel which sets the fanners in motion. The riddling of the corn goes on at the same time ; for that which is collected from the machine is carried to two women, who stand, each with a riddle in her hand, at the spot in the barn where the new heap of corn is to be made. The refuse corn, stones, dirt, &c. which will not pass the riddle, are thrown into a bushel placed to receive them. When corn is dressed clean, there should be nothing seen but good grains. If any earth or small seeds be still found mixed with the corn, it must be riddled through a sieve. The clean corn is shovelled up into a compact heap by means of the corn-scoop, while the grain scat- tered to a distance is swept up with a besom. The chaff is, in most cases, looked upon as useless, and carried to the dunghill; and the refuse corn is examined, and sometimes passed a second time through the fanners, though oftener put away as food for poultry. CORN-SCOOP. 210 SKETCHES OP RURAfc AFFAIRS. There is much less storing of wheat in granaries at the present time than in years past ; but in some parts of the country, where it is still stored to a considerable extent, a process of the following kind is adopted : — The heap of cleansed corn is removed to the granary, spread over the floor about half a foot thick, and turned from time to time about twice a week. This is con- tinued for the first month, at the end of which time the wheat is laid a foot thick, and is turned once a week, or twice if the weather be damp, being also screened at intervals. After six months have elapsed, it is raised to two feet in thickness in the heaps, and turned about CORN-RIDDLES. once a fortnight. At the end of twelve months it is laid two or three feet deep, and is turned once in three weeks or a month, and screened in proportion. When it has IMPERIAL BUSHEL. lain two years or more, it is turned once in two mouths, and screened once a quarter. However long it remains in the granary, the oftener the screening and turning MEASURING GRAIN. 211 are repeated, the better. The sifting of corn is effected by means of sieves, or riddles of different degrees of fine- ness, and it is measured out by the bushel. The im- perial bushel is eight inches deep, and rather more than eighteen inches and a half in interior diameter, and con- tains 2,815 cubic inches ; but besides this legal bushel, there are several local bushels, of different dimensions, in different places. Before the year 1835, the wheat was heaped up on the bushel, in the form of a cone, to at least three-fourths of its depth : but at that period the THE STRIKE. heaped bushel was abolished. The contents are now swept off" on a level with the rim of the bushel ; and for that purpose, a flat piece of wood, called a strike, is used. Sacks of wheat are con- veniently removed from place to place, by means of the load-barrow or sack-barrow. Granaries should always be well, ventilated, and should also be built in situations where they will be expos- ed to drying winds. Con- siderable spaces should also be left between the several heaps of corn on the floor, that air may circulate, and that there may be room for turning andtossingthe grainwhen SACK-BAHROW. requisite. In Kent, two square holes are made at each end of the floor, and a round one in the middle, by means of which the corn is 212 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. thrown out of the upper into the lower rooms, and back again, that it may be the better turned and aired. The screens are made with two partitions, to separate the dust from the corn. By these and similar precautions, wheat has been kept in our granaries thirty years ; and it is observed, that the longer it is kept, the more flour it yields in proportion to the corn, and the purer and whiter the bread is. At Zurich, in Switzerland, corn has been kept eighty years by such means as the above. Public granaries are generally built in situations where ships may come up to their very walls to be loaded with grain ; yet if well built, and if good methods are em- ployed for preserving the corn, it neither becomes damp, nor receives any injury from the near vicinity of the water. These granaries are mostly seven, eight, and nine stories high ; and have a funnel in the midst of each floor, to let down the corn from one stoiy to another. In Russia, grain'is preserved in subterranean granaries of the figure of a sugar-loaf, wide below and narrow above ; the sides being well plastered, and the top co- vered with stones. The summer in that country fs too short to allow of the corn being effectually dried in the field ; therefore it is afterwards subjected to the heat of kilns, that it may be in a fit condition to store away for future use. This practice is not confined to Russia, but is prevalent throughout the north of Europe ; and it has been suggested that the example might be followed in this country, in wet and "catching" seasons, with bene- ficial results. Kiln-drying is not unknown in England, but this applies to the grain when threshed out from the straw, and not to wheat in the sheaf When corn is harvested in a very damp state, the grain is sometimes laid to the depth of three or four inches upon a raised and tiled floor, heated by coke, wood embers, or peat. It is frequently turned for twenty-four hours, or there- abouts, when it is generally dry enough to be stored. Great care is necessary to prevent scorching. The continental practice is as follows : — A simple KILN-DRYING. 213 and cheap kiln is constructed, with walls eight feet high, enclosing a space of about fifteen feet square. At this height, there are two strong cross beams, on which are laid smaller timbers or ribs to receive the corn. The walls then rise above the ribs five or six feet more, the kiln being closed by a simple ceiling of cross-joists, co- vered with turf. Any cheap and ordinary roof answers to cover the whole. The fire-place is constructed so as to throw back the ascending sparks, and a small porch directly opposite to the fire-place prevents violent blasts of wind, and covers the fuel and the attendant from rain. The drying-floor contains about three hundred sheaves of corn, which are closely set up — the band end of the sheaves downwards, and the grain upwards — usually towards evening, and when the wood which is employed to heat the kiln has burned to charcoal. By the next morning the wheat and straw are generally found in a dry state, and may then be stacked in perfect safety ; for all danger of their becoming either heated or mouldy is now removed, and the sheaves are in the best possible condition for the flail. The process of kiln-drying by no means prevents the germination of the corn when used for seed, while it not only preserves both grain and straw, but increases their wholesome qualities. Straw is the chief provender of cattle in Russia, and to provide it in a fresh state, the peasantry thresh out their oats and barley by degrees, just as we do in this country. By the process of kiln-drying, Russia is able to export large quantities of rye and wheat with less risk of damage to the grain than is incurred by other nations similarly circumstanced, where the practice is not known or adopted. Through the north of Russia, Livonia, Courland, and Lithuania, kiln-drying is so general as to be considered the closing operation of the harvest. By it all kinds of corn, peas, beans, and buck-wheat are preserved, and are ready for immediate threshing, or for being stowed away in burns, without any danger of either straw or corn receiving injury. The expense of kilns, 214 SKETCHES OF KURAL AFFAIRS. for drying damp or damaged sheaves in this country would be very trifling. A frame-work of rough material might be filled in with clay or turf, while any ordinary roof would serve to cover in the building ; and where peat is plentiful, the fuel would be of small cost. This kind of kiln might likewise be employed in drying other kinds of seeds, and also various provisions. The importance of securing the straw in good con- dition will not be questioned by those who understand the ordinary uses of wheat straw, and also the many im- portant purposes it answers in the arts. All that kind of work called Dunstable work, by which a great num- ber of persons find employment throughout the king- dom, is due to it ; and it also enters into the manufacture of baskets, mattresses, hats, boxes, bee-hives, &c. Wheat- straw is sometimes of great length, and forms a beau- tiful thatch. The best specimens of thatching are seen in the county of Devon. Every part of the wheat plant serves some useful purpose. The very chaff, or outer husk of the corn separated by threshing and winnowing, is not to be despised. Tusser says of it : — " Save chaff of the barley, of wheat, and of rye, From feathers and foistiness, where it doth lie ; Which mixed with corn, — being sifted of dust, — Go give to thy cattle, when serve them ye must." What is more generally understood by "chaff" in the present day, is hay, straw, &c. cut small for the purpose of being given to horses and other cattle. This sort of provender for live stock was employed at a very early period, but the method of preparing it by the knife Avas a later improvement, and was conducted for a long time in a very rude manner. The hay, &c. was pressed down in a trough, and then brought in small portions by hand to the front edge, where it was cut through by a long knife attached to a lever It was in the year 1797 that the first effective chaff-engine appeared, being the CHAFF-CUTTING. 215 invention of Robert Salmon, of Woburn, who contri- buted much to the agricultural improvements of his day. From that time, chaff-cutting machines, upon the same plan, but differently modified, •were gradually adopted throughout the country, until at the present time there is scarcely a large farming establishment unprovided with CIIAIT-CUTTl^G. a chaff-cutter. This implement may either be con- structed with a good deal of expensive machinery, or it may be made at very small cost. One of the best forms of the modern chaff-cutter, is that known as " Lester's Improved," in which the hay or straw is cut by means of a single knife, placed on the fly-wheel, in length varying from a quarter to three quarters of an inch. The fly- 216 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. wheel turns on a cranked spindle, which moves a ratchet wheel, fixed to one of the feeding rollers, by means of a small hook or catch, which is capable of being so ad- justed as to lift one, two, three, or four teeth at each revolution ; and by this is regulated the length of the straw projected in front of the face plate, and which is severed by the knife. On the roller was fixed a revolv- ing cloth, which passed over another roller at the hinder LESTER'S IMPROVED CHAFF-CUTTER. end of the box. A heavy block was used to compress the straw. In modern engines, the rolling cloth is dis- pensed with, and its place supplied by an upper feeding roller, moved by a pair of cog wheels, one of which is attached to the lower feeding roller before described ; instead of the heavy block, a pressing piece, which re- ceives its motion from the cranked spindle, alternately presses dmvn the straw previous to the cut, and rises THRESHING BY MACHINERY. 217 afterwards to allow the straw free passage. The machine is made of different sizes, and the larger are frequently worked by horse-power. The numerous inventions of the pre- sent age have greatly shortened some ^l \ of the processes of agriculture, but there are others which appear inca- pable of abridgment, and which must always demand a great amount of manual labour. The processes of threshing out the grain, and of con- verting the straw into provender, have been greatly quickened by the aid of machinery. The introduction of new methods of rural industry are often looked upon by the labourer with a jealous eye. Nor is this to be won- dered at. He has been accustomed to a particular method of doing his work, and it has become easier to him, from habit, than a new, though an improved method, would be. A good servant, however, is anxious to pro- mote his master's interest, and has sufficient sense to see that by so doing he will also serve his own. He is, therefore, ready to lay aside some of his prejudices, and to enter into any new mode of working that may be judged necessary by his employer. Labour- ers are beginning to be in some degree sensible of the advantages of modern inventions. The threshing-machine, for instance, which was once the ob- ject of their prejudice, is now justly f -,, , r d pi , .J • THRESHING-MACHINE. leit to be a very useful and impor- tant help at particular seasons ; while it does not supersede the general labours of the flail. It is an 213 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. undoubted fact that the latter implement, in the hands of good threshers, is perfect in its way, and may be made thoroughly to clear the grain, without damage to the corn or .to the straw ; but it is, in the first place, very difficult to get the work done in the best manner, and even when so done, it is so slow a process as to be utterly incompetent to meet at all times the farmer's wants and convenience. What was said in 1 714 remains tolerably correct now. A good thresher then declared, that five or six bushels of wheat was a very good day's threshing ; and, in case the corn was clung and yielded ill, sometimes three bushels was as much as could be threshed in a day. On account of these difficulties, there were frequent attempts made to shorten the labour by the construction of some machine that should answer the purpose of many flails. In the year 1732, Michael Menzies, of East Lothian, invented and patented a machine for threshing grain. The Society of Im- provers in Scotland appointed a Committee to inspect the operations of this machine, and report upon its merits. This Committee gave it as their opinion " that the machine would be of great use to farmers, both in threshing the grain clean from the straw, and in saving a great deal of labour ; for one man would be sufficient to manage a machine which would do the work of six." This seems to be the only record of this early machine, and we are not aware of the principles on which it was constructed. Other machines failed in their object be- cause they were found either to break the ears of corn without clearing them, or else to grind the whole to powder. It was not till the close of the century that a considerable advance was made. In 1785, Andrew Meikle, also of East Lothian, first invented a machine in which the corn was introduced between two rollers, and threshed out by four beaters fixed upon a revolv- ing drum, each striking, as it revolved, the corn held between the rollers. This was found to answer well ; so that, although changes and improvements have been PRINCIPLE OP THE THRESHING-MACHINE. 219 made in certain respects, vet in its essential principles, the invention of Meikle has been followed and adopted up to the present day. It is pleasing to learn that the inventor of this important machine was rendered com- fortable in his old age, and enabled to provide for his family, by the voluntary donations of his grateful coun- trymen. Numerous patents have since been taken out, for inventions and improvements, by which this machine has been brought to gi'eat perfection. The following wood-cut will make the principle of the threshing-machine quite clear. At A are fluted iron rollers between which the uuthreshed corn passes, at rather a slow rate ; B is the cylinder or drum, contain- ing four projections or beaters. These are bars of wood covered with iron, and revolve rapidly. Grain, chaff, and stems, all pass over this cylinder, and are thrown for- ward into the second compartment, where they are acted upon and shaken by four rakes, placed on the hollow cylinder C, and moving rapidly in the direction of the arrow. Here the grain and chaff fall down through the wire meshes into a winnowing-machine, and the straw is carried forward to another cylinder, D, where it is again shaken by rakes, and then thrown out at the 220 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. end of the machine. Sometimes this last cylinder has brushes fixed to it, which sweep back any of the corn or chaff which may have fallen into the cavity at E. The threshing-machines commonly used in the eastern counties, are, for the most part, such as belong to in- dividuals who gain their livelihood by taking them from one farm to another, and working them at so much per quarter. The farmer finds horses and men, but the owner superintends and feeds the machine. Horse-labour, however, in a threshing-machine, is now yearly less and less employed as the advantages of steam-power become evident. The circular motion in those machines is injurious to the horses, and during the last few years the travelling steam-engine, drawn from place to place, supplies the wants of the farmer, 'and has rapidly grown into favour. It is no new invention ; for a steam-engine was used in threshing as early as 1802; but it took more than forty years to familiarise it and make it really efficient. The orders for these engines are now so numerous, that twenty manufacturers, in different parts of England, are en- gaged in their construction, and one firm alone made upwards of five hundred engines during the year 1856. Barn machinery has indeed been made so complete, that in many cases it threshes, raises the straw to the loft, winnows and dresses the corn, divides the wheat according to quality, and delivers it into sacks ready for market; while the tailings, also divided into firsts and seconds, remain for the pigs and poultry, and the cavings for litter in the boxes and pigsties. The same engine which puts in motion all this automaton work is often made available for pumping water, grinding corn, crushing cake, cutting chaff for cattle, and grind- ing bones for manure, while the steam from the boiler may be turned into an apparatus for cooking food for cattle. The prejudice against machinery which once existed in rural districts is now almost at an end, for most PREJUDICE AGAINST MACHINERY. 221 persons are convinced by experience that there is a more constant demand for good labourers than ever, so much is cultivation increased and produce multiplied by the use of machinery, and by all the improvements in agriculture connected with it. UNDER the term Domestic Poultry, we understand Com- mon Fowls, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, and Pigeons. The different varieties of poultry are fitted to bear extremes of heat and cold, and thus they can exist in almost every climate habitable by man. This advantage has not been neglected by emigrants, who gladly cherish these useful and productive birds in different parts of the world. The rearing of poultry is a thing less attended to in England than formerly, and for a very plain reason. At the time when small farms were common, the wives and daughters of the farmers themselves took their eggs, butter, and chickens to market, and sold them to the best advantage. The produce of the poultry-yard was gene- 224: SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. rally their own perquisite, and they had every induce- ment to attend to the welfare of this profitable stock, which yielded them a good return in pocket money. But in our own day, small farmers, as a class, have almost disappeared, and the land is principally in the hands of men of capital, who seldom rear more poultry than will supply their own tables. Hence our markets are not so regularly supplied as they ought to be, and a large proportion of the poultry sold in London is ob- tained from France. At the present time, indeed, there are to be found, even among our nobility, many poultry- fanciers, who study and cultivate the finest varieties as a matter of pleasure. And it is to be hoped that this example will spread more widely among the middle classes. It would be matter of regret if so pleasant and pro- fitable a task as the rearing of poultry should be suffered to fall into neglect. At a very trifling cost, many a cottager might be provided with the means of keeping ducks and fowls, to be cared for by his wife and children. In the case of farm-labourers the practice is often ob- jected to, as tempting men to pilfer from their employ- ers the necessary food for the fowls ; it could, however, be granted as a privilege to persons of tried honesty, as a means of increasing their little store. There are also many other families who might be profited by the keeping of poultry, if good methods of management were followed, and understood. Some of these will be explained as we proceed. Every one who knows anything about poultry, is aware that they want shelter from inclement weather. This shelter is sometimes found in the cottage kitchen, or in the ordinary outhouses of a farm ; but it is most convenient to have a place purposely for poultry, and devoted to no other use. Even the humblest cottager may contrive some little shed for his fowls, if he has common dexterity to use the materials which are plen- tiful in country places ; and as warmth is very necessary THE HEN HOUSE. 225 to the health of poultry, he will do well to make his hen-house at the back of the kitchen fire-place, if his cottage is built in a manner that will allow of that arrangement. A still better plan might be followed, if it were taken into consideration in the building of cottages, that the space next the roof, often left empty and useless, would make a good hen-house, especially that part of it near the chimney, where sufficient warmth would be secured even in the coldest weather. This part of the roof might be partitioned off, and an opening left for the entrance of the fowls by means of a hen- ladder. Of course there must also be a hatchway, to enable the owner to go in and out, for the purpose of cleaning and looking after the fowls. In this situation fowls would be safe from their natural enemies the fox, the weasel, and the pole-cat, and would only be in danger from rats and mice, which even there might find them out and destroy their eggs. A hen-ladder is necessary to all poultry-houses, as the birds are very apt to injure themselves in attempting to fly down from the roof. In rearing poultry on a large scale, a distinct yard is required for the purpose. The place chosen should always be a dry and sheltered spot, with a warm aspect. A good fence and a supply of running water are also needful, and a neighbouring field for them to range in is a desirable addition. The house should be well roofed, dry, and facing the east or south ; separate apartments being provided for each kind of poultry. Two small lattice windows at opposite ends of the building will allow of free ventilation when required, and the perches should be so arranged that one row of roosting fowls be not exactly over another. The floor should be of strong flag-stones, and the roof of slate, well filled in under- neath, and lathed and plastered on the inside. Thus there would be no place of harbour for vermin either in the roof or under the floor. There should be a separate place for a hatching-house, with many divisions, con- taining nests for the sitting hens. This place should be Q 226 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. either heated by means of a flue, or built near some warm chimney-back. In some cases, where poultry are kept chiefly as a matter of fancy, much expense and ornament have been bestowed on their dwellings. The Royal Poultry House in the Home Farm at Windsor is highly ornamented, at the same time that it is perfectly adapted to the wants of the birds. It was built under the immediate superintendence of the Queen and Prince Albert, and consists of a central pavilion, flanked by roosting places, and breeding and laying nests. From this pavilion all the poultry can be con- veniently inspected, and at the top of it is an elegant pigeon-house lined with looking-glass, in which pigeons delight to gaze while they prune and dress their feathers. A gentle slope in front of the pavilion is divided, by slight wire fences, into wards or places of daily exercise for the fowls, where they have grass-plots and gravel-paths, the latter leading to the entrance of their respective houses. The apartments in this poultry-house are light and airy ; the fittings, temperature, and general economy of the house being carefully regulated with reference to the natural habits of the birds. The nests are made to resemble as closely as possible those which the birds would form in a natural state. Another and a most magnificent poultry-house is that of Lord Penrhyn, at Winuington, in Cheshire, which, as far as we know, is still appropriated to its original use. This consists of a handsome regular front, extending about one hundred and forty feet, at each extremity of which is a pavilion, having a large arched window. The pavilions are united to the centre of the design by a colon nade of small cast-iron pillars, painted white, which support a cornice, and a slate roof, covering a paved walk and a variety of different conveniences for the poultry, for keeping eggs, corn, &c. The doors into these are all of lattice work, also painted white, and the framing green. In the middle of the front are four ORNAMENTAL POULTRY-HOUSES. 227 handsome stone columns, and four pilasters, supporting likewise a cornice and a slate roof, under which, and between the columns, is a beautiful mosaic iron gate. On one side of this gate is a little parlour nicely fur- nished, and at the other end of the colonnade a per- fectly neat and well-ordered kitchen. This front is the diameter or chord of a large semicircular court behind, round which there is also a colonnade, and a great variety of conveniences for the poultry. This court is well paved, and has a pump and a circular pond in the centre. The whole fronts towards a rich poultry pad- dock, where the fowls range at liberty between meals. At one o'clock a bell is rung, and the central iron gate is thrown open. The poultry, at this well-known signal, fly and run from all quarters, to share in the repast. About six hundred fowls of different kinds rush through the gate, eager to get the first share in the scramble. This poultry-place is built of brick, excepting the pillars and cornices, and the lintels and jambs of the doors and windows ; but the bricks are not seen, being all covered with a fine kind of slate, closely jointed and fastened with screw-nails on small spars fixed to the brick ; they are afterwards painted, and fine white sand thrown on while the paint is wet, which gives the whole the appearance of free-stone. But it is not often that poultry meet with such splendid accommodation as this. In fact, their ordi- nary wants are scarcely attended to by many who pro- fess to keep them. It is especially painful to witness the attempt to keep them in the close precincts of a city dwelling. Too often, in the dark and crowded streets of London, a few miserable fowls may be seen on the pavement or in the area below, their claws worn away with scratching the hard stones, so that, not being able properly to comb themselves, they are overrun with vermin, and their feathers ruffled and dirty from neg- lect. This is cruel treatment for these fine birds, whose great delight it is to range in grassy meadows, searching Q 2 228 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. for worms, or other insect diet, and exhibiting their rich and glossy plumage to the best advantage in the sun- beams. THE COCK. The Common Cock is the type of our domestic fosvls, and is a remarkably handsome bird. His courage, beauty, and cheerfulness have made him celebrated from ancient times. The following quotation from Pliny will give some idea of the high estimation in which this bird was held by the ancients, and of the exaggerated and superstitious notions which they entertained of him : — " Next to the peacock, the birds most sensible to glory are those active sentinels which nature has produced to rouse us from our matin slumbers, and send us to our daily occupations. They are acquainted with the stars, and every three hours they point out to us by their crow- ing the different periods of the day. They go to rest with the setting sun, and from the fourth military watch, they loudly recall us to our toils. They do not suffor the ANCIENT IMPORTANCE OP THE COCK. 229 day-beams to surprise us without timely warning ; their crowing announces the hour of the morning, and the crowing itself is announced by the clapping of their wings. Each farm-yard has its peculiar king, and amongst these monarchs, as amongst the princes of our race, empire is the meed of victory. They seem to un- derstand the design of those weapons with which their feet are furnished. Two rivals sometimes perish to- gether in the combat. If one be conqueror, he imme- diately chants forth his own supremacy, while the other retreats and disappears, ashamed of his defeat. The gait of the cock is proud and commanding ; he walks with head erect and elevated crest. He alone, of all birds, looks habitually upwards to the sky, raising at the same time his curved and scythe-formed tail, and inspiring terror in the lion himself, that most cou- rageous of animals. Some of these birds seem born for nothing but warfare, so as to render the countries that produced them famous, such as Rhodes and Tanagra. The second rank is assigned to those from Melos and Chalcis, — birds truly worthy of the homage they receive from the Roman people. Their repasts are solemn pre- sages ; they regulate daily the conduct of our magis- trates, and open or close to them their own houses. They prescribe repose or movement to the Roman forces ; they command or prohibit battles ; they have announced all the victories gained throughout the uni- verse ; in a word, they lord it over the masters of the world. Their prolonged notes in the evening, and at extraordinary hours, constitute presages. By crowing all night long, they announced to the Boeotians a cele- brated victory over the Lacedaemonians ; thus did the diviners interpret it, because this bird never crows when. he is conquered." Domestic fowls are supposed to be of Persian origin, but are now inhabitants of most parts of the world. There are many varieties, of which the principal are the Dorking (so called from a town in Surrey), a large 230 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. white or mottled fowl, distinguished by having five claws, short-legged, and an excellent layer ; the Poland fowl, black-feathered, with white tufts on the heads of both cock and hen, a most useful variety on account of the number of eggs they lay, but they are bad sitters ; the Dunghill fowl, a common and useful breed, the best of which are of middle size, and dark colour, with white and clean legs ; the Game fowl, a variety with beautiful plumage, tender and delicate flesh, and slender, well- formed limbs ; the Bantam, a well-known small breed, originally from India, and delicate in its flesh ; and the Ghittagong or Malay, a large Indian variety, laying large eggs, but having coarse yellow flesh. These and many other varieties are in request among poultry fanciers. The young birds, if females, are called chickens for the first four months ; afterwards pullets, until they begin to lay, when they become hens. The male birds are chickens until three months old, after which they are called cock-birds till the age of twelve months, when they are considered as full-grown cocks. The plumage of very young birds is not always a guide to the colour of the same birds when full-grown. There is much variety and considerable beauty in the colours and markings of our domestic fowls, especially when the birds are well kept, and in fine health. There is a freshness and gloss about the plumage of such birds, quite different from the aspect of fowls that are neglected as to cleanliness and diet. The plumage of the cock is generally very handsome, beautifully pencilled, and reflecting in the sun's rays a brightness of colouring almost equalling the splendour of tropical birds. Some- times instances occur of remarkable changes of colouring after moulting. Reaumur, the naturalist, describes a cock whose plumage was for the first year ruddy brown mixed with white, as is common in dunghill cocks ; in the second year he was of reddish brown all over, without any white ; in the third year he became uui- PLUMAGE OP POULTRY. 231 formly black ; in the fourth uniformly white ; and in the fifth he had white feathers mixed with a good deal of ruddy brown, bordering upon chestnut, his back, neck, wings and belly being ruddy, and even where there were white feathers, they were mingled with ruddy ones. His owner being absent for two months in summer, found the cock, on his return, again totally changed, his plumage having become all over of the purest white. The general plumage of the male bird is richer than that of the female, and the tail is much larger and more majestic. The crown of the head is also adorned with a fleshy crest, called the corah, and the lower mandible or bill with wattles, as those fleshy appendages are teimed. When the bird is in good health, the comb and wattles are bright crimson ; when the bird is moulting or otherwise ailing, or in old age, they are pale and dingy ; in severely cold weather they become purple or bluish. In the female the crest and wattles are very little developed, except in old age, when the hens sometimes acquire a sort of neuter appearance, and have even been known to crow like a cock. The cock is a stately and majestic bird, his whole deportment being indicative of a courageous and self- dependent spirit. He is lordly in his demeanour to the other birds of the poultry-yard, and requires implicit obedience from his numerous family. But he is kind, and attentive to their wants, seeking out food for them, and when he has found it, calling them all together, and sharing it among the hens and chickens. He also fearlessly defends them from their enemies, attacking with great boldness all intruding animals. His jealousy of rivals is intense, and he will combat to the death with a bird of his own sex and species, unless that bird be so young as not to incur his hostility. In some cases cocks are naturally of so quarrelsome a disposition, that they beat and annoy the hens, and are continually breaking in upon the establishments of their neighbours. In this case they are tamed by putting a piece of leather 232 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. over the foot close under the spur. This completely subdues their spirit, and quenches their disposition to fight. The quarrelsome nature of the cock has been made use of to gratify the depraved taste of man in those shameful exhibitions called "cock-fights," in which the most spirited birds of the race of "game-fowls" are set against each other in regular battles, generally ending in the death of one, if not both birds. This barbarous sport, so disgraceful to a nation professing Christianity, is happily almost at an end. The hen is less quarrelsome than her mate, but has plenty of courage in defending her youug brood in the time of danger. Hens, when properly managed, pro- duce a great number of eggs in the course of the year. They should have abundance of wholesome food, but not be fattened beyond a certain extent, for the eggs of over-fat hens are few and imperfect. A warm and sheltered situation is necessary for hens, and it is also needful that they have access to cold water and to gravel, and be allowed to range freely, without being driven or worried. The best sitting-hens are those which are of a quiet social disposition, not easily fright- ened, nor apt to wander far. Large full-feathered hens are also preferred, as being the best able to cover their eggs. Such as have proved themselves to be good sitters are, of course, the best hens to be employed; but one or two young hens may be tried each year. Young hens will show a disposition to sit the following spring to that in which .they were hatched ; but only one or two should be allowed to do so. If the hens are few, they are often left to seek out a place for their nest in some outhouse, loft, or other quiet place, and there they are as little disturbed as possible. But where poultry are kept on a large scale, regular hatching-houses are provided, and each hen has a separate place partitioned off, where she may hatch her brood in safety. The desire to sit is shown by the hen making a clucking noise, similar to the call used in gathering together her MANAGEMENT OF SITTING-HENS. 233 chickens. Her feathers are also in disorder, her wings hang down, and her body becomes greatly heated. She seems possessed with a kind of feverish anxiety, searches everywhere for eggs, and if she finds any, whether of her own laying or others, she immediately settles down upon them. Eleven or thirteen fresh eggs are generally placed under one hen ; the former number being the more likely to succeed. One or two old eggs are put first, to coax the hen to the spot, and food and water are placed close by the nest. When she has taken to the nest, and warmed it, the old eggs are taken away, and the eleven fresh ones substituted. These she will arrange in her own way, with bill and body, until she can cover them all completely. The evening twilight is the best time for this, the hen being then naturally disposed to remain quiet, whereas by setting her in the morning, there is a risk of her being disturbed or alarmed, and forsaking the nest. A hatching-house should be supplied with proper nests for the sitting- hens. These may be either boxes or baskets ; but the corners and openings, as well as the bottom, must be well stuffed with straw, that neither eggs nor chickens may fall through and be lost. Short, soft straw is the best lining for the nests. Hay is too heating in its nature, and has been known, by fermenting, to spoil the whole batch of eggs. Notice should be taken every morning, whether any of the eggs are broken, and if so, the straw as well as the broken eggs must be taken away, and fresh clean straw put in its place. Fresh food and water must be given to sitting-hens every day, and the place kept clean and dry. In about three weeks' time the chickens will begin to appear. It is frequently recommended to watch the opening of the eggs, and to chip away the shell, if any difficulty occurs ; but this requires the greatest caution, and, generally speaking, it is the safer plan to leave the whole operation to nature. In very many cases all the eggs will be hatched ; and where one or two fail, it is not a matter 234 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. of great importance. Attempts to chip the shell very frequently cause the death of the chick. An attempt to raise an unusual number of chickens at one brood is generally unsuccessful. The mother is unable to take care of more than a certain number, and the rest soon fall a prey to their enemies. The hen herself would seem to be aware of the impossibility of safely rearing a larger brood than her wings will con- veniently cover. A remarkable instance of this has been communicated to the writer. A hen, having a very large brood, endeavoured for a long time to accommodate all the chickens beneath her wings ; but notwithstanding her efforts, she found that there was one poor little chick for which she could not possibly find room. With a stern severity little to be expected in so tender a mother, she took aim at the unfortunate chick, and with one blow of her sharp beak on its skull she immediately put an end to its existence. She seems to have known that the presence of one chick more than she could shelter would be injurious to the whole brood. But to return to our account of the raising of chickens. When the chickens are fairly out, they will require great attention for a few days. Their food must be taken to them fresh every three hours during daylight ; and water, in a very shallow dish, must be constantly renewed. Bread-crumbs, finely crumbed, boiled potato, groats, rice, and pearl-barley, may be given in turn in small quantities, and fresh every time. If left to range where she pleases, the hen will lead the chickens too far, and bring them into danger : she must, therefore, be confined within a coop, or in some convenient out- house, until the chickens are strong enough to accom- pany her in her wanderings. It is absolutely necessary to the health of chickens that they be kept quite clean and dry. Precautions must also be taken to save them from the clutches of their enemies, among which the rat and the weasel are not the least to be dreaded. FOOD OP FOWLS. 235 The management of a large poultry-yard should be the office of one person. A good-tempered, cleanly girl may perform its duties well, if she be careful and at- tentive. No one else should be allowed to go into the hen-house, as the voice of a stranger will disturb the laying-hens. The hatching-house should be still more strictly guarded from the intrusion of strangers. The feeding of poultry should be regular. Their fattening and general well-being greatly depend on regularity. The same quantity of food given at uncertain intervals would not produce the same effect ; and even when, barn-door fowls may be supposed to gather up enough for their subsistence, it is desirable still to feed them (however small the quantity given) at stated times. The keeper of the poultry-yard should know how to distinguish between different sorts of food. She should observe what appears to be heating, and what cooling to the fowls. She should well understand the different diseases which poultry are liable to, and what are the remedies. If the pip become prevalent, she should know that it is owing to a scarcity of fresh water, and take immediate steps to prevent this scarcity from occurring again. If the shells of the eggs are rather soft, it is a sign that the hens are becoming too fat, and that they need to have their food diminished, and chalk mixed with their water. The food of fowls is various. Not only do they thrive on barley, wheat, and oats, (their principal depen- dence,) but on almost every kind of food that can be mentioned. Boiled potatoes, if given warm, are excel- lent food for them ; also boiled peas and beans, carrots, turnips, parsnips, &c. Either of the latter kinds of root, mashed up with bran or pollard, makes a substan- tial evening meal, when grain has been given in the morning. Millet, tares, rice, refuse from the kitchen, such as fruit, crumbs of bread or pie-crust, biscuit- dust, cuttings of greens, parings of apples, almost every kind of refuse aliment that can be named, is useful to 236 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. throw down to fowls. Even broth and pot-liquor, when mixed warm with bran or pollard, affords a nourishing diet, and is greedily eaten, although the liquor by itself would be refused. Fowls are also very fond of pieces of suet or fat, as well as of tender meat. They will pick bones more completely than almost any other animal. In Scotland, a hen and her chickens are some- times carried out, in June or July, to the turnip-field, in a sort of basket, called a brood-basket. A large woollen cover keeps the family secure until they arrive at the field, when, this being removed, the chickens go out and pick up the larvae and insects, which are so de- structive to young turnip- plants. When a space is in this way cleared of insects, the brood-basket, with the mother enclosed, is moved to another place, and the chicks follow and proceed with their task. The same plan is found beneficial in gardens. This brood-basket is also useful in the early spring ; its warm covering affording protection to a large family of chickens in frosty weather. The basket opens at the end to admit the mother. Persons who do not understand the management of fowls are often disappointed to find that, after a time, their hens become unproductive, and lay very few eggs. The fault, doubtless, is in keeping the same stock too long. For the most part, cocks should not be kept more than three years, nor hens more than five years; but the best and finest of the young brood should be brought up to supply their place. Fowls may be considered in their prime at from two to three years old. The hatching of eggs in the ordinary way, even with the best mothers, is necessarily a slow affair, and cannot be increased beyond a certain extent. But there have BROOD-BASKET. ARTIFICIAL HATCHING OF EGGS. 237 been methods contrived from very early times, by which a large supply of chickens may be obtained by artificial means. These have been extensively carried on in Egypt, where several hundred ovens are regularly em- ployed in hatching eggs during the season. The Egyp- tians are jealous of rivals in this art, and carefully keep some part of the process secret, although they allow strangers to examine the construction of the ovens, and even to witness the curious operations going on within. The great difficulty appears to be the regulation of the heat, which is managed by a set of men regularly trained, and licensed to this art. Of the total number of eggs committed at one time to the oven, the manager does not expect to hatch more than two-thirds : thus, out of 45,000 eggs, he is not obliged to return to his master more than 30,000 chickens. But if he succeeds in hatching more than this number, the surplus is his own perquisite, in addition to his wages of thirty or forty crowns, besides his board, which is paid him for his six months' work. The Egyptian hatching-oven is a brick building, about nine feet high. A gallery extends from one end of the building to the other, having on either side a double row of rooms or ovens, one above the other, three feet high, four or five broad, and fifteen long. Each of these has a round hole for an entrance, wide enough for a man to creep through, and into each of the lower rooms are put four or five thousand eggs. The upper rooms are used for warming the lower. For the sake of a slow fire they burn the dung of cows and camels, mixed with straw, and dried into cakes. These are laid in a furrow or gutter, which runs along two sides of the brick floor of the upper rooms, and are burned for an hour morning and evening. The fumes escape through the doors into the gallery, where they issue through the roof. When the smoke has subsided, all openings are stuffed with tow, to keep in the heat, except a large opening in the floor of the heating-room, which allows 238 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. the warmth to be diffused in the room below. When the tires have been continued for eight, ten, or twelve days, according to the weather, they are discontinued, the heat acquired by the ovens being then sufficient to finish the hatching, which requires in all twenty-one days. At the latter part of the time some of the eggs from the lower room are removed into the upper, in order that the chickens may escape more easily from the shell than they would do if they had a number of eggs piled up above them. The process of artificial hatching has been carried on in some other countries, but never to the same extent as in Egypt. Some years since an exhibition was open in London, affording the curious sight of hatching eggs by steam. But uniformity of heat was not preserved, and the experiment was therefore not fully successful. A second attempt, and the application of machinery invented by Mr. Bucknell, were the means of hatching many thousand chickens, which were afterwards reared without difficulty. In a treatise on the subject, the inventor asserted, that by his machinery, called JEcca- leolian, a perfect and absolute command over tempera- ture was obtained, from 300 degrees Fahrenheit to that of cold water; and that by this means the im- pregnated egg of any bird, not stale, placed within its influence at the proper degree of warmth, is, at the ex- piration of the natural time, brought into life, " with- out the possibility of failure, which is sometimes the case with eggs subjected to the caprice of their natural parent." This machine, however, was far less certain in its ope- rations than might have been expected. A more perfect method has since been found, and this is now in suc- cessful operation at Heathfield, Sussex. The order of nature is followed, by applying "top contact heat ;" that is, an equal wai-mth pressing on the eggs from above. This warmth is supplied by a reservoir of water kept at an equal temperature, and contained in a waterproof ARTIFICIAL MOTHERS. 239 bag resting on the eggs, and answering the purpose of the hen. From eighty to ninety per cent, of the eggs are duly hatched. Such au invention seems needed to increase the supply of poultry, which, in our great towns, is sold at an exorbitant price, and would be often unattainable at any price, were it not for the supplies received from the Continent. Supposing the artificial hatching of eggs to be per- formed on a large scale, it follows as a necessary con- sequence that there would not be enough hens to take care of them. Our French neighbours have provided for this want in a very ingenious manner. Keaumur, the naturalist, who was very successful in hatching eggs by artificial means, invented an apparatus called an ARTIFICIAL MOTHERS. Artificial Mother, for supplying to the young chickens the warmth they would have had beneath their mother's wings. At first he thought that they might be reared for a fortnight or three weeks in the oven where they had been hatched, taking them out five or six times a day for food and water. But this plan, although it kept the chickens in warm air, did not supply to them the comfort and warmth of the mother's feathers gently pressing on their backs, as she sits over them. The chick- ens themselves showed this want, for instead of squatting, 240 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. as they naturally do when at rest, they stood upright, with their backs or sides pressing against the warmest part of the oven. Reaumur then made his artificial mother, which was a box lined with sheep-skin, with the wool on it, the bottom being of a square form, and the upper part sloping like a writing-desk, and open at the ends, or only covered with network. The slope of the cover allowed the chickens to arrange themselves according to their sizes, and the open ends prevented their being suffocated. The box was placed at the end of a sort of cage, covered with willow or wire, which served as a feeding-place for the young brood. The inventor speaks thus warmly in praise of this arrangement, and of the ARTIFICIAL MOTHEH. (Improved Form.) satisfaction shown by the chickens : " They soon showed, me how sensible they were of the advantage of my arti- ficial mother, by their delight in remaining under it, and pressing closely to it. When they had taken their little meals they jumped and capered about until they had tired themselves, and then hastened to the mother, going so deeply into it that they were obliged to squat. There is, indeed, no natural mother that can be so good for the chickens as the artificial one ; and they are not HINTS TO COTTAGERS. 241 long in discovering this, instinct being a quick and sure director. Chickens, direct from the hatching oven, will begin to pick up and swallow small crumbs of bread ; and after having eaten, and walked about a little, they soon find their way to the fleecy lodge, where they rest and warm themselves, until hunger again tempts them abroad. At night they all betake themselves to the artificial mother, and leave it exactly at day-break, or when a lamp is brought into the place producing an artificial day-break." With the pardonable enthusiasm of an inventor, Reaumur goes too far in saying that the artificial is better than the natural mother ; but there is no doubt whatever that his invention is a most ingenious and valuable' one. This contrivance is adapted for turkeys, pheasants, and other birds that do not go into the water, nor require to be fed by hand. For water-birds Reaumur contrived a pond, surrounded by turf, in the centre of the crib or feeding place connected with one of the artificial mothers. The marks of a chicken likely to become a good hen are a small head, bright eyes, a tapering neck, full breast, straight back, plump oval body, and grey legs. A few such birds in the possession of cottagers would be a great addition to their comfort. We conclude our notice of these birds with the following useful hints gained from the Cottager's Manual : — " Every man who keeps a pig should keep fowls. Three or four hens and a cock will prove no small addition to a poor man's stock ; and a few potatoes and peelings, with the run of the pig's trough, which they will always keep clean, will be all they require in the summer ; but to make them lay eggs when eggs are valuable, they must be well fed with oats, barley-meal, or Indian corn ; have a dry place to roost in, and to shelter them from wet weather, and be kept quite clean. In the depth of winter, geese and other poultry must be fed, as they cannot obtain much out of doors : and if suffered to get B 242 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. lean at this time, they will not lay well or early in the spring. Young pullets, nine or ten months old, are the best for laying in the winter. Ducks are both useful and profitable ; they clean away much unsightly offal, will travel a great distance from home in search of food, require but little at home, and lay a great number of eggs ; but they are not good mothers, and seldom rear half their brood where there are many hedges and ditches in the neighbourhood. They likewise frequently drop their eggs in water, if not carefully watched when they are expected to lay. A hen answers better as a mother to ducklings, than their natural one. Not less than a drake and two ducks should be kept." Geese and ducks belong to the family of flat-billed birds. Ducks, as being the most common, may be noticed first. Their natural place is on rivers, ponds, or other fresh waters ; but they are often kept in spots where there is not enough water for them to swim in. MANAGEMENT OF DUCKS. 243 No doubt they thrive best where there is plenty of running water ; but their flesh is said to be less deli- cate, and their eggs not so good in flavour when they are quite at large. On this account, and also because ducks are very filthy in their eating, some persons con- fine them within a pen, or small paddock, and feed them with good and proper food and water, until they are fit for the table. Certainly, where these birds are left to range as they please, the food they eat is such as would prevent much enjoyment of their flesh, were it known to those who have them served up at their tables. The wild duck, or mallard, is a well-known water bird, and to this our tame varieties owe their origin. The ordinary duck, sold in the London markets, is the English or Aylesbury white duck, which is fattened in great numbers in some parts of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, in the early spring. Very many families gain a comfortable livelihood by breeding and rearing ducks, the greater part of which are actually brought up at the cottager's fireside. Different broods are brought forward, so as to keep up a succession all through the season, when the best prices can be made. The interior of the cottages is fitted up with boxes, pens, &c., arranged round the walls, and presenting a very odd appearance to strangers. In these places the ducklings are reared under the care of the good wife, whose chief attention is devoted to this profitable em- ployment. One labouring man, having only one room to live in, is mentioned as having, some years ago, sent up as many as four hundred ducks in a season, the greater part being sold at very high prices. Another variety, of finer flavour than the preceding, is the dark-coloured Rouen, or Rhone duck, originally from France. The flavour of the flesh, in this, as in all other ducks, is much influenced by the kind of food. On the banks of the Seine, in the neighbourhood of Rouen, this duck is said to thrive admirably, on account R 2 244 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. of the number of earth-worms found in the meadows, which are collected and portioned out to the ducks three times a day, under the roof where they are cooped up separately. These are the large fat ducklings seen iu Paris in June. The Muscovy duck is a distinct species, much larger than the common duck, easily fattened, and a most voracious feeder. Although it is possible to bring up ducks without the advantage of a pond or river, yet it is useless to attempt to rear them in very dry and barren places. Moisture is their element ; therefore a marshy soil, or access to ditches, or swampy places, is highly desirable. ' For a considerable part of the year, ducks may be left to their own resources, or may merely receive a little grain or other food once a day. The grain of the poultry-yard, the siftings and sweepings of barns, all sorts of mealy substances, the residue of breweries and boiling-houses, herbage, vegetables, and fruits, are all acceptable to these birds. Moist food is preferred. They are particularly fond of boiled potatoes, and may profitably be fed with them instead of grain. Poulterers feed ducks on corn, and on ship-biscuit, broken and soaked in broth or beer, together with treacle and chopped mutton suet. On this diet the birds speedily become fat. Ducks are fond of meat, and eat it eagerly even when tainted. They are sometimes kept by butchers to feed upon the offal of their slaughter-houses, but such food makes their flesh rank and offensive, if not positively unwholesome. These birds will also gratify their ravenous appetites with slugs, spiders, toads, garbage, and insects. Thus, were it not for the damage they do to fruit, &c., they would be of great service in gardens. They generally lay their eggs by night, or before ten o'clock in the day. The colour of the eggs depends very much on that of the plumage. Some are pure white, others dark green, or blue, but the shells are always smoother and more glossy than thoso of heiis' eggs. When boiled, the white does not ANECDOTE OP A MUSCOVY DUCK. 245 become curdy like that of a new-laid hen's egg, but transparent and glassy, while the yolk is much darker in colour. Ducks' eggs are chiefly used in pastry, being less delicate than those of the common fowl. It has already been noticed that, in hatching ducks' eggs, it is better to put them under a hen, because ducks are not good mothers. But if a duck be per- mitted to sit, it is well to let her have eggs that match in colour, for in some few cases she has been known to turn out with her bill those eggs which are not of the colour of her own. A Muscovy duck was once sitting on about nineteen common ducks' eggs. When half the period of incubation had elapsed, the duck was one day observed, as she returned to her nest after feeding, to pass her bill over the whole of the eggs, and then to select one, and take it up in her mouth. This egg she conveyed to the distance of three or four yards from the nest, where she struck it a hard blow with her bill, breaking the shell and disclosing the contents, which were addled. This fact has been related to the writer by a distinguished naturalist who was himself the witness of it. % During incubation, which lasts thirty-one days, the duck requires a secret and safe place, but not much attendance, as she takes more care of herself than the hen, and is sure to seek the refreshment of food and water at proper intervals. The chief fear is, that she will do this too often, and let her eggs cool. When the eggs are hatched, a coop should be placed either on the short grass, or under cover, according to the weather, and a wide and flat dish of water placed near it for the ducklings. Their first food should be either crumbled bread, sopped in cider, or some soft mixture, such as barley-meal. Whenever the mother finds herself at liberty, she will immediately take her young to the water, if there be any near, and they launch into it without hesitation. When ducklings are brought up by a common hen, or a turkey-hen, as is sometimes the 246 SKETCHES OF RUKAL AFFAIRS. case, they greatly alarm their foster-parent by plunging into the first water they come near. The hen, not being able to follow them, is in the greatest terror and agitation, and endeavours by all the means in her power to call back her refractory family. Ducklings are more independent than chickens, and do not trust so much to their mother's care. When they get a little strength they should be fed with any sweet herbs raw, chopped fine, and mixed with bran and water. Their propensity to insects, slugs, &c., will soon show itself, and even small fish will early become the prey of these voracious feeders. When the duck- lings have been brought up by a hen, some care will be necessary in putting them with the old ducks, lest the latter should ill-treat them through jealousy. Young ducks are liable to many accidents, owing to their awkwardness out of the water. They have not so good a chance of escape from their foes as chickens, because of their heavy waddling gait ; thus they sometimes get trodden on by cattle, and even by man. But their most dangerous enemy is the fox, who often finds them wandering away in search of water, and easily makes them his prey. The raven, and also the carrion crow, have been detected carrying off the young. A natu- ralist, willing to satisfy himself of the partiality of the crow for young aquatic poultry, put an old duck with her ten young ones into a pond, nearly three hundred yards from a high fir-tree, in which a carrion crow had built its nest. It contained five young ones almost fledged. " I took my station on the bridge," he says, " about one hundred yards from the tree. Nine times the parent crows flew to the pond, and brought back a duckling each time to their young. I saved a tenth victim by timely interference. When a young brood is attacked by an enemy, the old duck does nothing to defend it. In lieu of putting herself between it and danger, as the dunghill fowl would do, she opens her niouth, and darts obliquely through the water, beating THE TAME GOOSE. 247 it with her wings. During these useless movements the invader seizes his prey with impunity." Ducks are sometimes fattened in confinement with plenty of food and water ; and this plan has the ad- vantage of restricting the birds to proper diet ; or they will do well at greater liberty, but with access to as much solid food as they can eat. Oats, either whole or bruised, are better than barley for fattening ducks. Pea-meal is also good. Ground malt mixed with water or milk, is commonly used. Broth and pot-liquor may be profitably used to mix up the food of these birds, especially where they are prevented access to a pond. The water in duck-ponds is sometimes infested by a dangerous enemy to the brood, namely, leeches, which fasten on the feet of the young ducklings, and cause their destruction. The way to get rid of these trouble- some creatures is to stock the pond with tench and other fish which feed on them. Another important tenant of the poultry-yard is the GOOSE, a bird which ranked high in former times, and is still a universal favourite. Geese are birds of the north more than of the south, being very abundant in polar countries. The structure of the goose adapts it either for land or water. The legs are not placed so far back as those of the duck, and therefore the goose is a much better walker than the duck. Geese in their wild state are migratory birds, coming southward in winter, and going back to their northern pastures in summer. The tame goose is sometimes of a fine pure white, but oftener party-coloured, or grey mixed with white. There are others entirely grey, and though the feathers are less valuable, these are considered to be more fruit- ful and to give the finest goslings. When domesticated and well fed, geese become much larger than in their natural wild state. These birds are very profitable in the neighbourhood of commons, for they are more of vegetable feeders than ducks, and must be allowed to range the pastures. Although fond of marshes and 248 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. moist places by day, they always look out for a clean dry place to sleep in, and this should be afforded to them. They must, however, be carefully shut out from places where there are young trees, or growing crops of any description, or they will do great injury in a very short time. The only time when geese can be suffered to enter a kitchen garden, is when the chief crops are THE GOOSE. secured and refuse abounds. Stubble fields form an excellent walk for geese, where they pick up much corn as well as herbage. Geese, like ducks, provide largely for their own maintenance, but they require a little feeding. Boiled potatoes, beaten up warm with bran, and given to them (not too hot), will bring them forward at very little expense. The goose is a voracious feeder, and will soon fatten if its wants are well supplied. An extraordinary size is attained by cramming geese, but such birds are often rank in flavour, and less wholesome than those which MANAGEMENT OF GEESE, 249 are fattened in the natural way. Geese produced so late as June or July will fatten well on the stubble fields the same autumn, without any further feeding than a meal of potatoes and bran once a day. But early goslings, namely, those of March or April, will require good feeding, as they have no stubble fields. In order to be successful in rearing geese, a gander should be chosen, either of a pure white or of an ash-grey, not of two colours. He should be of large size, but active in his gait, with clear and lively eyes, and a loud voice. The geese (of whom there should not be more than four to one gander) should be chosen for weight of body, steadiness of deportment, and breadth of foot. They will begin to lay about the latter end of February, at which time they will be seen running about with straws in their mouths as if to prepare a nest. They should then be watched, and kept within bounds. If they can be induced to begin laying in nests prepared for them, they will not fail to continue laying in the same spot. A goose will go on laying until she has deposited from ten to twenty eggs, when she will probably show an in- clination to hatch them. This will be detected by her keeping in the nest longer than usual, the gander, mean- while, keeping watch. Fifteen eggs are as many as a goose can conveniently cover ; these she may be allowed to sit upon without any interference except the bringing of food and water near to the nest every day. Some of the goslings begin to chip the shell about the twenty- ninth day ; but as the eggs are hatched in succession, the goose sometimes remains sitting for nearly two months. The early hatched goslings are therefore taken away from their mother, lest she should be induced by her care for them to desert the rest of the eggs. The egg-shell of the goose is so strong that the young ones have some difficulty in making their exit. Where this is observed to be considerable, they may be assisted in getting free with less danger than attends the intermeddling with the common chick. 250 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. No attempt should be made to feed the goslings for twelve hours after they are hatched. Their food may then be bread soaked in milk, curds, or mealy potatoes mixed with bran, and not given too hot. A sunny and sheltered spot should be chosen for them. Gold winds and rain at that tender age will quickly destroy them. It is not safe to allow them access to water for the first day or two. Geese are the noisiest of poultry ; their loud gab- blings on the least alarm are, perhaps as good a pro- tection to the farm-yard as the barking of dogs. By giving the alarm to the Romans, and thus saving Rome from being captured by the Gauls, they became greatly venerated by that superstitious people. Our ordinary breed of Geese is likely to be much improved by the introduction of a remarkably fine species from the shores of the Mediterranean, and also of some hand- some birds from China. Nowhere in this country are geese kept in greater numbers than in the fens of Lincolnshire, where they are reared for the sake of their feathers. They are stripped once or twice a year for their quills, and five times a year for their feathers, namely, at Lady-day, Midsummer, Lammas, Michaelmas, and Martinmas. It is said that in fine weather the birds do not generally suffer from this process, but if cold sets in about the time of the opei'ation, numbers of them die. The old birds submit very quietly to be plucked, but the young ones are veiy noisy and unruly. Tame geese, wheji kept with a view to their eggs, and unmolested by plucking, &c., will live to a great age, even, it is said, to eighty years or more. But few indeed are the instances where the bird is permitted to live out its natural term of days. The TURKEY, in its wild state, is an extremely beau- tiful bird, of the most brilliant plumage, a native of America, whence it is supposed we received our tame variety about the year 1530. The best of our Turkeys are black, but there are varieties in colour from bronze THE TURKEY. 251 and copper- col our up to white. Moulting -will some- times occasion a great change in the plumage, but black turkeys are far more abundant, as they are more valu- able than any other. Turkeys are justly regarded as the most valuable of fowls, uniting a large size with peculiar delicacy of flavour. They require more care in the rearing than other fowls, but this is amply compensated by their ultimate vahie. The turkey-cock is recommended by an old writer to be '' a bird large, stout, proud, majes- tical, for when he walketh dejected he is never good." THE I'UKKJCY. One turkey-cock is generally kept to every dozen or fourteen hens, and in providing shelter for them it is necessary to remember the size of these birds, and the evident fondness they have for roosting in high places. Thus in warm summer weather, when allowed full liberty, they will be sure to choose a tree as their most natural roosting-place ; and it can scarcely be consi- 252 SKETCHES OF BUBAL AFFAIBS. dered otherwise than cruel to shut them into a low close hen-house, from which they show the most eager desire to escape. Open sheds, yet secure from mois- ture, and high perches, are what these birds require ; a ladder being also necessary, lest they injure them- selves in flying from their roosting-places. The county of Norfolk is noted for rearing great numbers of turkeys for the London markets. But not only is it profitable to rear turkeys on a large scale, it is also a great advantage to a cottager to possess a few of these birds, for they find the greater part of their food themselves in the roads and hedges. Care should be taken, however, that they trespass not on the pro- perty of others, for they are exceedingly fond of grain, and at certain seasons are a great annoyance to the far- mer, and should be carefully kept out of the way of mischief. Snails, slugs, and worms are also favourite morsels with the turkey. In the month of March, the turkey-hen begins to show, by her increased animation and haughty step, that the laying season is at hand ; and at the same time, if not prevented, she will wander abroad, and endeavour to steal away from observation. When these »/ symptoms are observed, together with a peculiar note which she utters at this season, her owner should pre- pare a nest, and put a chalk egg into it, to induce her to lay there. She will usually lay in the morning either daily or every second day, the total number of her eggs being from fifteen to twenty ; her mate must not be allowed to be present while she is laying, as he is apt to break the egg. Each egg, as it is laid, should be taken away, to prevent its being broken, or sucked by vermin ; if put in a basket, in a dry and airy place, the eggs will keep very well till the hen has done' laying ; .hey are larger than those of a common fowl, and are of a dull cream colour with reddish dots. Before the hen has done laying, she often shows a great anxiety to sit ; she clucks like a common fowl, and remains persever- MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 253 ingly on the nest. It is better in this case to put eggs under her, taking care to mark them in order to dis- tinguish them from those she may continue to lay, and which latter must be removed, as they would not be hatched at the same time as the rest, and would there- fore be spoilt. When the hen has been sitting for a month, the chicks make their appearance. Those which come out first must be placed in a basket of feathers and kept in a warm place till the rest appear, when they may be all given to the mother. She appears, however, little com- petent to the task of feeding them, or teaching them how to feed themselves, and on this account a few com- mon hens' eggs are sometimes put under the turkey, about nine or ten days after she has begun to sit, that the chickens, coming out at the same time with the little turkeys, may teach them how to eat. For a few hours after hatching, the young turkeys require no food, but iu. some places a custom prevails of putting a pepper- corn down the throat of each chick, then dipping its bill in water, and. returning it to the nest. The pepper- corn is doubtless given to gratify the love of stimulants, which turkeys are known to possess, but at this early stage it is much better to let the chick alone, and not force it with food for several hours. The first meal may be of hard boiled eggs chopped fine, and mixed with bread or curd, and a few sprigs of nettle and parsley, also boiled and chopped ; this is made into a paste, and the chicks are encouraged to peck it from the palm of the hand. Some persons give chopped egg alone for the first fortnight, and say that it is the only safe food, on account of the tendency there is in young turkeys to fall into a sort of dysentery. The turkey-hen and chicks are housed for a month after the hatching, unless the weather be particularly warm : if they appear to droop, a little powdered car- raway-seed and cayenne pepper may be cautiously mixed with their food, taking care to avoid milk, which has a 254 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. purgative effect. The most critical period of a turkey's life is that at which it acquires the reddish colour of the full-grown bird ; this occurs at two months old, and is called " shooting the red." Nutritive food sea- soned with a little cayenne pepper, is the only thing that can be given to the chicks, who are now to drop that name, and be called poults. It may be remarked that all through their feeble days the mothers are most watchful protectors of the chicks ; they can discern at a great height a bird of prey in the air, and immediately utter a peculiar cry, to warn the young of danger ; and so well is this, understood, that every chick will imme- PIGEON-HOUSES. 255 diately run and hide itself among the long grass or other plants within reach. After the second month the poults are fed on com- mon boiled plants, such as nettles, wild succory, milfoil, turnip -tops, cabbage -sprouts, or outside leaves well boiled down and chopped with a few rnealy potatoes. When the poults are about five months old, it may be required to get them ready for the market. If so, let them be well fed twice a day with boiled potatoes mashed with meal, and given quite fresh each time. At the same time it will be desirable to keep them rather close, and to let them pass some time after each meal in the dark. By persevering in this plan for about a month, and taking care that great cleanliness and purity be observed in attending on the birds, they will be found sufficiently fat without forcing or cramming them. Eighteen or twenty pounds is a fair weight for a fat yearling bird ; thirty is a good weight for a turkey of any age, and few exceed forty. Perhaps a poultry-yard is scarcely complete without PIGEONS, and yet these birds are such persevering de- vourers of grain, that a large collection of them is not desirable for the farmer. The dove-cote or pigeon-house is with propriety placed at the top of the poultry-house, and is so constructed that every pair of pigeons has two holes or rooms to rest in. Without this there is con- stant confusion and breaking of eggs. The front of the pigeon-house should have a south-west aspect, with a platform at the entrance* for the birds to alight and perch upon. The platform is painted white, and their holes are often white-washed within and without, the birds being much attracted by the whiteness of their dwelling, and being also very fond of the lime of the white-wash. Cleanliness and an ample supply of water are of the utmost consequence to these birds, as they are apt to suffer greatly from vermin. If they are kept in considerable numbers, a room or loft is set apart for their use, and is provided with shelves partitioned off 256 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. into separate apartments, where the pigeons may sit in privacy. They seldom take the trouble to make nests of their own, and therefore a basket, or an unglazed earthen pan, about three inches high and large enough conveniently to hold a pigeon and her young, is usu- ally put in each nesting-place. The hen lays only two eggs, but when they are hatched she will lay the same THE TURTLE-DOVE. number again, and hatch eight or nine times in the season. The duty of sitting is shared equally between the cock and hen, except that the hen always sits by night. The cock also helps to feed the young. Pigeons secrete a milky fluid in the crop, commonly called " soft meat." This only appears when they are breeding, and is a provision for the early nourishment of the young. FOOD OF PIGEONS. 257 These birds live almost entirely on grain. Tares, peas, and the smallest kind of black or brown beans, called pigeons' beans, are their proper food; but all must be ripe and dry, for new grain is apt to scour them and do mischief. Like most other animals, they are fond of salt, but an excess of it is fatal to them. The scent of coriander and other seeds is pleasant to pigeons, and it is said attract them strongly to their dove-cote, and to allure strangers. A mixture of loam, sand, old mortar, fresh lime, bay- salt, cumine, coriander, carra way, and allspice, moistened with urine, is sometimes beaten np into a thick sort of mortar, and left for the pigeons to pick at. They are very fond of it, and, according to an old fancy, it keeps them in health. A piece of board should be placed on this mixtiire, that the pigeons may not scatter and dirty the lump as they alight upon it. The pigeon is not in such high repute as in former days, but is still sufficiently esteemed as a delicate article of food, to make it worthy of attention among our domestic poultry. ONE of the most beautiful sights of Spring is the blos- soming of fruit-trees, especially of cherry and apple- trees, in orchards and gardens. The delicacy and fra- grance of the blossoms, opening before the leaves appear, and the rich profusion with which they clothe the brown and rugged stems, offer a beautiful contrast to the general aspect of chilliness which lingers about the early spring. The early appearance of these blossoms is, indeed, to the gardener almost a matter of regret j for they sometimes meet with a severe check, or have the young fruit nipped and destroyed by the sharp frosty nights of April and May. The dangers of frost and blight once over, the pro- mise of the Spring is richly fulfilled in Summer and s 2 260 SKETCHES OP BUBAL AFFAIRS. Autumn, and a vast quantity of "wholesome and grateful fruit is supplied for present use, and for future store. Besides the profitable employment of the apple and pear in certain parts of the country called the cider districts, where the crop is annually manufactured into cider and perry, there is also an immense and constant demand for the produce of orchards in all large towns ; so that gardeners, cottagers, and others living within a convenient distance of such towns, are sure of a ready market for the fruit, and are well repaid for any labour and care they may bestow on the management of orchard trees. Sometimes, through neglect, injudicious pruning, or other mismanagement, apple and pear-trees do not yield half the produce they might reasonably be expected to bear; but under experienced hands, and in favourable seasons, the load of fruit obtained from these trees is quite astonishing. In many cases the weight of the crop would actually break down the branches, were they not artificially supported on props. A goodly sight it is to see a cottage -garden thus richly decked : and it is not, happily, an unknown sight, though more rare than it was formerly. In some parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire, the little crowded cottage- garden becomes a picture of beauty in the early Spring, from the mass of pink-tinged blossoms that cover the deformed and straggling branches of the fruit-trees ; and later in the season, the same small enclosure may be seen, rich in golden fruits, carefully propped xip and tended by some white-haired peasant, now past work. No doubt the industrious and good management of the little plot of ground, generally attached to the labourer's cottage in rural districts, might often renew these pleasing scenes, and greatly add to the comforts of cottagers. It has indeed been said that no labourer who has a clever, cleanly, industrious wife, need be without a little store of cider or perry, and a good supply of wholesome fruit, the produce of his own THE COTTAGER'S GARDEN. 261 ground, provided he has room to plant two or three standard apple-trees and pear-trees, and also some goose- berry and currant-bushes. Even the walls and roof of the cottage might be covered with fruit-bearing trees ; and how much more pleasing this would be to the eye, and how much more profitable to the owner, than the bare and naked walls too commonly seen ! Cottagers are little aware how much good might be done to themselves and their families by this attention to their garden ground. The owner of the cottage, well pleased to see things made the most of, would be disposed to give a little help towards stocking the garden. Every one would look with pleasure, as they passed by, at the neat and orderly appearance of the cottage, and would feel disposed to respect the owner, and to do him any good turn in their power. A strange contrast indeed it is when one industrious per- son thus cares for and improves his ground, while his neighbours allow theirs to lie neglected. The writer remembers such a case, where out of six cottages, near together, only one could be looked on with entire satis- faction. Each cottager had a nice strip of garden ground, and kept a pig ; but while heaps of rubbish and patches of weeds deformed too many gardens, there was one always neat and well managed. The little path through this garden was bordered by gooseberry and currant-bushes, and fringed with pot-herbs. The beds were neatly laid out, and no waste or weedy comers left. Crops of cabbage, potatoes, and onions, and little patches of radish and lettuce, promised well for the cottager's comfort ; while near the cottage, and so placed as not to overshadow the crops, were a few well-tended trees of larger growth. The cottage itself peeped out prettily from a mass of foliage, and a tiny flower-bed, just beneath the window, added to its attrac- tions. Very sweet, at evening time, was the scent of the wall-flowers from this miniature flowei'-garden ; and you were all the more disposed to linger over them 262 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. because the cottager's wife, with her clean cap and smiling face, and her baby in her arms, was sure to come to the door to greet you with a curtsey and a word of welcome. There can be little doubt but that in such villages as we are describing, where the master takes an interest in his people, and allows them a little ground on advan- tageous terms, and where the clergyman exerts his powerful influence in promoting the domestic comforts as well as the spiritual welfare of his flock, numbers of labourers might add considerably to their humble wages, and at the same time greatly increase their own respectability and happiness by the good management of garden ground. It is a happy cimimstance that the most profitable and wholesome fruits are very easy of cultivation, and will thrive in almost any situation. Apples, pears, and cherries belong especially to temperate climates, so that it has been said, wherever an oak will grow, there these fruits may also be found. In many parts of Germany the apple is a common road-side tree, planted for a mile or two in the outskirts of towns, and left with its tempt- ing load of fruit without the least protection. Out of the numerous passengers along the road not one is seen to step aside to pluck the fruit ; and children playing beneath the trees do not seem to have the slightest inclination to theft. Such is the influence of habit and of a strict enforcement of the laws. Many of these way-side trees are extremely productive, although their foliage is obscured with dust, and they have frequently a stunted appearance. Some years ago the writer saw a large apple-tree, in the neighbourhood of Frankfort, so heavily laden with fruit, that fifteen props were necessary to support the branches. Apple-trees require a deep and tolerably rich soil, and are all the better if placed on ground which slopes to the south. A very low situation for the orchard is bad ; because the blossom is more liable FRUIT-TKEE FENCES. 263 to be injured by frosts, where fogs and damp prevail ; and also because the trees themselves soon become mossy, and tend towards decay. In the case of cot- tagers, where every inch of soil is of consequence, it has been recommended that they should make the fences of their gardens entirely of fruit-bearing trees. Thus a writer on cottage husbandry remarks : — " In many parts of the country, all the plums, and even all the apples and pears, which a cottager could require for drink-making and cooking, might be grown in his ring-fence ; by allowing the plants to attain their natural height, and by trimming the sides of the fence to the height of seven or eight feet, allowing the shoots above that height to spread out either inwards only or on both sides, according to the nature of the adjoin- ing surface. We have seen such hedges in Worcester- shire, and in different parts of the Netherlands and Germany, thirty feet high, three feet wide at the bot- tom, two feet wide at the height of eight feet, the space between proving an impenetrable fence, and twenty feet wide immediately above. Where, from the nature of the soil or climate, neither the apple, pear, nor plum will make hedges of this description, the sloe-thorn may be employed, the fruit of which may be used for all the purposes of the damson. In good soil, the sloe will grow thirty feet high. The white-thorn should never be planted as a fence to a cottage-garden when the blackthorn can be got ; the latter forms as good a fence, and has only one objection common to all the genus Primus, that of being prolific in suckers ; these, of course, the cottager must take care to remove. A sloe- hedge once established, on the sheltered and warmest sides of it different varieties of plums may be grafted ; the more hardy kinds on the east and west aspects, and the better kinds on the south side of the northern boundary. A south wall, it is estimated, is equivalent to the removal of the trees which are trained against it, seven degrees further to the south ; if we take the 264 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. effects of the south side of a hedge as equivalent to one- third of the effects of a south wall, we shall find no situation in Britain or Ireland in which the cottager may not grow apples, pears, plums, and cherries. The principle is to form the hedge of a double row of wild- ings ; and when it is grown five or six years, to cut down the inner row, and graft it with the cultivated varieties of the species ; apples on a crab hedge, on hawthorns or quinces; pears on wild pears, on haw- thorns, mountain- ash, or service ; plums on sloes, and cherries on bird-cherries or geans." * Where there is space for a regular orchard, the soil should be early and well prepared, in a spot where the subsoil is dry ; and then about October or November, as soon as the leaves are dead or discoloured, the proper time has arrived for transplanting the young trees from the nursery to the orchard. When this is carefully done, the young trees will send out a few rootlets before winter, and will be prepared for vigorous growth in the spring. It must greatly depend on the size of the orchard whether any other fruits than the most com- mon sorts be planted therein. The general stock con- sists of apple, pear, plum, and cherry-trees. To render a large orchard very complete, however, it should con- tain quinces, medlars, mulberries, service-trees, filberts, Spanish nuts, and barberries, as well as walnuts and chestnuts. The last two, being well adapted for shelter, might help to form the boundaries of the orchard, being set a little closer than ordinary for that purpose. But whatever the size of the orchard, the larger proportion of trees should always be of apple, on account of their superior usefulness. This valuable fruit, which is now so common and so completely naturalized in this country, is probably of Eastern origin. The prophet Joel mentions it among * This plan of making the fence of fruit trees, can only be adopted in gardens of tolerable size ; in small gardens it would too much overshadow the soil. VARIETIES OP THE APPLE. 265 the trees of Syria, in the following passage : " The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth : the pomegra- nate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field are withered." (Chap. i. v. 12.) Apple-trees and their fruit are also mentioned several times in the Canticles, and allusion is likewise made to the fruit in the Book of Proverbs. But those peculiar arts which have so greatly increased the value of fruit- trees appear to have been discovered at a much later period. No mention is made of the art of grafting, for instance, throughout the Old Testament Scriptures ; yet it must have been well known to the Romans at the time when St. Paul wrote his epistle to them, for he illustrates the position of the Gentiles in the church of Christ, by comparing them to a wild olive-tree, grafted contrary to nature into the true olive-tree, from which some of the branches (the Jews) had been broken ofi". The Roman historian Pliny, also, mentions the art of grafting, describing certain apple-trees which would " do honour to the first grafters for ever." The better sorts of apples were gradually introduced into England from the Continent ; but there is one sort maintained by some writers to be of the native growth of this country. This is the golden pippin, a very small but delicious apple, called by French writers pomme d'or, and also Reinette d' 'Angleterre. Of the most ancient sorts procured from abroad were the Nonpareil, said to have been brought from France by a Jesuit in the time of Queen Mary, and first planted in the gar- dens of Oxfordshire ; and the Oslin or Arbroath Pippin, a Scotch variety, either introduced or extensively cul- tivated by the monks of Aberbrothwick. The more delicate apples for the table seem to have been little known until the end of the sixteenth century, but from that period they made great progress. In the time of Shakspeare pippins were among the delicacies of the dessert, and fifty years later, apples had become a very general article of national consumption. It was in the 266 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. reign of Charles I. that cider orchards began to be planted in Herefordshire ; and when cider was first ma- nufactured, so great was the estimation in which it was held, that it was expected to supersede the use of foreign wines. In the time of Charles II., cider was the gene- ral beverage ; and in later reigns its manufacture was much encouraged and recommended, especially when our country was engaged in wars with France, and when it therefore became an act of policy to discourage as much as possible the use of French wines. While the cider districts were thus becoming celebrated and important, the general cultivation of the apple also improved, and several fine old varieties were brought into commou use. Some of these varieties are now lost : but we have a great abundance of new varieties in the place of them. While some plants scarcely vary at all, others are subject to almost endless varieties ; and this is the case with the apple. In its wild state the apple is nothing more than the sour crab of our hedges ; but in its domesticated state, it seems susceptible of improvement to almost any extent. About fourteen hundred varieties of apple are described in our modern works on Horti- culture, and this is said to be not more than half the number really known. This being the case, it will be necessary to name only a few of the most esteemed sorts. The White Juneating is one of the earliest table apples. It ripens in July, and being sweet, and slightly per- fumed, is a welcome addition to the dessert. The /Summer Golden Pippin and the Red Quarrenden are also ex- cellent early dessert apples. Later in the season the Early Nonpareil, the Red and Yellow Ingestrie, the Autumn Pearmain, the Kerry Pippin, and the other favourites, arrive to vary the dessert ; while in winter there is a further change in the abundant and delicious Ribston Pippins, Doumton Pippins, Golden Reinettes, Sykehouse Russets, &c. The varieties fitted for kitchen use are also exceedingly numerous, among which for summer use Codlins are universally known and valued. ADVANTAGES OF GRAFTING. 267 If we trace the cultivation of the apple to the com- mencement, we find that the first step is the preparation of a soil of good quality as a nursery -ground. For this purpose the land should be trenched eighteen inches deep, and planted with young plants of the crab raised from seed, and one year old, each plant being placed at the distance of six feet from the others. These plants will be fit for grafting the following year, that is, when they are two years old ; and during the early period of their growth they will not be injured, but rather bene- fited, if the ground be planted with potatoes, or other low-growing crops, and be regularly manured. The next operation is grafting, and this is a curious and interesting art. To those who have never wit- nessed the operation and its effects, it is indeed a wonderful sight to see that by cutting down a tree, bearing small and unprofitable fruit, and fitting closely and binding to it a shoot from a tree bearing large and delicious fruit, you get a flourishing tree bearing the same rich fruit as that from which the shoot was taken, and not partaking at all of the nature of the sour, in- ferior produce of the stock. It is a very interesting fact with respect to grafting, that there must be a near relationship between the trees, otherwise the operation will not succeed. No doubt St. Paul knew this, or he would have chosen some greater contrast than the wild olive and the true olive, when he described the grafting in of the Gentiles to the Christian Church. Some spu- rious grafts have indeed been contrived, so as to give the appearance of several trees flourishing on the same stock ; but these have either been deceptions, or short- lived attempts to force an opposition to natural laws. Many advantages arise from grafting. Approved varieties of trees are thus multiplied with very little trouble, and their peculiar flavour and richness pre- served. If there is a tendency to weakness in the ori- ginal tree, it is often checked in the young scions or shoots, by inserting them into vigorous and healthy 268 SKETCHES OP EURAL AFFAIRS. stocks : they thus get increased strength, without de- terioration of flavour. If the young scion, on the con- trary, be over luxurious in its growth, and therefore likely to be deficient in bearing, it receives a seasonable check by being grafted to a slow growing stock. There are several common methods of grafting, such as whip, or tongue-grafting, cleft-grafting, crovm-graft- ing, and saddle-grafting ; and there are very many little differences in the way of performing the operation. Whip-grafting is done as follows : — The stock is cut through in a sloping direction, leaving a clean smooth surface exposed. The young scion is also cut in the same slanting manner, so as to fit the stock and be the exact counterpart of it. A thin wedge-shaped tongue is made very near the upper part of the slope of the scion, and a nick is made in the stock for this tongue to fit into. The scion is then accurately fitted to the stock, and secured to it with strips of matting, being afterwards fur- ther protected by grafting clay, or some other composition, pressed round the stem, which effectually keeps out the air, and also preserves the graft firm in its place until the union of scion and stock be complete. In cleft-grafting the stock is cut or sawn across in a horizontal instead of a sloping manner, and in the surface thus exposed, a cleft is made with a strong knife and hammer, or sometimes even with a bill-hook. The graft is then cut into a sort of blade two inches long, and the split in the stock being kept open with a chisel, the graft is placed in it, and (the chisel being removed) the split closes firmly on it, and keeps it in its place. It is, however, secured with matting and with clay, as in the former case. Crown-grafting is performed on large limbs with thick bark, or on large stems. The limb or stem is sawed DIFFERENT METHODS OF GRAFTING. 269 through horizontally. A flat piece of smooth hard wood or ivory is then slipped between the bark and the wood, so as, in fact, to make a small cleft or opening for the insertion of the graft. The latter, being properly thinned, is slipped into this cleft, and perhaps two or three other grafts are placed round the same limb, in clefts made in the same manner between the bark and the wood. A smooth cord is then passed round the stock, and the exposed parts are covered with clay. Saddle-grafting is so called, because the stock is cut into the form of a wedge, and the graft is cut in the reverse form so as to fit over it like a saddle. This is generally a very successful mode of grafting, if carefully performed. There are other operations, called inarching and budding, but these we cannot dwell on. V, The former is a means of grafting, by ap- proach, the branches of different trees which happen to grow near each other ; the latter is the transferring of buds, with a small portion of the surrounding bark, from one tree to another. Grafting-clay is prepared of three parts blue or yellow clay or brick earth, one part fresh horse-dung free from litter, and a small portion of soft cut hay or hemp. These are mixed together with a small quantity of water, and beaten until the mass is firm and yet flexi- ble. Grafting-wax, which is a mixture of pitch, rosin, bees'-wax, and turpentine, is not so good as clay for the purpose. To return to the cultivation of the apple-tree. Graft- ing is performed at two years old ; but it will be five or six years longer, before the trees will come to their full bearing. Yet the trees, if well managed, will yield much fruit when they are young. Supposing them to remain in the nursery ground until their branches begin 270 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. to interfere with each other, every other tree, and per- haps every other row of trees, will have to be trans- planted to some other situation. When they are planted out with an especial view to cider, all the trees of the same sort or quality should be placed in distinct rows, by which means the fruit ripens together, and can be easily kept separate from such as may ripen later. To transplant the trees successfully, the greater part of the side branches must be taken off, and the roots care- fully preserved from mutilation. The hole prepared for the roots must not be deeper than that in which they formerly grew ; but abundant space must be left for spreading them out in a natural manner on all sides before the soil and turf be covei-ed in upon them. Each of the transplanted trees, during the first year, will require a stake and a few bushes to protect it ; after which, the washing of the trunk once a year with lime and water, and cow-dung, will defend it from the teeth of animals grazing in the orchard. Different names are applied to apple-trees according to their different modes of training. Those we have been speaking of are called standards, and are mostly employed in orchards and cottage-gardens ; smaller kinds being now used for kitchen-gardens in general. Standards require little care beyond that of providing them with a straight stem six feet high, and three or four healthy shoots to form a head. These must be afterwards pruned, so that they do not chafe against each other in windy weather. The trees chiefly planted in modern gardens are dwarfs, which are kept back, by repeated and judicious pruning, to a very small compact size. Their fruit is often finer than that of standards, while it is much more convenient to gather, and less liable to be blown down. Dwarfs have other advan- tages in the small space they occupy, and in their not overshadowing the soil. Espalier apple-trees, or those trained on a frame, were formerly much used ; but have now almost generally given way to dwarfs, which are PRUNING. 271 less difficult to manage, and less expensive. Some trees are called Balloons, from their branches being trained in a peculiar shape, by means of strings and a hoop, until they present a balloon-shaped head. These trees present a beautiful appearance when in flower ; but the mode of training causes their buds to be so much exposed to the influence of frost, that they often suffer more than other apple-trees. The pruning of young apple-trees is very beneficial to them, when performed in a skilful and judicious manner ; but when the trees grow old, the less they are pruned the better. The lopping of large branches is generally very injurious to the tree; it exposes the sap- wood to the atmosphere, and produces canker and decay. The first object in pruning is to remove superfluous and too luxuriant shoots, and this cannot be better done than in the youth of the tree. By this means light and air are admitted to all parts of the tree, and a crowded growth is prevented ; but even those shoots which are allowed to remain will require checking in their ex- uberant growth, for the shoots which terminate each branch are unfruitful, and it is only the side shoots that are fertile, and these only when they are stunted in their growth, and form what are technically called spurs. By shortening back the leading shoots every year to a greater or less degree, according to their strength, the sap is checked, and forced into the side buds, which soon begin to form branches, some of which are sure to be fruit-bearing ones, for their growth will again be seasonably checked by the lengthening of the principal branch, which will now send forth new buds near the extremity, and will again grow rapidly as before. The fruit-spurs, as well as the leading branches, when they show a disposition to lengthen, should have that ten- dency stopped by pruning. The trees of an orchard, especially apple-trees, are liable to injury, not only from frosts and storms, but from blight and parasitical plants ; and before we 272 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. notice the fruiting of the trees, and the business of in-gathering, it will be desirable to give an account of the evils which thus check the productive powers of the trees, and disappoint the hopes of the gardener. American or white blight (Eriosoma mail) is perhaps the most destructive pest of the orchard. This insect is said to have been brought to this country from France, in the reign of Louis XIV., when a colony of refugees settled at Paddington, where this sort of blight soon committed great ravages. Others affirm that it first made its appearance in a nursery -ground at Chelsea, being probably imported from North America. From whatever quarter, it certainly made great havoc in the nurseries of the metropolis, and was speedily distributed BLIGHTED BRANCH. throughout the country. The best account of this insect we have yet met with, is given in the Journal of a Naturalist, and is as follows :— " In the spring of the year a slight hoariness is observed upon the branches of certain species of our orchard fruit. As the season ad- vances this hoariness increases ; it becomes cottony, and towards the middle or end of summer, the under sides of some of the branches are invested with a thick downy substance, so long, as at times to be sensibly agitated by AMERICAN BLIGHT. 273 the air. Upon examining this substance, we find that it conceals a multitude of small wingless creatures, which are busily employed in preying upon the limb of the tree beneath. This they are well enabled to do by means of a beak terminating in a fine bristle, which, being insinuated through the bark, and the sappy part of the wood, enables the creature to extract as with a syringe the sweet vital liquor that circulates in the plant. This terminating bristle is not observed in every individual ; in those that possess it, it is of dif- ferent lengths, and is usually, when not in use, so closely concealed under the breast of the animal as to be in- visible. In the younger insects it is often manifested by protruding like a fine termination to the body ; but as their size increases, the bristle is not in this way observable. The sap-wood (alburnum) being thus wounded, rises up in excrescences and nodes all over the branch AMERICAN BLIGHT. and deforms it ; the limb de- (Magnified.) prived of its nutriment, grows sickly ; the leaves turn yel- low, and the part perishes. Branch after branch is thus assailed, until they all become leafless, and the tree dies. "Aphides attack the young and softer parts of plants; but this insect seems easily to wound the harder bark of the apple, and by no means makes choice of the most tender parts of the branch. They give a preference to certain sorts, but not always the most rich fruits ; as cider-apples and wildings are greatly infested by them, and, for some unknown caiise, other varieties seem to be exempted from their depreda- tions. The Wheeler's russet and Crofton pippin I have never observed injured by them. This insect is vivi- parous, or produces its young alive, forming a cradle for them by discharging from the extremities of its body a quantity of long, cottony matter, which, becom- ing interwoven and entangled, prevents the young from falling to the earth, and completely envelopes the parent 274 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. and the offspring. In this cottony substance, we ob- serve, as soon as the creature becomes animated in the spring, and as long as it remains in vigour, many round pellucid bodies, which at first sight look like eggs, only that they are larger than we might suppose to be ejected by the animal. THE INSECT TOEMING A CRADLE Th com^ Qf ft gweet glu. roR'lTS YOUKG. (Magnified.) ,. * a . •, i 11 T 1 tinous fluid, probably dis- charged by the aphis, as the first food of its young. * * * * The winds wafting about small tufts of the downy matter, convey the creature with it from tree to tree throughout the whole orchard. In the autumn, when this substance is generally long, the winds and rains of the season effectually disperse these insects, and we observe them endeavouring to secrete themselves in the crannies of any neighbouring substance. Should the savoy cabbage be near the tree whence they have been dislodged, the cavities of the under sides of its leaves are commonly favourite asylums for them. Mul- titudes perish by these rough removals ; but numbers yet remain, and we may find them in the nodes and crevices, on the under sides of the branches, at any period of the year, the long cottony vesture being re- moved ; but still they are enveloped in a fine short downy clothing, to be seen by a magnifier, proceeding, apparently, from every suture or pore of their bodies, and protecting them in their dormant state from the moisture and frosts of our climate. This aphis, in a natural state, usually awakens and commences its labours veiy early in the month of March ; and the hoariness on its body may be observed increasing daily ; but if an infected branch be cut in winter and kept in a warm room, these aphides will awaken, speedly spin their cottony nests, and feed, as they are accustomed to do in the genial season." METHOD OP REMOVING BLIGHT. 27-5 Such is the American blight when left unmolested ; but as soon as it makes its appearance on a tree, the xitmost care should be taken to clean every part of the bark with a hard brush, and some searching wash ; for unless this be done, it is very likely to spread over all the trees in the orchard or neighbourhood. It is even considered better to sacrifice two or three much infected trees entirely, than to allow this pest to spread. When the blight has made considerable inroads on a tree, and has penetrated too deeply to be removed by a brush, a method may be employed such as is recommended in the following extract from the work already quoted : — " The same unknown decree which regulates the in- crease and decrease of all created beings, influences this insect ; yet wet seasons, upon the whole, seem genial to its constitution. In the hot, dry summer of 1825. it was abundant everywhere ; in the spring of 1826, which was unusually fine and dry, it abounded in such incre- dible luxuriance, that many trees seemed at a short distance as if they had been whitewashed ; in the en- suing summer, which was a very dry and hot one, this cottony matter so entirely disappeared, that to super- ficial observation the malady was not in existence ; and it did not become manifest again until September, when, after the rains of that season, it re-issued in fine, cottony patches, from the old nodes in the trees. Many remedies have been proposed for removing this evil, efficacious, perhaps, in some cases, upon a small scale ; but when the injury has existed for some time, and extended its influence over the parts of a large tree, I apprehend it will take its course and the tree die. Upon young plants, and in places where a brush can be applied, any substance that can be used in a liquid state to harden into a coat, insoluble by rain, will as- suredly confine the ravages of the creature, and smother it. I have very successfully removed this blight from young trees, and from recently attacked places in those more advanced, by an easy application. Melt about T 2 276 SKETCHES OF RUHAL AFFAIRS. three ounces of resin in an earthen pipkin, take it from the fire and pour into it three ounces of fish oil ; the ingredients will perfectly unite, and when cold, acquire the consistence of honey. A slight degree of heat will liquefy it, and in this state paint over every node or infected part in your tree, using a common painter's brush. This I prefer doing in Spring, as soon as the hoariness appears. The substance soon sufficiently hardens, and forms a varnish which pre- vents any escape, and stifles the individuals. After the first dressing, should any cottony matter appear round the margin of the varnish, a second application to these parts will, I think, be found to effect a perfect cure." Another great enemy to full-grown apple-trees in orchards is mistletoe or misseltoe (viscum album), a para- sitic plant, fixing itself in the bark of several trees, such as the oak, poplar, lime, apple, almond, and olive ; but in this country most commonly seen on apple-trees. This is not the place to describe the veneration paid in former days to the mistletoe of the oak, which was held by the Druids as a sacred plant. We have here simply to notice it as a pest to the orchard, especially in the cider counties, where it is often permitted to become extensively injurious. The seed of this plant being once deposited, by birds or otherwise, on the bark of a tree, a little rootlet issues forth, and swelling out at its extremity, like the mouth-piece of a hunting-horn, it takes fast hold of the bark, and finally extends itself between the inner bark and the soft wood, where the sap is most abundant, sometimes sending up suckers at a distance from the spot where the root entered. Thus the plant derives its whole nourishment from the tree, which is naturally weakened and impoverished thereby ; indeed, when several plants occupy the same branch, the latter generally withers away and dies, the parasites also dying with it. The best cultivators of orchards in the cider districts are very careful to check APPLE-HARVEST. 277 this evil as soon as it begins to make its appearance. The usual method of clearing the trees, is by pulling off the mistletoe with hooks in frosty weather, when the plant becomes brittle and easily severed from the tree. A labourer will sometimes clear fifty or sixty trees in a day ; a fact which proves the extent of the pest to be much greater than persons not living iu the cider dis- tricts have any idea of. When the difficulties of the season have been en- countered or surmounted, and the crop of the cider orchards is ready for gathering, the almost universal custom is to strike the trees with poles (this is called poulting), and then to gather up the fallen crop. It is much to be wished that this practice were not so general, for much of the young bearing-wood is often broken by the violence used. Some cultivators adopt the better method of sending men or boys into the trees to shake the branches. In this case only such apples as are ripe fall to the ground, and the operation must be therefore performed at two or three different times ; this is doubtless the reason why the more expeditious method of knocking down the fruit has become so frequent. The mixing of all kinds of apples in different stages of ripeness is avoided by the best cider-makers, as tend- ing to produce unequal and repeated stages of fermen- tation, exhausting the strength and injuring the quality of the liquor. Therefore the fruit is kept separate until it is milled and expressed, when it is fermented together according to the judgment of the manager. The fruit should not only be collected separately, but kept till perfectly mellow. For this purpose it is usually placed in heaps about a foot in thickness, and fully exposed to the sun, air, or rain, without covering, except in very severe weather. Rotten apples should be removed from the mass. When the experience of the cider-maker determines that the fruit is sufficiently mellow, it is ground separately. In this way, if desired, 278 SKETCHES OP EURAL AFFAIRS. fine cider of different flavours and of different degrees of strength may be obtained from the same orchard, and mixed afterwards, according to the pleasure of the owner. But it may be added that this requires skill and experience on the part of the maker, and has sometimes failed in private hands ; so that the old method of making cider with mixed fruits is on the whole more likely to succeed, under common manage- ment, than that of the separation of the fruits. There are two great districts in which cider is ex- tensively made : these are the Herefordshire district, and the Devonshire district, each of which includes several counties. The cider made in the former district is strong, but harsh and acid ; that of the latter is sweet and delicious, often equalling, if not surpassing, the lighter descriptions of wine. In fact, the best and sweetest cider is largely used in the adulteration of wines, or rather it forms the staple of many wines of superior flavour, sold as foreign. The manufacture of cider is conducted in a rude and imperfect manner. The mill in which the apples are ground is worked by horse-power in large cider- makings ; but for private use the hand-mill is much employed. A horse-mill consists of a circular stone trough for the apples, about eighteen feet across, called the chase, round which a heavy circular stone, called the runner, is turned by one or sometimes two horses. In this way the fruit is ground until it is entirely reduced to a pulp called must, which will pass without lumps between the fingers, and which shows by the white spots in it, that even the pips of the apples have been crushed in the process. The hand-mill * consists of two wooden teethed rollers, or, which is preferable, two iron- fluted ones, arranged in the manner of other mills, with a feeder at the top, and the means of turning by hand. As the cylinders are capable of being removed to a greater or * See vignette at p. 259. CIDER-MAKING. 279 less distance from each other, they are gradually brought nearer as the pulp becomes finer, so that at last not even a pip can pass unbruised. The hand-mill cannot be used so expeditiously as the horse-mill, but it is capable of being altered in its character by the attachment of a large horizontal wheel and horse, as is sometimes done. When the apples are reduced to the state of must, a large horsehair cloth is spread out on the cider-press, and some of the must poured into it from a pail. The ends of the cloth are then folded over, and another is laid upon it and filled in the same manner. Ten or twelve of CIDER-PRESS. these hair-cloths are thus filled in succession, and then surmounted with a frame of thick boards, upon which a screw is slowly worked down by means of a lever. The pressure causes a thick juice, which is the cider, to ooze forth from the hair-cloths, and this being repeated two or three times, leaves nothing behind but the dry must. 280 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. This is sometimes mixed with water, ground again, and! the liquid pressed out as before. The inferior beverage thus prepared is called water-cider, and is drunk early in the year. In the Devonshire cider-press, reed or un- thrashed straw, instead of hair-cloth, is spread in layers to receive the fruit. The juice which oozes from the hair-cloths or reeds runs off in a channel in the frame of the press, into a flat tub called a trin. From this tub it is poured with buckets or racking cans into casks placed where there is a free current of air. In three or four days fermentation usually begins ; the thicker parts of the liquor will then subside to the bottom of the cask, and the lighter become bright and clear. All the bright portion is now drawn off into another cask, and the sediment strained through linen bags, the liquor thus obtained being put with the rest. The difficulties con- nected with cider-making at this stage of the proceed- ings have been thus described : — " It is during the fer- mentation that the management of cider is least under- stood and there is the greatest hazard of injmy. It is necessary to know what fruit will, by itself, make good cider, which kinds should be ground together, and what proportions should be mixed. But it is in the preser- vation of strength and flavour, after the cider is ground, that the principal difficulty consists ; slight fermentation will leave the liquor thick and unpalatable ; rapid fer- mentation will impair both its strength and durability ; excessive fermentation will make it sour, harsh, and thin. Other things being equal, that cider will probably prove the best in which the vinous fermentation has proceeded slowly, and has not been confounded with the acetous." The makers of fine sweet cider give the most un- wearied attention to the liquor during fermentation. They apply their ears to the casks several times every day and night, to discover whether the singing noise has begun. They can distinguish accurately between this " singing," which is the sign of active fermentation, and another less audible noise called "fretting," which CIDER-MAKING. 281 is the sign of inactive fermentation. At the first symp- tom of singing, the clear liquor is racked off into an- other cask, without disturbing the dregs. Some ciders are more obstinate than others, so that, while some will be effectually quieted by three or four of these rackings, others may require upwards of twenty. A cold season saves much trouble, as a longer interval then takes place between the rackiugs. But on some occasions the same liquor has been racked every day in succession for fifteen or sixteen days. Of course considerable waste attends this process, so that the cider is diminished per- haps one third, or even one half, before the fermentation has ceased. The dregs on each occasion are, however, useful for many purposes. It is said that some cider- makers are so watchful at this critical time, as to re- main up every night for a period of six weeks, leaving their attendant to do duty in the day-time. Stumming or matching the cask, is a plan of checking fermentation by inserting at the bung-hole a lighted rag dipped in sulphur, and fixed to the end of a wire. A pailful of cider is left in the cask, and when the rag has burnt out, the cask is shaken that the liquor may be fully impregnated with the fumes of the sulphur. The cask is then filled up with cider, and fermentation receives a check, though perhaps only for a time. This method is apt to give the liquor an unpleasant taint. The fining of cider is performed by stirring into the liquor the shells and whites of eggs beaten up, or a quantity of isinglass. In some cases it is done by filtering the whole of the cider through very large bags of fine calico, which are suspended above the vat, and are each made to end in a point, where a small quantity of finely-powdered charcoal is placed. The cider, when it begins to run, will be a little discoloured by the charcoal, and these first runnings must be returned to the bag, but afterwards the liquor will be perfectly clear and bright, and may be put in the cask, and bunged immediately. This appears to be one of the 282 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. best methods of treating cider ; for although it makes the liquor flat at the time, this is soon recovered, and there is far less trouble with it afterwards. The juice of the pear is made into perry by the same process as that above described ; but this is a less common drink, as the pear is a less useful arid less generally cultivated fruit than the apple. The pear- tree will thrive on a rich loamy soil where there is good drainage ; but should the subsoil be of clay, or of any other description which will not allow water to pass off, the tree will not prosper. Shallow planting, and a porous subsoil, are essential to this fruit. Both the apple and the pear are turned to good account among foreign nations as well as in our own country. The French and the Americans are perhaps the most ingenious in the preparation of various dishes and confections from these fruits. Preserves and sweet- meats of every description are much used in America ; and among the several prepai-ations, preserved apples, apple-butter, apple-sauce, and dried apples are in great request. Owing to the extremes of heat and cold in that country, it would be quite impossible to preserve a sufficient supply of apples throughout the season, were it not for the custom of drying apples in very large quantities, both as an article of trade and for private consumption. This is an important business of the American autumn, and is conducted as follows : — The excellent apples which are so abundantly produced in that country are collected, pared, divided, and cored, and then spread out on a temporary scaffolding to dry in the sun. The scaffolding slopes towards the south, and the cut apples are laid in to the depth of three or four inches, and allowed to remain three or four days exposed to the sun. They are turned and moved about that they may dry the better, and if the weather become unsettled they are taken to a place of shelter ; but in fine weather they remain day and night on the scaffolding, with no other protection than a linen cloth APPLE DRYING IN AMERICA. 283 thrown over them at night. In drying, the apples shrink greatly, and occupy a comparatively small space. They are heaped together in the corner of a room, and will keep good for two years. Apple-drying, on a smaller scale, is managed by stringing the pieces of apple on stout threads, and hanging them up in the kitchens, where large wood-fires are kept. During the months of October, November, and December, the ceilings may be seen decorated with strings of apples, intersecting each other in every possible direction. These are not quite so delicate in their flavour as sun-dried apples, but answer the pupose for common domestic use. In the following spring and summer, when apples in their natural state are scarcely to be had, these dried apples ai*e found a valuable substitute, especially in pies and puddings, for which purpose they are well washed and soaked, and thus recover some of their original freshness. At the season when apple-drying is carried on thus extensively, the paring of the apples is a tedious but indispensable duty ; and in order to hasten operations, and at the same time to promote neighbourly feeling, the Americans assemble their neighbours together on the occasion for what they call an "after-supper frolic ;" but which is really a long evening's work. In that country, supper usually takes place at five or six o'clock in the afternoon, and about seven, the " pavers," having been duly invited, repair to the place where the apple- paring is to be held. An eye-witness thus describes the operations : — " Without farther ceremony they form themselves into small parties, each party surrounding a large basket for the reception of the cuttings, while the owner of the establishment takes care to supply his assistant labourers with plenty of the raw material. While fingers and knives are busily employed, the even- ing is occasionally enlivened with songs and cider, and not unfrequently with something of a more potent and exciting character. Although these are aftei'-supper 284 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. frolics, yet five or six hours of diligent apple-paring restores lost appetites ; so that about midnight tea and coffee, with their manifold accompaniments of Johnny cakes, buckwheat cakes, dough nuts, Yankee biscuit, pumpkin pie, apple-sauce, &c., are spread out in their usual profusion for the use and benefit of the whole party. After the parers have been replenished with this second supper, many of the younger people brandish their knives anew ; while the more sedate portion of the performers betake themselves to their respective homes. Notwithstanding there is commonly a great deal of fun and frolicking during the process of apple- paring, yet in a single night a large quantity of apples is prepared for the drying process ; that being left, as a matter of course, to the management of the owners. Thus it is that in this communionship of labour a great deal is performed that would otherwise be irksome to those engaged in it, or else altogether neglected. On the first or second night succeeding one of those meetings, the same party will be found similarly en- gaged at the house of some other neighbour ; and in this way the business proceeds, until all those who feel disposed to patronise apple-parings have each of them had a benefit at his own residence." The storing of apples in their natural state which the climate of America renders so difficult, is successfully performed in our country with many well-known sorts famous for their " long-keeping " qualities. Where the storing of apples is done on an extensive scale, in con- nexion with large gardens and orchards, there is fre- quently a large and well-ventilated room, called the fruit-room, fitted up expressly for the purpose, with fire- places or stoves, to prevent the attacks of frost, and with an abundance of convenient shelves for laying out the fruit. A northern aspect is considered most suitable, and it is also advantageous to have a dry cool cellar under the fruit-room, for the purpose of keeping bauk the ripening of some of the less durable varieties. WINTER FRUIT. 285 All fruits intended for keeping must be carefully gathered by hand, and particular caution must be used with the finer dessert fruits. These should be laid out on shelves made of hard wood (not of fir), covered with cartridge or writing paper, to prevent the apples from imbibing any taint. The kitchen fruit may be kept in layers two or three deep, but not in heaps, and should be examined from time to time, that decaying apples may be discovered and removed. ONE of the gi-eat beauties of our islaud, repeatedly noticed by foreigners with admiration, is its cultivated and garden-like appearance. This is especially remark- able in the southern parts of the kingdom, where an extensive view is generally a scene of fertility and beauty, a richly-wooded and well-watered tract on which the eye rests with the greatest satisfaction. A very large proportion of this beauty is owing to the practice of enclosing our fields with living and ver- dant fences, and also of permitting timber trees to re- main in those wild and picturesque hedges, which border green lanes or village byways. For although in some of our counties the stone-fence is adopted on account of the abundance of that material, yet the live fence is so much the more general, as to be one of the charac- teristics of our native land. And long may it remain 288 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. so ; for utility as well as beauty is therein concerned. Stone fences are, indeed, more convenient in particular districts, and can often be had in places where hedges would scarcely grow. They require no care or pruning, are not injured by sheep or other animals, and afford no shelter for birds. But in this last respect their merit, though much extolled, is very questionable. In order to admit it, we must first be sure that the presence of birds is an evil ; and this it would be difficult to prove. For it has been credibly stated that on a farm where the experiment was tried of exterminating hedgerows and trees, and thus getting rid of birds, the vast increase of the insect tribes, and their ravages in the caterpillar state, were so alarming, that it was necessary to restore the old state of things as quickly as possible. The use of fences is chiefly confined to lowlands, for among extensive ranges of hills, and in mountain dis- tricts, the pastures are wnolly open, and flocks are fed under the guidance of their respective shepherds. And in a pastoral age this must have been the case almost universally, whatever might be the character of the country. Yet hedges of thorns as well as other fences have been in use from a very remote period ; as is evident from the frequent allusion made to them in the Sacred Scrip- tures. The word of the Lord to an idolatrous people was, " Behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns." Hosea ii. 6. The complaint of the prophet when la- menting the miseries of Jerusalem, was, " He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out ; he hath made my chain heavy." Lament, iii. 7. In the parable of the fenced vineyard, which brought forth wild grapes, the declaration was, " I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up ; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down." Isaiah v. 5. "The way of the slothful" is said to be "as an hedge of thorns." Prov. xv. 19. In an opposite sense, the man whom God protects from evil is said to be hedged LIVE-FENCES. 289 in. " Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?" Job i. 10. Among heathen writers there is also mention made of fences of different kinds, and it appears that the same plant (the hawthorn) -which we now employ for hedges, was also a favourite with them. In the present day, and in our own country, the whole system of husbandry is so much altered, and live-stock is so often kept in the neighbourhood of cultivated crops, that attention to fences is no longer a matter of small im- portance, but is absolutely necessary to the welfare of the farmer. The time for making and renewing live-fences is from the fall of the leaf, in autumn, until March or April, and the operation is always most successfully performed on good ground that has been perfectly freed from weeds, well stirred with the plough and harrow, and long exposed to the freshening influence of the air. It should also be well manured, and sufficiently limed to prevent worms from multiplying in the soil. There are several common plants for making hedges ; but none is so well adapted for the purpose, or so much employed as the common hawthorn. The reasons for this preference are stated in few words by Withering : " On account of the stiffness of its branches, the sharp- ness of its thorns, its roots not spreading wide, and its capability of bearing the severest winters without in- jury, this plant is universally preferred for making hedges whether to clip or to grow at large." The hawthorn (Cratcegus oxycantha) is the aubepine of the French, and the Hagedorn or hedge-thorn of the Germans. Its botanical name of cratcegiis signifies strength, on account of the hardness and stubbornness of the wood. The plant makes a hedge so well furnished with thorns as to be quite impenetrable to cattle. The brandies burn as well green as dry, and are often used in heating ovens; the tips of the young shoots are used u 290 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. to adulterate tea ; the bark furnishes a yellow dye, and with copperas, is used to dye black. It is scarcely necessary to describe the appearance of this plant, since it forms the common material of hedges in the neighbourhood of towns as well as in the depths of the country, and is one of the first plants on which we perceive the tender green foliage of spring. Its white and fragrant blossoms too ! — who is unacquainted with them, named as they are from the lovely month of May ' The village May-pole, that relic of old times, is MAY-BLOSSOM. not yet quite forgotten, nor are the May-day garlands of village children yet neglected ; but vainly have we looked for some years past for the true " May," or hawthorn blossoms on May-day. These blossoms now rarely open before the end of the month, or the com- mencement of June. They are succeeded by a profu- sion of berries called haws (hence the name hawthorn}, which in autumn become of a glowing red colour, and THE HAWTHORN. 291 remain long on the branches, affording a welcome supply for the larger birds during winter. The hawthorn must not, however, be passed over as a mere hedge-plant, for when allowed to grow to its natural size it forms a handsome bush, and in old age a picturesque and gnarled tree, very pleasing to the eye. Many examples of beautiful and aged thorns are to be found, in Bushy Park for instance, which will fully redeem the tree from such censure as is bestowed upon it by the celebrated Gilpin, who denies much picturesque beauty to the hawthorn. '•' Its shape," he FRUIT OF HAWTHORN. (Natural size.} says, " is bad ; it does not taper and point like the holly, but is rather a matted, round, heavy bush. Its fragrance, indeed, is great ; but its bloom, which is the source of that fragrance, is spread on it in too much profusion : it becomes a mere white sheet, a bright spot which is seldom found in harmony with the objects around it. In autumn, the hawthorn makes its best appearance. The glowing berries produce a rich u 2 292 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIKS. tint, which often adds great beauty to the corner of a wood, or the side of some crowded clump." Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, in his edition of Gilpin's Forest Scenery, endeavours to rescue the hawthorn from this slight upon its beauty. He says, " We think Mr. Gilpin is peculiarly hard on the hawthorn. Even in a picturesque point of view, which is the point of view in which he always looks at nature, the hawthorn is not only an interesting object by itself, but produces a most interesting combination or contrast, as things may be, when grouped with other trees. We have seen it hanging over rocks, with deep shadows under its foliage, or shooting from their sides in the most fantastic forms, as if to gaze at its image in the deep pool below. We have seen it contrasting its tender green, and its deli- cate leaves, with the brighter and deeper masses of the holly and the alder. We have seen it growing under the shelter, though not the shade, of some stately oak ; embodying the idea of beauty protected by strength. Our eyes have often caught the motion of the busy mill-wheel, over which its blossoms were clustering. We have seen it growing grandly on the green of the village school, the great object of general attraction to the young urchins, who played in idle groups about its roots ; and perhaps the only thing remaining to be recognised when the school-boy returns as the man. We have seen its aged boughs overshadowing one half of some peaceful woodland cottage ; its foliage half concealing the window, whence the sounds of happy content and cheerful mirth came forth. We know that lively season, — ' When the Milkmaid singeth blythe, And the mower whets his scythe, And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale ; ' and with these and a thousand such associations as these, we cannot but feel emotions of no ordinary nature, when we behold this beautiful tree." PLANTING A THORN-HEDGE. 293 Fully participating in this opinion of the hawthorn, let us notice its cultivation for purposes of utility rather than of beauty. Hawthorn-plants are easily raised from the ripe haws, or seed of the plant, but some care is required in collecting it. If a large heap of haws be allowed to lie long together, the fruit will ferment, and the vegetative powers of the seed will be destroyed. When sown, the seed does not germinate till the second spring ; and when sufficiently advanced, the young seed- lings must be planted out from the seed-bed, and culti- vated for two or three years longer, before they are fit for the purpose of a fence. They are, indeed, some- times used at a very early age ; but it is considered better to purchase from the nursery at once plants of six years old or thereabouts, and which will more speedily become useful in their new situation. There is another and a quicker way of raising thorn- plants, which is sometimes adopted. This is by plant- ing fragments or trimmings of the roots, which may be obtained in transplanting and renewing hedges. These, if placed in a bed of good earth, will shoot out in the following spring, and furnish the materials for a hedge in a much shorter time than by raising them from seed. Such cuttings must be buried deeply in the earth, beyond the influence of frost, or they will not succeed. The general practice of nurserymen, however, is to raise the plants from seed. The method of planting a thorn-hedge depends entirely upon the nature of the soil ; if this be high and subject to drought, it may be necessary to plant the hedge below the common surface of the field, to save the plants from being entirely dried up : if, on the contrary, the soil be very wet and marshy, the hedge must be raised considerably above the common surface, by means of an embankment on the top of which it is planted ; for the hawthorn never prospers on cold wet soils. Where the soil is neither too wet nor too dry, and where there is no need of the drainage afforded by a ditch, 294 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. the hedge is simply planted on the common surface of the field. But the plan most generally approved is the union of hedge and ditch, which affords a secure fence, and at the same time carries off the superabundant moisture of the field. For this purpose a ditch is prepared, and the earth from it is thrown up to form a mound for the protection of the plants. But it must ever be remembered that cold, heavy, unprepared soil, such as might be dug up from an ordinary ditch, is not proper for these plants. No won- der that fences planted in such soil seldom prosper. It is on well-manured and well-pre- pared earth alone that thorn-plants should be cultivated, for these plants require quite as much nourishment to ensure their healthy DITCHER'S growth, as would be necessary for the most SHOVEL. jmp0rtant grain-crop. This was known in the time of Tusser, for he recommends ploughing and delving as the needful preparation for a hedge. " Go plough or delve up, advised with skill, The breadth of a ridge, and in length as you will ; Where speedy quickset for a fence you will draw, To sow in the seed of the bramble and haw." When the line of the fence has been properly marked out with a cord, and poles or pegs at certain distances, the digging commences. In preparing the ditch, it is necessary to keep it of not more than a spade-breadth at bottom, with the sides sloping at an angle of forty-five degrees. The earth which forms the mound on one side of the ditch is shaped and beaten with the spade, and a little ledge of scarcement is formed at the foot of the mound as the bed of the young plants. Some persons «reatly object to this scarcement, and prefer planting the thorns immediately in the slope of the bank, with- out any protecting ledge. They think that the scarce- MANAGEMENT OP FENCES. 295 ment is not only unnecessary, but greatly favours the growth of weeds. But the great advantage in this ledge is, that it tends to prevent the earth falling down into the ditch, and thus exposing and injuring the roots. The next thing to be observed is the treatment of the young plants. As we have already intimated, it will save time and trouble to choose thorns of six or seven years old, when the main stem will be about an inch in circumference. These will soon make valuable fences while younger plants will need protection and nursing for two or three years. But the older the plants, the more care must be bestowed upon their removal. Inste'ad of trimming and cutting the roots, as is the common practice, every care must be taken not to mutilate them. On this account the plants should be taken up with prongs, not with spades, and should not be suffered to lie long out of the ground. Plants of equal size should be selected for the same hedge, because, if put in pro- miscuously, great and small, the stronger will outgrow and destroy the weaker plants, and gaps in the hedge T8OBN-FIJLNT PREPARED FOR PLANTING. 296 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. will speedily occur. The plants are all shortened down before they are set, because the roots thus have less to nourish. A single stem, which, when set, will not stand more than two or three inches above ground, is all that is necessary. This usually sends out three or four strong shoots near the earth, which have as much vigour as the original stem would have possessed, with the advantage of affording three or four stout props to the hedge in- stead of one. A bed being made for the roots to lie in, as much as possible in their natural position, the plants are then laid in their appointed place, and carefully covered in, the earth being well beaten down over them. By this careful management of the roots, a thorn-hedge is sure to succeed, the soil and situation having been well chosen ; but when all the finer fibres are cut away, and even the principal roots greatly maimed, it is to be wondered at that the hedge ever recovers such rough treatment. It has been well observed, that, " when thorns or other hedge-plants are thus severely handled, and their roots and tops so unmercifully cut off, they resemble cuttings more than plants, and must remain a very long time in the earth before they are capable of sending out new roots, or drawing from it a quantity of nourishment adapted to their support. Were nursery- men, and others who raise these plants, to bestow the smallest attention upon the subject, common sense would dictate a very opposite treatment. Men of observation know that in every instance where either trees or her- baceous plants are to be transplanted, the more carefully they are taken out of the ground, the more numerous and entire their roots, and the sooner they are again put into the earth, the less check will they receive, and the quicker and stronger will they afterwards grow. If these observations are just, how faulty and defective must the system we have just now described appear. Indeed, nothing can be more repugnant to nature and common sense than to suppose that when plants of any descrip- tion are removed from the situation in which they are PROTECTION OF THE FENCES. 297 growing, and sent to such a new establishment in a dif- ferent soil, and perhaps a worse climate, they will thrive better by having their roots cut off, and being almost entirely bereft of the means of obtaining nourishment." The planting being completed, little more will re- main to be done during the first year. In the second year, after the leaves have fallen, the side-branches are slightly cropped, and the plants kept wide at bottom, and narrow at the top, as represented in the figure on page 295. If the hedge is not to be planted on the slope of a ditch, but on the common surface of a field, the opera- tions are more simple. A furrow is drawn along the line of the intended fence, with a common plough, about the end of November, and a labourer walks along the furrow with a bundle of thorn-plants under his arm. These he drops in handfuls of six or eight together at certain distances. When he has exhausted his bundle he returns, and lays the plants in the furrow, so as to lean against its perpendicular side, and at a distance of from four to eight inches asunder. He then covers in the earth from the other side, and setting a foot on each side of the line of plants, he walks slowly along, tread- ing in the earth to the roots of the plants the whole way. The soil is then pointed on each side with the spade, and the work is done. A single labourer work- ing in a good soil, will thus plant several hundred yards of thorns in the course of one day. Sometimes the furrow is laid out with the spade, instead of with the plough, and the planting performed as above. In some cases the dibble is used for planting thorns ; but this is improper, because the roots receive great injury when pressed into a narrow space, or trimmed to suit the hole made by the dibble. When this kind of hedge is made to inclose a pasture field, it is necessary to protect it from the injuries of cattle. This is done by a railing placed on the side where the protection is needed : but if cattle are to be kept on both sides of the hedge, a 298 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. double railing will be required, until the plants have become strong. HEDGE WITH POSTS AND RAILS. It is very common in many parts of England to see a hedge raised upon an elevated bank of earth to protect it from a cold or wet soil ; but the plan has these disad- vantages,— that the nourishment of the hedge-plants is obtained only or chiefly from the bank on which it grows, which is scarcely sxifficient to keep it vigorous ; that in very severe winters, when the frost lasts long, there is danger of this bank being penetrated, and the hedge entirely destroyed ; and that the space occupied by this kind of embankment is considerable, and cannot be considered less than a waste of soil. Sometimes this HEDGE OF COPPICE-WOOD. sort of fence is made, not of thorn, but of coppice-wood cut short. TREES IN HEDGE-ROWS. 299 Some cultivators continue to plant a row of trees in the line of their fences, for the sake of sheltering, beau- tifying, and improving the country. That the growth of forest-trees in hedge-rows has a very pleasing effect to the eye every one must admit ; but we fear the objections against the practice are too weighty to allow of our saying a word in favour of this old custom. The pleasure afforded by their shade, and the picturesque beauty they give to a country, are not sufficient to weigh against such reasons as the following, given by a practical farmer : — "It is quite impossible, even with the greatest care, to rear thorn-plants to become a good fence, under the HEDGE WITH TREES. drip of forest trees. Thorns are very impatient of being overshadowed by taller trees ; even trees planted on the top of a mound, betwixt double hedges, rob both of moisture at the roots, and direct the drip among the branches of the thorns. ' To plant trees in the line of a hedge,' says Lord Kames, ' or within a few feet of it, ought to be absolutely prohibited as a pernicious prac- tice. It is amazing that people should fall into this error, when they ought to know that there never was a good thorn-hedge with trees in it. And how should it be otherwise ! An oak, a beech, or an elm, grows faster than a thorn. When suffered to grow in the 300 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. midst of a thorn-hedge, it spreads its roots everywhere, and robs the thorns of their nourishment. Nor is this all : the tree, overshadowing the thorns, keeps the sun and air from them. At the same time, no tree takes worse with being overshadowed than a thorn.' Hedge- row trees are strongly recommended by all the old writers on agriculture, as being the best means of grow- ing timber for the navy, and giving shelter to fields ; and even a recent writer on timber seems to favour the plan of planting the oak in hedge-rows, as if that tree could not be sufficiently gnarled for naval purposes, and rendered thick in the bark for the purposes of tanning, in other exposed situations than in thorn-hedges, where they could do no injury. Hedge-trees at a distance, no doubt, give a closely-fenced appearance to a country, which then looks not unlike an extensive orchard ; but they are at best formal, ill-shaped, generally stunted, and often twisted, on account of being acted on by the winds, and are injurious to roads and crops near them, though they may yield tough timber. The oak suffers in hedge-rows in all these respects, as well as less valuable wood. It may seem ungracious treatment, after trees have grown some years amongst hedges, to root them out ; but they deserve no better fate, because they are intruders, and have truly been designated the land- lords' thieves. If intended for shelter, plantations and clumps are much better adapted for the purpose than single trees, and form far finer objects in the landscape than rows of stunted trees. If thorns are made to fence plantations, they should be planted on the outside of the mound, though facing the north, that the air may have free access to them ; and no large forest-tree should be planted near the thorn-hedge which fences the plantation, for, independent of overshadowing, thorns dislike being mixed with other plants. It is not unusual to see beech mixed with thorn as a hedge ; but beech, anywhere, is no terror to live-stock in fields, and should never enter into a fence on a farm, however THE SCREEX-FEXCE. 301 appropriate a beech-hedge may be near shrubberies. The sweet-briar, too, is frequently mixed with the thorn, and no doubt imparts a delightful perfume to the air, after a shower in summer, but it soon kills the thorns in its vicinity. The crab-apple also overcomes thorns iu hedges. Indeed, we have only to view the hedges in the south of England, to be convinced of the noxious effects of intermixing other plants with the thorn." In high and exposed situations the screen-fence is strikingly useful. This is a belt of trees planted chiefly for the purpose of shelter, and therefore formed of such trees as will grow best on the particular soil, and protect best at all seasons the crops or the live-stock they may SCREEN-FENCE. be designed for. In low grounds this sort of fence is not only unnecessary, but actually mischievous ; while on high lands it might be much more extensively used o the advantage of the farmer. There are wide tracts of land, much exposed to the violence of the wind, which would be very much improved by the shelter thus afforded. Screen-fences are very commonly made of spruce-fir intermingled with larch ; but the latter is not fit to be used alone, because it loses its leaves in winter. When a large proportion of the fence consists of larch, a close belt of spruce should be planted outside, and kept low and bushy. Where the soil will admit of it, screen-fences may be made of other trees, such as 302 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. beech or oak : an intermixture of various trees may be also made, and has a pleasing effect. In low and marshy places where the hawthorn can- not be planted with success, very tolerable fences are made of alder and willow, which grow rapidly in such situations ; and from the pliant nature of their branches, can be easily twisted and interlaced. In drier ground the furze or gorse may be cultivated, and will make an excellent hedge for a time ; but it is not durable, being very apt to be destroyed by frost. Careful pruning is said, however, to prolong its existence to a considerable extent. In Northern Germany the hornbeam is used as a field- fence, and with very good effect, according to one of our writers on husbandry. " No fence of a solid per- manent kind pleases me so much as the hornbeam- hedges of Westphalia and other parts of North Germany. When the German husbandman erects a fence of this nature, he throws up a parapet of earth with a ditch on each side, and plants his hornbeam-sets, raised from layers, in such a manner that every two plants may be brought to intersect each other in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. In the part where the two plants cross each other he gently scrapes off the bark, and binds them with straw thwart-wise. Here the two plants consolidate into a sort of indissoluble knot, and push from thence horizontal slanting roots, which form a sort of living palisado, or chevaux-de-frise ; so that such a protection may be called a rural fortification. These hedges being pruned annually, and with discre- tion, will in a few years render the fence impenetrable in every part. It is not uncommon in Germany to see the sides of high roads thus guarded for ten miles together." * Common holly makes a beautiful and formidable fence, and would be one of the most desirable could it be easily cultivated. But it is exceedingly slow of * HAKTE. STONE FENCES. 303 growth, and difficult to raise. It does not bear trans- planting well, and must, therefore, be raised from seed in the spot it is intended to occupy. Were it not for these obstacles, it would doubtless be a very favourite and general plant for hedges, on account of its beautiful rich green (which does not suffer, but rather appears to greater advantage in severe weather), and its sharp and bristling foliage, which is quite impenetrable to cattle, and may be pruned and cropped without injury to the tree. Such are the principal plants used in making live- hedges ; but before we speak of the general treat- ment of a growing fence, it will be as well to notice some other kinds of fence in common use. In some places an open ditch, made wide and deep, is the only protection to a field. This is useful as a water-course, but is only to be recommended in low, wet situations. A ha-ha, or sunk fence, is often used in pleasure- grounds, being a dry ditch, one side of which is nearly perpendicular, and faced with brick or stone. A simple earthen mound serves the purpose of a fence in some parts of Wales. Slabs of stone set edgeways are com- mon in Gloucestershire. Hurdles are well known as a convenient movable fence. Netting is not uncommon for the purposes of enclosure ; but it has the inconve- nience of being easily torn by cattle. It is therefore chiefly adapted for shrubberies and pleasure-grounds, where a slight and almost invisible fence of iron is likewise used. Stone walls, which are the common fence in some parts of the country, are made of stones without mor- tar, or with it, as it may happen, but more commonly the former. Diy stone walls are made of sand-stone or whin-stone, and are constructed by the help of a frame- work of wood. Two upright posts are fixed together so as to correspond with a vertical section of the wall. When the ground is cleared for the foundation, the line of fence is marked out, and pegs or pins are set along the 304 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. centre ; the workman then carries his wooden frame some distance along the line to be built upon, and sets it upright by means of a plumb-line attached to it. By the aid of an inclined piece of wood and a stone he FORMATION Of A DRY STONE WALL. keeps it in this position, and then proceeds to set up another similar frame at the place where the wall is to commence. Cords ai-e then stretched between the two frames, on the outside, corresponding to the intended outer surface of the wall ; these serve as a guide to the workmen in building it. When a part of the wall is finished, one of the frames is laid aside as no longer necessary, and the cords are afterwards fastened to both sides of the wall, and then attached to the frame in advance, which continues to be the guide as to the height and dimensions of the wall. The foundation of a dry stone fence should always be laid on solid ground ; and if there is no green sward to build on, the loose earth may be removed with a spade, and the wall built on the more compact soil underneath. The largest and flattest stones are laid at the bottom ; and if there are some of sufficient size to stretch across the breadth of the wall, these may be inserted at inter- vals, and will make it more secure. The tools used in making such a wall are the spade, pickaxe, and mason's hammer : with these the ground is prepared, and the stones are fitted and beaten in. At the top of the wall a coping is formed either of turf-sods or of large stones closely built and cemented with mortar. THE GALLOWAY DIKE. 305 In some cases the fences above described are by no means displeasing to the eye ; for instance, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where the stone of which they are formed is of a fine iron-brown, contrasting well with the rich tints of the foliage of trees, and with the livelier colours of creeping plants, which in many places form a graceful and natural drapery for the wall. The rough and almost ruinous appearance of these fences also favours their picturesque effect. When seen at inter- vals between the trees, as they follow the undulations of the Yorkshire hills, they might almost be mistaken for the remains of ancient fortifications, especially when the harshness of their outlines is lost in the grey mists which so frequently invest those beautiful landscapes. The ordinary dimensions of a dry stone-fence are thirty-two inches in width at the bottom, sixteen inches at the top, and four feet and a half in height, including the coping. It is very desirable, both for beauty and strength, to plant ivy near these walls ; for unless built by experienced hands, they cannot be so secure as if cement were employed. A variation from the common dry stone-fence is the Galloway dike, so called from having been first used in Galloway. This is principally useful for enclosing and sheltering high grounds where sheep are pastured. It is built in the regular manner, with dry stones to the height of about two feet, being very broad at the base, and tapering upwards. It is then levelled with a course of flat stones projecting two or three inches over the wall 011 both sides. The wall is then continued two or three feet higher with a sort of open-work of rugged stones, placed upon each other in positions that keep them from falling, and yet having considerable vacan- cies between them, allowing a free passage for light and air. The wind whistles through these openings with great force, and this, together with tfie tottering appearance of the fence, seems to be quite effectual in preventing sheep and cattle from approaching it. x 306 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. Let xis now return to the live fence, with which, in the southern counties, we are most familiar. In the first season after planting little need be done to a live hedge, and in after years a little attention to weeding, and very simple management, will preserve a fence in vigour. There are different opinions as to the pruning of hedges ; but many practical men recommend that the top of the hedge be scarcely touched for some years. It is true that by cutting off the tops eveiy year a great quantity of small brushwood is formed in the hedge, but there is no growth of substantial branches. For when the operation is continually repeated, the hedge becomes so extremely subdivided that it is a mere brush of small twigs, without any strong shoots to give it support. Such a hedge bends and yields so much to any pressure against it, that half its value as fence is lost. The better plan seems to be, to allow the main stems to grow up to the intended height, and to acquire their full size before they are touched by the pruning-knife, the side branches only being kept short. Having reached the desired height, the hedge may then be safely trimmed and kept in shape, and will soon present a thick brush \ThY-T .IMill.D HKDGE. of wood on the outside, covering a strong and 3 ubstan- tial growth within. A hedge of this kind is as solid as «. wall ; and when the tops have been newly-trimmed and deprived of their foliage, it has somewhat the above ap- DEAD-FENCES. 307 pearance. It should be remembered, in pruning a hedire, that the shape tending towards a pyramid is more dur- able than the broad flat top sometimes given to hedges. When at last the hedge becomes aged, and begins to grow thin at the roots, and to show feebleness of growth, it must be cut down to within a few inches of the ground, and the ditch and mound made up as at first. But if the hedge had been originally planted on the common surface of the field, then some protection will be required for the lopped hedge, until it has sent out a strong growth of new wood. But it is not necessary to go to the expense of paling, because the thorns cut down furnish themselves material for a good temporary fence. This is called a dead-hedge, and is thus formed. The workman cuts the principal stems into lengths of three or four feet, and makes them up in bundles, mixing with them the smaller twigs and brushwood. These bundles MAD-HEDGE. are laid closely along the line of hedge, and each bundle covered with a sod, or a spadeful of earth, and firmly trodden down in its place. During the growth of the shoots in the live-hedge, as well as at every other period in the existence of the fence, weeds should be carefully cleared away, not only because their growth deprives the hedge of nourishment, but because they do a great injury to the neighbouring field. However careful the farmer may be in keeping his fields clear of weeds, yet if he suffers them to exist in the hedge-rows, and to perfect their seed, his labour will have been all in vain. Thousands of winged-seeds of thistle, dandelion, groundsel, &c., will be wafted all over the land, and defy the efforts of the weeders. In this respect a farmer often suffers from the slothfulness of his neighbours, and has the mortification of seeing his clean fallows injured by the wind blowing the seeds across them, from the neglected fences of an adjacent x2 308 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. fai'm. Were every farmer simply to cut down the weeds all round his fences before they run to seed, this annoyance would be spared to himself and his neigh- bours. The plan of cutting down old and overgrown hedges to the roots answers very well when there are no con- siderable gaps to be filled, or dead thorns to be re- moved ; but when there is a deficiency of plants, or a considerable decay of the hedge, a better way is to cut down one- fourth of the whole quantity to the height in- tended for the fence, and to bend down and warp the remaining three-fourths of the upright stems, twisting them in amongst the rest, and thus supplying the gaps. This is called plashing the hedge. In the county of Hertford, where coppice-wood is frequently used in hedges, the method of plashing is as follows : — The hedgers first begin to clear the old hedge of all the dead wood, brambles, and other irregular growing rubbish, leaving all along the top of the bank the straightest and best growing stems of the thorn, hazel, elm, ash, oak, sallow, and beech, as well as other kinds, to the number of about five or six in the yard. But where there are any gaps or places that are thin of live wood, more are left on each side of them. This being done, they have recourse to the repairing of the ditches, the whole of the earthy material from which is laid upon the banks with great care ; the overlooker being attentive to the matter. When the ditches have been thus finished, the men return to the hedges. A portion of the stems of the plants left in clearing the old hedges is cut off at the height of three feet from the top of the bank, being reserved for hedge-stakes to the hedge which is to be raised. This is an excellent practice, as such stakes, from their being immovable and incapable of rotting, keep up the new hedge in such a manner that it never falls or leans in any direction. Dead hedge-stakes are in the next place driven firmly into the bank, where they are wanted ; sallows or wil- PLASHING HEDGES. 309 lows being mostly chosen, in order that they may take root and grow. The remainder of the live wood which had been left standing is then plashed down by the hedgers. In executing this part of the work they make two upward cuts in each of the stems, one stroke being given near the ground, and the other at the distance of eight, ten, or twelve inches above it, but only just deep enough to slit out a part of the wood between the two cuts, leaving the stem supported by a little more than the bark, or about a fourth part of its first size. It is then laid down along the top of the bank, and inter- woven with the hedge-stakes. All the plants are served in the same way ; and where they are not sufficient to fill up and complete the hedge, dead wood is had recourse to ; but this should be avoided as much as possible, from its injuring the living plants in its decay. The work is completed by running an eddering along the top of the fence, which is likewise sometimes practised in making dead-hedges. Such are the principal features of the management of fences ; and as good farming has become so much more general than formerly, so also good fences are much more frequently seen. Yet the fences throughout Eng- land are, for the most part, highly objectionable, simply on account of their size. " There is a vast length and breadth of land occupied and overshadowed by them, which might be bearing corn and pasturing cattle; and, though it may appear somewhat startling, the truth is, that were such as are unnecessary cleared away, and new and proper ones substituted for the remainder, an ac- cession of grain-bearing land would be available, equal in extent to one of our large counties. As is proved by actual survey, the average width of the fences through- out Norfolk is ten feet, which is about seven feet more than is actually necessary." The low country, in most parts of the kingdom, is sufficiently, if not too thickly feuced, but the upland districts are still deficient in shelter. 310 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. " The evils of numerous hedge-rows, especially if they are high, are never more apparent than during the latter part of the summer, when heavy rains are sometimes experienced, with intervals of wind and sunshine suf- ficient to dry the crops when they are exposed on all sides, but which, from their being surrounded with high fences, are thus allowed to lie damp and wet for several days, a prey to mildew and every kindred disease. The best sample of wheat is not found at the hedge-side, but in those parts of the field where there is an unchecked circulation of air ; and the greatest weight of turnips, within a given space, is also found wherever there is a free play of the elements It must also be borne in mind that the number of fences seriously affects the amount of labour on a farm. The most obvious evil is the frequent turnings they occasion to the ploughman, and the time expended in cultivating the land, difficult of access, in their immediate neighbourhood. As a matter of course, it follows that to every enclosure there must be an entrance, and at most of the entrances a gate, an item of expense which, when taken separately, appears to be but trifling, but which in the aggregate amounts to a considerable sum ; for all these gates have to be repaired and ultimately replaced." * Wide and numerous hedge-rows are bad, on account of the great exhaling surface they present, assisting in the formation of the cold and vaporous atmosphere ex- perienced throughout England. In spring-time, accord- ing to Mr. Grigor, the leaf of the common elm sends off vapour at the rate of three grains daily ; that of the beech, two grains ; an oak, two and a half grains ; a hawthorn, which is a very small leaf, one grain ; a sprig of Scotch pine, scarcely anything ; and a sprig of holly, yew, and larch, about a third of a grain each. It is evident, therefore, that, where practicable, the holly * Grigor's Prize Essay on Fences, in the Transactions of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. NEGLECTED FENCES. 311 should be used in preference to the hawthorn, as sending off little or no evaporation. Of the existing fences very many are allowed to out- grow their strength, and become heavy at the head and thin at the roots ; or they are full of gaps, rudely stopped up with stones or pieces of wood, to the certain destruc- tion of the plants on either side ; or they are so injudi- ciously pruned as to be weakly in their growth. Such neglect is scarcely to be excused, because the business of hedging and ditching is carried on during winter, when labour is comparatively scarce, and when the farmer can hardly find employment for all the people he is expected to support. In conclusion, let us say a few words in recommen- dation of the holly. Its fitness for a fence, by reason of its beauty, strength, and prickly foliage, has been already noticed ; but the slowness of its growth, and the expense of keeping it protected while it is rising to the proper height, have likewise been quoted as the reasons why we so seldom see it employed. These may indeed be reasons why the holly should not become general as a common farm-fence ; but they are not sufficient reasons why the plant should be so little cultivated in parks and pleasure-grounds, where it would certainly form an ex- ceedingly beautiful addition, whether as a fence or as a separate tree. Yet even as a farm-fence it need not be despaired of. " For home districts," says Mr. Grigor, " and especially for grazing grounds, no tree presents so many qualifications for a hedge as the holly. Being a close-growing shrub, and an evergreen, it forms a most desirable shelter for cattle pasturing in fields surrounded by it ; and as it grows much better than the hawthorn under hedge-row trees, (which are absolutely necessary around grazing lands.) it ought, in every case, to be adopted in enclosing meadows and pastures not over- charged with moisture. It is, besides, a much more beautiful object than the hawthorn ; and being recom- mended near to dwellings, it is important to remember that it does not exhale any perceptible vapour. Added 312 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. to these, are the following important considerations: — first, its keeping itself almost free from weeds ; for, from the closeness of its branches at bottom, it excludes the air so effectually, that none can grow. Secondly, its not being liable to the attacks of any insects; and, thirdly, its not being resorted to by birds." Sand and sandy loam are the soils best suited to holly, but it will nourish in almost any situation where the land is not absolutely satui-ated with wet. The ground should be trenched and manured as for any other fence, and the plants may be set on the common surface of the field, with a fence on each side. A damp and cloudy day should be chosen for the removal of the plants, any time between November and March. Plants of six or ten years of age, and, if possible, such as have been transplanted the previous year, and have thus sent out numerous fibrous roots, should be chosen. They require no pruning either at root or top, and they will be more certain to prosper if taken up with large balls of earth round the roots. They may then be set in a trench, at least a foot apart, the earth returned, and the plants gently trodden in. For two years the hedge will need no pruning ; in the third year the sides will have become broad and irregular, and must then be clipped with the shears, not trimmed with the hedge-bill or hook, the stems being too thick, and the leaves too numerous to admit of the latter process without injury. The poet Southey was a great admirer of this tree, and wrote in its honour the following lines, dwelling par- ticularly on the fact, that the lower leaves of the holly are strongly armed with prickles, while the upper ones are quite free from them. " 0 Reader ! hast thou ever stood to see The Holly-tree ? The eye that contemplates it well perceives Its glossy leaves, Ordered by an intelligence so wise As might confound the Atheist's sophistries. THE HOLLY-TREE. 313 " Below a circling fence its leaves are seen, Wrinkled and keen ; No grazing cattle through their prickly round Can reach to wound ; But as they grow where nothing is to fear, Smooth and unarm'd, the pointless leaves appear. " I love to view these things with curious eyes, And moralize : And in this wisdom of the holly-tree Can emblems see, Wherewith, perchance, to make a pleasant rhyme, One which may profit in the after-time. ' ' Thus, though abroad perchance I might appear Harsh and austere, To those who on my leisure would intrude Reserved and rude ; Gentle at home, amid my friends I'd be, Like the high leaves upon the holly- tree. ' ' And should my youth, as youth is apt, I know, Some harshness show, All vain asperities, I, day by day, Would wear away, Till the smooth temper of my age should be Like the high leaves upon the holly-tree. " And as when all the summer trees are seen So bright and green, The holly -leaves their fadeless hues display Less bright than they ; But when the bare and wintry woods we see, What then so cheerful as the holly-tree ? " So serious should my youth appear among The thoughtless throng ; So would I seem amid the young and gay More grave than they ; That in my age as cheerful I might be As the green winter of the holly-tree." WATER is no less necessary to vegetable than to animal life. This beautiful and wonderful fluid, so familiar that we forget to admire it, and so universally bestowed that we fail to be duly thankful for it, is one of the great blessings of existence, covering our fields with ver- dure and our tables with plenty, and producing all that is pleasing and picturesque in nature. According to the greater or less abundance of water, a country becomes fruitful or barren : according to the nearness or distance of considerable streams, towns and cities rise to import- ance or fall into comparative insignificance. Water being the great means of life and nourishment to plants, it follows that a regular supply is necessary to 316 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. ensure their healthfulness. The rains that occur at par- ticular seasons, and, in some countries, at distant inter- vals, are not sufficient to support vegetable life, and large districts would therefore become desolate if it were not for the industry of the inhabitants in watering the land by artificial means. Of the importance and value attached to supplies of water in Eastern countries, there is abundant evidence in Scripture, some of the richest promises being con- veyed under the simile of dew, showers, and springs. Thus, when great spiritual blessings are promised, it is said, " Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not," Isa. Iviii. 11. And again, " For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses," Isa. xliv. 3, 4. In the universal gladness of Christ's kingdom, one cause of joy is thus typified : " For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay shall be grass, with reeds and rushes," Isa. xxxv. 6, 7. We might fill many pages with similar passages, showing that water- springs, rains, and dew were the most esteemed among earthly gifts, and therefore the most appropriate to be the figures of spiritual blessings. Early in the history of the world, men had learned to supply by artificial means the lack of natural moisture. The art of irrigation appears to have been known to the earliest husbandmen. In passages of Scripture such as, " Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters ; that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass," Isa. xxx. 20 ; and also the following, " Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for thou shalt find it after many days," allusion is doubtless made to the practice com- WATER-WORKS OP EGYPT. 317 mon for ages in Eastern countries of flooding their grounds with water previously to sowing their most precious crops. How these husbandmen first became acquainted with the art of irrigation, we are not told ; but there is much reason in the supposition that the annual overflowing of the river Nile, and the benefits derived to Egypt by that means, first suggested the idea of artificial irrigation to the Egyptians, and that other nations borrowed from them the fruits of their experience. However this may be, the Egyptians them- selves practised the art on a scale of such surpassing magnitude, that their canals and vast artificial lakes have been deemed " more praiseworthy monuments of their genius than all the temples and cemeteries with which they have covered their country." Various hydraulic machines were in ancient use, some of which appear to have resembled the water wheels of the fen- districts of England, and to have been worked by the feet of men, after the manner of the tread-mill. Doubt- less this laborious method of watering the ground was common in Egypt during the sojourn of the children of Israel in that land, for Moses drew the following re- markable contrast between the climate and customs of Egypt, where rain seldom falls, and the more genial climate of the promised land. "For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and water edst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs : but the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven," Dent. xi. 10, 11. The method of raising and distributing water in Egypt at the present time demands a great amount of labour. Water from the Nile is collected at certain times in large cisterns on the banks of the river. For this purpose the screw of Archimedes was formerly used, but now leathern buckets, or Persian wheels, are employed. The latter machines are placed all along 318 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. the banks of the Nile, from the sea to the cataracts, their situation being higher, and consequently the diffi- culty of raising the water being greater, in the upper portions of the stream. When the grain-crops, or the saffron, melons, sugar-canes, &c., need refreshment, a plug is taken out from the bottom of the cistern, and the water which gushes out is guided from one rill to another by persons whose office it is to manage the flooding of the ground. Sometimes the water is merely raised by wicker baskets, lined with leather. Each basket is managed by two men, and is held by cords between them. Lowering and filling the basket at the river, they swing it over the banks into the canal, which conveys it at once to the land requiring water. In Bengal the fields are diligently watered, or they would yield little produce. Wells are dug in the highest parts, and by means of bullocks, and a rope over a pulley, water is raised in buckets, and carried in small channels to every part of the field. Without this dili- gent watering of the soil in hot countries, rice, which furnishes food to the greater part of the human race, could not be cultivated. Accordingly, over the vast region of Southern Africa, the irrigation of the land by means of rivers, brooks, lakes, and wells, is a labour essential to human life. A machine similar to the Persian wheel is used in China for raising water. In Southern Europe, also, irrigation is extensively carried on. In Italy, especially on the banks of the Po, it was practised long before the time of Virgil, and is zealously continued to this day. The waters of all the chief rivers of Northern Italy, as well as of numerous minor streams, are thus employed. From Venice to Turin the entire country is said to be one great water-meadow, for the watering is by no means confined to grass-lands, but is conveyed into the hollows between the ridges in corn-lands, is distributed over the low-lands, where rice is cultivated aud is IRRIGATION IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. 319 carried round the roots of vines. It was from I'a'y that the practice gradually spread throughout the South of France, and from thence to Spain and Britain. The conducting of water from rivers and canals, and measuring it out in certain quantities, is consequently an important business of Southern Europe, and also forms a nice part of the science of engineering. In Lombardy, the water of all the rivers belongs to the State. In the Venetian territories, the government not only claims the rivers, but also the smallest springs, and even collections of rain-water. In renting the water of rivers from government, contracts are made to pay so much for the use of the water for an hour or half hour at a time, or for so many days at certain periods of the year. A person desiring to irrigate his lands has the right of making a canal through another estate, which may lie between him and the river, being bound, however, to pay the owner the value of the land, and to avoid bringing the canal close by the mansion, or through the garden of the proprietor. The rent of land having the means of irrigation is one-third higher in Northern Italy than that of lands not so provided. As may be supposed, the utmost care is bestowed in economising the precious fluid. But the irrigation practised in warm countries is very different from that of the English watered meadow. The main object of Eastern irrigation seems to be merely to convey sufficient water for the growth and nourish- ment of the crop, the quantity varying with the dif- ferent plants cultivated. Sometimes, as in the case of rice, the ground is saturated for months in succession ; in others, it is merely watered at intervals during the season of greatest drought. The flooding of the soil, and allowing water to remain stagnant upon it, must cause whatever matters the water may contain to be de- posited upon the land, and must also afford protection to the soil from excessive heat ; but these are not the o'ijects to be answered in this country, where a superior 320 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. * and, for this ^climate, a far more desirable method is adopted. The art of forming water-meadows has now attained a high degree of perfection. It is probable that the good effects of running streams, instead of stagnant water, became gradually known in the course of long experience ; yet the reasons why irrigation is so bene- ficial are even at the present day imperfectly under- stood. It is not merely for the supply of deficient moisture that it is desirable, since the water is conveyed over the surface of the land at a time when it would not seem to be needed, namely, during the winter months, when there is generally an excess of moisture. And it is not for the sake of the deposit with which it is charged ; for instead of being allowed to rest stagnant on the soil, and deposit its sediment, it is maintained in a constant flow over the surface. For this latter purpose, there are especial contrivances in the forma- tion of a water-meadow, as will presently be explained. It must not be supposed that water-meadows, valu- able as they are, can be made with advantage in any low situation. There are several considerations to be attended to before such meadows are formed ; namely, whether the supply of water within reach will be suffi- cient to keep the meadow thoroughly watered during a dry season, and whether such a supply can be taken freely without trenching on the right or convenience of any other person. Also whether the water can be spared from other important uses on the farm without injury to cattle, or to machinery that may be worked by water. These and similar queries being satisfactorily answered, the meadows may then be laid out. Water-meadows are for the most part laid out on the banks of rivers, and are best when they form a gently-inclined plane. At the highest part of the meadow, a capacious channel is formed with sloping sides ; the earth from it being wheeled away to fill up hollows in any other part of the field. This channel WATER-MEADOWS. 321 is called the main conductor, as it is that which first receives the water of the river, and from whence it is conducted all over the meadow. At right angles with this main conductor are various smaller channels, or feeders, into which the water flows. These are a foot or more in width, and about four or five inches deep where they issue from the main conductor, gra- dually lessening afterwards. In order to turn the water into these channels, a wear, or dam, is built across the river, and the water is introduced at the highest part. The channels yet described only provide for bringing the water into the meadow, but there is also a series of channels made for the opposite purpose of carrying the water off, and thus a constant flow is kept up, and no stagnant water remains. Thus, between the feeders there are drains at regular intervals, small at their commencement, and gradually enlarging until they join the main drain, which is a large channel corre- sponding to the main conductor, and convey- ing the water back again to the river. Now, the manage- ment of the water, and the keeping up a regu- lar flow over the surface of the meadow, should be the business of some experienced person. To keep the water at "the necessary level, it is in- terrupted in its course by what are termed stops, placed in the feeders. These are either small wooden hatches, or else merely pieces of turf fastened down with wooden pins. The feeders are formed on the top of low ridges ; the drains in the hollow ; and this arrangement further aids in keeping up the flow of water. COMMON TORM 07 WATER-MEADOW. 322 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. Frequently the water which has irrigated one mea- dow is not returned to the river at once, but is con- veyed to other meadows on a lower level. When this is the case, the main drain of one field serves as a main SECTION OF A RIDGE WITH FEEDER AND TWO DRAINS. conductor to the next, and the water is conveyed from it by means of feeders all over the surface of the lower meadow, whence it is again collected by drains, and perhaps goes to irrigate a third meadow. This is an economical use of the water, and the benefits appear to be quite as great to the lowest as to the highest meadow of the system. Although a certain amount of deposit will no doubt occur, and be highly beneficial to the soil, yet the mere watering, even where there is scarcely any perceptible deposit, is of great use, and its results are most satisfactory. The form of water-meadow above described is con- sidered the best, as well as the simplest ; but in some cases the surface of the field slopes so much that another plan is adopted. The feeders, instead of being at right angles with the main conductor, are carried across the line of descent, so that as they are severally filled, they overflow the lower side of the banks, and are not dis- charged into drains, but into the next feeder lower down. This sort of arrangement is called catch-work, and is sometimes combined with the former method when there are inequalities of surface. In either case substantial sluices are necessary to keep the water out of the meadow when it is not wanted, and also to allow one part of the meadow to be watered, if neces- sary, while the other is left dry. In the first formation of a water-meadow, if the land has been in permanent pasture, the turf should be taken off, and laid aside for use, while the soil beneath WATER-MEADOWS. 323 CATCII-WOltK. is ploughed and wrought with the spade, after which the turf may be replaced, and beaten smooth with the back of the spade. Such a meadow will be ready to take on the water at once, whereas a mea- dow sown with grass seed could not be free- ly watered for two or three years. The flooding of wa- ter-meadows begins as soon as possible after the last crop of hay is removed, and gene- rally takes place about the month of October. The water is kept in circulation over the meadows for two or three weeks at a time, and is then let off, and the ground made perfectly dry for five or six days. This alternate flooding and drying is carried on through the months of November, December, and January, care being taken to let off the water as soon as it begins to freeze. Very early in the spring the grasses begin to shoot forth, and a brighter tinge of green enlivens the meadows. The periods of watering are then very much shortened, not lasting more than a few days at a time. By the middle of March most of the meadows in southern counties are fit for the reception of live stock, and the watering is, therefore, discontinued ; but in the north it is often carried on during the whole month of May. Flooding the land during summer pro- duces rich and rapid vegetation, but such as is quite unfit for sheep, being more liable than any other food to produce the fatal disease the "rot." From the above details, it may seem that the con- struction of a water-meadow is a very simple affair; but this is not really the case ; there are numerous in- tricacies in the subject which cannot be here described, Y 2 324 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. and there is considerable knowledge and skill required in the manager of such meadows. As it has been remarked, " It is not an easy task to give an irrigated surface the equal slope required for the overflow of water. It is very necessary for the irrigator to have a just idea of levels ; a knowledge of superficial forms will not be sufficient. Few people, unacquainted with the art of irrigation, and the regulation of form which the adjustment of water requires, have any idea of the expense of modelling the surface of a field." This art is understood and practised to a wide extent in England, and the herbage here produced is more varied, close, and fine, than in any southern country, while it is more rich and vigorous than in the coun- tries lying farther north. Our climate, the number of our rivers, and the fertile districts through which they flow, cause the hay and herbage to be of superior quality. Many of the streams used in irrigation are so rich in animal and vegetable substances, that they manure the land as well as water it. There is a species of irrigation where liquid manure is applied to the land, in the same way, instead of water, being distributed and carried off" in the same manner. Attention to this kind of irrigation is increasing, and will greatly pro- mote the productiveness of the land. Another kind of irrigation is that called warping. Muddy water is brought into a field, and is allowed to remain until it has deposited its sediment, when it is let through the sluices. The turbid water at the mouths of rivers, where the tides and the fresh water meet, is well adapted for this purpose, where circumstances are favourable. Such is the case on the estuary of the Humber, where the water is carried several miles inland, and will deposit in the course of a single season about a foot of the richest soil The useful effects of irrigation decrease as we go north- ward. The rivers themselves are less favourable, and flow through a less cultivated country. Their banks are ADVANTAGES OF DRAINING. 325 frequently very steep, and thxis oppose formidable ob- stacles to the use of the water. Yet irrigation is rather increasing than diminishing in Scotland ; there are spots where, to use the words of one of their own poets — " a free and porous soil Upon a gravelly bed, at all times drinks, Yet ne'er is quenched. Who owns a soil like this, If through his fields a little mountain stream, Not sunk in channel deep, but murmuring down 'Tween gently sloping banks, a mine of wealth Possesses in that stream." It may seem contradictory to state that, notwith- standing the great advantages derived from irrigation, no land will really prosper that is not kept dry, rich, and clean. But what is here meant by dry, is in a healthy condition to receive moisture. There must be no stagnant water underneath the surface, making the land cold and unhealthy ; but the soil, even that which is most abundantly irrigated, must be capable of quick and healthy drying between the floodiugs ; that is, the drainage, as well as the irrigation, must be well attended to ; indeed, the drainage of the subsoil is frequently considered a necessary preparation for the flooding of the surface, the great object being to pi-event stagnation, and keep up a healthy circulation of the fluid. In former days draining was confined to land that had become seriously wet and marshy ; but it is now practised on soils which, to an inexperienced eye, would seem perfectly dry. It sometimes happens that there are deficient crops on particular fields, without any apparent reason. Good farming is bestowed on them in vain, for, however well managed, the crops become sickly in colour, and are evidently retarded in their progress. The farmer soon detects the real cause of the mischief, which is a superfluity of water beneath the soil. There are several signs by which he is convinced that this is the case ; for instance, while useful plants decay, others spring up which he knows to be peculiar to wet soils, 326 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. such as rushes and flags. Or if these tokens do not ap- pear, the soil itself will betray the nature of its malady. The ploughed land in early spring will show, even in the driest weather, patches or stripes of dark-coloured earth, while all the rest is of a light brown colour. And although, if dry weather lasts for several weeks, these patches may entirely disappear, there is not the less necessity for adopting some means of getting rid of the lurking evil. It is on account of stagnant water re- maining in the soil all the winter, that the summer crops are injured, for the heat which is required to nourish the crops, is employed in evaporating superfluous mois- ture. These signs of wetness are more evident in ar- able land than in pasture ; but, generally speaking, the presence of rushes, and the coarseness of the grass, will bespeak attention to the subject of drainage. The ancients were not ignorant of the benefits of draining their land. In eastern countries, from the very nature of the climate, irrigation has been practised rather than draining : but the Romans were very dili- gent in this art. Among their earliest agricultural writings are found particular directions for making open and covered drains, stating the necessary size and shape. The draining of springs, and the taking away of surface water were both taught. For the former, the drain was left open at both ends, and the water from the spring was carried entirely out of the field ; for the latter, they had open ditches in stiff soils, and these they were careful to keep clear, and in good order. When the autumn rains came, all the servants were sent out with iron tools, to open the drains, turn the water into its proper channels, and take care that it flowed away from the corn-fields. We have no distinct mention of draining in this coun- try before the time of William the Conqueror, although it may have been practised at a much earlier period. In that reign it is recorded that the king's chamberlain, the Lord of Ermine and Deeping, drained a great extent ELKINGTON'S METHOD. 327 of country, and embanked the river Wielland, which used to overflow the neighbouring country every year. In the reign of Henry VIII. minute directions were given for the art of draining, in " The Book of Hus- bundrie," which was published at that period. It was in the latter part of the last century that the whole art of draining underwent a complete revolution, in consequence of the discoveries and practice of an eminent drainer, named Elkington. This person was a farmer at Princethorp, in Warwickshire, and had received very few advantages in the way of education, so that when he wished to make his system public, he was obliged to employ others to explain for him these processes with which he had a thorough practical acquaintance. It is remarkable that, although he was unacquainted with science, yet the principles on which he proceeded were at once simple and strictly scientific. It is said that the first idea of Elkington's method was accidentally suggested to him by the following cir- cumstance. His fields being very wet, and many of his sheep being affected with the rot, he dug a trench four or five feet deep, with a view of discovering the cause of the wetness. At this moment a servant happened to pass with an iron crow-bar, for fixing sheep hurdles in the ground. Having a suspicion that the di'ain was not deep enough, and wishing to know what lay beneath. Elkington took the crow-bar, and plunged it four feet below the bottom of the trench. On pulling it out, to his astonishment, a great quantity of water welled up through the hole it made, and ran along the drain. From this he inferred that large bodies of water are pent up in the earth, and may often be let off by tapping with an auger or rod. From that time he busied himself in finding out the seat of springs, and being possessed of great natural shrewdness he was generally successful. This has always been found an exceedingly difficult task, even for those who are well acquainted with science : no wonder, there- 328 SKETCHES OF RUEAL AFFAIRS. fore, that the natural skill of Elkington brought him into high repute. By making a few deep drains in the most essential spots, he stopped the evil at its com- mencement, and drained the land much more effectually than he could have done by making a number of small conduits near the surface. His method of drainage, compared with the old system, has been aptly likened to blood-letting with a lancet, which affects the general constitution much more than the local application of leeches. The principle on which Elkington worked has been thus shortly stated: "It was to discover what may be called the mother-spring, and to cut it off by one deep drain passing across, but above the spot where it breaks out. The boring at the bottom of this deep cut had sometimes considerable effect, not only on the spring immediately in contemplation, but on others also that became visible at a distance, and even on the opposite side of a hill more than a mile from the spot." Elk- ington also found that, in cases where stagnant water on the surface arose from sunken beds of clay, he could sometimes get rid of it at a very little expense, by perforating the clay with a long iron dibber, and thus allowing the water to sink into the next bed of loose earth beneath. At the request of the Board of Agriculture, Elkington communicated the whole of his system to Mr. J. John- stone, who prepared the published account. Through the influence of the same Board also, the services of Elkington were brought before the notice of Parliament, who voted him a reward of one thousand pounds for the benefit conferred upon the country. Since that time all our systems of deep draining have been founded on Elkington' s, and have proved extremely valuable where the wetness arises from below ; but where rain and snow water accumulate on the surface, the nu- merous channels afforded by surface draining are found advantageous. The state of things indicating that sur- face draining is needed, has been thus ably stated as it EFFECTS OF STAGNANT WATER. 329 regards Scottish husbandry, and the experience of English farmers will testify that these remarks are too applicable to many parts of our own country : — "The injury done by stagnant water to arable soil may be estimated by these effects. While hidden water remains, manure, whether putrescent or caustic, imparts no fertility to the soil ; the plough, the harrow, and even the roller, cannot pulverise it into fine mould ; new grass from it contains little nutriment for live-stock ; and in old, the finer sorts disappear, and are succeeded by coarse sub-aquatic plants. The stock never receive a hearty meal of grass, hay, or straw, from land in this state, they being always hungry and dissatisfied, and of course in low condition. Trees acquire a hard bark and stiffened branches, and become a prey to parasitic plants. The roads in the neighbourhood are constantly soft, and apt to become rutted ; whilst ditches and furrows are either plashy, or like a wrung sponge, ready to absorb water. The air always feels damp and chilly, and from early autumn to late in spring the hoar-frost meets the face like a damp cloth. In winter the slightest frost encrusts every furrow with ice, not strong enough to bear one's weight, but just weak enough to give way at every step, while snow lies long lurking in shaded cor- ners and crevices : and in summer, musquitoes, green- flies, midges, gnats, and gad-flies torment the cattle, and the ploughman and his horses, from morning to night ; whilst in autumn the sheep get scalded heads, and are eaten up by maggots, during hot blinks of sunshine. These are no exaggerated statements, but such as I have observed in every county in Scotland, in hill, valley, and plain ; and wherever such phenomena occur, it may be concluded that stagnant water lurks beneath the soil upon a retentive subsoil."* Surface drains are of two kinds, open, and covered. Open drains are made in the hollows or lower parts of land, and are proportioned in size to the quantity of * Stephen's Manual of Practical Draining. 330 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. water to be carried away. Whatever may be their depth, they must be made with sloping sides to prevent the crumbling down or undermining of the banks. They are very useful in some situations, but occasion much loss of soil. Covered drains of the simplest kind are trenches made to the depth of two or three feet, and then filled with stones or rubbish to within a foot of the surface. They are made in hollow places where the water naturally tends, and they are often found valuable, although not very permanent in their effects. A more useful drain is that in which a conduit is formed at the bottom, to afford at all times a free pas- sage for the water. This conduit may be made in a rough way, by placing dry stones in such a manner as to leave a cavity at the lowest part of the drain. Or walls may be roughly built with masonry about six inches high, and the space enclosed covered in with fiat stones, so as to leave an opening six inches wide. The remainder of the drain is then filled in, first with stones fitted together, that they may not allow the earth to get in and choke the drain ; then with a layer of straw, heath, or furze (for the same pur- pose of keeping the drain free of earth) ; and lastly, with the natural soil which had been dug out in making the drain. This may be piled up in a curved form over the drain, because it will be sure to sink afterwards to the common level of the field. The stones used for this kind of drain N WITH mav be sandstone, or any of the harder CONDUIT. stones ; but where these cannot be obtained, draining-tiles are employed, and are far more effectual. The more quickly water can be conveyed away from the soil the better, and draining-tiles, when properly made, effect this better than conduits made of separate stones, DIFFERENT FORMS OF DRAIN. 331 ANOTHER FORM OF CONDUIT. and far more perfectly than drains composed merely of a mass of loose stones or rubbish. Draining-tiles, when of the best form, are one-fourth higher than they are wide, the sides nearly perpendi- cular, and the top rather abruptly turned. Such as spread out at the sides and are flat at the top, prove weak and bad for conveying water. Such as are without soles or flat tiles at the bot- tom are liable to sink and get out of place. Some drainers, indeed, think soles unnecessary in hard-bot- tomed land : but it is scarcely to be doubted that the quan- tity of water constantly sink- ing to the bottom of the di-ain nmst gradually soften the stiffest clay, and cause the tiles to sink and become less effectual. This the soles would entirely prevent. A great objection to soles has been their cost ; but in places where slate is to be cheaply obtained, this may DRAINING-TILES WITH SOLES. be used as a substitute. The breadth of the sole determines the width of the bottom of the drain. Sometimes it is made ten inches wide, the tile being four or five inches inside measure : where the tile is smaller, the sole is also narrower in proportion, except in main-drains, where it is always of one width. The sole therefore always exceeds the width of the tile, and it is better that it should be wide than narrow in proportion, the space on each side being filled in with earth, or with stones and clay. The length of the draining-tile is from twelve to fifteen inches, the latter being in some respects the best, giving less trouble 332 to the workman, and being little likely to get out of place in the drain. In setting the tiles upon the soles care is taken not to let the joins correspond, but to have the joinings of the tiles intermediate with those of the soles, so as to give steadiness to both. In places where two drains meet, there was formerly some difficulty in uniting them without the danger of getting the drain choked by broken bits of tile or stone : this has been since obviated by making main-tiles with an opening on one side, for this express purpose, so that the branch drain-tile can be fitted into it with perfect exactness. Where the branch-drain is smaller and not so deep as the main-drain, it is often simply brought with its end resting upon the main, and the water will soon find its way into it. The principal main-drain of a field is made on its lowest side, and forms the outlet from which the whole water of the field generally flows. In making this drain at first, much trouble is saved by a little attention to order and regularity. While some of the workmen are making the trench of the required depth and size, others are bringing the tiles and soles in carts, and laying them down, not promiscuously, but in the most convenient manner for the hand of the workman who will lay them in their places ; that is, the tiles should be placed end to end along the whole line, and a sole placed against every tile on the side nearest the drain. At regular distances, where branch- drains are to meet the main, the tiles already spoken of, with openings in their sides, together with the common tile which is to fit into each, should be laid down in their places. All this will save time and trouble after- wards. The ti'euch being finished, and the sides and bottom DRA.I-S--SCOOP. CYLINDRICAL DRAIN-TILES. 333 neatly trimmed with the narrow drain-spade, the work- man proceeds to lay the soles and tiles, stand- ^^ ing constantly in the trench, and having them handed to him by an assistant. The width of the main-drain sole is ten inches, whatever the size of the tile to be laid upon it ; it also fits exactly the bottom of the drain. The tiles and soles, when once laid down, are carefully secured in their places by earth firmly pressed between them and the sides of the drain. The main- drain is completed by building masonry, to protect its mouth, where the water will be dis- charged into a ditch. It is a good plan to place BARROW an iron grating across the opening to prevent DRA.IN- rats from entering it. When the main-drain is thus finished, the smaller drains have to be proceeded with, and in these the nature of the work is very much the same, the opera- tions being repeated on a smaller scale, with a very narrow drain-spade and small soles and tiles. Many attempts have been made to contrive a drain- tile which shall answer the purpose of sole and tile in one, and thus lessen the cost. The simplest form is a mere cylindrical pipe-tile, which might answer every purpose were it not for the difficulty of fixing it so per- fectly, end to end, as to ensure the flow of water. The least dis- placement of one of the tiles would evidently CYLINDRICAL PIPE-TILE. destroy the drain and injure the land. There are m PIPE-TILE, WITII COLLAR. several contrivances for preventing the cylindrical pipe- tile from slipping out of its place. One of these is a 334 SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. short cylinder or collar to be drawn over it so as to cover the part where two tiles meet ; another plan is to make the ends of the cylinders lobed or waved so as to fit into each other. But these, and similar contrivances, PIPE-TILE, WITH LOBED E^DS. all involve extra expense, and are not desirable, on that account. A cheaper kind of pipe-tile is that in which the shape resem- bles a united sole and tile, and of which there are also several varieties. There is a form of draining, not yet very extensively employed, called plug-draining. It is advantageous on heavy soils where stones are scarce, and where the sub- soil is of unctuous clay. A narrow trench is cut in the IMPROVED ECRU OF PIPE-TILE. PLUG-DRAINING. clay, into which plugs of wood are fitted, having a chain attached to one end. After the clay and earth are well beaten down among these plugs, they are drawn forward by means of the chain, leaving a hollow drain in the clay itself. In this way piece by piece is formed as the plugs are drawn onward in the trench. CAUTION REQUIRED IN DRAINAGE. 335 The same purpose is answered, but less effectively, by the mole-plough, which is an implement framed so as to make a small conduit beneath the soil, by means of an iron-pointed cone or share. It is best adapted to strong clay lands, for in other soils the conduit thus formed is almost immediately obliterated. Although a certain degree of success attends every attempt at drainage, yet the cost is so great that no one will rashly venture upon it without real necessity for so doing. A farmer will be very careful how he sinks valuable capital in injudicious draining, thereby crip- pling his resources, and preventing him from carrying on other necessary improvements which equally demand his attention. There can be no doubt that a vast extent of arable land throughout Great Britain and Ireland is seriously injured by the imperfect escape of water, and its fertility greatly diminished thereby ; yet sound judg- ment is required in applying the remedy ; for many per- sons competent to make a good drain may fail of full success from not making it in the right place, and may therefore waste money and time in the attempt. Some knowledge of the structure of the upper portion of the earth's crust must be acquired ; and also a practical acquaintance with those circumstances in which deep draining is required, and of those in which a different management may be adopted. When draining operations are actually going on, the business should be constantly superintended by a person who well understands it. Without this, half the benefit will be lost through the carelessness of the workmen, who will naturally take the methods that seem to give the least present trouble. The spade work will be roughly done, the tiles carelessly laid down, and per- haps the drain left open for a long time in wet weather or frosts, at the risk of the giving way of the banks, and the bursting in pieces of the tiles. All this is easily prevented by the presence of an active superin- tendent. 336 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. It will be impossible here to go into many details respecting deep draining, nor will it be necessary, since the principal differences refer simply to the greater depth and smaller number of the drains, and to the skill with which they are placed in the most important spots. On account of the depth of these drains, there is sometimes a tendency in the sides to fall in before the bottom is reached. In this case, short thick planks are placed on each side, and are kept in their places by props across the breadth of the drain. The conduit at the bottom of a deep drain should always be built securely, by a person who understands the construction of dry-stone walls, and he should take care to lay flat stones at the bottom, to act as a sole to the drain, and also to cover in the top of the conduit with flat stones. Stones are then filled in promiscuously, either by hand or from carts : in the latter case, boards must be placed in a slanting position, to break the fall of the stones, and thus to save the di'ain itself as well as the conduit from injury. As in the case of the drains already described, a layer of some dry material, such as turf, dried leaves, or coarse grass, is put over the stones before the loose earth is returned. JUMPER. It will sometimes happen that even a drain six feet deep will not reach the seat of the water which it is desirable to withdraw from the soil. In this case, boring IMPKOVEMENTS FROM DRAINING. 337 irons are sometimes used ; and, as in the case which is said to have originated Elkington's plan, the water will well up into the drain, and so pass off, or it will sink down into some porous bed, and so be absorbed. The tools chiefly used in deep-draining, are the ditcher's shovel, the hand-pick, and foot-pick, and, where boring is resorted to, the common auger, a sharp pyramidal punch, and a chisel or jumper, for making way through obstacles in the soil. The results which follow successful draining, on Elk- ington's method, may be gathered from the following description of the estate of Spottiswoode, in Berwick- shire, as given by Mr. Black in his Prize Essay. '•' Bursts and springs which formerly disfigured entire fields, and which rendered tillage precarious and unprofitable, are now not to be seen ; and swamps, which were not only useless in themselves, but which injured all the land around them, have been totally removed. The conse- quence is; that tillage can now, in those parts, be carried on without interruption, and with nothing beyond the ordinary expenditure of labour and manure ; and a sward of the best grass is raised and continued on spots which formerly only produced the coarsest and least valued herbage. . . . The hurtful effects of rime or hoar-frost on vegetation, is a circumstance familiar to all who have had experience of cold and elevated districts, or of low lands subject to exhalations, excluded from the influence of the sun and currents of air. The rime in these swampy hollows, of which mention has been made, was found, even in the warmest seasons, to be productive of serious inconvenience and injury to the growing crops ; and that chiefly at the period when the grain was approach- ing its mature state. This evil, it may be said, has been removed, or at least is now so little felt, that the grain produced in these very hollows has for many years escaped the smallest perceptible injury from this cause. "Another effect which was still less contemplated, and has not less agreeably resulted from the drainage under- z 338 SKETCHES OF BUBAL AFFAIRS. taken, has been the improvement of the trees and wood- lands on the property. Considerable difficulty was ex- perienced in nursing up the trees in the first stages of their growth ; and often individual trees grew up with stunted stems, and covered with parasitical plants, which always indicate unhealthy growth. Latterly, this evil has been infinitely less felt, owing in a material degree, certainly, to the superior management of the woods themselves, but obviously also, in a certain degree, to the great dryness of the ground. Since several of the woods have been laid dry by under-drainage, the ground in many of the hollows has sunk so much, that the roots of the trees have been left standing up bare above the surface, with the appearance of crows' feet ; and parts which were boggy and marshy, and in which sportsmen used to stick fast in hunting, are now perfectly solid, with a good sward of grass, over which they may now gallop with freedom." Mr. Stephens also sets forth the benefits of draining, in terms which apply to thorough draining, namely, the best kinds of surface-draining, equally with deep-draining. " On drained land," he says, " the straw of white crops shoots up steadily from a vigorous braid, strong, long, and at the same time so stiff, as not to be easily lodged with wind or rain. The grain is plump, large, bright-coloured, and thin-skinned. The crop ripens uniformly, is bulky and prolific ; more quickly won for stacking in harvest ; more easily thrashed, winnowed, and cleaned, and produces fewer small and light grains. The straw also makes better fodder for live stock. Clover grows rank, long, and juicy, and the flowers large and of bright colour. The hay weighs heavy for its bulk. Pasture-grass stools out in every direction, covering the ground with a thick sward, and produces fat and milk of the finest quality. Turnips become large, plump, as if fully grown, juicy, and with a smooth and oily skin. Potatoes push out long and strong stems, with enlarged tubers3 having skins easily DRAINAGE IMPORTANT TO HEALTH. 339 peeled off, and their substance mealy when boiled. Live stock of every description thrive, show good temper, are easily fattened, and of fine quality. Land is less occupied with weeds, the increased luxuriance of all the crops checking their growth. Summer fallow is more easily cleaned, and much less work is required to put the land in proper order for the manure and seed ; and all sorts of manures incorporate more quickly and thoroughly with the soil." Taking all these benefits into consideration, we may well desire to see the practice of draining become universal in all the low lands of this country and of Ireland. Indeed, it is not merely as a matter of national and individual benefit as it respects our crops and live stock that we have to view it, for medical ob- servations have shown that in districts which have been thoroughly drained, fever and ague, which previously formed nearly one half of the diseases of the people, have now almost entirely disappeared. Perhaps many persons now in middle life will remember that in their childhood they heard much more of these complaints than at present, and that ague especially was commonly spoken of as a disease which they were likely, without care, to suffer from. That we now hear comparatively little of this painful complaint, and that both ague and fever are much less fatal and extensive in their ravages than formerly, we greatly owe, through God's mercy, to the improved drainage of the soil, and the consequent improved climate of large districts of this country. And may we not hope that consumption, that saddest of all messengers of death, may deal less destructively with us, when we have used all the means placed within our reach for lessening the amount of moisture, which, in the shape of mists and fogs, hangs almost continually over many beautiful valleys of our land. At least let us pray that God will so be pleased to bless the attempts which are being made to ameliorate the climate and the soil. z2 APPENDIX. ENGLAND'S RESOURCES IN TIME OP DEARTH. IT is a merciful provision of the Almighty, that, in time of dearth, one country is frequently enabled to supply the defici- encies of another, and that one year often supplies a redundance to help out the scarcity that may follow, or has preceded it. When the famine was " sore " in the land of Canaan, and iu the adjoining countries, Jacob said to his sons, "Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and buy for us from thence ; that we may live and not die." In this case the famine had been foretold, and the resources of Egypt had been wisely husbanded by Joseph during the years of plenty which preceded the time of dearth. And even now, seasons of comparative scarcity, though not foretold, are in some measure anticipated and provided for, either by govern- ment, as in foreign countries, or, as at home, by a class of per- sons who, in seeking to promote their own interests, are really serving the interests of the nation at large. "In Sweden, Prussia, Spain, Denmark, &c., magazines or storehouses of grain are erected in different places, in order to guard against bad seasons. In Spain alone there are upwards of five thousand of these depositories, called positas. Every occupier of land is obliged to bring a certain quantity of corn, proportionate to the extent of his farm ; the following year he takes back the corn lie has thus deposited, and replenishes the empty garner with a larger quantity ; and thus he continues annually to increase the stock by these contributions, called ' cresus,' till a certain measure of grain is deposited ; then every one receives back the whole corn which he has furnished, and replaces it by an equal quantity of new corn. Whenever a scarcity happens these repositories are opened, and the corn is dealt out to the people at a moderate price. In some places seed corn is distributed to necessitous husbandmen, who are bound to restore as much in lieu of it the next harvest. The 342 APPENDIX. institution of such a system as this is no doubt highly neces* sary in a country only in an imperfect state of civilization ; but that which requires the authority of government to accomplish abroad, is in England brought about by less questionable means." — (Dimsdale.) The commercial and enterprising spirit of our countrymen induces them to enter into speculative purchases, which in the end answer very much the same purpose. Our corn merchants purchase largely in years of plenty when prices are low, and store up wheat in expectation of an advance in the price. Thus, without intending to promote any other interest than their own, they really become the benefactors of the public, by providing a relief stock, which is of the greatest importance, in a time of scarcity, and also by laying up what might otherwise be wastefully consumed while plenty lasts. Instead, therefore, of joining in the common cry against such persons, we have reason to be thankful that there are men of sufficient capital and experience to make these purchases, and that they are, generally speaking, disposed to sell immediately they can rea- lize a fair profit. And if there are some who hold their corn in the hope of realizing enormous gains, and wait until the market begins to decline before they sell, it is often to their own shame and loss that they do it. The scarcity they create induces importation, and is thus more than compensated by the good eventually done. The immense amount of capital required to store corn largely, and the waste to which it is liable in the granary, also greatly check the desire to withhold corn too long. Whatever may be the precautions employed by merchants and others in laying up for the future, there will be times and seasons when we must look to other nations for a large amount of help as it regards our supply of corn. A total failure of crops scarcely ever happens thoughout even one kingdom, for the weather which is unfavourable to one descrip- tion of soil is generally advantageous to another ; much less does it happen at the same time throughout the whole earth, in the various parts of which seasons and climate so greatly differ. Thus recently, when Europe suffered in many parts a great deficiency in her harvests, it was so arranged by the bounty of the Creator, that America should receive an over- flowing supply. How important then the continuance of peaceful commerce, and rapid communication between all nations, that the deficiencies of one country may be supplied by the abundance of another ! VALUE OP FOREIGN COMMERCE. 343 It is at a season of scarcity that we feel the value of our foreign commerce, and eagerly inquire whence we may most speedily and safely obtain our supplies. At the same time it must be remembered, that our grand supply is as a general rule produced at home ; for in no case can a numerous peo- ple, like that of the United Kingdom, be wholly or principally dependent on the soil of other lands for support. This might, perhaps, take place without much danger or incon- venience in the case of a small state or colony, but not with such a dense population as ours. For it is an ascertained fact, that "to supj^y these islands with the single article of wheat would call for the employment of twice the amount of shipping which now annually enters our ports, if indeed it would be possible to procure the grain from other countries in sufficient quantity; and to bring to our shores every article of agricultural produce in the abundance we now enjoy, would probably give constant occupation to the mercantile navy of the whole world." — {Porter.) But while our grand dependence will always be on our own resources, and on the advancing skill of our agricultural men, who, by improved systems of tillage and drainage, have of late years wonderfully increased the productiveness of the soil, yet there are times when a concurrence of circumstances will drive us to seek very extensive aid from other countries. The deficient harvest of 1846, and the pressure occasioned by the failure of the potato crop, produced in our own country and among many of the continental nations severe calamities, and great anxiety respecting the future. Through the mercy of God, a favourable harvest followed ; but by the circumstance of this scarcity we are naturally led to review the chief sources we have been accustomed to look to for our foreign supplies of corn, and to see how many of these remain available to us. To begin then with Europe as the quarter from whence we have obtained, until lately, nearly the whole of our foreign supplies of corn. At the head of all the corn-shipping ports, not only of Europe, but of the world, is Dantzic, situated on the left bank of the Vistula, about three miles from the sea (the Baltic). This is the prand emporium for the countries bordering the Vistula, both in its passage through Poland, and through part of Prussia. The soil in the neighbourhood of this river produces luxuriant crops, and is in every respect highly fruitful; but so extensive is the region from which com is brought, that in seasons when there is a brisk demand, Daatzic is partly sup- 344 APPENDIX. plied from provinces from five to seven hundred miles inland. A large proportion of the corn trade at this port is in our hands; therefore it is interesting to ascertain all particulars respecting the collection and mode of transit of these valuable stores. Considering the great importance of wheat, one cannot view without regret the careless and wasteful plan on which graia is conveyed from the corn-growing districts of the Vistula to Dantzic. From Cracow, where the Vistula first becomes nari- gable, down to the lower parts of the stream, the corn is chiefly conveyed to Dantzic in open flats. These are made on the banks in seasons of leisure, and are left to be floated when the rains of autumn, or the melted snows of the Car- pathian mountains in spring, have raised the river far beyoiid the ordinary level. These barges are about seventy-five feet long, twenty broad, and two feet and a half deep. They are made of fir, put together in a very rough manner, and fastened with wooden trenails; the corners being dovetailed and se- cured with slight iron clamps — the only iron used in their construction. A large tree, the length of the vessel, runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. This tree rises nine or ten inches from the floor, arid hurdles are laid down upon it, extending to the sides. These hurdles are covered with matting made of rye-straw, and serve the purpose of drainage, there being a vacant space beneath to receive the water which leaks through the sides and bottom of the ill- constructed vessel. This water as it accumulates is dipped out at the ends and side of the vessel. The cargo usually consists of from one hundred and eighty to two hundred quarters of wheat, which is simply thrown on the mats, piled up to the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather and the pilferings of the crew, which consists of six or seven men. The barge is car- ried along at a slow pace by the force of the stream, and is preceded by a small boat with a man in it, who is employed in sounding in order to avoid the shifting banks. The men on the barge merely use oars at the head and stern to direct the vessel in passing under bridges, or in avoiding sand-banks. Their progress in this way is very slow, so that several weeks, and even months, may be employed in the voyage. During this time, if the weather be rainy, the natural consequence is that the wheat begins to grow, and the barge speedily assumes the appearance of a floating meadow. The more rapidly this takes place the better, for the shooting of the fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the raiu from penetrating more than CORN BARGES ON THE VISTULA, 345 an inch or two. At the sacrifice of the whole upper surface of the wheat a covering is thus provided for the great bulk of the grain, which, on the removal of its green roof, is often fouiid in very tolerable condition. When the cargo is deposited at Dantzic the barges are broken up, and the men who conducted them return to their own country on foot. The grain, as it may be supposed, is not fit to be immediately placed in storehouses. It is spread out on the ground, exposed to the sun, and thoroughly dried. During rain, and also at night, it is piled up in the shape of a steep roof, and is covered with linen. Thus, ac- cording to the state of the weather, it may be a long or a short time in reaching the granary. Near the lower parts of the river, where the wheat is generally of inferior quality, covered boats are employed with shifting boards, which pro- tect the cargo from rain, but not from pilfering. The progress of railway and steam-boat communication is, however, making a great alteration in this district. The excellent quality of much of the wheat grown in Poland, causes it to be highly prized in this country. The fine heavy grain known in London as Dantzic white wheat, is raised in a narrow district, in the province of Sandomir, Poland, — about sixty miles in length, and extending along the Vistula. Throughout the southern parts of Sandomir and Cracow, the crops are celebrated for their excellent quality ; but the average growth is rarely beyond twenty bushels to the acre, the farming operations being imperfectly conducted. In Volhynia, one of the principal districts for supplying wheat to the markets of Dantzic and Konigsberg, the popu- lation consists entirely of slaves, and either the proprietor farms his own estate, or lets it to what are called "Possessors," at the rate of so much per day's labour, calculated for the peasant : thus the proprietor receives so many days' labour, or rather he receives so much money for each day's labour of the slave. We have already seen that the grain from various districts, on arriving at Dantzic, is dried thoroughly, and afterwards stored in granaries. These warehouses are generally seven stories high, with floors nine feet asunder. There are numerous windows for the ventilation of the corn, and sufficient spaces for turning and screening it. The whole of the corn ware- houses are capable of storing five hundred thousand quarters of wheat. Ships are loaded by gangs of porters, who will 346 APPENDIX. complete a cargo of five hundred quarters in three or four hours. These granaries are situated on an island formed by the Motlau, and are guarded by twenty or thirty ferocious dogs of large size, among which are blood-hounds. The dogs are let loose at 11 o'clock at night, and are kept within their districts by large higli gates across the end of eacli of the streets leading to the main one. No light is allowed, nor any person suffered to live on this island. The dread of the dogs, it is said, is the most powerful means which could be used to keep the property secure amidst the hordes of Poles, Jews, &c. which are met with at Dantzic. No fire or robbery was ever known, and the expense to each building, with tlie immense property it contains, is very small. Vessels lying alongside these warehouses are not allowed to have a fire or a light of any kind on board, nor is a sailor or any other person suffered even to smoke. These corn-stores of Dantzic, and the care taken to preserve them, are interesting and important topics; but the general inquiry will be — at what season and to what extent are these stores available to us ? Now we find that the Prussian and Polish landlords employ brokers at Dantzic to dispose of their wheat for delivery the following spring, and that the wording of the corn-contract generally fixes the period for the fifteenth of May, depending, however, on the weather for the exact fulfilment of the contract, as the breaking up of the ice, "first open, water," may take place at an earlier or later date. The deliveries of grain, therefore, commence about the middle of May at that port, and are generally of great extent ; but the supplies vary greatly with the state of the adjacent countries, in some of which there may be prohibitions against the exportation of wheat, on account of a deficient crop. Next to Dantzic, Hamburgh is considered the greatest corn- market of Nonhern Europe, being the depository for large quantities of Baltic corn, as well as for the produce of the countries bordering the Elbe. The price of wheat at this port is in general much lower than at Dantzic; but this is owing to the inferiority of Holstein and Hanover wheat, which abounds in this market. Hamburgh owes its importance, as a commercial town, en- tirely to its situation at the mouth of the Elhe. This fine river, in its long ana winding course, intersects a vast, extent of country, and affords great facilities for trade. Natural ad- vantages are also enhanced by artificial means, — a water com- CORN MARKET OP HAMBURGH. 347 munication having been established by means of the Spree, and of artificial cuts and sluices between the Elbe and the Oder, and between the latter and the Vistula. Thus a con- siderable part of the produce of Silesia, destined for foreign markets, and even some of that of Poland, finds its way to Hamburgh. By another canal, communication is also obtained with the river Trave, and consequently with Lubeck and the Baltic, thus saving the dangerous and difficult passage of the Sound. From the wide extent of country thus traversed, corn can be easily and safely conveyed to the general depot at Ham- burgh, where a ready market awaits it. Notwithstanding the amount of trade carried on, there are no docks or quays at this port; but vessels moor in the river outside a series of piles driven into the ground, a short distance from the shore. There is a sort of inner harbour formed by an arm of the Elbe, which runs into the city, where small craft lie and discharge their cargoes. Most of the Danish corn is consigned to Hamburgh ; but this has not hitherto been of great amount. Continuing our inquiries in the north of Europe, we find that several parts of Russia have sent us large supplies of corn, and will doubtless continue so to do. Petersburg!), the capital of Russia, has the most extensive general foreign traffic of any city in the north of Europe. The number of vessels annually entering the port varies from a thousand to sixteen hundred, of which the English are by far the most numerous. The Russians traffic with foreigners at Petersburg!), either personally or by their factors, during the winter months, and the goods are delivered in May, (when the shipping season commences,) or in the three succeeding months. In the case of produce brought from northern countries, it will of course happen, that the time of its arrival here will de- pend more on the breaking up of ice, and on the earlier or later arrival of " the shipping season," than on any considerations relating to the harvest. In those countries, the close of harvest is not only the season for a suspension of agricultural labour, but is one in which foreign commerce must also be put a stop to ; therefore it is that autumn or winter purchases of corn in northern ports are made with relation to the following spring. The corn-trade of Petersburgh is of considerable importance, although the greater part of the wheat is of inferior quality. There are three varieties of wheat, known as azemaia, or soft wheat; kubanka, or hard wheat; and Russian, or inferior small-grained wheat. The last, which is the most abundant, is of a very dark colour, and, though sound, is unfit for the 348 APPENDIX. manufacture of fine bread. The hard wheat is the most prized, being a large semi-transparent grain, well calculated for long keeping, either in the granary, or when made into bread : so that it is in great request for mixing with grain that is stale or out of condition. When first brought to London, the millers objected to it on account of the difficulty of grinding it ; but having now ascertained its excellent qualities, they are glad to purchase it for mixture with other grain. The next port of consequence in European Russia is Riga, the largest part of whose foreign trade is transacted with England. Riga wheat is, however, inferior to that of Dantzic, and the port has now become more celebrated for flax than for corn. Two descriptions of wheat reach us from Riga; one the growth of Russia, the other of Courland : the latter is much the best. Oats are likewise largely exported from Riga. Russia has still another port in the extreme north from which corn is exported ; but the great severity of the climate must always prevent much dependence being placed on these supplies. This port is Archangel, on the right bank of the Dwina, the principal city of a province bearing the same name, part of which is exposed to the Arctic Sea. So great is the sterility of many parts of this province, that the inhabitants use the inner bark of trees, and certain species of moss, inter- mixed with meal, or substituted for it, in making bread. It is, therefore, not in this province itself, but in those farther inland that corn is raised for exportation. The chief ports of northern Europe to which our merchants have been accustomed to resort for corn, have now been briefly noticed, namely, Dantzic, Hamburgh, Petersburg!], Riga, and Archangel : we may add that Amsterdam is also an important depot where the wheats of the above-named ports are to be met with, as well as almost every other variety of corn. Let us now turn our attention to Southern Europe, and consider the fertile and beautiful country of Spain. Some years ago, no corn was permitted to be exported from Spain under severe penalties ; but the inhabitants are now free to export as largely as they please, not only corn, but all other produce of the soil. And this they might do to an immense extent under a better state of things ; but, owing to the bad- ness of the roads, which prevent their getting a ready market for their supplies, they can scarcely be said to cultivate the land at all. Yet, such is the natural fertility of the soil, that the crops are very abundant ; and in good years they so far exceed the wants of the inhabitants, that the peasantry do not take the CORN DISTRICTS OP SOUTHERN EUROPE. 349 trouble to reap the more distant fields, but merely clear such as are in the immediate neighbourhood of their respective vil- lages. How important, to these people, in every point of view, would be the ordinary facilities for commerce ! What a motive for industry, and most probably what an improvement to the national character, had they the means of turning the produce of their fields to account ! As it is, the habit of allowing the precious fruits of the earth to be wasted, because no immediate profit can result from securing them, must be full of mischief to the proprietors, and to the peasantry, inducing general im- providence and carelessness. Let us hope that in the course of improvement which seems rapidly advancing in foreign countries as well as in our own, the commerce of Spain will be greatly increased, and the produce of Old Castile, Leon, Estre- madura. and Andalusia, (said to be the finest corn-countries in the world,) will at length be turned to rich and profitable use. Latterly we have begun to import corn from Bilbao, Santander, and other ports in the north of Spain. The supplies brought to Bilbao are, however, principally from a distance of 130 or ] 40 miles ; and, owing to the badness of the roads, and the deficient means of conveyance, the rate of carriage advances enormously when there is a brisk demand. The only port of Southern Europe from which any consider- able quantity of grain is to be had, is Odessa, a flourishing port of Southern Russia, situated on the north-west coast of the Black Sea. All the products brought down the Dniester and the Dnieper rivers are exported from Odessa ; but owing to the cataracts and shallows of those rivers, which make their navigation dangerous, a large proportion of the corn is conveyed to Odessa by land, and this by a less expensive method than might be supposed. Carts laden with corn, and drawn by oxen, are to be seen slowly wending their way towards Odessa, in parties of about one hundred and fifty together. The time chosen is that in which the peasantry are not occupied with harvest work ; and as the oxen are pastured at night, no time is unnecessarily lost during the journey. Two kinds of wheat are shipped at Odessa, hard wheat and soft ; the latter is the most abundant, and is the only kind that finds its way to this country. The hard wheat is a very fine grain, chiefly sent to Italy for making maccaroni and vermicelli. Contrary to the practice of the northern ports, the voyage from Odessa is generally made during the winter months ; but at all seasons it is a long and uncertain voyage. The reason for preferring to make it in whiter is, that in summer the wheat is 350 APPENDIX. almost sure to heat during the voyage, especially if it has not been shipped in the best order. Sometimes this heating has gone to such an extent, that the wheat has been dug from the hold of the vessel with pickaxes. The winter voyages usually commence before the end of October, for, in autumn and winter, the navigation of the Black Sea becomes dangerous. From the vast quantity of fresh water poured into this sea, the saltness is so much diminished, that, with a slight frost, the surface of the water becomes covered with ice. Thus we find that winter voyages are dangerous to the ships, and summer voyages to their cargoes of corn ; and, unless these risks can be lessened, it is not probable that we shall ever import very largely from Odessa. But were the voyage less uncertain, there is very little pro- spect of an increase in the exports of corn from Odessa, for the following reasons: 1. In Podolia and Kievy, whence Odessa obtains its principal supplies, the greatest possible quantity of grain is already produced without regard to price or demand, in consequence of capital being invested in slave-labour, which is not otherwise to be employed. 2. Because the plains, called CORN IN EGYPT. 351 steppes, adjacent to the Black Sea, and Asopli, are thinly peo- pled, so that in years when crops are abundant they are seen suffering on the ground for want of reapers. 3. Because on these steppes crops are exceedingly precarious by reason of drought, the common calamity of this climate; of the high winds, which carry off the seed from the dusty soil ; of the early thaws and subsequent frosts without snow. 4. Because tillage is defective and improvement difficult under the present circumstances of the country. 5. Because distances are great and communication unaided by art, there being no roads, and the rivers being unnavigable. 6. Because tlie landholders are impoverished, and the most of them indebted to the crown, and the working classes are degraded by their condition of slavery.* Looking beyond Europe, we find that exportations to a con- siderable amount are sometimes made from Egypt, a country greatly enriched by the annual deposits of mud from the river Nile, and bearing, with very little assistance from the husband- man, three or four crops every year. In Lower Egypt, sowing begins as soon as the waters subside, the seed being merely scattered over the land, and left to sink into the soft earth by its own weight, or trodden in by cattle driven over it for that purpose. This generally takes place in November ; in Feb- ruary the fields are green, and in May the harvest takes place. The quantity reaped is very variable, but the Pacha informed Dr. Bowring that he had exported in one year 630,000 quarters, producing on an average about sixteen shillings per quarter. Thus in the present day, as in the time of the Pharaohs, the neighbouring nations may go down to Egypt to buy bread. Stores of corn are still laid up, and a singular method is adopted to secure them from theft. It seldom happens in Upper Egypt that there is any roof to cover the grain ; nor is a covering necessary, as rain is scarcely ever known to fall ; but the corn being collected into a heap, is stamped all round the foot of the heap with the impression of a large wooden seal, so that nobody can touch the pile without deranging the impression. It might have been expected, from the fertility of the soil and the beauty of the climate, that Syria would have had an overplus of corn, and be able to export it to other lands ; but so great is the want of agriculturists and labourers, that the fields lie comparatively waste. " Regions of the highest fcr- * Report to Lord Palmerston, from the British Consul at Odessa. 352 APPENDIX. tility remain fallow ; and the traveller passes over continuous leagues of the richest soil, which is wholly unproductive to man. Nay, towns surrounded by lands capable of the most successful cultivation, are often compelled to import corn for the daily consumption, as is the case at Antioch, in whose immediate neighbourhood the fine lands on the borders of the Orontes might furnish food for hundreds and thousands of inhabitants." From our distant possessions in South Australia, it appears that sufficient corn is now raised, not only to supply the wants of the colonists, but to allow of exportation. In a petition to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated Adelaide, llth of April, 1844, it is stated that, as far as wheat is concerned, the production is already beyond their wants, to the extent of about two hundred thousand bushels ; and they are, in default of markets, suffering under a most ruinous depression of prices. Turning now from the Old World to the New, let us inquire concerning the resources of North America, and her power to supply us with corn in the time of need. As far as extent and capabilities of soil are concerned, every one knows that the resources of even our British possessions in that country are almost boundless. It has been well said, " Our colonial wastes are mines of gold: millions of treasure slumber in our unap- propriated lands." Canada alone is about six times as large as England and Wales ; and the whole area of our British North American provinces is more than twice as great as that of all France. Of this great extent of land, however, not more than thirty millions of acres are granted, and of these not more than five millions are cultivated. Of the productiveness of this region we have the following among similar testimony : " So great is the fertility of the soil in Canada, that fifty bushels of wheat per acre are frequently produced on a farm where the stumps of trees, which probably occupy an eighth of the sur- face, have not been eradicated ; some instances of sixty bushels an acre occur ; and near York, in Upper Canada, one hundred bushels of wheat have been obtained from a single acre. In some districts wheat has been successively raised upon the same ground for twenty years without manure." (Butler.} Montreal, the chief trading port of St. Lawrence, is the outlet of the greater portion of the produce of Upper Canada. So great are the natural advantages in the neighbourhood of the St. Lawrence, that in a memorial to our Governmen t RESOURCES OP BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. 353 recommending an extensive plan of colonization of the Irish population, tliis is the portion of the world selected as the best fitted for the purpose. " It is in the part of the world where the greatest abundance of human food is brought into the market at the lowest price. It already contains a population, for the most part engaged in agriculture, exceeding any pos- sible amount of annual Irish immigration ; and so very large a portion of its fertile soil is still uncultivated, that for many years to come every addition to its numbers by immigration will add to its capacity of receiving more immigrants. . . . If a large body of Irish emigrants were despatched to an unin- habited country, or one containing but few inhabitants, it would be necessary to supply them for a year or two with food procured from other countries at a great expense. The first colonists of South Australia and New Zealand imported nearly all their food during the first two or three years of their settle- ment, and the greater part of that food was sent to them from this country. If a million of Irish emigrants were sent to any other country but North America, it would be necessary to send along with them, or after them, about four million barrels of flour. But," by going to North America, "the emigrants would fall in with a great store of food ready for the mouths of new coiners, because it is there only that an abundance of fertile land exists in combination with a skilful agricultural population many times more numerous than any conceivable amount of annual emigration." That the United States of America also possess immense resources for the production of food is well known. A journey acrobs the State of New York affords the most satisfactory evi- dence of the great natural advantages of this region, of which New York itself is the great outlet. Around the great chain of the North American lakes, of which Lake Erie is tlie most southerly, is a vast territory about six times as extensive as the whole of England, con- taining one hundred and eighty millions of acres of arable land, a large portion of which is of surpassing fertility. It is ex- pected that a vast population will eventually spring up in this attractive region, which has already drawn great numbers to its culture. Viewing this state of things prospectively, the Financial Report of the Legislature runs thus : "There are peculiar reasons why the proportion of agricultural products of this great inland population should so far exceed that of other nations. The exuberance of their soil, the salubrity of their climate, and the cheapness of their lauds, (arising from, a vast A A 3-54 APPENDIX. supply within their limits,) will enable them always to furnish food to every other portion of the continent on more advanta- geous terms than it can be elsewhere produced. Labour there reaps its best reward, and harvests of a hundred fold repay its exertions." Formerly the exports of wheat from the United States were comparatively trifling ; the principal corn trade being carried on in flour, not in grain. The shipments of flour have been very extensive from New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, and other parts. Every kind of flour, whether of wheat, rye, or Indian corn, is inspected by an appointed officer before it is shipped. The size and weight of each barrel are regulated by government, and the inspector ascertains that every barrel contains 196 Ibs. of flour, and each half barrel 98 Ibs. He next determines the quality of the flour; the best being branded Superfine, the second Fine, the third Fine Middlings, the fourth Middlings. Flour which is not market- able is branded Bad, and its exportation forbidden. Maize flour is branded Indian Meal, and may be exported in hogs- heads of 800 Ibs. The inspection takes place at the time and place of exportation, under penalty of five dollars per barrel. Persons altering or counterfeiting marks or brands, forfeit one hundred dollars : and persons putting fresh flour into barrels already marked, or offering adulterated wheaten flour for sale, forfeit in either case five dollars per barrel. Our imports of corn, as well as of wheaten flour, from the United States have, during the last ten years, experienced a vast increase ; so that the President's addresses paint an extraordinary picture of prosperity in the export trade, owing to the immense quantities of food going to England; and also remind the farmers that they are getting much higher prices than heretofore for their produce. But if it has been so ordered, that abundant harvests in America should in a very material degree assist England and Ireland in a time of difficulty ; yet it does not appear that we are at liberty to reckon on this aid as constant or lasting. An acute writer on our agricultural resources has the following remarks bearing on this subject : "The great source of error, with regard to the United States, is in judging of it by the enormous extent of its territory, instead of ty the number of hands which can be applied to the raising of food. This mode of judging is altogether fallacious; for the amount of labour which can be applied to the soil, is the principal test of pro- duction. This is proved by the fact, that we raise nearly as IMPORTS PROM THE UNITED STATES. 355 large an amount of agricultural produce in this little island, which is a mere speck when compared with the United States, as the people of that country raise from the whole of their vast territory. A little consideration as to what, are the practical difficulties in raising, reaping, thrashing out, and getting to market any considerably increased quantity of grain, will show that this must be the case. In the great corn-growing dis- tricts of England and Scotland, that is, in Lincolnshire, Cam- bridgeshire, and the Lothians, the resident population, though four or five times as thick on the ground as the agricultural population of any of the grain-growing states of America, would be unable to secure the harvest, if it were not for the immense influx of Irish reapers at harvest time. It was only a few years ago that a slight delay in the arrival of the usual bands of Irishmen produced great alarm in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Ely ; and if they had not arrived at all, much grain would have been lost. This is the grand difficulty with regard to the cultivation of grain in thinly-peopled countries. There is no difficulty in preparing large quantities of land, as that is an operation that may be spread over several months; and there is even less difficulty in sowing the land, as one man can sow a great breadth in a single day ; the difficulty is in obtaining the necessary supply of labour to cut down and carry in a fortnight or three weeks the harvest of the whole year." If the want of labourers during the harvest is often felt even in this country, "how much greater must it be in the wilder- ness of the west, with a climate like that of America, under which each grain crop ripens simultaneously. The difficulty is so great that no effort is even made to reap much of that Indian corn which makes such an astounding figure in Ame- rican statistics. The usual course over thousands of acres, is to turn the pigs into this grain, to eat as much as they like; and this is even done with regard to wheat. A gentle- man of our acquaintance saw an immense herd of pigs turned into a magnificent field of wheat of sixty acres, which was thus completely laid waste, according to our European notions." The above remarks lead us to notice more particularly the maize or Indian corn, which was of so much service in Ireland during the season of distress, and which will in all probability continue to be a most important article of commerce. From the partial attempts to cultivate maize in this country, many persons are acquainted with its appear- ance and luxuriant growth ; its strong, reedy, jointed stems , A A 2 356 APPENDIX. broad leaves, tasselled flowers, and large thick ears, plentifullj supplied with seeds of grain. There are several varieties of Indian corn, supposed to arise from difference of climate ; but there is no doubt that America is the native place of the plant ; for there, and in the West India Islands, it is found growing wild, and is cultivated to the greatest perfection. The growth of American maize is various, being from seven to ten feet in favourable situations, and in some cases attaining the extraordinary height of four- teen feet, without losing any of its productiveness. The value of the grain to America is nearly as great as that of rice to India. It forms a principal food of the inhabitants of the United States, and almost the sole support of the Mexicans. It is also largely consumed in Africa. It is said to be much less subject to disease than our wheat, no such thing as blight, mildew, or rust, being known to the crop. The chief enemies to the maize farmer are insects in the early stages, and birds in the later periods of cultivation. The increase of this crop, compared with that of other kinds of wheat, is exceedingly large. In Mexico, where it is the most luxuriant, its productiveness is almost incredible. We are as- sured that, in some particularly favoured spots of that country, it has been known to yield an increase of eight hundred for one ; while it is by no means uncommon, where artificial irri- gation is practised, to gather from three hundred and fifty to four hundred measures of grain for every one measure that has been sown. In other places where no artificial means are used, forty or sixty bushels are gained for each one sown. The produce from maize in the United States is less luxuri- ant than in Mexico, but is very superior to tliat of other kinds of grain. Where the average crop of wheat does not exceed from fourteen to seventeen bushels, that of maize amounts to from twenty to thirty bushels. In some of the warm and moist regions of Mexico three harvests of maize may be annually gathered, but it is not usual to take more than one. The seed-time is from June to the end of August. In the United States, maize is generally planted about the middle of May, that it may escape frost, and the harvesting takes place a little •later than that of wheat. This is an advantage to the American farmer, making it more possible to secure a portion of the crop ; but in all circumstances there is much difficulty in conducting harvest work in a country where the growth and maturity of crops are so rapid. The culture of maize is very successfully carried on in MAIZE OR INDIAN CORN. «5OV Georgia, The ordinary increase in good ears is from one hundred to one hundred and twenty fold; but by the best ears being selected for seed, and careful attention to the crops, the corn has increased in size and productiveness, so as to yield two hundred and fifty fold. This result was first produced bv a cultivator named Baden ; hence the choice corn obtained by his method is called Baden corn. The common wheat harvest is over in Georgia by the middle of June. The maize is Uien in aflourishing condition, and is gathered some weeks later. The maize harvest is very differently conducted to the wheat harvest. When the corn is ripe, the ears are plucked off and thrown into baskets; these are again emptied into carts, which convey the store at once to the barn. The stalks are left standing some time longer, and being then cut, down THE MAIZE HARVEST. near the ground, they are tied up in bundles and stacked in a dry place, being used for food for cattle. The ears of corn are preserved in bins or cages, and are not shelled until they are about to be sent to market. Shelling the corn is easily per- formed, but is rather a tedious operation. An old blunt sword or a piece of iron hoop is fixed across the top of a tub, each ear is then taken in both hands and scraped lengthwise smartly across the edge of the iron until all the grains are 358 APPENDIX. removed. In this manner an industrious man will shell from twenty to twenty-five bushels per day. Two bushels of ears will yield one bushel of shelled corn. The rude method above described has in some places yielded to a simple machine, which expedites the work. Of the advantages and uses of Indian corn we have had many notices within the last twelve months, but perhaps none have greatly added to the testimony given long ago by Dr. franklin. He says, " It is remarked in North America that the English farmers when they first arrive there, finding a soil and climate proper for the husbandry they have been accustomed to, and particularly suitable for raising wheat, despise and neglect the culture of Indian corn ; but observing the advantage it affords their neighbours, the older inhabitants, they by degrees get more and more into the practice of raising it ; and the face of the country shows from time to time that the culture of that grain goes on visibly augmenting. " The inducements are the many different ways in which it may be prepared, so as to afford a wholesome and pleasing nourishment to men and other animals. First, the family can begin to make use of it before the time of full harvest ; for the tender green ears, stripped of their leaves, and roasted by a quick fire till the grain is brown, and eaten with a little salt or butter, are a delicacy. Secondly, when the grain is riper and harder, the ears, boiled in their leaves and eaten with butter, are also good and agreeable food. The tender green grains dried, kept all the year, and mixed with green haricots (kidney- beans) also dried, make at anytime a pleasing dish, being first soaked some hours in water and then boiled. When the grain is ripe and hard, there are also several ways of using it. One is to soak it all night in a lessive or lye, and then pound it in a large wooden mortar, with a wooden pestle ; the skin of each grain is by that means skinned off, and the farinaceous part left whole, which, being boiled, swells into a white soft pulp, and eaten with milk, or with butter and sugar, is delicious. The dry grain is also sometimes ground loosely, so as to be broken into pieces of the size of rice, and being winnowed to separate the bran, it is then boiled and eaten with turkey or other fowl, as rice. Ground into a finer meal, they make of it, by boiling, a hasty pudding or bouilli, to be eaten with milk or with butter and sugar : this resembles what the Italians call polenta. They make of the same meal, with water and salt, a hasty cake, which, being stuck against a hoe or other fiat iron, is placed erect before the fire, and so baked to be used as bread. ADVANTAGES OP INDIAN CORN. 359 Broth is also agreeably thickened with the same flour. They also parch it in this manner. An iron pot is nearly filled with sand, and set on the fire till the sand is very hot ; two or three pounds of the grain are then thrown in, and well mixed with the sand by stirring. Each grain bursts and throws out a white substance of twice its bigness. The sand is separated by a wire sieve, and returned into the pot, to be again heated, and the operation is repeated with fresh grain. That which is parched is pounded to a powder in mortars ; this being sifted, will keep long for use. An Indian will travel far, and subsist long, 011 a small bag of it, taking only six or eight ounces of it per day, mixed with water. The flour of maize, mixed with that of wheat, makes excellent bread, sweeter and more agree- able than that of wheat alone. To feed horses, it is good to soak the grain twelve hours ; they mash it easier with their teeth, and it yields them more nourishment. The leaves stripped off the stalks after the grain is ripe, tied up in bun- dles when dry, are excellent forage for horses, cows, &c. The stalks, pressed like the sugar cane, yield a sweet juice, which, being fermented and distilled, makes an excellent spirit ; boiled without fermentation, it affords a pleasant syrup. In Mexico, fields are sown with it thick, that multitudes of small stalks- may arise, which, being cut from time to time like asparagus, are served in desserts, and their sweet juice extracted in the mouth by chewing them. The meal wetted is excellent food for young chickens, and the old grain for grown fowls." From a short tract published by Dr. Bartlett, of New York, we gain some important particulars as to the general price at which this valuable corn ought to be sold in England. It appears that maize has been commonly sold at the port of shipment at half a dollar per bushel, and that the expense of grinding into flour, and freight across the Atlantic, would make it three quarters of a dollar. Allowing another quarter of a dollar for retail profit, " it could be sold in the manufac- turing towns of England at one dollar per hushel, or about four shillings and fourpence sterling. Now the bushel weighs at least fifty-eight pounds, which, at four and fourpence, is less than one penny per pound." As an article of general domestic use, this maize-flour ap- pears to be as agreeable as it is economical. Besides ordinary puddings, cakes, rolls, and bread, which are made of it, there is a dish called mus/i, a sort of hasty pudding, which is very much used in America, and which shows the great advantage of this article as a cheap food. Describing this dish, Dr. 360 APPENDIX. Bartlett observes : — " I carefully weighed out one pound of this meal, and gave it to a person who understood the cooking of it. In the course of boiling it absorbed five pints of water, which was added at intervals until the process was complete. The bulk was again weighed, and gave as a result four pounds and a half. Such are the powers of expansion possessed by this kind of grain. On dividing the mass into portions, it was found to fill four soup plates of the ordinary size, and with the addition of a little milk and sugar, gave a plentiful breakfast to four servants and children." Thus, one pound of maize flour, valued at one penny, gave a substantial breakfast to four per- sons. This is certainly worth trying in England, and wo\ild, no doubt, be soon adopted by numbers, could they obtain the flour. But, strange to say, although a large quantity of maize- flour is sent to England, there is the greatest difficulty in obtaining any for use. Lt appears to be kept in the hands of bakers and others, who, no doubt, employ it largely in mixing with wheateu flour, but who deny it to their customers, ex- cept at a price equal to that of wheaten flour. The writer has made inquiries at many bakers' shops in London, and also at several corn stores, but has not been able to obtain any of this meal. One individual confessed to having a quan- tity of it, but refused to sell except at the high price of ordi- nary flour. It is to be hoped that this will not continue long, but that the valuable grain will soon be better known and appreciated by the public at large. Let a general demand be excited for maize-flour, and the monopoly will soon cease to exist. In large families it would be a great saving to employ this flour, mixed with wheaten-flour, for pastry of all kinds, plain cakes, &c. even supposing any prejudice to exist against its use in bread. But those who have tried it, assure us that bread is much sweeter and better with a portion of this flour ; and if we may judge by the bread sold in a few of our shops as Indian-corn bread, we fully agree in that opinion. It is light and wholesome, and does not become dry or stale so soon as ordinary bread. It should also be remembered that rye meal is an article that may be advantageously used to mix with other flour in time of scarcity. The preference shown in England for white- looking bread, prevents the frequent use of this meal, but there is no doubt of its wholesomeness and utility; and by using a certain portion of it, a medium might be attained between the dark-coloured bread of the continent and our own very white loaves. NUTRITIVE QUALITIES OF BKAX. 361 In country places we sometimes meet, with plain household bread, made from the whole meal of wheat, without the separa- tion of the bran. Such bread is far more substantial, and, as it appears, more nutritive and wholesome, than fine wheaten bread. The researches of modern chemistry on the nutritive qualities of the bread now in use, have proved satisfactorily, that, by rejecting the bran, we lose a large amount of nourishment of the most important kind. Wheat is well known -to consist, of two parts; the inner grain, which gives pure white wheat, and the skin, which, when separated, forms the bran. The miller cannot entirely peel off the skin from his grain, and thus some of it is un- avoidably ground up with the flour. But by sifting, he sepa- rates it more or less completely, and thus he obtains his seconds, middlings, &c. The whole meal, as it is called, of which brown household bread is made, consists of the entire grain ground up together, used as it comes from the mill- stones unsifted, and therefore containing all the bran. Thus the finest wheat flour may be said to contain no bran, while the whole meal contains all that grew naturally upon the grain. Ascientiflc chemist,Professor Johnston.in directing attention to this subject, has inquired, "What is the composition of the two portions of the seed, namely, the inner grain or pure wheat, and the skin or bran; how much do they respectively contain of the several constituents of the animal body ; how much of each is contained also in the whole grain ?" The answers to these inquiries show the value of whole meal or household bread in forming and sustaining the three principal solids of the human body — fat, muscle, and bone. The following are the more important particulars : — 1. The Fat. — Of this ingredient a thousand pounds of — Whole grain contain . , . 38 Ibs. Fine flour ,, 20 ,, Bran „ 60 ,, So that the bran is much richer in fat than the interior part of the grain, and the whole grain ground together richer than the finer part of the flour in the proportion of nearly one half. 2. — The muscular matter. — A thousand pounds of whole grain and of the fine flour, contained of muscular matter respectively — Whole grain 156 Ibs. Fine flour 130 „ Thus, of the material out of which the animal muscle is to be 362 APPENDIX. formed, the whole meal or grain of \vheat contains one-fifth more than the finest flour does. For maintaining muscular strength, therefore, it must be more valuable in an equal pro- portion. 3. Bone material and saline matter. — A thousand pounds of bran, whole meal, and fine flour contain respectively — Bran 700 Ibs. Whole meal 170 ,, Fine flour 60 „ So that in regard to this important part of our food necessary to all living animals, but' especially to the young during their growth, the whole meal is three times more nourishing than the fine flour. Taking the three essential elements of a nutritive food, thus existing in wheat, and comparing their respective amounts in the whole meal and in the fine flour, we find that on the whole the former is one-half more valuable for fulfilling all the pur- poses of nutrition than the fine flour. "It will not be denied," says our author, "that, it is for a wise purpose that the Deity has so intimately associated in the grain the several substances which are necessary for the com- plete nutrition of animal bodies. The above considerations show how unwise we are in attempting to undo this natural collocation of materials. To please the eye and the palate, we sift out a less generally nutritive food — and to make up for what we have removed, experience teaches us to have recourse to animal food of various descriptions. "It is interesting to remark, even in apparently trivial things, how all nature is full of compensating processes. We give our servants household bread, while we live on the finest of the wheat ourselves. The mistress eats that which pleases the eye more, the maid what sustains and nourishes the body better." These remarks are followed by an allusion to the ex- periments of Majendie and others, who found that animals died in a few weeks if fed only on fine flour, but lived long upon whole meal bread. Thus the coarse bread given to pri- soners is in fact a mercy to them ; for being restricted from all other food, there would not be sufficient nutriment in fine white loaves long to sustain life. The nutritive properties of bran are shown in its effects in fattening pigs, &c. ; and thus this apparently woody and useless material is found to produce valuable results. Wheat, taken in the natural mixture found in the whole FAILUEE OF THE POTATO CROP. 363 seed, is the most nutritive of all vegetable substances, and is, therefore, when at moderate price, quite as economical as some of the cheaper kinds of grain. It is only when wheat has risen to an unusual price that substitutes are sought for it in inferior articles. According to Liebig, Boussingault and others, 107 parts of wheat are equal in nutritive power to 111 of rye, 117 of oats, 130 of barley, 138 of Indian corn, 177 of rice, 894 of potatoes, and 1335 of turnips. Severe as the evils have been to Ireland in the failure of the potato crop, there is no doubt that much good has resulted to that country and to our own, from this convincing proof of the uncertainty of the potato, and of its unfitness, on that account, to be the common food of the people. It is exceedingly de^ sirable that the potato should not be made more than a subsi- diary article ; for, as above shown, its powers of nutrition are very low compared with wheat and other grain. " Wherever it supersedes bread," says Mr. M'Culloch, " the population, though there should be no increased demand for labour, inva- riably increases ; wages are gradually lowered ; and poverty and its attendant train of evils diffuse themselves over the vicinage. We are not, therefore, of the number of those who regard the potato rot as a manifestation of the Divine wrath, and who suppose that its continuance will be ruinous to the poor. On the contrary, we do not hesitate to say, that;, judging of its influence in time to come by that which it has hitherto exercised, we should look upon the total extinction of the plant as a blessing, arid not as an evil. The transition from an inferior and cheap to a superior and more costly species of food might, no doubt, occasion, considerable incon- venience in some parts of Great Britain, while in Ireland it would be a matter of much difficulty. But this inconvenience and difficulty, how troublesome soever in the mean time, would be got over in no very lengthened period ; and when the change had once been accomplished, the benefit to the country, and especially to the labouring classes, would be greater than can be easily imagined. It would not, we think, be difficult to show that the gradually extending use of the potato has done more to depress the labourers, or, at all events, to countervail those causes that would have raised them to a higher position than all the other unfavourable influences to which they have been exposed put together. And supposing such to be the case, it is matter for grave consideration, provided (as is indeed most probable) the potato rot should turn out to be accidental and temporary only, whether some restrictions should not be laid 364 APPENDIX. on the culture of the root. The tendency to resort to the potato when it is abundant is so very strong, that in the long run it is almost sure to prevail ; but this resort, is necessarily productive of so many evils, and places the very existence of a people in such imminent hazard, that no means should be left untried by which it may be averted." Sentiments like these are worthy of our attentive consi- deration, for we must allow that a total dependence on the potato crop is a great evil. Should past calamities result in teaching the Irish and English peasantry to exert them- selves earnestly to obtain a better food, it will indeed be another proof of the mysterious workings of Providence, by which the temporary sufferings of a portion of the nation have been made subservient to the lasting benefit of the whole. May He who has the wills and affections of men within his power enable us to derive such lessons from the chastise- ments we have received in past years, and such motives lor industry and thankfulness, as may render seasons of deficient food times of abundant instruction and solid improvement ! and in looking forward to the future, may we never forget that the times and the seasons are in the hands of One whose blessing miraculously multiplied The food of His followers, causing five loaves to feed " five thousand men, besides women and children," and seven loaves to feed "lour thousand men, besides women and children." By the same Divine compassion our harvests are multiplied, and our wants supplied ; and for our individual comfort we have the gracious promise lhat although " the young lions do lack and suffer hunger," yet, " they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." — Ps. sxxiv. 10. ADDENDUM. Imports of Corn, fyc., into the United Kingdom for the year ending December 31.?^, 1857. WHEAT- — • From Russia 715,731 qrs. Prussia 869,544 „ Denmark 289,032 „ Mecklenburg 133,200 „ Hanse Towns 234,010 „ Turkey, Wallachia, and Moldavia 36,615 „ Egypt 205,445 „ United States 665,032 „ Other Countries 326,622 „ Total .... 3,475,234 qrs. BAKLEY 1,720,532 qrs. OATS 1,732,004 „ PEAS 161,896 £„ BEANS 307,348 „ INDIAN CORN, on. MAIZE 1,158,752 „ WHEAT MEAL AND FLOUR — From Hanse Towns 143,911 cwts. „ Spain 17,191 „ „ United States 1,489,359 „ „ Other Countries 561.707 „ Total .... 2,212,168 cwts. INDIAN COKN MEAL 1,093 cwts. LONDON : R, CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. !r0m0iinj Christian Jiiwfoltbje. BOOKS SUITABLE FOR PRESENTS. Tlie whole of these Works may be had In ornamental bindings, writh gilt edges, at an extra charge of 6d. eacft. Price. *. d. ALICE GRAY ; or, the Ministrations of a Child . 2 0 AMY'S TRIALS ; or, a Character misunderstood 2 0 ANCIENT EGYPT. By P. H. 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